ADO-12 to "US-FRG" AVS V/STOL Fighter Programs

Am in UK so customs and freight on top
 
Thanks. If I were in US and had room I would be there like a shot.
I attach a screenshot of the very useful background note which explains the history of the model as a last gasp after US/FRG swing wing vstol A400 and for the German NKF new combat aircraft project which then merged into MRCA Tornado
 

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For newcomers to this subject, the extraordinary US West German (FRG) went through many versions but the main versions are shown attached in order of evolution
 

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circle-5 said:
Behold the Sabre V/S attack bomber by North American Aviation. This concept was based on the Bristol Siddeley Pegasus vectoring thrust engine (used in the Harrier) and had nothing in common with the F-86 or F-100, except the name.

The Sabre V/S could carry two gravity bombs internally. These were placed at the CG of the aircraft, just outside the center of thrust, which explains the very wide fuselage. Four additional turbojets were used during vertical flight.

These four lift jets were lined-up horizontally, facing backwards inside the rear section and fed via a louvered, top intake. Hot gases would be combined in pairs and ducted forward toward the CG where they would elbow downward, right between the hot and cold exhausts of the Pegasus.

See cutaway photo for a layout of the Sabre V/S propulsion arrangement: red means hot, while green is cold. The concentrated exhaust of five jet engines into such a small area means the aircraft could probably clear its own landing site just about anywhere...

Presumably, the Sabre V/S could also park itself directly above a target to drop its bombs (while the enemy politely refrained from shooting at it). This would certainly simplify aiming and targeting tasks ;D.
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It is a different fighter jet from the shorter Sabre. It’s design seem to be more complete than West German VJ-101C
 
Sabre and Rapier names with various suffixes were used for a lot of different North American Aviation (NAA) projects.
 
These US/FRG reports were declassified in Dec 78:

AD -518 885L
EWR FAIRCHILD INTERNATIONAL MUNICH (WEST GERMANY)
US /FRG V /STOL Tactical Fighter Program Definition Phase - Final Report. Technical. Part II, Volume 4-6. Survivability/Vulnerability, ( U )
System design trade study rept.,
Rept. no. EA 200 R 0005, EA 200 R 0006 Nov 67
Contract F33657-67 - C - 0630

AD - 518 888L
EWR FAIRCHILD INTERNATIONAL MUNICH (WEST GERMANY)
US / FRG V / STOL Tactical Fighter Program . Definition Phase - Final Report. Technical. Part II, Volume 5-6 . Aerodynamic Analysis. ( U )
Detailed analysis rept.,
Rept. no. FP 200 N 0010, FA 200 N 0002 Nov 67
Contract F33657-67 - C -0630

AD - 518 891L
EWR FAIRCHILD INTERNATIONAL MUNICH (WEST GERMANY)
US /FRG V/STOL Tactical Fighter Program Definition Phase -Final Report Technical. Part II, Volume 5-2-1. Structural Criteria Analysis. ( U )
Detailed analysis rept. ,
Rept. no. SR 200 N 0001 Nov 67
Contract F33657-67 - C -0630

AD - 518 892L
EWR FAIRCHILD INTERNATIONAL MUNICH (WEST GERMANY)
US / FRG V /STOL Tactical Fighter Program Definition Phase - Final Report Technical. Part II, Volume 5-2-2. Loads Analysis. (U )
Detailed analysis rept. ,
Rept. no. SR 200 N0002 Nov 67
Contract F33657-67 - C - 0630

AD - 518 893L
EWR FAIRCHILD INTERNATIONAL MUNICH (WEST GERMANY)
US /FRG V /STOL Tactical Fighter Program Definition Phase-Final Report Technical. Part II, Volume 5-2-3. Weight and Balance Analysis.
Detailed analysis rept.,
Rept. no. SW200 N 0001 Nov 67
Contract F33657-67 - C - 0630

