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FMA IAe 33 Pulqui II (Arrow II)

1950 COLD WAR X-PLANE

History

Argentina's first attempt at domestic jet fighter FMA IAe 27 "Pulqui" ("Arrow"), with disappointing results. However, this design provided the country with a lot of experience in a technical sense, and quickly led to a new venture backed by the famous German aviation engineer Kurt Tank, a World War II The father of the period Fw 190 multirole fighter Ta 152 high - high interceptor and Fw 200 "Condor" transport and sea platform. Later in the war, the tank developed the Ta 183 "Huckebein" to meet the requirements of the German Aviation Ministry related to the Emergency Fighter Program (EFP).

Work on this aircraft ceased at the end of the war.

Many German scientists and engineers fled post-war Germany for places like Argentina - such was the case with tanks. He resumed his Ta 183 project in an initiative launched by the Argentine government to produce a local jet fighter/interceptor under the Fabrica Militar de Aviones (FMA) brand. An earlier attempt, IAe 27 Pulqui, failed due to poor performance and performance, so only one example was done before the program switched to the new design.

This became the redesigned Ta 183, designed to succeed the British Gloster Meteors who were serving in the Argentine Air Force at the time.

As originally planned, the Ta 183 would have a solid tubular fuselage with a forward-set cockpit under a largely unobstructed canopy. The single engine is built low in the fuselage and is drawn in through a tail-mounted air intake that draws into the bottom of the tail (looks similar to the classic Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 fighter from the Korean War). The tail is in a "T-shaped" arrangement, with a single vertical tail supporting the elevated horizontal aircraft - all three surfaces are swept back. The main wing planes are mounted centered on the sides of the fuselage and are also swept aft (40 degrees swept) to provide the high-speed aerodynamic efficiency required for advanced designs.

The landing gear is a tricycle arrangement and the weapon is a full cannon.

When reworking the Ta 183, Tank raised the main wing aircraft to the shoulder position to reduce the complexity of the main spar and engine installation. Power will come from a Rolls-Royce "Nene 2" turbojet with 5,000 lbs of thrust, and the proposed weapon is a 4 x 20mm automatic cannon.

A new aircraft commissioned by the Argentine government to build five prototypes demonstrates this commitment to demonstrate that the design is a viable investment for frontline combatants. The original airframe was intended to be used as a static test item, and subsequent airframes became the first airworthy form. The latter made its maiden flight on June 27, 1950, and problems arose almost immediately - both in terms of handling and general aerodynamics - resulting in the construction of the landing gear, canopy, wings and LED tail units made several changes.

Unexpected stalls also became commonplace during test flights, creating an unseen hazard every time a plane took off.

12 aircraft prototypes were ordered for pre-production following a government public exhibition on 8 February 1951. The prototype continued to fly and crashed on 31 May 1951 after a structural failure in the wing roots.

Despite the ejection, the pilot's parachute did not deploy, he was shot dead, and the plane was completely lost.

Further structural changes ushered in the third prototype, which was forced into service due to the 2nd crash. The prototype was also lost in an accident just days before another public government exhibition. A fourth prototype was then built with a wing main aircraft with redesigned boundary layer fencing (like the MiG-15) and ventral struts to address deep stalls at high angles of attack (AoA).

For this version, the cockpit was fully pressurized and finally the armament of the 4 x 20mm gun was added to represent a working model closer to the expected production quality form. Aircraft 4 made its first flight on August 20, 1953.

The IAe 33 suffered during the lengthy development process - the last prototype first flew in September 1959, but Mr Tank and his design team have relocated to India for a homegrown fighter program, while Argentina is suffering Financial difficulties The collapse of 1953 suffered the overthrow of Argentine leader Juan Peron. With the ensuing political uncertainty and financial difficulties, this brought the IAe 33 program to a severe halt, and in the mid-1950s, when large numbers of American F-86 Sabres attacked world customers during the Korean War (1950-1953), all The power is gone to become available at a decent price.

Thus ended the history of the Pulqui II, which was subsequently decommissioned in 1960. The five completed airframes (four airworthy prototypes and static test beds) all represent work and money invested.

The group's sole survivor enjoyed a second life - along with the original Pulqui I prototype - as an exhibit at the National Aviation Museum in Buenos Aires, Argentina.