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Description
"When lonely, do a Japanese twin engine fighter!" Exclaims Prof. Anton Veeblefitzer.
A quickie illustration of a design inspired by western twin engine combat aircraft types.
The "Billy", as it was codenamed by the Allies, was powered with two German DB-601A engines, the same used in the Bf-109, etc.
It was constructed in sections, almost like a big plastic model, which were made of pulped bamboo mixed with a fast setting glue. The mixture, heated, was injected into large wooden molds, which when cooled down were split open and the cast was taken to the assembly area.
The Japanese, since bamboo was Everywhere, built thousands of these in WW2 in this particular, and weird, alt' Veeb' universe.
Armament was 4 X 20 mm cannon with 200 rpg. External fuel cells, bombs, torpedos could be used too.
Note the night fighter version with the nose radar and jazz cannon.
Speed was 417 mph, since the thing weighed so much less than everything else.
Fast rate of climb with a service ceiling of 32,000 ft. Cockpit was pressurized and heated.
Pilot had single piece of armor behind him, and fuel cells were self sealing.
The big problem was the bamboo frame and skin. In tropical weather it decayed within a month, necessitating a continuous resupply of new bodies. Transports carried a steady stream of replacements from Japanese and Chinese factories (China and Japan are allies in this universe) to the island battle zones, braving enemy subs and aircraft.
For the ground crew, assembling the parts was easy, as they were light and well designed for fitting. The sections were attached with flat-head wood screws, which made replacement a breeze. The skin finish was glass-smooth. After assembly, the engine and cockpit, landing gear metal assemblies were swapped to the new body. The old carcases were lined up on a fake runway, surrounded with lots of hidden AA guns. This trick worked once, and the attacking aircraft suffered significant losses.
Pilots loved it! It was modern, fast, and well armed. It could endure AA hits better than the all metal aircraft.
The only restriction was to avoid sudden maneuvers at high speed, as could pop the skin panels.

Description
"When lonely, do a Japanese twin engine fighter!" Exclaims Prof. Anton Veeblefitzer.
A quickie illustration of a design inspired by western twin engine combat aircraft types.
The "Billy", as it was codenamed by the Allies, was powered with two German DB-601A engines, the same used in the Bf-109, etc.
It was constructed in sections, almost like a big plastic model, which were made of pulped bamboo mixed with a fast setting glue. The mixture, heated, was injected into large wooden molds, which when cooled down were split open and the cast was taken to the assembly area.
The Japanese, since bamboo was Everywhere, built thousands of these in WW2 in this particular, and weird, alt' Veeb' universe.
Armament was 4 X 20 mm cannon with 200 rpg. External fuel cells, bombs, torpedos could be used too.
Note the night fighter version with the nose radar and jazz cannon.
Speed was 417 mph, since the thing weighed so much less than everything else.
Fast rate of climb with a service ceiling of 32,000 ft. Cockpit was pressurized and heated.
Pilot had single piece of armor behind him, and fuel cells were self sealing.
The big problem was the bamboo frame and skin. In tropical weather it decayed within a month, necessitating a continuous resupply of new bodies. Transports carried a steady stream of replacements from Japanese and Chinese factories (China and Japan are allies in this universe) to the island battle zones, braving enemy subs and aircraft.
For the ground crew, assembling the parts was easy, as they were light and well designed for fitting. The sections were attached with flat-head wood screws, which made replacement a breeze. The skin finish was glass-smooth. After assembly, the engine and cockpit, landing gear metal assemblies were swapped to the new body. The old carcases were lined up on a fake runway, surrounded with lots of hidden AA guns. This trick worked once, and the attacking aircraft suffered significant losses.
Pilots loved it! It was modern, fast, and well armed. It could endure AA hits better than the all metal aircraft.
The only restriction was to avoid sudden maneuvers at high speed, as could pop the skin panels.