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Description
When all of the major Japanese aircraft companies were planning and building large multi-engine bombers, Prof. Anton Veeblefitzer tried something a bit different (putting it very, very mildly).
Prof. Vee' and his trusty band of truant engineers, welded four of the reliable Sakae 21 radial engines together, mounted a transmission gear with cooling fans to the front of the engine pack. And they added a whole bunch of air scoops and oversize oil coolers, and ...., everything.
The power rating for the Sakae 21 is 1,130 hp, but for the new "Multiple Hydra Motor" (MHD 21a) rating, ....you're looking at 4,520 hp!!!
This monster motor impressed everyone in the military circles, and the various companies planned aircraft that were enormous beyond belief ("And you'll just have to wait and see!" - PAV).
But..., PAV had other ideas.
Instead of some huge beast of a plane, PAV opted for a smaller beast. He designed a single seat "Bomber/Fighter" machine around the MHD 21a
that resembled an over size fighter. Note the scale of the pilot and Zero fighter in comparison.
The craft was named the "Sumo", after the Japanese wrestlers who are enormous.
The Sumo could be used as a torpedo bomber, dive bomber, and heavy fighter.
At first the pilots, used to the light and nimble Zero, balked at flying the Sumo. They rideculed it with names such as "flying slab", "broken wing" "the flying Yamato", etc.
Of course, after they got used to it, the pilots realized that they had a plane with the power of a four engine bomber (!), but with the performance of a single engine aircraft..., sort of.
Lightly loaded, the Sumo could reach speeds exceeding 410 mph, for short periods, which made it faster than most of its adversaries. It was a miserable dog fighter, but using boom-and-zoom tactics, it could easily defeat an enemy. It's four 33 mm Veeblefitzer cannon, equipped with 95 rounds per gun, and it's two 20 mm cannon, the Sumo could shred and dismember anything that it hit.
Sumo's war load was spectacular. It could carry extreme heavy loads and it became known as a ship killer.
Sumo came equipped with self-sealing fuel cells, automatic Co2 extinguishers, armor protection for oil system, and the pilot surrounded with plate and armor glass.
Lacking a defensive gunner, the Sumo was vulnerable to interception when heavily loaded, and this meant that fighter escort was mandatory.
Only the very largest of the Imperial Japanese Navy Mega-Carriers could deploy the Sumo.
Because of it's resemblance to the muscle fighters of the enemy, Sumo's were decorated with extra large hinomaru and ID markings. This helped to keep them from being accidentally attacked by their own forces.
....And the madness of PAV rolls on.

With credit to wonderful illustrator Claes Sundin for the Zero image.

Description
When all of the major Japanese aircraft companies were planning and building large multi-engine bombers, Prof. Anton Veeblefitzer tried something a bit different (putting it very, very mildly).
Prof. Vee' and his trusty band of truant engineers, welded four of the reliable Sakae 21 radial engines together, mounted a transmission gear with cooling fans to the front of the engine pack. And they added a whole bunch of air scoops and oversize oil coolers, and ...., everything.
The power rating for the Sakae 21 is 1,130 hp, but for the new "Multiple Hydra Motor" (MHD 21a) rating, ....you're looking at 4,520 hp!!!
This monster motor impressed everyone in the military circles, and the various companies planned aircraft that were enormous beyond belief ("And you'll just have to wait and see!" - PAV).
But..., PAV had other ideas.
Instead of some huge beast of a plane, PAV opted for a smaller beast. He designed a single seat "Bomber/Fighter" machine around the MHD 21a
that resembled an over size fighter. Note the scale of the pilot and Zero fighter in comparison.
The craft was named the "Sumo", after the Japanese wrestlers who are enormous.
The Sumo could be used as a torpedo bomber, dive bomber, and heavy fighter.
At first the pilots, used to the light and nimble Zero, balked at flying the Sumo. They rideculed it with names such as "flying slab", "broken wing" "the flying Yamato", etc.
Of course, after they got used to it, the pilots realized that they had a plane with the power of a four engine bomber (!), but with the performance of a single engine aircraft..., sort of.
Lightly loaded, the Sumo could reach speeds exceeding 410 mph, for short periods, which made it faster than most of its adversaries. It was a miserable dog fighter, but using boom-and-zoom tactics, it could easily defeat an enemy. It's four 33 mm Veeblefitzer cannon, equipped with 95 rounds per gun, and it's two 20 mm cannon, the Sumo could shred and dismember anything that it hit.
Sumo's war load was spectacular. It could carry extreme heavy loads and it became known as a ship killer.
Sumo came equipped with self-sealing fuel cells, automatic Co2 extinguishers, armor protection for oil system, and the pilot surrounded with plate and armor glass.
Lacking a defensive gunner, the Sumo was vulnerable to interception when heavily loaded, and this meant that fighter escort was mandatory.
Only the very largest of the Imperial Japanese Navy Mega-Carriers could deploy the Sumo.
Because of it's resemblance to the muscle fighters of the enemy, Sumo's were decorated with extra large hinomaru and ID markings. This helped to keep them from being accidentally attacked by their own forces.
....And the madness of PAV rolls on.

With credit to wonderful illustrator Claes Sundin for the Zero image.