Germany's Crooked-Wing Jet Fighter: Blohm & Voss P 202

In this video, we talk about the Blohm & Voss P 202, a jet fighter design with a variable-sweep wing, but with a twist. Instead of having two individually moving wings, it had the entire wing moving on a single pivot. We discuss the reasons for variable-sweep wings and swept wings in general. We also discuss later testing and experimentation with the P 202's oblique wing design concept and how it may actually be a decent idea.

[C-Henry]

Blohm and Voss really did have some of the most interesting concepts of the war, the fact that some even made it into service (I.E. the BV-141) makes their work that much more impressive.

[Lord.Kiltridge]

The biggest problem with this type of wing is that the side that sweeps forward has to deal with structural stress factors and flexing that the other wing does not. These issues would not be properly overcome at speed until the early 1980s with the X-29.

[ashifabedin]

Blohm and Voss really did have some of the most interesting concepts

[tedsmith]

One major issue with the AD-1 was that with wings swept, a left aileron input meant that the forward aileron deflected down and gave a a pitch up force and a right input gave a pitch down force. Made the AD-1 rather tricky to fly.

[unclenogbad]

I do love Blohm+Voss and the way they'd go out on a limb with these wild designs that look bizarre but are actually well thought out and point the way to future concepts. Voght was definitely a genius and visionary.

[svenjonsson]

Your channel is one of the best aviation designs history channels out there, and is criminally undersusbscribed to!

[bigblue]

It would be very interesting to get an idea into the thinking at Blohm and Voss as their designs are so different to what everyone else was doing.

[WelcomeToDERPLAND]

Blohm & Voss on their way to make the most insane, whacky batshit crazy plane designs of all time:

[paul-wegf]

Blom and Voss's perchant for unique designs makes them an interesting subject.. And when you look at some post war aircraft some of the designs csme swing wingd for one. During the war Grrmany had better wind tunnels for testing. I refer you to the videos by Capt. ERIC BROWN, he was the RNs chief test pilot. His views make interesting listening.

[neiloflongbeck]

Nice to see a picture of one of J W Dunne's flying wings (around the 1:10 mark). They were flying around 1910, long before the Hortens invented the flying wing, lol.

[dalenmonroe]

your channel needs way more love. Please keep going with any planes you find interesting. Why this has 11.7K while terrible AI bots are over that is depressing, but your content hits the sweet notes that AI never can.

[geekpoet]

Bloom and Voss had some very brilliant engineers and all their various design studies kept them busy. I need to get out my book ww2 German experimental aircraft designs. Its absolutely incredible all the ideas coming out of Germany at that period. Many ended up being used in various ways. The US shuttle lifting body design came from German experiments

[HotelPapa]

The swept wing of the Me 262 was not chosen for aerodynamic reasons, but to adjust CG. That it was beneficial for high speed performance was serendipitious

[Tepictoton]

I lived next door to Robert T. Jones in the 70's and 80's. One of the things that Robert told me was that, "People are hung up on bilateral symmetry, and that it was doubtful that the oblique wing would be accepted because of this." Of course, he was right. The really interesting thing that Robert's research revealed was that the oblique wing would not generate a sonic boom. We also talked a lot about the German scientists who came to the US following the war. I was under the impression that it was Jones' collaboration with Alexander Lippisch and others that brought forth the 'simple sweep back" wing as well as the oblique wing.

[peterkordziel]

I'm sure someone is asking "Why?" As far as I can remember, it was because it was mechanically simpler than having both wings pivot at the fusilage. They wanted to solve the compressibility issue to get closer to the speed of sound, and this was one of the proposals presented. What they apparently chose was the Me P1101, because that's what was found after the war. It was brought to the U.S. and became an ""X plane", either the X-5 or the X-4, I'd have to go look.

[jimmartin]

Thanks. Been waiting years for a good video about this aircraft.

[MrJohnnyseven]

Like them or not they made brilliant looking stuff

[manifestman]

Would its nose cannon cause similar issues like the Mig 9? My 7th grade Science teacher mentioned this Aircraft and the NASA one a few times. When I was much younger I thought it was for crosswind landings. BV certainly did have some strange designs. I think they started as a Ship building company.

[MrLemonbaby]

That was a very worthwhile report. Thanks. I've sub'd.

[nerome]

LOL, wonderful context-less speculation on the BV drawing.