Rivals to the Grumman E-2

[allysonca]

Here is a Grumman Design 123 that looks to be an even earlier version of John's W2F-1 that I just added to the collection. It's wood and has a clear lucite cockpit that was indicative of the work done at Grumman in the 1950s. Debating on the stand to make as many models that came out of the model shop in the good old days were fitted with wood bases and not the later teardrop plex bases we see today. Note the early style E1 dome rather than the later dish that was on John's model.

 

[allysonca]

Now just to mess with you, this is an in-house Grumman W2F-1 (I'm wondering if John's had the correct base with his "Snoopy" model) that recently came up for auction at Bonhams in NYC. I know this is the correct stand as I was unpacking all sorts of goodies at the old model shop for this auction. Large 1/32 scale, for some reason there were no bidders, so I just may have to add it to my collection at some point.

 

[Mark Nankivil]

Last one for this evening is the Fairchild rival to the Hawkeye the M-238 also from NARA II Report R238-001 M-238 Summary Report 5-15-1956

Artist rendering and genaral arrangement,

View attachment 620119 View attachment 620120

Great finds all Bill, thanks! Mark

 

[Bill S]

Since I can't return trip to NARA II right now, I am going back through old files and stitching some images together.
Here is the Electronic Equipage for the CL-327-1

 

[Bill S]

CL-327-1 Flight Control Routing

 

[Bill S]

Last one for this evening CL-327 engine installation.

 

[taildragger]

Thank you Pioneer. Your appreciation is appreciated. Attached is perhaps a better angle, revealing the early, solid rotodome mast fairing. Looks a bit like Snoopy.

I always thought that the thimble-type radomes protruding from aircraft's noses were added as an afterthought to already designed airframes but, since one appears on this proposal model, apparently not always. They must have been seen as bolt-on off-the-shelf components that saved money over designing a new radome matched to the nose mold-lines - a line of thought that would still seem valid today. They're ugly, but I wonder why they went away.

 

[_Del_]

Herks still have them, basically. They mount a frame to the nose that they hang the radar from. And an appropriate radome is basically installed on rails to that frame. Look at the different radomes on the MC-130H, for example. They use a slightly different frame bolted to the nose, and a radome custom sized to it and the radar. NASA had (has?) one with a unique radome, too.

 

[Pioneer]

Interesting that many of the designs submitted to the RfP had such a similar design layout, as emphasised by the Grumman, Fairchild and Lockheed submissions.

Great work and great finds!!

Regards
Pioneer

 

[taildragger]

Herks still have them, basically. They mount a frame to the nose that they hang the radar from. And an appropriate radome is basically installed on rails to that frame. Look at the different radomes on the MC-130H, for example. They use a slightly different frame bolted to the nose, and a radome custom sized to it and the radar. NASA had (has?) one with a unique radome, too.

The Herk's radomes are a little different. Although they break the overall contours of the nose profile, they're all unique to and designed for the C-130. Early C-130s had a smooth nose profile, the radome was an add-on and, I suppose, breaks the nose mold lines so that the entire front end of the airplane didn't need to be redesigned.
I suspect that modern electronics would allow the radar to be repackaged within the original C-130 nose profile but that the current profile has become a recognition feature that Lockheed Martin has retained for business reasons.
Lockheed was aware of the business value of Hercules' distinctive nose decades ago since I've seen early '60s illustrations of what would become the C-141 (identified then as Jet Hercules, Super Hercules or something similar) sporting a C-130 lookalike nose. I can't think of any reason to put something like that on the front end of a large, swept-wing jet transport besides creating a family resemblance.

 

[Bill S]

A couple of wind tunnel configuration drawings from my collection of the V-404 with the radome over and under the fuselage.