Arado NJ-1 Nacht Jager (Night Hunter)

History of Arado NJ-1 Night Jager

The NJ-1 project "Nacht Jager 1" ("Night Hunter 1") was developed by the German Arado in the final stages of World War II to meet the needs of the Luftwaffe for a new jet-powered night fighter. The aircraft is intended to be a multi-crew aircraft powered by twin engines to achieve the required high speeds and improve maneuverability when attacking incoming enemy forces.

Competing designs from Blohm and Voss, Dornier, Focke-Wulf and Gotha also met the needs of the Luftwaffe. Despite interest, this requirement was eventually abandoned due to the deteriorating situation in Germany, and of the submitted designs, only the Blohm and Voss aircraft were further developed through prototype contracts before the end of the war, resulting in Bv P 215.

As a night fighter, the NJ-1 had to meet several Luftwaffe qualitiesspeed, control, weapons, and responsiveness. Speed ??would be controlled by opting for jet propulsion, which proved to be baby technology later in the war. Control should be provided by ailerons, elevators and split flaps and small vertical fins located on the wing structure. The armament followed the German belief that automatic cannons were the answer when trying to shoot down large Allied bombers.

Responsive means the aircraft will be able to react quickly to incoming formations of Allied bombers, lift off to the desired altitude in a short period of time, and then engage with weapons and surprise elements. Direction finding will be the location of the radio equipment and the use of radar.

This will spread the workload among three crew members.

Arado engineers opted for a tailless swept wing design with side-by-side cockpit seats for its three crew members (it is believed that only two side-by-side, the third in the rear-facing cockpit will sit) . dealing with defensive weapons). The twin-engine arrangement is also side-by-side, and they are mounted under the rear of the fuselage.

Small vertical tails were added to each trailing edge for control. The cockpit canopy is slightly framed for good visibility, and the aircraft will be larger than expected by the Luftwaffe to accommodate the required large-caliber weapons and side-by-side crew seats. The landing gear is a tricycle with two main legs and a front leg, all of which are retractable on a single wheel. The engines of choice were 2 HeS 011 series turbines, each producing 2,865 pounds of thrust.

Other integrated systems include radios, search radar, a pressurized cockpit for high altitude flight and an ejection seat for crew survival.

As an offensive night fighter, the NJ-1's armament is centered on the cannon. Proposed armament consists of 2 x 30mm MK 108 cannons in the nose, 2 x 30mm MK 108 cannons mounted (fired) on the fuselage and 2 x 30mm MK 108 cannons in the stern as a defensive measure. Of note were the angled cannons, which allowed the aircraft to fly under enemy bombers and fire from its most vulnerable positions.

The plane will also carry 2 x 1,100 lb bombs for night bombing.

While no formal selection was made, the NJ-1 submission, which was reviewed by Air Force officials, was found to be flawed in several key areas: Authorities believed the engine had so far not been properly aspirated (resulting in lower-than-expected thrust performance). The stern design and intake duct length is so short.

Additionally, the vertical control surfaces were deemed too small to properly control such a large aircraft.

Design work for the NJ-1 eventually fell into the hands of the advancing Soviet Army, when they took control of the Arado factory outside Berlin in March 1945. 1 Only exists in the paper form in which it is presented.

From these floor plans, dimensions include spans of over 60.4 feet and lengths of nearly 43 feet. The estimated curb weight is 22,490 pounds, and the maximum takeoff weight is 29,100 pounds. Performance estimates for twin-engine performance are at approximately 330 mph cruising and 505 mph maximum combined speed.

Service should be capped at around 44,625 feet, with a reported climb rate of about 38 feet per minute. Range is an optimistic 850 miles.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes