USAAC He-70

[Geoff]

I was thinking of doing a RevellG He-70 with the radial engine as a USAAC plane. With a backstory of President Lindberg doing a deal with Germany.
But I am unsure of a designator for the plane I was toying with A-14, the real A-14 being a development of the Shrike IIRC. Any ideas please?

[jorel62]

Wow.... I never thought of the President Lindberg idea. We just may have been fighting on the Axis side.

[jcf]

The XA-14 was a twin-engined aircraft and the semi-production version was designated the A-18.
http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=2918

Attack type references:
http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/research/aircraft/attack/index.asp
http://www.driko.org/usdes.html

What is the timeline for your President Lindbergh?

The He 170 wasn't developed (for the Hungarians BTW) until late 1936 and was powered by a Gnome-Rhone 14K,
it first flew in early 1937. Deliveries were made between September 1937 and February 1938.
The He 170 retained the basic He 70 structure of aluminum semi-monococque fuselage and wooden wings - ply-covering
over wood spars and ribs, as such it was in some ways structurally obsolete by the time it entered service.

The He 70 came about as a reaction to Swissair purchasing Lockheed Orions, and rather interestingly in 1933 the USAAC tested an
attack aircraft that had its roots in the Lockheed, the Y1A-11. The Consolidated A-11 design was an attack derivative of the
Detroit-Lockheed YP-24/Consolidated Y1P-25 (cleaned up YP-24 with wooden wing replaced by a metal wing).

A handy reference link for the USAAC/USAF:
http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/research/aircraft/index.asp

Jon

[Geoff]

Hi Jorel
I did a Me-109E in USAAC markings a few years ago, and was wondering about early He-111s; Maverick has a few profiles of these in the galley.

Hi Jon
Thanks for the info I hadn't realised the A-14 was twin engined Doh! I had been looking at a pic of an A-8 and thought WOW! So of couse I had to try and find a Wif to do for someting similar. Perhaps a US built He-170 would have been built by Northrop as the A-17??
I don't have a firm timeline for Pres Lindberg, I was just working on the mid to late 1930s  due to his visit to Germany when he met Udet. So I was looking at the idea of German aircraft being in US service from 36-37 or so. Open to opinions on that one.
BTW the USAAC did operate a Ju-52 in Panama IIRC in the early war years.

[jcf]

Wow.... I never thought of the President Lindberg idea. We just may have been fighting on the Axis side.

Extraordinarily doubtful.

Even if he was President in that period he would not have had the power to take the US into
war on the German side.

[Geoff]

I was not thinking of the USA being part of the Axis, more a neutral USA with stronger ties to Germany and Italy in the late 1930s.
I have to admit I have no idea how plausable this is.

[GTX]

You been reading "The Plot Against America" by Philip Roth (see review here)?

regards,

Greg

[Geoff]

Hi Greg
Not read the book but I did read a few pages in a book store and then forgot the title when I went back to buy a copy a few weeks later, so thanks for the link. Yep thats where the basic idea was from -  sorry!

[jcf]

Perhaps a US built He-170 would have been built by Northrop as the A-17??
I don't have a firm timeline for Pres Lindberg, I was just working on the mid to late 1930s  due to his visit to Germany when he met Udet. So I was looking at the idea of German aircraft being in US service from 36-37 or so. Open to opinions on that one.
BTW the USAAC did operate a Ju-52 in Panama IIRC in the early war years.

That would be a retrograde step for Northrop as his aircraft were structurally more advanced than the Heinkel design,
also the A-17 pre-dates the He 170. The latter is a contemporary of the A-17A, and while faster the He 170 had very poor
range characteristics.

Curtiss would probably be the best partner for Heinkel as the 1930s Curtiss corporate family included The Curtiss-Caproni Corporation
among its many divisions. A Curtiss-Heinkel wouldn't be too much of a stretch. 
A metal-winged, R-1535 powered Cu-He 170 could be a viable competitor for the A-17A.

The Ju 52 (C-79) was the ex-DLH Sucursal Peru aircraft that was involved in starting a war between Ecuador and Peru after it was transferred to DLH's Ecuadorian affiliate SEDTA and its Peruvian markings were not completely eradicated. The conflict grew from there, tragically silly really.

[Geoff]

Thanks Jon I didn't know about the Curtis-Caproni link - that opens up a few more ideas (Cap-311? Hmm).

So its a Curtiss A-? works for me.
Now the question is do I do it in aluminiun/Alclad or the earlier blue/yellow? I think the NMF is probably more appropriate for the end of the 30s.

[Geoff]

I tried to get Mav's artwork up but all i can get is "Upload file is full".