Unknown WWII US jet project with butterfly tail

It sure resembles the Douglas D-558-1 Skystreak with a butterfly V-tail but possibly an air force version with that Wright Field logo on it. -Steve Pace
 
I've seen this thing before...maybe in an issue of APR...


It's not strictly a jet. There's a Twin Wasp jr. buried in the fuselage, driving a compressor. Kind of a Campini or Kalschevnikov accelerator deal. It looks like the grand-uncle of the Douglas Skystreak.
 
Greetings All,

Wasn't sure where to post this, but here is our latest IRMA Kit No.10 NACA-Langley-Jacobs-Jeep in 1/72 after over a decade of research working with the National Aeronautical and Space Administration - NASA Center for AeroSpace Information on the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics - NACA and the NASA Langley Research Center.

This was yet another avenue the USA was pursuing during WWII. Eastman N Jacobs was so impressed by the Caproni-Campini CC2 motorjet of Italy that he pursued a similar layout that became known as the NACA-Langley-Jacobs-Jeep, or Jake's Jeep as some people called it. He continued his research into 1943 when the US Army Air Force (USAAF) and US Navy (USN) decided on pursuit of turbojets, axial-flow and centrifuge, and rocket motors. Undaunted at first, Jacobs kept working on his Jeep with the limited resources solely from NACA. He even engaged the Wright motor company, officially the Curtiss-Wright Aviation Company, to begin construction of the Jeep. When the coffers ran dry, he then abruptly retired at 42 and went into other things.

No one knows how far along the Jeep advanced, but there are some photos of the engine in the fuselage being tested. It may have reached completion or just preliminary construction. Under war time conditions, experimental aircraft were destroyed upon write-off or project cancellation. Still, the Jeep may have been overlooked as was the Northrop N-9MB Flying Wing, which was thought to have been destroyed, but was discovered recently and restored. Although the Jeep was not selected for production, the motorjet that Jacobs worked on was the catalyst of today's turbofan.

If you want to read more on this unique aircraft, there is an article on its history here: http://www.internationalresinmodellers.com/articles_25_naca_-_langley_-_jacobs_-_jeep and a build article here: http://www.internationalresinmodellers.com/articles_26_building_the_naca_-_langley_-_jacobs_-_jeep. If you'd like to purchase a kit, you can do so here: http://www.internationalresinmodellers.com/irma_on-line_store.

Happy modelling everyone!
 

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Does anyone have more detailed views of this?

Something depicting the landing gear arrangement?

How about the nose inlet? Did it duct around the pilot's compartment or was there that set of fan blades in front?
 
Justo,

Where did you find those illustrations and images?
 
Madoc said:
Does anyone have more detailed views of this?

Yep. Coming soon:

USRP01-Model.png


Something depicting the landing gear arrangement?

How about the nose inlet? Did it duct around the pilot's compartment or was there that set of fan blades in front?

The model shown in the posts above got the inlet *really* wrong. The inlet "bullet" was actually transparent so that the pilot had a decent view forward and down for landing. The engine bits were well aft of the cockpit.
 
The kit can be built with an intake fan as in the Campini-Caproni machine or with the inlet bullet around the cockpit. In the Italian aircraft a series of fans was required to help move the air to the Isotta Fraschini 12 cylinder liquid-cooled piston engine. Same logic would most likely apply even to a Pratt & Whitney PW-1535 7 cylinder air-cooled radial engine. We left this decision up to the individual hobbyist. Eastman Jacobs did attend a conference in Italy on the motorjet prior to the USA entering the war and with such a high level of enthusiasm for the Italian approach, it is very likely he would have imitated this to some extent. In the Campini-Caproni CC.2 (N.1) there was a series of fan blades prior to the cockpit: 1 fan with large blades actually on the bullet followed by a series of 3 fans with smaller blades. The motor sat in front of the cockpit which was positioned over the axial-flow gas-turbine. Although the motor of the American Jeep was placed behind the cockpit, which was very close to the nose, it is not unlikely that at least one intake fan could have been placed in the nose to aid in airflow. This is not specified in any of the information or drawings, thus the two options for the kit.

As for the drawings, with all due respect, where are these ORIGINALLY referenced from? Upon enlargement, the text boxes are indecipherable and the wings only have ailerons but no flaps. Both were included on aircraft of the period with a plain-flap on high-speed projects. And as for the bullet being transparent, haven't heard of that before and no one at the NASA Center on AeroSpace Information or NASA Langley Research Center mentioned it, nor is this referenced in any of the original NACA War Time Reports or NACA publications. Based on an opaque bullet, the canopy view would be very similar to that of the Douglas D-558-I Skystreak with its original canopy considering how low the pilot's head would be positioned. In the Skystreak the pilots had to be careful not to graze any of the canopies with their flight helmets and wore a cloth cameo to prevent scratches. Same could apply to the Jeep based on the drawings. And the Jeep could have had interchangeable canopies like the Skystreak (training and testing versions) if it were proceeded with.

If there is further, credible material out there (NOT speculative), we'd be very interested in this. The kit can always be revised for greater accuracy.
 
And some clearer depictions of the landing gear arrangement would be helpful.

Plus the exhaust nozzle.
 
Madoc said:
And some clearer depictions of the landing gear arrangement would be helpful.

Plus the exhaust nozzle.

first is from; https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19930093539.pdf

the jeep with conventional and v-tail is from; https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19930091901.pdf

edit; much better three view here; https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19930092854.pdf
 

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zanenobbs said:
As for the drawings, with all due respect, where are these ORIGINALLY referenced from?

My laptop... or the references Siener linked to, however you want to look at it.


And as for the bullet being transparent, haven't heard of that before and no one at the NASA Center on AeroSpace Information or NASA Langley Research Center mentioned it, nor is this referenced in any of the original NACA War Time Reports or NACA publications.

That's odd, because it is quite clearly called out (#45) on the inboard profile.
 
assuming this is accurate, it looks like instrumentation of some kind is in the way

it also may have been of dubious value anyway due to distortion/reflections

source; http://chezpeps.free.fr/plus/russie/mail/2010/sept/28_09_2010.html
 

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sienar said:
assuming this is accurate, it looks like instrumentation of some kind is in the way

it also may have been of dubious value anyway due to distortion/reflections

I suspect it's not what you'd call a "fully thought out design." in order to have any sort of forward/down vision, the instrument panel would have to be split, or at least not go down very far; the pilots legs seem like they might need to be spread apart so he can see between 'em. All in all: meh. But that's what was shown.
 
Needs a classic schematic cut, I hope to make an approximate speculation for it.
 
Hey All, It's been a while! We did the corrective parts for the Jeep and hopefully all who ordered the kit have these! We sent them out at cost, since this was my mistake. We have done some more with the clear nose intake, clear instrument panel and revised wing (which we're classifying as "Type 2"). I do strive for accuracy and make any corrections immediately. Your comments and suggestions are highly appreciated! Please visit our IRMA On-Line Store ( ) for upcoming kits!
 

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