AD - 518 897L
EWR FAIRCHILD INTERNATIONAL MUNICH (WEST GERMANY)
US / FRG V /STOL Tactical Fighter Program Definition Phase- Final Report Technical. Part II, Volume 9. Flutter and Divergence Reports.
Rept. no. SF 200 N 0001 Nov 67
Contract F33657-67 - C -0630

AD - 518 899L
EWR FAIRCHILD INTERNATIONAL MUNICH (WEST GERMANY)
US /FRG V /STOL Tactical Fighter Program Definition Phase-Final Report Technical. Part II, Volume 22. Performance and Design Requirements for the US /FRG Prototype V /STOL Tactical Fighter Weapon System . (U )
Rept. no. SS 200 000 A Nov 67
Contract F33657-67 - C -0630

AD -518 902L
EWR FAIRCHILD INTERNATIONAL MUNICH (WEST GERMANY)
US / FRG V /STOL Tactical Fighter Program Definition Phase- Final Report Technical and Management Plans. Part III, Volume 33. Program Management Network, ( U )
Rept. no . PM 200 W 1006 Nov 67
Contract F33657-67 - C - 0630

AD - 518 903L
EWR FAIRCHILD INTERNATIONAL MUNICH (WEST GERMANY)
US /FRG V /STOL Tactical Fighter Program Definition Phase- Final Report Technical and Management Plans. Part III, Volume 44. System Test Plan. ( U )
Rept. no. TD 200 W0001 Nov 67
Contract F33657-67 - C -0630

AD -518 904L
EWR FAIRCHILD INTERNATIONAL MUNICH (WEST GERMANY)
US / FRG V / STOL Tactical Fighter Program Definition Phase- Final Report Technical and Management Plans. Part III, Volume 47. Category III Test Plan ( Operational Evaluation). (U )
Rept. no. TD 200 W 0002 -Rev- A Nov 67
Contract F33657-67 - C - 0630

AD -518 905L
EWR FAIRCHILD INTERNATIONAL MUNICH (WEST GERMANY)
US / FRG V /STOL Tactical Fighter Program Definition Phase - Final Report Technical and Management Plans. Part III, Volume 35. Preliminary System Package Program Plan, ( U )
Rept. no. PS 200 W 0005 Nov 67
Contract F33657-67 - C -0630

AD - 518 906L
EWR FAIRCHILD INTERNATIONAL MUNICH (WEST GERMANY)
US / FRG V / STOL Tactical Fighter Program Definition Phase- Final Report Technical and Management Plans. Part III, Volume 61. Facility Agreements Document. ( U )
Rept . no. TD 200 W 0005 -Rev- A
Nov 67 Contract F33657-67 - C - 0630

AD -518 907L
EWR FAIRCHILD INTERNATIONAL MUNICH (WESTGERMANY)
US/FRG V /STOL Tactical Fighter Program Definition Phase- Final Report Technical and Management Plans. Part III, Volume 45-1. Summary and TIS Index . ( U )
Rept. no. TD 200 W 0003 -Rev.A Nov 67
Contract F33657-67 - C -0630

www.google.co.nz

Technical Abstract Bulletin

www.google.co.nz
 
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The US West German strike fighter project was very much like anime art. So many variations of the basic design were drawn and modelled. A browse through this thread will show you how weird and wonderful they were.
It is my avatar in the version I first saw and fell for in a magazine back in the 70s.
 
I like the way they treated banks of liftjets like antigravity modules... :D there was really some kind of "cult" with liftjets, back then.

"Hey folks, a barn ! Let's strap 128 liftjets to it and make it fly !"
 
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See also:

Boeing Model 956 for US/FRG seems to fit with the Boeing/Bolkow wind tunnel model, probably dating the design to 1964 and the earliest studies.

boeing-unknown-2-jpg.125261


boeing-bolkow-avs-jpg.550184


Ryan Model 187 possibly a submission for US/FRG (artwork is mostly depicting West German markings)

ryanadvancedvertifan-png.550508


 
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overscan (PaulMM) said:
So - 4 US contenders were selected from 9 bids for US/FRG in August 1965 as follows:
  • Boeing
  • McDonnell
  • Lockheed & Bell (team)
  • Republic

2 German bids were selected from
  • VFW
  • EWR

By September 1966, EWR had won the German competition.
By December 1966, Republic had won the US competition.

