Underwing personnel pods

[McColm]

Unfortunately this isn't a Whiff, this really did happen during WWII and in post war conflicts upto the present day.
The Germans tried this out for carrying spies and wounded personnel, so did the British using Mosquitoes placing personnel pods in the space of the weapons bay.
Helicopters have been used ie the Apache.
The RAF tried to promote the Harrier two seater for such a purpose, ending up converting the back seat.
Fast jets and V/STOL have been tried out, but the noise from the engines is still a problem. Short haul would seem the solution.

In Whiffland this isn't a problem as the Whiffer can convert most aircraft that have a reasonably sized weapons bay into having a personnel pod fitted, providing there's enough ground clearance. Otherwise you'd end up with a troop carrier or civvie airliner.
Thoughs turn to Britains V-Force Bombers, B-47 or B-52. Possibilities are endless.

[Cobra]

Cool Idea, i could Picture 007 being Dropped into a Target Area by such Means! think the personnel pod would work with an M-50? Dan

[perttime]

I just read a book on a Finnish fighter squadron - and there was a mention that someone got into trouble after a "heavy landing" of a Brewster Buffalo. Apparently, there were two extra persons, a German Shepherd dog, and some luggage on the airplane, in addition to the pilot... 

As the top scoring non-German fighter ace said about the Buffalo: "It was also a "gentleman's traveling plane", for it had a roomy cockpit and room in the fuselage, as we used to say, for a poker gang."
http://www.sci.fi/~fta/finace01.htm

[Captain Canada]

Didn't the Wesley have pods for humans as well ? I could see having pods with the guys wearing wing suits.

[perttime]

I could see having pods with the guys wearing wing suits.

Wing suits that actually work reliably are a pretty recent thing - In-Real-Life that is.

[lenny100]

try this for harriers etc.

http://www.thinkdefence.co.uk/2014/04/exint-pod/

[kerick]

Do you mean the Rocky the flying squirrel suits? Can you imagine trying to sell that idea to the chief muckaty mucks back then? "See, you put on this suit, stretch out your arms and legs, and you sort of fly. Or fall with style."

Pods would be interesting. Someone had some photos of that sort of thing a while back. It was tried on a P-38 for evacing wounded. See one of the photos above.

[PR19_Kit]

The RB-47Hs mentioned elsewhere in the Forum carried three ELINT operators in what used to be the bomb bay. Without the huge amount of equipment that was in there with them it could probably carry considerably more too.

But, and it's a big but, the B-47 needed a LONG runway to take-off and land under normal circumstances, a tactical transport it isn't!

[sandiego89]

Early RB-52's also could carry a pod in the weapons bay, even after the designation switch to just B-52. There was even a proposal for a B-58 Hustler people pod as well.  Now that would be going in style- just make sure the pod jettison switch was wire locked shut 

[Mossie]

There's lots on this old thread:
http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,20512.0.html

[McColm]

Thanks for the info. The Lockheed Constellation has a considerable ground clearance, so does the Shorts Stirling, I wonder if a pod would fit?

[PR19_Kit]

Thanks for the info. The Lockheed Constellation has a considerable ground clearance, so does the Shorts Stirling, I wonder if a pod would fit?

The Connie certainly could carry a pod, indeed Lockheed built a number of them for carrying cargo, the Speedpack, it wasn't pressurised
though.

[kerick]

In the days before Fed Ex!

I bet it would have made a good boat too.

[McColm]

Thanks Kit

[martinbayer]

There was an idea to use a passenger pod under a B-58A to explore human reaction to supersonic transport: http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1960/1960%20-%202646.html

Martin