Design Phase, Late Winter 1915
Rohesde ZBg.I A1/15 Drachen
While development of the 630 hp Teufel engine was ongoing, the AvD company set out to develop an aircraft to utilize the engine once in operation, and one that would make use of it's power to perform both the role of a bomber and a fighter at the same time with impunity, offering relatively unheard of performance to the Kaiserliche Luftjäger's doorstep - a true Zerstörer-Bodenangreifer - filling the empty role of ground assault within the empire. What's more, Andreas wanted to further progress the state of aeronautical engineering in the Empire, and thus set out to include several innovative features in the craft.
The Drachen was thus born - an immensely durable tandem-wing with a thick central wing surface section between two booms housing it's Teufel engines, front and back extensions to its sides, and a joint tail section behind the fuselage extending between the booms behind. This craft measures 10.06 meters by 14.5 meters and was designed to include integrated FEiV-12M radio, retractable landing gear and bomb bay, with both the bay and landing gear crank-operated and worked off the prototype designed for the early SBD.Is. The bay itself, measuring 2.67 by 1.10 meters, is to be fitted with standardized bomb mounts in the form of vertical or horizontal hardpoints with bombs released by the use of a lever, and would normally carry 1 ton of ordinance, should a suitable bombload be assigned to the craft, but could theoretically carry up to two given the bay's volume - leaving room for improvement once better engines are inevitably developed. The craft would be no slouch in terms of armament either, as it was planned to include first two, and then four 7.62mm GL-12 machine guns in the nose, each holding a thousand rounds, and two GL-12s in gunnery positions (one behind the pilot, serving as a radio operator or bomb navigator, and one near the tail, covering the space below and above the plane more easily) for defense. The plane is gauged to be capable of attaining great speeds thanks to it's two powerful engines, jointly putting out 1260 hp into the craft's two 3 meter diameter two-bladed propellers, and should theoretically be capable of attaining a speed between 380 and 400 km/h with a full bombload onboad, and potentially even up to 450 km/h without. What's more, the size of the propellers, while making for longer frontal landing gear, allow the craft to possess better acceleration, making it decent at interception. Thanks to the redundancy built into the craft's lifting surfaces, it is both immensely maneuverable for it's relatively modest size, a great climber and capable of sustaining massive damage and still making a safe landing or returning to base.
And thus, with the hope of changing the face of war as it was known, Andreas set off to work - now all that was left was convincing the airforce to allocate funding for the craft's development, as the costs of running all the tests necessary would take far too long if the company were left on it's lonesome to pay for the endeavor.
Time: 1 | Progress: 5 | Expense: 2
Well, we never expected this to be easy, and with the limited number of engines we actually have to test with the thing, read, only two, we need to make our work count and get the design down first. However, that's not to say the engineers lack ambition, quite the opposite really, and they do a good job working on setting the craft up for a good first flight when that day comes. We haven't left the planning and design phase yet, but we are certain this project will cost an arm and a leg, but that's why the company requested our help on the mater in the first place. It will take a long time, obviously, but when its done it will be ahead of its time. Mark our words. It should be noted progress will obviously get a bit of a boost once the engine it uses is finished, and we won't have to struggle so much with funding either.
Rohesde ZBg.I A1/15 "Drachen" | 5/55 progress | 4 PP per die | Rushed 0 times | 4 PP invested
Effectiveness: 6 | Cost: 1 | Bugs: 5
Well, where to start? First off, the Drachen is in fact the Wunderwaffe we need to win the war and by that I mean its a wonder in most every regard. It should have an average cruse speed of 390 km/h and a WEP speed of 450 without a bomb load, but despite these large numbers for speed, that doesn't mean that its by any means light or easy to shoot down. Due to its construction, a model without engines shows it would take quite a long time of continuous fire from a machine gun to do enough damage to saw a wing off and the pilot is well protected along with the engines. Really, the craft is like a flying armored car, just much much faster. It can also carry quite a bit as well, heavy loads of cargo should be able to be carried by the thing and just as heavy loads of at most 2 tons of bombs should too. It should be noted that quite obviously such a weight reduces top speed, but when loaded to the max it can still go 375 km/h reliably at cruse speed.
