[Phaelen Bleux]

Focke-Wulf Fw 42
Extracted from the rubble of the Focke-Wulf design studio in 1969 (where it should have been destroyed with other sensitive data at the end of WWII) were the designs for a unique medium bomber than featured a sleek body and a canard wing. In 1929, Heinrich Focke began entertaining a design based on his earlier F 19 Ente light transport (which also featured a canard wing design) which would meet the specifications for a medium bomber issued by the Air Department of the Reichswehr.

Initial plans for the plane featured a canard on the upper end of the nose, stabilizers at the end of each wing, and four tail fins mounted near the engine pods. Initial tests indicated that all of these extra tails were unnecessary for stability, and a single traditional tail was mounted for simplicity. Furthermore, the canard was moved to the bottom of the fuselage for better pilot and gunner visibility. The most unusual feature of the plane was that the gunners were stationed in open-air stations at the extreme front and rear of the fuselage. (Some later illustrations show these stations as turrets, however.) The Fw 42 was to carry four other crew members, and could carry an internal payload of 2,200 lbs. of bombs.

After favorable test results, a full-scale mock-up of the Fw 42 was created. It was examined by both the Japanese and the Russians, but when no orders materialized, the project was scrapped in 1933.

The Fw 42 uses 56 gallons of aviation fuel per hour at routine usage. A full load of fuel and ammo costs $100 (not including bombs). Hypothetical range is 746 miles.

Subassemblies: Light Bomber chassis +4; Large Bomber wings +4; two Large Weapon engine pods +2; 3 retractable wheels +2.
Powertrain: Two 560-kW HP gas engines with 560-kW props and 300-gallon standard fuel tanks [Wings] (Fire 13); 8,000-kWs batteries.
Occ.: 4 CS, 2 XCS
Cargo: 85 Body

Armor
All: 2/3

Weaponry:
2xLong Aircraft HMGs [Body:F,B] (400 rounds each).
2,200 lbs. Bombs [Body:U].

Equipment:
Body: Medium radio and transmitter and receiver (10-mile), navigation instruments, autopilot, 2,200-lb. bomb bay, universal mounts for MGs.

Statistics:
Size: 58'x82'x14' Payload: 3.75 tons Lwt.: 9.92 tons
Volume: 1,080 Maint.: 35 hours Cost: $31,993

HT: 9. HPs: 375 Body, 500 each Wing, 120 each Pod, 35 each Wheel.

aSpeed: 190 aAccel: 3 aDecel: 36 aMR: 9 aSR: 2
Stall Speed 53. Take-Off Run: 312 yards. Landing Run: 281 yards.
gSpeed: 170 gAccel: 9 gDecel: 10 gMR: 0.5 gSR: 3
Ground Pressure Very High. 1/8 Off-Road Speed.

Design Notes:
Wing weight, cost and HPs were divided by 2 to lower design weight; loaded weight was decreased another 7%. Design speed was 164 mph, the "historical" (projected) value is shown. Historical wing and canard area were combined into a single set of wings for the design; the historical combined area and loaded weight were used for performance calculations. As no working plane was ever constructed, the fuel tankage is a guess based on projected historical range. Ammo loadouts are designer fiat.