WW2 Romanian Dive-Bomber

[shinblam]

Hi all. This is my first post and I am curious to see if any of you all had drawings or technical information on the IAR-471 dive-bomber project. Several searches have come up with nothing more than the fact that it was a dive-bomber powered by a DB-601, but i could be wrong. Your help is appreciated.

 

[airman]

I suppose this project was not terminated ! :

 

[arc3371]

I looked for illustrations of this project and posted queries on several sites but no dice

 

[airman]

So Iar-471, could was been a modified Stuka with engine DB 601

 

[shinblam]

Well, thanks for the effort arc. From what I read on worldwar2.ro the prototype was being built when the factory was bombed out in 1944. If I'm remembering what I read correctly a wing survived but the rest was destroyed.

 

[Apophenia]

Out of curiousity, was the IAR-471 derived from the earlier IAR-47 prototypes?

I understand that the aborted IAR-47 was to replace the IAR-39. Was the IAR-471 meant to replace Romanian Ju-87Ds?

 

[shinblam]

I believe they were meant to replace the stukas. But as far as similarities to the IAR-47, no, the 471 was only similar in name. And I believe the engine was to be a DB-605 not 601 like I said earlier.

 

[Apophenia]

Thanks shinblam.

I was wondering if the Romanian designation system followed the French. Obviously not.

The DB605 was an interesting choice since the IAR 80 and SM79B both used Jumo 211Ds.

 

[shinblam]

I found this at the worldwar2.ro forums. It is quoted from "On Three Fronts - Romania's Aircraft Industry during World War Two" by Mark Axworthy, published in Air Enthusiast #56 (Winter 1994).


"IAR-471
The IAR-81 had not proved a great success as an improvised dive bomber and experience with the IAR-47 showed that the IAR 14K would not be up to the demands of powering a full-sized dive bomber. Thus by early 1943 the Romanians still lacked an effective ground support aircraft [Note: the efficient and performant Henschel Hs 129 ground attack airplane was already planned to equip the would be Grupul 8 asalt. The Author probably was referring to the Ju 87, however. D.B.]. In November 1942 IAR had at last secured a license for the manufacture of the German DB 605 engine and planning now centred on this powerplant. On January 16, 1943, a new dive bomber project, the IAR-471, was commissioned which was to be powered by the DB 605. Although the Germans lent Romania numerous Stukas from mid-1943, they would not sell any. Therefore, the design of the IAR-471 was perservered with for reasons of self-sufficiency.

Despite its designation, the IAR-471 bore little resemblance to the smaller IAR-47 and was essentially a different aircraft. It was designed with a superior performance to the Stuka, much helped by the retractable undercarriage, but a lighter bomb load, and on May 7, 1944, the Stuka's two underwing 37mm cannons were ordered to be included in its specifcation. It was planned to order 100 IAR-471s and 136 engines from IAR in 1944/1945, but IAR was in the throes of dispersing its factories and beginning production of the Bf 109G and declared itself incapable of simultaneously producing the IAR-471. This halted the project even before Romania's defection to the Allies in August. No prototype flew."

"IAR-471 Specification (Estimated)
Powerplant: One 1,475hp (1,100kW) Daimler-Benz DB 605 piston engine
Performance: Maximum speed 304 mph (490 km/h). Service ceiling 26,250ft (8,000m).
Weight: (without bomb load) 9,479lb (4,300kg).
Dimensions: Span 45ft 10in (14m). Wing area 312 sq ft (29 sq m).
Armament: One 20mm MG151 cannon firing through the airscrew spinner, two wing mounted 7.92mm machine guns, two 7.92mm machine guns on flexible twin mount in rear cockpit. One 1,100lb (500kg) bomb or one 550lb (250kg) and two 220lb (100kg) bombs."

 

[Pepe Rezende]

Thanks shinblam.

I was wondering if the Romanian designation system followed the French. Obviously not.

The DB605 was an interesting choice since the IAR 80 and SM79B both used Jumo 211Ds.

IAR 80 used a Gnome & Rhone license built engine.

Cheers

Pepe

 

[Apophenia]

Thanks. Quite right. Production IAR-80/81s had licence-built 14Ks.

I was referring to the one-off 1942 Jumo 211Da conversion. Some sources say that the airframe was an IAR 80A, others IAR 81C. Either way, the engine and cowling came from the IAR 79 (aka SM-79B).

 

[VictorXL188]

Based on the info I have seen I knocked up this quick profile view using an IAR 47 as a basis with the nose of a Fiat G.55 to provide the DB605 shape. Not sure how accurate this is but it's a start!