That's not all either, the aircraft is advanced enough to have landing gear that is rolled back into the air frame while in the air to reduce drag and increase speed. The gear are cranked up to an upward and lower position, which takes a bit of time and effort, but seeing how it only needs to be done after takeoff and before landing it isn't too much of an issue. Additionally, it should be fairly maneuverable for its size, surprisingly so. Its not going to out turn an adderbolt but considering the general idea of what its to be used for it doesn't need to be. Additionally, the two gunner positions can easily be armed with plenty of ammo, well over 1000 rounds should the pilots or commanders wish, so it should be able to stay in the air for a long time both due to fuel lasting so long and having so much ammo. Of course, as a wunderwaffe so great, it does come with a drawback we have found...
Remember the incident with the adderbolt? Well, this time, the engineers didn't add ebony or make anything particularly fancy, no. The thing uses a bit of metal in its design, steel, specifically in important parts like the landing gear or propellers. It also uses other metal parts to make it so that even under sustained fire it wont be able to easily damage the controls. Additionally, the fact the landing gear and bomb bay exist add complexity to the design and this combined with its size result in...problematic issues with cost. The big issue with all of this is however, most of the things that result in it costing so much are done to increase survivability or, in the case of the landing gear and bomb bay, would require an entire redesign to fix. But...we have plenty of time to work on that...hopefully...
Roheshmiede-Dehnert "Teufel" (2 die spent, 2 die rushed)
Progress: 4+4+1+3+3 = 15/30. 6 PP spent
The engineers take extra shifts and so too are the engineering students under our employ, though the latter are observed carefully for fairly obvious reasons. Still, good progress overall is made on the engine, and we are able to have a few prototypes available for use in the other project we currently have running, and they will help a bit with the work there in the progress of the aircraft. (IE You got a +5 for progress on the other project)
Accepting the payment and sending the adderbolt, the team would find two weeks later a woman actually came to the air field. Their name is Brunhilde von Bothmer, and their brother Wolfram was a Vizefeldwebel with one confirmed aerial victory to his name before he died. Apparently she came because she was given an offer to join the airforce in a letter by an engineer named Ernest von Arnegis...Naturally, the issue is fairly obvious here, and if she's accepted, we might set a precedent that might not fall too well with some people...
Its now the Production & Deployment Phase, you have 13 Production Points remaining.ZhS-8A "Teufel" (20.18 L D75/15) | Roheshmiede-Dehnert "Teufel" | Project Teufel 201815 | Rohesde Teufel 20LD75.R4+2| 4/30 progress | 2 PP per die | Rushed 0 times | 2 PP invested
Rohesde ZBg.I A1/15 "Drachen" | 10/55 progress | 4 PP per die | Rushed 0 times | 4 PP invested
Planes:
-BzL 1 Motte Biplane: A unarmed, single seater biplane bought from the start up Beham zivile Luft. The aircraft is stable in flight and the five-cylinder rotary engine powering the thing to a respectable speed doesn't cause any noticeable vibrations unless damaged making it easy to fly, with a wooden fuselage keeping it cheap. However, it is woefully inadequate for anything other than scouting or training. True to its name however, it is lightweight, and cheap. Cost 3/1
--BzL 1 Motte-SMT Biplane: A Motte variant powered by the AVD Motors Dehnert SMT 915 engine in place of the smaller five-cylinder one it originally had. Noticeably faster then the normal everyday Motte and replaces the old version of the craft.
-AvDD.I Adderbolt: A singe-seater tandem wing aircraft that instead of canvas and wood is purely made of wood with a Monocoque design and powered by the Dehnert 9C engine in the pusher configuration. The Adderbolt mounts two GL-12 Luftblitzkanone machineguns in front of the pilot for easy unjamming and aiming. It's quite fast and maneuverable due to its small size. Claiming the the aircraft should be or was made out of high quality ebony for moral and patriotism is a surefire way to get a pay cut. Cost 5/1.
--Dehnert Adderbolt SBD.I: A Adderbolt that has been modified quite a bit to be much more aerodynamic than its predecessor by making most of the structural parts placed inside instead the aircraft's frame instead of outside, also comes with the Blitz engine if you forgot. All future adderbolts will be of the SSD.I verity.
