Actually, there are "sources to back that up." The first of these is
just look at the plane! I felt dumb when I read it - because I believed I
should have seen the rather unique shape of the plane as a clue. There is
also the matter both are dive bombers.
But I learned it from William Green's Warplane's of the Third Reich, one of the
rather definitive English language treatments of German military aircraft of the
period. In the Ju-88 article, of course.
There is also more information in a newer book - Japanese Secret Projects - by
Edwin M Dyer. Using information not previously published or available in English,
he usefully describes all cases of Japanese-German cooperation - and also some
things that are purely fictional (including even comic books and similar "publications"
when these had art he could print). It appears there was even more extensive
industrial cooperation than I was aware of. Many factors prevented German designs
from reaching production in Japan - but it was a rich source for design concepts
and particular equipment because (a) the Germans were relatively more advanced
and (b) the Germans were often more willing to share with the Japanese than other
countries were. Sure enough, this and several other Ju-88 concepts are described.
I worked for a number of years (at Boeing, but not for Boeing, as a "resident engineer"
for a major contractor) in the design "software integration laboratories." These permit
"flying a plane or missile before it is built" as well as experimenting with one after it
exists in ways no one can see or track. They are why we do not design planes that do not
fly any more - once a common phenomena. I can still design a plane and "fly it" on a
computer. Anyway, the Lorna was an adaptation, scaled down, for a specialist mission:
as such it was also virtually unique. Few if any other ASW aircraft were dive bombers -
intended to decrease the error inherent in dropping weapons on a datum point (the Navy
term for the location of a submarine target). [Possibly a late war Ki-45 ASW variation
was inspired by the Earlier Lorna. I didn't know about this until last month either.]
Because MAD is a very short range sensor (and "the only effective non-acoustic sensor") -
and because if part of the sub is surfaced the aircraft radar would give a good datum point -
a dive bomber might have been a good concept. Japan also had a problem with high power engines,
and needed them for fighters and bombers: they hoped to make do with low power engines,
necessitating a smaller aircraft - and resulting in low performance so that, when the Lorna
finally did have to operate near enemy fighters, it was not well able to cope with them.
Japanese Navy ideas about air-ASW did not change much over time - a version of the Peggy
intended for production around 1946 also featured lower powered engines than the parent
aircraft it was designed from, and as a result, relatively low performance. But it would
permit distant operations - provided these were not in areas of enemy fighter patrols.
The JNAF Peggy was designated Q2W1.
ORIGINAL: LargeSlowTarget
ORIGINAL: el cid again
The Ki-50 as such is the JAAF version of the Ju-88. It is only found in JES Scenarios
99 & 105. Note that two OTHER versions are found in ALL scenarios but with a Naval
designation Q1W1. Not often understood as such, this too is a peculiar Ju-88 variation
with very low power engines and specialized ASW sensors (radar and MAD).
Hi Cid, haven't had the time to look at your scenarios yet but I do peek into this thread from time to time when work permits. Looks like you and your team have spent many many man-hours on this mod.
Just wondering about the claim that Q1W1 was a Ju-88 variation - do you have sources to back that up? I have never come across a similar claim, and although the Lorna looks similar, it has much a smaller and lighter airframe than a Ju-88 - wing span Lorna 16m / Ju-88 18-20m (depending on variant), wing area 38 / 52-54 square meters, weight less than 5 tons / over 12 tons etc.