Since I don't see very many reviews / builds of this paper project, thought I'd give it a go. Specs on this project I find more promising than the much more reviewed Ta-400 that came 2 years later. Yet another opportunity missed due to lack of resources/foresight, if indeed the Luftwaffe would eventually find the need for a long-range maritime bomber to replace the Fw 200.
Credit: Luft46
Focke-Wulf Fw 261 (0310225)
Crew 7-9
Span 40 m 131' 3"
Length 26.78 m 87' 10"
Height 6.35 m 20' 10"
Wing Area 187 m² 2013 ft²
Empty Weight 26760 kg 58995 lbs
Bomb load 3000 kg 6614 lbs
Flying Weight 50000 kg 110230 lbs
Ceiling 9600 m 31496'
Range 9000 km @ 380 km/h 5593 miles @ 236 mph
If it helps I didn't choose the paint in what is now my 'office'
My mods/ WHIF backstory: this was a third entry in to the 'Ural bomber' program. Not accepted at first but design resurrected in 1941 for maritime bomber. So same 'implementation' timeline as original, but with slightly older design. Once it finally enters (restricted production) it is a beast due to being overengineered for the 30s (see engines).
As such, some 1920/30s holdovers make their way to production in 1940s:
Landing gear:
Double main tail dragger
Armament:
2x 13.2mm TuF Gast guns in individual nose turrets
4x 20mm MG c/30 in dorsal and ventral turrets
2x MG FF in tail turret
Engines:
4 x Argus As 5 94L 24 cylinder X-engine tested in 1929 @ 1500hp. 2500 hp (1936 competition) 3500hp (1943 production)
Only competitor in Ural Bomber flyoff with an enormous wing strong enough to carry the 4 massive engines. Only other aircraft to consider are Junkers G.38 (though Junkers stubbornly refused to use anything but Junkers engines) and He 177. Development primarily in He 177 as alternative to DB 606, though gets same bad rap from RLM as 'welded together' being a 'double-W', and thus DB 606 remains main engine until FW 261 revived.
*(Daimler partially contributes to this political scheming, though Daimler's criticism was somewhat absurd considering the As 5 used a common crankshaft and was thus lighter than the Db 606 gearbox, but the damage was done politically).
Key selling point to revival being short fuselage of a 'boom' design considered to make pressurization easier. Seen as attractive replacement for FW 200 due to extensive range at higher altitude and speed. One flaw in the boom design relative to the Me 264 was the short bomb bay would be incapable of carrying what was estimated to be the size of a potential future doomsday weapon. Thus, the ME 264 got the green light for long-range bomber and FW 261 was relegated to maritime scouting / bombing, a role it excelled at relative to its predecessor, the FW 200.
