Landships II

Vilkata · Brigadier

Popular Science 1938 Prone Driven Two-Man Tankette.

Centurion · Legend

The 2 man mg nest appears to be trying to get the worst of all possible worlds. It has the problems of prone driving (awkward and uncomfortable, limited vision from low down) without the advantages (low profie). What would be the point of the prone position when the gunner sticks up anyway?

The winged tank looks like the last (unbuilt) design in the Westland Petrodactyl series of tailess combat aircraft of the 1930s (most were built and trialed but were much less streamlined and tractors to boot). However I suspect it may be a projection of an American civil design that was built. This was one of many (doomed) attempts to produce a flying car (automobile).

Something like the manned glider bomb was actually built but much later than the article. This was the Messerschmitt 328 that started out as wood built long range 'one way' pulse jet powered escort fighter to accompany (towed) a nuclear armed bomber on a transatlantic raid. Its flight characteristics proved to be dreadful. It was then equiped with a warhead and the pulse jets removed so it could be a glide bomber. originally the pilot was supposed to bail out before impact but this refinement was later abandoned. Volunteers were actually found to fly the beast but it was never deployed operationally.I enclose one of my drawings of this machine.

theburk · Captain

Centurion wrote:

The 2 man mg nest appears to be trying to get the worst of all possible worlds. It has the problems of prone driving (awkward and uncomfortable, limited vision from low down) without the advantages (low profie). What would be the point of the prone position when the gunner sticks up anyway?

The winged tank looks like the last (unbuilt) design in the Westland Petrodactyl series of tailess combat aircraft of the 1930s (most were built and trialed but were much less streamlined and tractors to boot). However I suspect it may be a projection of an American civil design that was built. This was one of many (doomed) attempts to produce a flying car (automobile).

Something like the manned glider bomb was actually built but much later than the article. This was the Messerschmitt 328 that started out as wood built long range 'one way' pulse jet powered escort fighter to accompany (towed) a nuclear armed bomber on a transatlantic raid. Its flight characteristics proved to be dreadful. It was then equiped with a warhead and the pulse jets removed so it could be a glide bomber. originally the pilot was supposed to bail out before impact but this refinement was later abandoned. Volunteers were actually found to fly the beast but it was never deployed operationally.I enclose one of my drawings of this machine.

the glider bomb also resembles some of the US made gliding bombs, including those made during WWII, (there were several) but that isnt surprising as the designs of several countrys all resembled one another due to convergent evolution of ideas, they all had similar goals, so they wound up looking similar,

and also centruion, popular science and popular mechanics arent exactly known for their acceptance of rational ideas, every other year they talk about how the zepplin is coming back, and how in a few months we will all have flying cars, theyve been saying that since the 30s, oh and one of the flying bombs im talking about was called the bat, it was a us guided bomb used in the pacific from 1944 onward and used a sonar guidance system (hence the name) and had a bit of success, there were also a couple of others tested, some early russian guided weapons designs also look similar to this, (esspecialy the 1940's jet fighters most of which had delta configurations)

an article about the bat:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat_%28guided_bomb%29

http://www.nasm.si.edu/research/dsh/artifacts/images/RM/A19500104000.jpg

meh looks like it isnt quite as close as i thought.

heres an even better match, the hs 293 antishipping missle:
http://www.nasm.si.edu/research/dsh/artifacts/images/RM/A19840793000d1.jpg

-- Edited by theburk at 04:23, 2006-11-29

-- Edited by theburk at 04:30, 2006-11-29