The OKB-1/Junkers EF 131 was a jet bomber produced in Germany and the USSR from 1944. It was cancelled in August 23, 1948, after further work was stopped on the aircraft.
The EF-131 was developed based on fragments of project documentation for the Ju 287 after the Red Army captured the Junkers factory in Dessau. The first prototype was built from components of the Junkers Ju 287 V2 and V3, the second and third prototypes (V – Versuchs – test/research/prototype) of the Luftwaffe's radical forward-swept-wing jet bomber. The V2 was nearly complete before the end of World War 2, but was hidden in the forest at Brandis along with Ju 287 V1 and eventually blown up by the Germans to avoid capture by US forces, and remnants of it, including wing sections, were taken into Red Air Force hands under military intelligence supervision along with the skeletal airframe of the unfinished V3.[1] The V3 was to have been the first 287 to be made to pre-production model specifications, and the eventual EF-131 was almost identical to it in terms of overall design, except in having a slightly longer fuselage. The airplane was completed in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, but was dismantled and transported to GOZ-1, (Gosudarstvenny Optniy Zavod – state experimental plant), at Dubna near Moscow, because the victorious Allies forbade the construction and testing of aircraft in occupied Germany. OKB-1 at GOZ-1 was formed with Dr. Brunolf Baade as the chief designer, and a very talented team of German engineers seconded by the Soviet government. Extreme pressure was applied to get the aircraft ready to appear in the 1947 Aviation Day fly-past at Tushino airfield, but several factors combined to prevent the EF-131 from appearing.[2]
Flight testing in the USSR began on 23 May 1947, at the LII airfield, after the airframe had been strengthened to meet the requirements of a TsAGI(Tsentralniy Aerodinamicheskiy i Gidrodinamicheskiy Institut- central aerodynamics and hydrodynamics institute) structural survey, which revealed major weaknesses of the airframe. The first flight resulted in the port undercarriage collapsing due to a bolt failure, subsequent flight tests revealed major deficiencies such as nosewheel shimmy and tail surface vibration. Rectification of the defects caused many delays but the worst delays were caused by bureaucracy when it was decreed that foreign workers could not work at the LII airfield.[2]
The aircraft sat at LII over the winter but the harsh conditions caused the deterioration of rubber components and wiring, which required lengthy repairs. Preparations for resuming flight tests were almost complete in June 1948 when Ministry of Aircraft Industry Order No. 440 ordered that further work on the EF-131 be discontinued, termination of the programme being confirmed by resolution No.3206-1301 issued on 23 August 1948.[2]
The EF-131 had become obsolete as newer Soviet-built engines with better performance became available. The airframe of the second prototype was used for the 140 programme.[2]
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The OKB 1 Junkers EF 131 was a jet bomber produced in Germany and the USSR from 1944 It was cancelled in August 23 1948 after further work was stopped on the aircraft EF 131 Role Bomber National origin USSR Manufacturer GOZ 1 Designer Dr Brunolf Baade First flight 23 May 1947 Retired 1948 Status Cancelled Number built 1 Developed from Junkers Ju 287 Variants OKB 1 140 Contents 1 Development 2 Specifications EF 131 3 See also 4 References 5 Bibliography 6 External linksDevelopment editThe EF 131 was developed based on fragments of project documentation for the Ju 287 after the Red Army captured the Junkers factory in Dessau The first prototype was built from components of the Junkers Ju 287 V2 and V3 the second and third prototypes V Versuchs test research prototype of the Luftwaffe s radical forward swept wing jet bomber The V2 was nearly complete before the end of World War 2 but was hidden in the forest at Brandis along with Ju 287 V1 and eventually blown up by the Germans to avoid capture by US forces and remnants of it including wing sections were taken into Red Air Force hands under military intelligence supervision along with the skeletal airframe of the unfinished V3 1 The V3 was to have been the first 287 to be made to pre production model specifications and the eventual EF 131 was almost identical to it in terms of overall design except in having a slightly longer fuselage The airplane was completed in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany but was dismantled and transported to GOZ 1 Gosudarstvenny Optniy Zavod state experimental plant at Dubna near Moscow because the victorious Allies forbade the construction and testing of aircraft in occupied Germany OKB 1 at GOZ 1 was formed with Dr Brunolf Baade as the chief designer and a very talented team of German engineers seconded by the Soviet government Extreme pressure was applied to get the aircraft ready to appear in the 1947 Aviation Day fly past at Tushino airfield but several factors combined to prevent the EF 131 from appearing 2 Flight testing in the USSR began on 23 May 1947 at the LII airfield after the airframe had been strengthened to meet the requirements of a TsAGI Tsentralniy Aerodinamicheskiy i Gidrodinamicheskiy Institut central aerodynamics and hydrodynamics institute structural survey which revealed major weaknesses of the airframe The first flight resulted in the port undercarriage collapsing due to a bolt failure subsequent flight tests revealed major deficiencies such as nosewheel shimmy and tail surface vibration Rectification of the defects caused many delays but the worst delays were caused by bureaucracy when it was decreed that foreign workers could not work at the LII airfield 2 The aircraft sat at LII over the winter but the harsh conditions caused the deterioration of rubber components and wiring which required lengthy repairs Preparations for resuming flight tests were almost complete in June 1948 when Ministry of Aircraft Industry Order No 440 ordered that further work on the EF 131 be discontinued termination of the programme being confirmed by resolution No 3206 1301 issued on 23 August 1948 2 The EF 131 had become obsolete as newer Soviet built engines with better performance became available The airframe of the second prototype was used for the 140 programme 2 Specifications EF 131 editData from 2 General characteristicsCrew 3 Length 20 47 m 67 ft 2 in Wingspan 19 4 m 63 ft 8 in Height 5 7 m 18 ft 8 in Airfoil root Ju 0 9 23 10 7 0 825 40 tip Ju 0 9 23 12 7 0 825 40 3 Empty weight 11 900 kg 26 235 lb Gross weight 22 955 kg 50 607 lb Powerplant 6 Junkers Motoren Jumo 109 004 turbojet engines 8 829 kN 1 985 lbf thrust each Performance Maximum speed 860 km h 530 mph 460 kn Range 1 710 km 1 060 mi 920 nmi Service ceiling 12 500 m 41 000 ft Armament Guns 2 x 13mm machine guns in a remotely controlled tail barbette Bombs 2 000kg 4 410 lb of bombs in an internal bomb baySee also edit nbsp Aviation portal Related development Junkers Ju 287 Aircraft of comparable role configuration and era Martin XB 48 Martin XB 51 Related lists List of aircraftReferences edit Lommel Horst 2004 Junkers Ju 287 The World s First Swept Wing Jet Aircraft Atglen PA Shiffer Publishing Ltd a b c d e Gordon Yefim 2004 Early Soviet jet bombers the 1940s and early 1950s Hinkley Midland ISBN 1 85780 181 4 Lednicer David The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage m selig ae illinois edu Retrieved 16 April 2019 Bibliography editGunston Bill The Osprey Encyclopaedia of Russian Aircraft 1875 1995 London Osprey 1995 ISBN 1 85532 405 9 Gordon Yefim Early Soviet Jet Bombers Hinkley Midland 2004 ISBN 1 85780 181 4External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to OKB 1 EF 131 https www webcitation org 5knuWmxmR url http www geocities com hjunkers ju ef131 a1 htm Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title OKB 1 EF 131 amp oldid 1221969683, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
