Post by Admin on Mar 17, 2019 5:08:28 GMT 10
A Brief History of the Bv 137 Family.
Following testing of early Ha 137 prototypes versus the early Hs 123 prototypes for the fledgling Luftwaffe Schlactflieger requirement of the early 1930s, the somewhat anachronistic Henschel design was eventually rejected and the much more modern Hamburger Flugzeugbau design accepted after the little Henschel disintegrated in a dive, killing the test pilot, Hans Bauer.
Further testing looked at inline engines as well as the BMW 132 radial that powered the V1 prototype including a clunky Rolls-Royce Kestrel engine example along with a more streamlined Jumo 210 version.
The Luftwaffe settled on the radial, primarily because of the reliability of the design within a heavily defended combat environment as was noted during the First World War, with the initial service example, the Ha 137A-1 entering service in 1935.
The newly formed Kriegsmarine had also looked towards the Schlactflieger competition with some interest, but eventually selected the Jumo-powered design, taking their first examples into service as the Ha 137T-1 in 1936. The inline engine would provide the necessary sightline for pilots coming aboard the carrier
After sterling service in Spain and during the Polish campaign, frontline reports and continued development by Richard Vogt and his team at Hamburger Flugzeaubau (now renamed Abteilung Flugzeugbau der Schiffswerft Blohm & Voss after it’s parent ship building company in 1937, often shortened to just Blohm und Voss), resulted in the second marque of the design, designated the Bv 137B-1. Primarily differing in the addition of retractable main landing gear instead of the fixed, trousered design of the A series.
This type entered service in 1940, followed by the B-2, armed with MG FF cannon in the wings six months later.
The final design for the Luftwaffe was the C series. These versions reflected the change from pinpoint divebombing attacks to more general ground attack missions. Using an uprated BMW 132, the newest marque included the MG FFs and retractable undercarriage of the earlier B-2 but added a full canopy along with armour plating for the cockpit and provision for drop tanks instead of light bombs under the wings.
The Kriegsmarine’s journey with the 137 was a little different. The Ha 137T-1 (T standing for Träger) differed from it’s land-based counterpart by a strengthened rear fuselage and arrestor hook for landings aboard the new carriers coming into service. Serving aboard both the Graf Zeppelin and Von Hindenburg Kampfträgern along with the escorts Der Fuhrer and Deutschland in all theaters, the first naval 137 would be later designated Bv 137T-1.
Whilst all 137Ts would feature fixed undercarriage, later variants included the T-2, which swapped out the trousered landing gear for plain gearlegs, cuffed at the wing, this becoming the standard type aboard the four carriers and the T-3. It included the full canopy and armour plating of the land-based C series along with the provision for drop tanks and utilised an uprated Jumo to carry the load. This was a variant that didn’t prove popular with the fliegers of the TragerSchlactGruppen, as most disliked the canopy and armour because of the obvious negative effects in the event of a water landing, that is, the time needed to jettison the heavy canopy along with the extra weight of the armour plate gave the pilot much less time to escape as opposed to the open canopy and lighter airframe of the T-1 & T-2. The type ended up with the somewhat unwanted sobriquet of 'der sinkende Stein' or 'the Sinking Stone'
An interesting aside is the 137’s influence on the later Sturzkampf Programm, originally written around Junker’s new Ju 87 design.
Hearing rumours concerning the bias towards the Junkers design and having a thorough dislike for the politics of the new Reich, Ernst Udet, the head of the T-Amt of the Reichsluftfahrtministerium along with Generalfeldmarschall Wolfram von Richthofen quickly nixed the Junkers design. Udet himself piloted both an Ju 87A and a Ha 137A in front of Luftwaffe dignitaries, although Udet’s initial enthusiasm of the design was marred by the crash of the first prototype in 1936 which killed both pilot & engineer. During the flight, Udet put the bigger Junkers design into a dive as nearly crashed the type after severe vibration and a very heavy elevator response during the terminal phase of the dive.
Upon landing, Udet railed against the Junker’s representatives present, noting that he struggled with the flight envelope and was a highly experience aviator and could only imagine what a junior pilot fresh out of flight school would be able to do with the heavy controls of the Junkers.