Source: Aviation Week & Space Technology August 23 1965, September 6 1965, September 12 1966, December 5 1966
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9 US Bids

Confirmed:
  • Boeing
  • McDonnell
  • Lockheed (& Bell)
  • Republic

Intended bidders according to Flying Review June 1965:

  • EWR
  • General Dynamics
  • North American
  • Lockheed
  • Northrop
  • Ryan
  • Republic
 
MAJ. GEN. STRAIT: I went to work for Republic in '69. They invited me to come down and talk to the president of Fairchild Hiller it was. I did and he offered me a hell of a job. At that time I was beginning to run out of gas with the Guard and there wasn't much for me to do, no challenges. So he offered me a pretty good salary jump. So I said, well. I talked to my wife and she's a Long Island girl so we had a chance to go back to Long Island and we moved into a lovely place in Babylon. So they offered me a job to come to work for Republic, but I was going to become the project officer on a joint contract that we had with Germany to develop a VSTOL fighter, USFRG it was called, a USFRG. This is a pretty substantial contract. So I went to Republic and went there for a few months and then they sent me to Germany, over in Munich. I worked with Messerschmitt-Bölkow on --

CMSGT. ANDERSON: How ironic.

MAJ. GEN. STRAIT: Yeah, in the development of this fighter. This fighter was -- the airplane it had swing out lift engines. In other words, we had -- we could deflect the thrust vertical off the back by the nozzles, but we had to have some way to get the lift on the wings. So we had swing out engines which we would start up and so that the airplane had an engine here, an engine here, and an engine here, which made -- would give it vertical movement. Well, we never could get the swing out lift engines to really be a reliable commodity. So after I was there about a year the United States Congress decided that there wasn't enough progress being made and they withdrew the funds on the contract and the Germans bailed out. I came home.
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AIR NATIONAL GUARD ORAL HISTORY TAPE TRANSCRIPTION INTERVIEW OF Major General DONALD J. STRAIT,

 
However,EWR soon returned to their well proven triangular jet arrangement when the AVS project was conceived ]. In this concept two pairs of wing-outlift engines in front of the variable sweep wing were used together with two cruise engines installed in the fuselage. The Three Bearing Deflector of the cruise engines permitted thrust deflection in part reheat up to 1800°K.This project started as a joint venture with the Boeing Company in 1964and was later continued with Fairchild Hiller until programme cancellation in1969. In a technology programme the comprehensive investigations were completed till 1971.
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During October/November 1966 NASA tested the EWR Configuration No. 5 of the AVS project and in September 1967 a slightly modified version thereof, the EWR/Fairchild Hiller configuration A400 (fig. 29).
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3.5.4 AVS Technology
The development of critical hardware components for the AVS, the follow-on project of the VJ 101 C, had progressed quite far. For example, the Three Bearing Deflector of the cruise engines permitting afterburning jet deflection up to 1800°K was successfully tested full scale and flight weight. From a technological stand point the AVS with its variable sweep wing, swing-out lift engines and its deflected afterburning jets represented at that time, and probably still does, an optimum solution for a high performance V/STOL combat aircraft.
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AULEHLA, F. and KISSEL, G.K. (1982), "Experience with High Performance V/STOL Fighter Projects at MBB", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 54 No. 5, pp. 11-24.

https://doi.org/10.1108/eb035801
 
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Source:
Kirk & Barrack, Aerodynamic characteristics of a large-scale lift-engine fighter model with external swiveling lift-engines
NASA-TM-X-62167

Aerodynamic characteristics of a large-scale lift-engine fighter model with external swiveling lift-engines - NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

