Blohm & Voss BV 155

BV 155
BV 155
	Blohm & Voss BV 155 V2 prototype
General information
Type	High-altitude interceptor
National origin	Nazi Germany
Manufacturer	Blohm & Voss
Number built	3
History
First flight	1 September 1944

The Blohm & Voss BV 155 is a German high-altitude interceptor aircraft intended to be used by the Luftwaffe against raids by USAAF Boeing B-29 Superfortresses. Work started on the design as the Messerschmitt Me 155 in 1942, but the project went through a protracted development period and change of ownership, and prototypes were still under test and development when World War II ended.

Background

Performance estimates of the American B-29 Superfortress reached German command in early 1942. The bomber would cruise at an altitude at which no current German plane could operate effectively. To intercept it, the Luftwaffe would urgently need new aircraft. Work on such a high altitude fighter was begun by Messerschmitt, but in 1943 the project was passed to Blohm & Voss. The result would be the Bv155 prototype that made its first test flight in September 1944.^[1]

Me 155

The story of the BV 155 began at Messerschmitt in the spring of 1942. A requirement had arisen for a carrier-based single-seat fighter to be based aboard the aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin, then under construction. In response, Messerschmitt proposed the Me 409, later renamed Me 155. In the interest of economy and simplicity, it was to use as many Messerschmitt Bf 109 components as possible, being basically a navalized version of the earlier Messerschmitt fighter.

The Me 155 was to be powered by a DB 605A-1 liquid-cooled engine of 1,475 PS (1,455 hp, 1,085 kW). The fuselage was more or less that of the standard Bf 109G, but with an entirely new wing. The undercarriage retracted inwards into wing wells, providing the wider track required for safe carrier landings. Standard naval equipment such as folding wings, catapult spools, and arrester gear were to be fitted. Proposed armament was an engine mounted 20 mm MG 151 cannon and two 20 mm MG 151 cannons and two 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns in wings. It had an estimated maximum speed of 649 km/h (403 mph). Three variants were worked out, the Me 155A with one Junkers Jumo 213, the Me 155B powered by a DB 628, which was basically a DB 605A with a two-stage mechanical supercharger with an induction cooler, and the Me 155C with one DB 605A.

Detail design of the Me 155 was complete by September 1942. However, the numerous delays in the Graf Zeppelin seemed to indicate that the completion of the carrier would be at least two years away. Messerschmitt was told to shelve the Me 155 project for the indefinite future. Work on the Graf Zeppelin carrier was eventually abandoned.

Me 155A

In order that all of that work on the Me 155 project not go entirely to waste, Messerschmitt adapted its design in November 1942 to match a Luftwaffe requirement for a fast single seat bomber. A single 1,000 kg (2,210 lb) SC1000 bomb was to be carried. All of the carrier equipment and most of the armament was removed from the aircraft. Additional fuel tanks were provided and an elongated, non-retractable tailwheel was added to provide ground clearance for the large bomb. The proposal was designated Me 155A in late 1942.^[2]

Me 155B

By the end of 1942, the increasing number of USAAF bombing raids and intelligence coming in about the new American B-29 bomber led the Luftwaffe to revive development of the Me 155B. The engine was to be the DB 628, which was basically a DB 605A with a two-stage mechanical supercharger with an induction cooler. A pressurized cabin was to be provided. It was estimated that a service ceiling of 14,097 m (46,250 ft) could be attained.

A converted Bf 109G adapted to take the DB 628 engine flew in May 1942 and attained an altitude of 15,500 m (50,850 ft). However, the Technische Amt concluded that a DB 603A engine with an exhaust-driven turbosupercharger was more promising. The DB 603A provided 1,201 kW (1,610 hp) for takeoff and 1,081 kW (1,450 hp) at 15,000 m (49,210 ft). This engine change required that the fuselage be elongated in order to house the turbosupercharger aft of the pressure cabin. Exhaust gases were carried to the turbosupercharger via external ducts. Air was drawn in through via a ventral trough aft of the wing. Standard Bf 109G wings were to be fitted outboard of a new, long-span, untapered wing center section. Other parts were scavenged from existing Messerschmitt designs – the vertical tail was from the Me 209, and the horizontal tail and the undercarriage were taken from the Bf 109G. The resulting revision of the Me 155B was designated P.1091 by Messerschmitt.

