Sometime in 1946, the OKL was examining proposed aircraft to refit the Luftwaffe with more modern jet fighters as Soviet I-250s, Yak-15s, and MiG-9s began to appear over the skies of the eastern front. The Luftwaffe's only jet aircraft really suited for fighter-versus-fighter combat was the He 162, which, while superior to all other Soviet fighters, was outclassed by the MiG-9. The Me 262 HG variants could "win" against the MiG-9 by outrunning it, but their poor maneuverability and unsuited armament still left them unable to challenge the main Soviet jet fighter, and their excessively high speed made them unsuited for the main task of fighters on the eastern front, which was shooting down Sturmoviks. This made Ar 234 and Do 335 ground attack operations unviable, as both aircraft were easy prey for the MiG menace, leaving the Germans in a situation in which the Soviets were able to lay waste to Wehrmacht forces from the air with little resistance, while the Germans weren't able to respond in turn.
The Me.P1101, while promising, wasn't yet ready for production, and so, as an interim solution, Messerschmitt offered an improved Me 262 with four engines, the Me 362. While powerful, and suitable for fighter-versus-fighter combat with its quadruple MG 151/20 armament variation, its four engines' resulting massive production cost was a wrench in the works for it, and so few were made, leaving the Luftwaffe still mostly outclassed by the MiG-9. This paved the way for a new project by Focke Wulf after the failure of the Ta 183 project due to complications regarding the tail ripping off at higher speeds. It was fitted with a 2nd engine to address performance issues, and the vertical stabilizers were moved to the wingtips. The design, called the Ta 184, was accepted by the OKL and placed into service in mid-to-late 1946.
The Ta 184 was a very odd aircraft. Its extra engine affords it a higher rate of climb than its contemporaries, and it's an all-round excellent energy fighter when not bogged down by ordnance, but the design also comes with a few major drawbacks. Due to its center of mass being moved back by the 2nd engine and its extra weight, it flies abysmally poorly at low speeds, and will enter a disastrously aggressive stall at the drop of a hat, the odd placement of the rudders causes reverse roll when using them, and, especially with ordnance, the aircraft requires a long runway to take off, and can be sluggish to accelerate.
It comes in three variants (in one slot):
Ta 184 A-1 (fighter variant)
4x MG 151/20 in the nose
nose guns replaceable with MK 108 or MK 213/30, or a mix of MG 151/20 and MK 108
Ta 184 A-2 (interceptor variant)
4x MK 108 in the nose, replaceable with MK 213/30
4 pylons on the wings capable of carrying X-4s, AFZB-500s, and type D droptanks
Ta 184 A-3 (light bomber variant)
2x MG 151/20 and 2x MK 103M in the nose
4 pylons on the wings capable of carrying AB/SC 250/500 bombs and type D droptanks
The AFZB-500 (
Automatische-
Flugzeug-
Zerstörer-
Bombe) is a bomb that can be dropped upon enemy bomber formations. Within 300 meters of a large aircraft, the proximity fuze will detonate the bomb, damaging anything in the vicinity. It cannot be used against ground targets, sea targets, or small aircraft. Also beware being too close to the explosion yourself...
Download: https://www.mediafire.com/file/a6aqefac3vmgfbz/Ta+184.rar/fileRequires SAS Common Utils:
https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php/topic,40490.0.html(this comes built-in with most major modpacks)
Needless to say, this mod is a complete work of fiction.
Some users may need additional prerequisite weapon files, which are included in the download package. If you're using BAT or UltraPack, you don't need those.
Idea from the mind of the one and only PvF.
Models, textures, and (some) weapon files sourced from UltraPack 3.4.
Author
Topic: Ta 184: two-engined Ta 183 (Read 1825 times)