The aerodynamic characteristics of a six-engine (four lift, two lift-cruise) lift-engine model obtained in the Ames 40- by 80-foot wind tunnel are presented. The model was an approximate one-half scale representation of a lift-engine VTOL fighter aircraft with a variable-sweep wing. The four...
ntrs.nasa.gov ntrs.nasa.gov
 

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richard B said:
overscan (PaulMM) said:
From Cradle of Aviation Museum collection (watermarked)

Cradle of Aviation Museum | New York Heritage

nyheritage.org nyheritage.org
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What is the third design ?
Click to expand...
cradle-17956-jpg.671308


This? It is closely related to Republic's US/FRG known proposals but with a different powerplant arrangement, possibly tandem fan? I'm fairly sure I've seen a NASA report of wind tunnel studies of this design but I couldn't locate it.

It is labelled "US-GER VTOL fighter model", the same as the other US / FRG pics posted..
 
overscan (PaulMM) said:
richard B said:
overscan (PaulMM) said:
From Cradle of Aviation Museum collection (watermarked)

Cradle of Aviation Museum | New York Heritage

nyheritage.org nyheritage.org
Click to expand...
What is the third design ?
Click to expand...
It is closely related to Republic's US/FRG known proposals but with a different powerplant arrangement, possibly tandem fan? I'm fairly sure I've seen a NASA report of wind tunnel studies of this design but I couldn't locate it.
It is labelled "US-GER VTOL fighter model", the same as the other US / FRG pics posted..
Click to expand...

Thank you !
 
"EWRSüd and Boeing are already working together on the VJ - 101E , F and G ( generically known as the Boeing - EWR 360) . VFW's proposal is thought to spring from its work on the 1262 light V / STOL attack fighter under development"
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Flight International (will locate exact source when I have access to my files).
 
I believe that the idea behind the pop-out liftjets was that the T/W of the XJ99 looked attractive, but that the volume penalty of the inlet+motor+exhaust was unwelcomely large. Also, you could rotate the pop-out jets for STOL.
 
yes, I understand the thinking, but the thought of engines hanging outside the aircraft fills me with dread from a structural and complexity viewpoint.
 
So, here's McDonnell-Douglas' proposal for US/FRG. Probably designated Model 193.


Note there are two different intake designs known, which are exactly the same as the two intake designs on the Republic AVS (ventral intakes, and side intakes under the wing in roughly F-111 position).

The only missing bid now is Lockheed & Bell. I can't find any trace of such a project in Lockheed model indices so far.
 
"In addition, ADO-12 has developed into the joint U.S./ FRG V/STOL tactical fighter program"

"In late 1964, the Department of Defense directed that our V/STOL fighter activities be continued in a cooperative effort with the Federal Republic of Germany. As a first step, a joint U.S./FRG advanced V/STOL fighter design study was undertaken with four U. S. and two FRG aircraft companies. This study was completed in early spring of 1966 and since then a joint US/FRG evaluation group has identified performance and configuration characteristics which appear attractive to both Air Forces. Pending approval of both governments, we hope to carry out a joint prototype development and evaluation program involving twelve aircraft. This prototype program should provide a firm basis for decision for follow on operational requirements and furnish convincing answers to many issues which cannot be satisfactorily treated in studies alone."
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archive.org

Data 1966-10: Vol 11 Iss 10 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Data 1966-10: Volume 11, Issue 10.Digitized from IA1532932-05.Previous issue: sim_data_1966-09_11_9.Next issue: sim_data_1966-11_11_11.
archive.org
 
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One of the problems facing the Army and the Air Force is that results of several aircraft studies may come too late for inclusion in the fiscal 1969 budget. An example is the USAF/ FRG V/STOL fighter. Reprogramming may be necessary. In addition fears of reductions in much non-Vietnam spending are widespread. A contract definition decision on the proposed German-American strike aircraft is anticipated in November with a go or no-go action on the construction of 12 prototypes due early next year. All of these variable wing V/STOL aircraft would be built in Germany although engines will come from U.S. and possibly United Kingdom suppliers. The possibility of British entry into the complete aircraft program remains “warm.”
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archive.org