In August 1943, the RLM realised that Messerschmitt was over-committed and transferred the design work to Blohm & Voss. The design team there came to the conclusion that the existing Messerschmitt design had too many weaknesses and a complete redesign would be necessary.^[3]^[2]

BV 155

In September 1943, an order for five prototypes was placed. Blohm & Voss accepted the order only on condition they had complete design freedom and were not bound by Messerschmitt's work to date.^[3] The redesign was named the BV 155. B&V gave it a new laminar flow wing and tail unit, landing gear from the Ju 87 and many other parts of the plane. Further wind tunnel testing showed that there was a serious problem with the overwing radiators, at high angles of attack the wing "blanked" them from the airflow and cooling would suffer. Work moved to a revised B model.

The first prototype, BV 155 V1, took off for its maiden flight on 1 September 1944. Tests with the V1 showed that the outboard radiators provided inadequate cooling, especially at high angle of attack. The intakes on the next prototype were enlarged and underslung beneath the wing rather than placed over it. However, the enlarged radiators changed the aircraft's center of gravity which required moving the pressurized cockpit forward. The Blohm & Voss team took this opportunity to replace the original Bf 109G canopy with an aft-sliding all-round vision canopy, and the rear fuselage decking was cut down. This in turn required that a larger rudder be fitted. The ventral radiator bath was also enlarged.

With these changes, the BV 155 V2 flew on 8 February 1945. Blohm & Voss was still not satisfied with the design, and before the V2 began its flight trials they proposed that the engine be switched to the DB 603U having the larger mechanically driven supercharger of the DB 603E. The DB 603U promised a power of 1,238 kW (1,660 hp) for takeoff and 1,066 kW (1,430 hp) at 14,935 m (49,000 ft). The ventral turbosupercharger was retained. The Technische Amt decided to accept this proposal, and abandoned all work on the BV 155B in favor of the revised design, which was designated BV 155C.

The BV 155 V2 was damaged beyond repair during a bad landing. It was to be replaced in the test program by the BV 155 V3. The BV 155 V3 differed from the V2 in having the DB 603U intended for the BV 155C. However, the engine cowling and turbosupercharger were unchanged.

Various armament schemes for the BV 155B were proposed. One proposal had an engine-mounted (or Motorkanone) 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 108 cannon and two 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons. Another had a Motorkanone-mount 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 103 cannon and two wing-mounted 20 mm MG 151 cannons. Estimated maximum speed was 650 km/h (400 mph) at 12,000 m (39,370 ft) and 690 km/h (430 mph) at 15,999 m (52,490 ft). Service ceiling was to be 16,950 m (55,610 ft). Empty weight was 4,869 kg (10,734 lb). Normal loaded weight ranged from 5,126-5,488 kg (11,300-12,100 lb), depending on the armament provided.

According to the Pegasus Models Kit No. 5002 information sheet, V1 and V2 were both provided to the RAF after the war. V1 was flight-tested until it was written off. The fate of V3 is not known, except that it was left half-finished by the end of the war. V2 is in storage at the Smithsonian's National Air And Space Museum's storage facility.

BV 155C Project

In parallel with the prototype development, Blohm & Voss had been working on additional changes under Project 205. P.205 replaced the underwing radiators with an annular one around the front of the engine, a design feature commonly found on a number of German designs. With the wings now free of clutter, they were considerably simpler and were reduced in span. This also had the side effect of reducing the track, which would later prove to be a welcome change. The new design would be simpler, lighter and faster, and plans were made to make it the standard version of the aircraft. During the October re-evaluation, it was agreed that V1 and V2 would be completed as B models, while the V3 would be the prototype for the BV 155C.^[2]

The BV 155C was to be significantly different in appearance from the BV 155B. The clumsy wing-mounted radiators of the BV 155B were eliminated, and the main landing gear leg attachment points were moved inboard to retract inwards. Cooling was provided by an annular frontal radiator as in the Focke-Wulf Ta 152. Large circular intakes were attached to the fuselage sides above the wing roots. 30 were ordered but none were built. The V3 was 75% compelete when it was captured. Intended armament for the 155C was two wing-mounted 20mm MG 151/20 cannons and a 30mm MK 108 cannon firing through the spinner.^[2]

Specifications (BV 155B)

Data from ^[4]

General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 12 m (39 ft 4 in)
Wingspan: 20.5 m (67 ft 3 in)
Height: 3 m (9 ft 10 in)
Wing area: 39 m² (420 sq ft)
Empty weight: 4,870 kg (10,737 lb)
Gross weight: 5,520 kg (12,170 lb) Proposal A

5,125 kg (11,299 lb) Proposal B

5,100 kg (11,244 lb) Proposal C

5,440 kg (11,993 lb) Proposal D

Max takeoff weight: 6,020 kg (13,272 lb)
Fuel capacity: 1,200 L (264 imp gal)
Powerplant: 1 × Daimler-Benz DB 603A inverted V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine with TKL 15 turbo-charger, 1,200 kW (1,600 hp) for take-off