-Rohesde ZBg.I A1/15 "Drachen": A wunderwaffe of a medium bomber/heavy fighter thats fast, well armed and armored, and costs an arm and a leg. Certainty will be quite effective in its role however. 10/3 (In Development)
Equipment:
-GL-12 Luftblitzkanone: A fairly advanced open bolt air cooled machine gun that fires 7.62mm rounds at about 1000 per minute with ease. Costs 1 PP
- FEiV-12M: An radio based on the IluM-12M that weighs the same 32 kilograms with the battery and 20 without that can use the power of an engine instead of a battery and because of the availability of power, uses more. It uses a spark gap transmitter and crystal receiver for Morse code at frequency's of 300 to 450 kHz. Costs 1 PP to buy and another one to mount onto an airframe.
-Durchfallen Bruchpunkt M-10-50: A bomb that like the shell its based on tends to explode, violently, when you don't want it to. Still, its a 50KG bomb and comes with a simple box to drop it on enemy's heads, so there is that...Costs 1 PP
-Fallschirm: A large parachute that takes up the space that normally would be used for the back of the pilots seat. It weighs a bit but will save a pilots life, usually with a few bruises, sometimes with a sprain, or rarely a broken bone. Though it always will save the Pilot so long as the chute isn't damaged to much. Costs 1 PP
Pilots:
-Diligent: Quality beats Quantity! Schwarzes Holz ground crews work round the clock and hard to make sure aircraft are in tip top shape before entering combat, and the pilots know their aircrafts limits.
-Uniforms: Stylish black with white and gold stripes and the Luftjager insignia on the back. Pilots of rank are issued two hats, a fancier warm one and the traditional one. Also comes with basic navigation equipment and winter/high altitude clothing.
Technology:
-Basic biplane design
-Basic monoplane design
-Basic/Intermediate tandem wing design
-Basic pusher configuration design
-Wooden frame construction
-Basic/Intermediate Monocoque construction
-Simple Cantilever
-Rudimentary dive bombing sight
-Basic retractable landing gear
-Basic control surfaces: ailerons, elevator and rudder
-Basic Radial Engine design
-Basic Hybrid Internal Combustion
-Fördern Mount technology
-Basic crystal receivers, Morse code
-Basic spark-gap transmitter, Morse code
-Tracer ammunition
Resources:
-1 Basic Pilot Training School: Teaches new pilots what roll, yaw, and pitch is along with what the flight stick and rudder peddles are for. How to actually use this knowledge to take off is the final test.
-1 Prototype Airfield: The place where new aircraft and other air-related equipment are made and tested. Produces five dice worth of progress every turn.
-20 Production Points Base
Schurk Geschwader | AvDD.I Adderbolt SBD.I | FEiV-12M | Aerial Reconnaissance/Artillery spotting | Neophyte | No Aces | Maintenance Cost 1
Currently assigned to observe enemy troop movements and aid artillery near Gwag du
Rote Geschwader | AvDD.I Adderbolt SBD.I | Fallschirm | Aerial Superiority | Neophyte | Nicholas von Rheinbach | Maintenance Cost 1
Currently assigned to shoot down anything sighted over the western front.
Gold Geschwader | AvDD.I Adderbolt SBD.I | Fallschirm | Aerial Superiority | Neophyte | Tabbart Friedrich Fuchs | Maintenance Cost 1
Currently assigned to shoot down anything sighted over the central front.
Rudel Geschwader | AvDD.I Adderbolt SBD.I | None | Aerial Superiority | Neophyte | No Aces | Maintenance Cost 1
Currently assigned to shoot down anything sighted over the central front.
Angesehen Geschwader | AvDD.I Adderbolt SBD.I | None | Aerial Superiority | Rookie | No Aces | Maintenance Cost 1
Currently assigned to shoot down anything sighted over the western front.
Löwe Geschwader | AvDD.I Adderbolt SBD.I | None | Aerial Superiority | Neophyte | No Aces | Maintenance Cost 1
Currently assigned to shoot down anything sighted over the central front.
1 GL-11b Luftdonnerkanone
2 IluM-12M
Prestige: Little “Have you seen Überkanonen Nicholas von Rheinbach in his fancy Adderbolt at the airshows!”
Status: Auxiliary Service
Army Relations: Lukewarm “Those planes might be able to help fund the war, if anything else.”
Navy Relations: Lukewarm “If they can keep those balloons down and harass the decks of ships, they might prove somewhat useful.”
Production Points: 13
Total Maintenance: 6
Author
Topic: They Who Dare: The Empire of Schwarzes Holz - Kaiserliche Luftjäger (Read 20996 times)