Data 1967-10: Vol 12 Iss 10 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Data 1967-10: Volume 12, Issue 10.Digitized from IA1532932-05.Previous issue: sim_data_1967-09_12_9.Next issue: sim_data_1967-11_12_11.
archive.org
 
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Republic ADO-12 Reports

1399 10
ADVANCED V/STOL TACTICAL FIGHTER WEAPON SYSTEMS (ADO-12 PHASE 1) FINAL PRESENTATION
AD-354970 65-1 DIV.1A

1399 5 VOL 1
ADVANCED V/STOL TACTICAL FIGHTER WEAPON SYSTEM (ADO-12, PHASE 1) VOLUME I. SUMMARY
AD-354958 65-1 DIV.1A

1399 5 VOL 2 SEC 1
ADVANCED V / STOL TACTICAL FIGHTER WEAPON SYSTEM (ADO 12, PHASE 1) VOLUME II. SECTION 1. AIR VEHICLE CONFIGURATION.
AD-354959 65-1 DIV.1A

1399 5 VOL 2 SEC 2
ADVANCED V / STOL TACTICAL FIGHTER WEAPON SYSTEM (ADO 12, PHASE 1) VOLUME II. SECTION 2. ENGINES AND PROPULSION
SYSTEMS
AD-354960 65-1 DIV.1A

1399 5 VOL 2 SEC 3
ADVANCED V / STOL TACTICAL FIGHTER WEAPON SYSTEM (ADO 12, PHASE 1) VOLUME II. SECTION 2. STRUCTURAL DESIGN, MATERIALS AND WEIGHTS.
AD-354961 65-1 DIV.1A

1399 5 VOL 2 SEC 4
ADVANCED V / STOL TACTICAL FIGHTER WEAPON SYSTEM (ADO 12, PHASE 1) VOLUME II. SECTION 4. MILITARY SUBSYSTEMS AND WEAPON SYSTEM INTEGRATION.
AD-354962 65-1 DIV.1A

1399 5 VOL 2 SEC 5
ADVANCED V / STOL TACTICAL FIGHTER WEAPON SYSTEM (ADO 12, PHASE 1) VOLUME II. SECTION 5. HUMAN FACTORS AND CREW ACCOMMODATIONS.
AD-354963 65-1 DIV.1A

1399 5 VOL 3
ADVANCED V / STOL TACTICAL FIGHTER WEAPON SYSTEM (ADO 12 , PHASE 1) VOLUME III. OPERATIONS ANALYSIS .
AD-354964 65.1 DIV.1A

1399 5 VOL 4
ADVANCED V / STOL TACTICAL FIGHTER WEAPON SYSTEM (ADO 12 , PHASE 1). VOLUME IV. MASTER PLAN AND COST ESTIMATE
AD-354965 65-1 DIV.1A

1399 5 VOL 5
ADVANCED V / STOL TACTICAL FIGHTER WEAPON SYSTEM (ADO 12, PHASE 1) VOLUME V. TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS NEEDED
AD-354966 65-1 DIV.1A

1399 5 VOL 6
ADVANCED V / STOL TACTICAL FIGHTER WEAPON SYSTEM (ADO 12 , PHASE 1) VOLUME VI. RECOMMENDED OPTIMUM V / STOL WEAPON SYSTEM CONFIGURATION
AD-354967 65-1 DIV.1A

1399 5 VOL 7
ADVANCED V / STOL TACTICAL FIGHTER WEAPON SYSTEMS (ADO 12 , PHASE 1) VOLUME VII. LOGISTICS .
AD-354968 65-1 DIV.1A

1399 5 VOL 8
ADVANCED V / STOL TACTICAL FIGHTER WEAPON SYSTEM (ADO 12, PHASE 1) VOLUME VIII.
AD-354969 65-1 DIV.1A
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Technical Abstract Bulletin

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The version at #151 looks very like the version shown in my Avatar and which I had modelled for me a few years ago.
 

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