1,200 kW (1,609 hp) at 10,000 m (33,000 ft)

1,081 kW (1,450 hp) at 15,000 m (49,000 ft)

Propellers: 4-bladed constant speed paddle bladed propeller

Performance

Maximum speed: 420 km/h (260 mph, 230 kn) at sea level

520 km/h (323 mph) at 6,000 m (20,000 ft)

600 km/h (373 mph) at 10,000 m (33,000 ft)

650 km/h (404 mph) at 12,000 m (39,000 ft)

690 km/h (429 mph) at 16,000 m (52,000 ft)

Range: 460 km (290 mi, 250 nmi) at maximum continuous power with 595 L (131 imp gal) of fuel at sea level

560 km (348 mi) with 595 L (131 imp gal) of fuel at 10,000 m (33,000 ft)

590 km (367 mi) with 595 L (131 imp gal) of fuel at 16,000 m (52,000 ft)

1,080 km (671 mi) with 1,200 L (264 imp gal) of fuel at sea level

1,350 km (839 mi) with 1,200 L (264 imp gal) of fuel at 10,000 m (33,000 ft)

1,440 km (895 mi) with 1,200 L (264 imp gal) of fuel at 16,000 m (52,000 ft)

Service ceiling: 16,950 m (55,610 ft) service ceiling
maximum ceiling 17,100 m (56,100 ft)
Rate of climb: 11.5 m/s (2,260 ft/min) initial

3.92 m/s (13 ft/s) at 16,000 m (52,000 ft)

Time to altitude: 16,000 m (52,000 ft) in 29 minutes

Armament

Guns:

Proposal A

1 × 30 mm (1.181 in) MK 108 cannon as an engine mounted Motorkanone firing through the propeller shaft^{[citation needed]}
2 × 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon

Proposal B

1 × 30 mm (1.181 in) MK 103 cannon as an engine mounted Motorkanone firing through the propeller shaft with 60 rounds
2 × 15 mm (0.591 in) MG 151 cannon with 200 rpg

Proposal C

3 × 30 mm (1.181 in) MK 108 cannon with 60 rpg.

Proposal D

3 × 30 mm (1.181 in) MK 103 cannon with 60 rpg (two mounted in under-wing fairings).

References

^ Lepage 2009, p. 228.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Munson 1978, p. 33.
^ ^a ^b Hans Amtmann; The Vanishing Paperclips, Monogram, 1988, Pages 63-64.
^ Green 2010, pp. 148–152.

Sources

Green, William. Aircraft of the Third Reich (1st ed.). London: Aerospace Publishing Limited, 2010. ISBN 978-1-900732-06-2.
Green, William. Warplanes of the Second World War, Volume One: Fighters. London: Macdonald & Co.(Publishers) Ltd., 10th impression 1972, p. 80-82. ISBN 0-356-01445-2.
Green, William. Warplanes of the Third Reich. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 4th impression 1979, p. 88-91. ISBN 0-356-02382-6.
Hitchcock, Thomas H. Blohm & Voss 155 (Monogram Close-Up 20). Sturbridge, Massachusetts: Monogram Aviation Publications, 1990. ISBN 0-914144-20-0.
Lepage, Jean-Denis G.G.. Aircraft of the Luftwaffe, 1935-1945: An Illustrated Guide. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2009. ISBN 978-0-7864-3937-9.
Munson, Kenneth (1978). German Aircraft Of World War 2 in colour. Poole, UK: Blandford Press. ISBN 0-7137-0860-3.
Sharp, Dan (2019). Blohn & Voss BV155. Horncastle, UK: Tempest Books. ISBN 978-1-911658-32-0.
Smith J. Richard and Anthony L. Kay. German Aircraft of the Second World War. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1978, p. 88-91. ISBN 0-370-00024-2.
Wood, Tony and Bill Gunston. Hitler's Luftwaffe: A pictorial history and technical encyclopedia of Hitler's air power in World War II'. London: Salamander Books Ltd., 1977, p. 136. ISBN 0-86101-005-1.

External links

[Lepage_p._228-1] Lepage 2009, p. 228.

[FOOTNOTEMunson197833-2] Munson 1978, p. 33.

[Amtmann63-4-3] Hans Amtmann; The Vanishing Paperclips, Monogram, 1988, Pages 63-64.

