Hello Woodsy,
While the blog looks to the future via old toys I'm stuck firmly in the past.
Many years ago I came across the Westland Wendover, one of the strangest looking aircraft ever. It was a Westland Lysander modified to become a flying anti invasion weapon. The idea was that it would 'strafe' beaches and German invasion craft.
Luckily for any possible aircrews the invasion didn't happen and the idea didn't go beyond a prototype.
The Lysander was a very agile aircraft in it's designed role as an artillery spotter and would have been an ideal gun platform for a multi-gun turret, providing the invading Germans had no anti-aircraft defenses.
The results of air defenses in the 1940 invasion of France against Bristol Blenheim bombers predicted a very short combat life for the Wendover.
Finally a project that waited to be completed is done.
Regards,
Terranova47
USA
Thats a cracker, looks like the bastard offspring of a Lancaster and a Lysander! I do love the weird and wonderful aircraft spawned by WWII. Some of the german planes are especially cool, like the Blohm & Voss with off centre cockpit, the Natter Rocket Interceptor and the Horten flying wings. Horgeous work Terra!
ReplyDeleteFrog kits! Thats a blast from the past. I had a few of the Novo re-issues, but the plastic was a bit inferior.
DeleteVery nice. Balsa rear fuselage and plastic card rear wing/tail unit ? I have seen this aircraft referred to as a tandem wing monoplane rather than a biplane, as the two wings are not mounted one above the other. The sole prototype, K6127, first flew on 27th July 1941, so any production aircraft would have been a bit late for anti-invasion duties in 1940. Airfix did a 1/72nd scale kit of the Blohm and Voss Bv141 with cockpit nacelle separate from the fuselage; I build one of those many years ago. The Natter and Horten designs have also been kitted over the years, in various scales.
ReplyDeleteLooks great, T47 - send it to me at once.
ReplyDeleteMy grandfather used to work for Supermarine before WW2 and as a result didn't serve in the military but was employed in specialist engineering for various projects, the ones my father can recall were Spitfire's, Lysander's and the X-Craft midget Submarines and bizarrely even after the war didn't like talking about it, like the information was still on the hush hush!! - MJ Southcoast base
ReplyDeleteThe Wendover was not intended as a beach strafer at all. It was an experiment to up arm a Lysander with a heavier defensive armament following the experiences of the Battle of France.
ReplyDeleteThe beach strafer myth comes from the fact that the same individual airframe has previously been used (before conversion to Wendover configuration) for beach strafing tests, mounting 2 x 20mm cannon on the main undercarriage legs.
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