History

The Do-335, like many German aircraft of World War II, had a checkered development. It began its life, at Hitler’s insistence, as a high speed bomber, and only later, when Hitler was told that the Me-262 would be a better high speed bomber, was the plane’s basic mission changed to that of heavy fighter and reconnaissance.

First, Dornier used a scaled down (1/2.5) Do-17Z airframe (Goppingen Go.9) to test the feasibility of the rear mounted engine with a prop behind the tail unit. Tests showed the usefulness of the arrangement, so design began on the full size airplane. Featuring a tandem engine arrangement (which was not new to Dornier), the aircraft was a large, single seat, twin engine aircraft with two DB-603 liquid-cooled engines. The type began as a high speed bomber (Nov. 1943), reconnaissance fighter and night fighter (Jan. 1944), and ended finally as a heavy fighter (Mar. 1944). In July, 1944, the first prototypes were delivered as bombers.

Review

The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is so ugly, it’s beautiful. It is clearly an example of function over form. The A-10 is designed to maximize the pilot protection with a titanium bathtub cockpit and heavily armored cockpit glass. The airframe design has redundant control systems and high mounted engines to provide maximum survivability when damaged, and also to reduce the risk of engine damage. The book starts with the fly-offs between manufacturers and the selection of Fairchild Republic as the design winner. In response to pilots’ feedback for a big gun, the General Electric GAU-8 Avenger 30 mm cannon was selected, with a rate of fire at 3900 rpm.

Windsock Datafiles from Albatros Productions are considered by many to be the most comprehensive reference/historical publications available for those who build WW I scale aircraft models. Each volume focuses on a specific aircraft and can be counted on to provide a thorough study of the subject. The most recent volume, Windsock Datafile No. 159, details the history of the AD Flying Boats.

Once I had the fuselage sealed up, it was time to build the engine. The engine is 46 pieces and the fit is excellent. One note – the parts and order of addition is specific. Also, take time and make sure alignment is good. The intake and exhaust pipes coming off the back of the front cylinders needed to be aligned where they slide over the exhaust pipes I mounted to the firewall in part 1. One thing missing was the ignition wires. I used 32-gauge wire and added them based on Internet pictures. Once the engine was complete, the front cowling and rings were attached. These were a little fiddly and support the remainder of the cowling, and need to be glued on firmly. The contact points are small, so make sure things are square and glued tightly. Lastly, there is the choice of open or closed cowl flaps. I chose closed for this one (yes, I WILL build more), and since I was building option A, there were also a few special instructions.

This is the fourth and final volume in MMP’s German Air Projects series that covers Luft46 “might have beens.” This particular volume covers attack, multi-purpose, and “other” subjects. The “other” is essentially an addendum to the other 3 volumes, and covers subjects that were previously omitted, or subjects about which new information has been uncovered. Without the “other” section, this would be a very slim volume! Illustrations throughout the book consist of line drawings and artist renderings – there are no photos in this book as everything is conjecture.

The first 38 pages of the book cover attack and multi-purpose aircraft, arranged by manufacturer. Line drawings accompany many of the sections.

Pages 39 through 64 cover other types of aircraft not previously written about in previous volumes (or those with newly discovered information). Again, many line drawings accompany the text.