[Greenaottr-4] Green 2010, pp. 148–152.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e Blohm & Voss/Hamburger Flugzeugbau aircraft
Ha	Ha 135 Ha 136 Ha 137 Ha 138 Ha 139 Ha 140 Ha 141 Ha 142
BV	BV 40 BV 138 BV 141 BV 143 BV 144 BV 155 BV 222 BV 237 BV 238 BV 246 BV 250 P 163 P 170 P 178 P 184 P 188 P 192 P 193 P 194 P 196 P 197 P 198 P 200 P 202 P 203 P 204 P 208 P 209 P 210 P 211 P 212 P 213 P 214 P 215 Ae 607
HFB	HFB 209 HFB 314 HFB 320

v t e Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW) and Messerschmitt aircraft
BFW Idflieg designations	CL.I CL.II CL.III CL.IV N.I
BFW/Messerschmitt company designations	M 17 M 18 M 19 M 20 M 21 M 22 M 23 M 24 M 25 M 26 M 27 M 28 M 29 M 30 M 31 M 33 M 35 M 36 M 37
RLM designations 1933–1945	Bf 108 Bf 109 Bf 110 Me 155 Bf 161 Bf 162 Bf 163 Me 163 MeC 164 Bf 165 Me 209 Me 210 Me 261 Me 262 Me 263 Me 264 Me 265 Me 309 Me 310 Me 321 Me 323 Me 328 Me 329 Me 334 Me 409 Me 410 ZMe 423 Me 509 Me 609
Project numbers	P 08.01 P.1034 P.1061 P.1062 P.1064 P.1065 P.1070 P.1073 P.1075 P.1079 P.1091 P.1092 P.1095 P.1099 P.1100 P.1101 P.1102 P.1103 P.1104 P.1106 P.1107 P.1108 P.1109 P.1110 P.1111 P.1112
USAAC designations	XC-44
RAF assigned names	Aldon

