Focke-Wulf FW 42 Bomber

Pictures by Dan Johnson, more info on Luft '46 at http://www.luft46.com

It's hard to design this beauty using standard rules. I have cheated some, fitted two turrets, and given her credit for the lack of external rockets.

Use the pusher-prop with turret template. It is technically a tractor, but it has the steering wings in front and the engines in the rear. Gun 1 & 2 are in a front turret, with turret controls in place of Gun 3 & 4.

Armament:

Fore and aft turrets with twin 50 caliber each.
It cannot carry external ordnance, but carries 2500 lb. of bombs internally.

History:

After receiving mostly positive results with his F 19 and F 19a "Ente" (Duck) light transport aircraft, Focke proceeded to design a twin-engined "Ente" (Duck) bomber for the fledgling Luftwaffe in 1931. This aircraft went through several design changes (January 13, 1932 - December 25, 1933), mainly concerning the placement of the front horizontal tail (canard) and the rear vertical tail. The first design placed the forward canard above the fuselage, and there were two fins and rudders mounted on the each wing end, with two more fins along the wing trailing edge outboard of the engine nacelles. Windtunnel tests showed that directional stability was only slightly better with the four fins than a large single vertical fin and rudder. Therefore, the decision was made to go with the single large fin, due to the lower component cost and ease of construction. Also, the forward canard was moved down to the fuselage bottom, thus improving the pilot's view and the forward gunner's field of fire. On all versions, the fuselage was narrow and long, with MG firing stations in the extreme nose and tail. Two BMW VIu 12 cylinder engines (750 horsepower for takeoff) were mounted beneath each wing, and were provided with a four bladed propeller of 3.8 m (12' 6") in diameter. The landing gear was retractable and the cockpit was located approximately mid-fuselage, with the forward fuselage stepped down in front of the cockpit. A crew of 6 was to man the Fw 42.

The Fw 42 was visited by the Russians and/or Japanese, for export license and production purchases. Exact sales figures are still unknown.

	Base Complexity		12
	Poor Cockpit Visibility		-1
	Multiple Engines (2)		+1
	High Flight Ceiling		+2
	Heavy Stick		-1
	Turret		+1
	Front-facing Turret		+2
	Expensive		-1
	Total		15
	Cost	$11.000

Included here is l as a list of the relevant Special Characteristics of the plane, a design complexity, and a price calculated from these values.

Note: While Luft '46 is a historical site, this description is entirely fictional. Facts from Luft '46 have been altered and new ideas added to fit this design into the Crimson Skies pulp universe. For historical information, check out the source at Luft '46.