This failure would lead to the introduction of the Heinkel He 118 as the Luftwaffe’s primary dive-bomber platform.
Following testing of early Ha 137 prototypes versus the early Hs 123 prototypes for the fledgling Luftwaffe Schlactflieger requirement of the early 1930s, the somewhat anachronistic Henschel design was eventually rejected and the much more modern Hamburger Flugzeugbau design accepted after the little Henschel disintegrated in a dive, killing the test pilot, Hans Bauer.
Further testing looked at inline engines as well as the BMW 132 radial that powered the V1 prototype including a clunky Rolls-Royce Kestrel engine example along with a more streamlined Jumo 210 version.
The Luftwaffe settled on the radial, primarily because of the reliability of the design within a heavily defended combat environment as was noted during the First World War, with the initial service example, the Ha 137A-1 entering service in 1935.
The newly formed Kriegsmarine had also looked towards the Schlactflieger competition with some interest, but eventually selected the Jumo-powered design, taking their first examples into service as the Ha 137T-1 in 1936. The inline engine would provide the necessary sightline for pilots coming aboard the carrier
After sterling service in Spain and during the Polish campaign, frontline reports and continued development by Richard Vogt and his team at Hamburger Flugzeaubau (now renamed Abteilung Flugzeugbau der Schiffswerft Blohm & Voss after it’s parent ship building company in 1937, often shortened to just Blohm und Voss), resulted in the second marque of the design, designated the Bv 137B-1. Primarily differing in the addition of retractable main landing gear instead of the fixed, trousered design of the A series.
This type entered service in 1940, followed by the B-2, armed with MG FF cannon in the wings six months later.
The final design for the Luftwaffe was the C series. These versions reflected the change from pinpoint divebombing attacks to more general ground attack missions. Using an uprated BMW 132, the newest marque included the MG FFs and retractable undercarriage of the earlier B-2 but added a full canopy along with armour plating for the cockpit and provision for drop tanks instead of light bombs under the wings.
The Kriegsmarine’s journey with the 137 was a little different. The Ha 137T-1 (T standing for Träger) differed from it’s land-based counterpart by a strengthened rear fuselage and arrestor hook for landings aboard the new carriers coming into service. Serving aboard both the Graf Zeppelin and Von Hindenburg Kampfträgern along with the escorts Der Fuhrer and Deutschland in all theaters, the first naval 137 would be later designated Bv 137T-1.
Whilst all 137Ts would feature fixed undercarriage, later variants included the T-2, which swapped out the trousered landing gear for plain gearlegs, cuffed at the wing, this becoming the standard type aboard the four carriers and the T-3. It included the full canopy and armour plating of the land-based C series along with the provision for drop tanks and utilised an uprated Jumo to carry the load. This was a variant that didn’t prove popular with the fliegers of the TragerSchlactGruppen, as most disliked the canopy and armour because of the obvious negative effects in the event of a water landing, that is, the time needed to jettison the heavy canopy along with the extra weight of the armour plate gave the pilot much less time to escape as opposed to the open canopy and lighter airframe of the T-1 & T-2. The type ended up with the somewhat unwanted sobriquet of 'der sinkende Stein' or 'the Sinking Stone'
An interesting aside is the 137’s influence on the later Sturzkampf Programm, originally written around Junker’s new Ju 87 design.
Hearing rumours concerning the bias towards the Junkers design and having a thorough dislike for the politics of the new Reich, Ernst Udet, the head of the T-Amt of the Reichsluftfahrtministerium along with Generalfeldmarschall Wolfram von Richthofen quickly nixed the Junkers design. Udet himself piloted both an Ju 87A and a Ha 137A in front of Luftwaffe dignitaries, although Udet’s initial enthusiasm of the design was marred by the crash of the first prototype in 1936 which killed both pilot & engineer. During the flight, Udet put the bigger Junkers design into a dive as nearly crashed the type after severe vibration and a very heavy elevator response during the terminal phase of the dive.
Upon landing, Udet railed against the Junker’s representatives present, noting that he struggled with the flight envelope and was a highly experience aviator and could only imagine what a junior pilot fresh out of flight school would be able to do with the heavy controls of the Junkers.
This failure would lead to the introduction of the Heinkel He 118 as the Luftwaffe’s primary dive-bomber platform.