v t e Reich Air Ministry (RLM) aircraft designations (list)
1 to 100	8-1¹ Fi 2 8-3¹ 8-4¹ Fi 5 DFS 6 8-7¹ Gö 8 Gö 9 Do 10 Do 11/Wn 11 8-12⁴/Do 12 Do 13 Do 14 Do 15 Do 16/Wn 16 Do 17 Do 18 Do 19 Do 20 8-21¹ Do 22 Do 23 Do 24 Do 25³/Kl 25 Do 26/Kl 26 8-27/Do 27³/Kl 27⁵ 8-28¹ 8-29/Do 29 Fw 30 Kl 31 Kl 32 Ju 33 Ju 34 Kl 35 Kl 36 He 37³ He 38/Ju 38 DFS 39 BV 40/DFS 40 He 41³ Fw 42/He 42 Fw 43 Fw 44 He 45 He 46/Ju 46 Fw 47/He 47 Ju 48 He 49/Ju 49 He 50/Ju 50 He 51 He 52/Ju 52 Ju 53 DFS 54/NR 54 Fw 55/NR 55 Fw 56 8-57⁴/Fw 57 Fw 58/He 58 He 59 He 60/Ju 60 Fa 61/Fw 61/He 61 Fw 62/He 62 8-63⁴/He 63 Ar 64/He 64 Ar 65/He 65 Ar 66/He 66 Ar 67 Ar 68 Ar 69 He 70 8-71⁴/He 71 He 72 He 73³ He 74 Al 75 Ar 76/FZG 76⁶ Ar 77 Ar 78³ Ar 79 Ar 80 Ar 81 8-82⁴ 8-83¹ Al 84 Ju 85 Ju 86 Ju 87 Ju 88 Ju 89 Ju 90 Ju 91³ Ju 92 Ju 93³ Ju 94³ Ar 95 Ar 96 Fi 97 Fi 98 Fi 99 Fi 100³/He 100
101 to 200	Al 101 Al 102 Al 103/Fi 103 R Fh 104 Kl 105 Kl 106 Kl 107 Bf 108 Bf 109/Bf 109R⁶ Bf 110 He 111/He 111U⁶ He 112 He 113⁶ He 114 He 115 He 116 He 117³/Hs 117 He 118 He 119 He 120 Hs 121 Hs 122 Hs 123 Hs 124 Hs 125 Hs 126 Hs 127 Hs 128 Hs 129 Hs 130 Bü 131 Bü 132³/Hs 132 Bü 133 Bü 134 Ha 135 Ha 136/Hü 136 Ha 137 BV 138 Ha 139 Ha 140 BV 141 BV 142 BV 143 BV 144 Go 145 Go 146 Go 147/Ju 147 Go 148³ Go 149 Go 150 Kl 151 Kl 152/Ta 152 Kl 153³/Ta 153 Kl 154³/Ta 154 BV 155/Kl 155³/Me 155 Fi 156 Fi 157 Fi 158 Fw 159 Ju 160 Bf 161 Bf 162/He 162 Bf 163/Li 163/Me 163 Me 164/MeC 164 Bf 165 Fi 166/FK 166 Fi 167 Fi 168 Fi 169³ He 170 He 171³ He 172 He 173³ He 174³ 8-175⁴ He 176 He 177 He 178 He 179⁵ Bü 180/He 180 Bü 181 Bü 182 Bü 183³/Ta 183 Fl 184 Fl 185 Fw 186/Ju 186 Fw 187/Ju 187² Fw 188³/Ju 188 Fw 189 Fw 190 Fw 191 Ao 192 Ao 193³/DFS 193 DFS 194/Me 194 Ar 195 Ar 196 Ar 197 Ar 198 Ar 199/FiSk 199 Do 200^4,6/Fw 200
201 to 300	Si 201 Si 202 DFS 203 Si 204 8-205¹ Fw 206 8-207¹ Me 208 Me 209 (I)/Me 209 (II) Me 210 Hü 211 8-212⁴/Do 212 8-213¹ Do 214 Do 215 Do 216 Do 217/Hs 217 Do 218³ He 219 He 220 Do 221³ BV 222 Fa 223 Fa 224 Ao 225/Fa 225 BV 226/Ho 226 FGP 227 DFS 228 Go 229/Ho 229 8-230/DFS 230 Ar 231 Ar 232 Ar 233 Ar 234 Do 235⁵ Fa 236³ BV 237 BV 238 8-239¹ Ar 240 Go 241 Go 242 Me 243³ Go 244 Go 245³ BV 246 8-247¹ Ju 248 BV 250/Ho 250 Ho 251 Ho 252 Ju 252 Fi 253/Ho 253 Ho 254/Ta 254 8-255¹ Fi 256 SK 257 8-258¹ Fw 259 8-260¹ Me 261/Me 261w Me 262 Me 263 (1941)/Me 263 (1942)/Me 263 (1945) Me 264 Fl 265/Me 265 Fa 266/Go 266³ Ho 267 Ju 268 Fa 269 He 270 We 271 He 272³ He 273³ He 274 He 275⁵ He 276³ He 277 He 278 He 279³ He 280 He 281³ Fl 282 Fa 283 Fa 284 Fl 285 Ju 286 Ju 287 Do 288^4,6/Ju 288 Ju 289³ Ju 290 Hs 291 As 292/Hs 292³ Hs 293 Hs 294 Hs 295 Ar 296/Hs 296 Hs 297 Hs 298 Ju 299³ Fw 300
301 to 349	DFS 301 8-302¹ 8-303¹ 8-304¹ 8-305¹ 8-306¹ 8-307¹ 8-308¹ Me 309 Zwilling Me 310 8-311¹ 8-312¹ 8-313⁴ 8-314¹ Hs 315 8-316¹ Do 317 Do 318 He 319 Me 320³ Me 321 Ju 322 Me 323/ZMe 323 8-324¹ Fa 325/Fw 325³ 8-326¹ Me 327 Me 328 Me 329 Fa 330 DFS 331 DFS 332 Fi 333 Ar 334³/Me 334 Do 335 Fa 336 Ju 337³ 8-338¹ Fl 339 Ar 340 8-341 WNF 342 He 343 Rk 344/So 344⁵ Go 345 DFS 346 Rk 347 8-348¹ Ba 349
Post-349 (non-sequential)	Ju 352 Fi 356/Ju 356 Me 362 Me 364² Me 368³ Ju 388 Ju 390 Fw 391 Ar 393³ Ar 396 Ta 400 Me 409 Me 410 Do 417 He 419 ZMe 423 Ar 430/Ka 430 Ar 432 Do 435 Ar 440 8-445⁴ DFS 446 Ju 452 Me 462² DFS 468 Ju 488 Fw 491 He 500 Me 509 Me 510 He 519 8-520⁴ ZSO 523 Ar 532 8-534⁴ Do 535/He 535 Me 600² Me 609 Ar 632 Do 635/He 635/Ju 635
¹ Not assigned ² Unofficial/proposed ³ Assigned, but not used before RLM was dissolved ⁴ Assigned to captured aircraft ⁵ Unconfirmed ⁶ Propaganda/cover designation Note: Official RLM designations had the prefix "8-", but this was usually dropped and replaced with the manufacturer's prefix.