Blohm & Voss P.188

Blohm & Voss Bv P.188 was a bomber project for the Luftwaffe developed by the Blohm & Voss aircraft manufacturing company in the last years of the Third Reich.

The project was interrupted owing to the scarcity of materials, as well as the priority given to fighter projects during the Allied bombing of Germany. Finally further development was terminated owing to the surrender of the Third Reich.

History
Blohm & Voss produced different designs of this bomber project that would have been powered by four powerful turbojet engines. This ground-breaking series of jet bombers had a long, specially shaped, wing design. The wings were placed high on the fuselage side and their inner halves were swept back 20 degrees while the outer halves were swept 20 degrees forward. It was hoped that this arrangement would provide a better performance, both at high and low speeds. This structure, however, had the effect that there was pressure built up at the wing tips. This problem was later solved by a device that allowed a 12 degree adjustment of the angle of the outer wings.

The Blohm & Voss P.188 had an armored cylindrical steel fuselage holding the fuel tanks. It was powered by four Junkers Jumo 004C turbojets placed below the wings. The main undercarriage consisted of two sets of wheels under the fuselage. Small auxiliary retractable wheels were placed near the wing tips. The tail section was different according to the variant. The cockpit was a pressurized cabin located at the forward end of the fuselage.

Variants
The Blohm & Voss BV P.188 bomber project had three different known variants. All of them were jet bombers that would be powered by four Junkers Jumo 004C turbojets. Since it was deemed that the high speed of the airplane would provide sufficient protection, the initial variants were not fitted with defensive armament.

BV P.188 01
Jet-powered bomber project with the four turbojets placed in separate nacelles under the wings. The tail section was of a conventional type.

BV P.188 02
Very similar to the BV P.188 02 in design except for a smaller, slightly raised cockpit and a tail with a twin rudder arrangement.

BV P.188 04
In this variant the four engines were placed in two gondolas with the auxiliary landing gear under each nacelle. The tail was similar to the BV P.188 02 and this is the only variant provided with defensive armament.