Bellanca Airplane Projects

[hesham]

Hi,

from this great site,here is some Bellanca Projects;

Bellanca six seat,
http://edan.si.edu/slideshow/viewer/?eadrefid=NASM.1993.0055_ref807
Bellanca Model 27-86 Two Seater Fighter,
http://edan.si.edu/slideshow/viewer/?eadrefid=NASM.1993.0055_ref831
Bellanca Three-Seater Super Fighter,
http://edan.si.edu/slideshow/viewer/?eadrefid=NASM.1993.0055_ref810
Bellanca Model 26-100B, Single Seat Fighter Bomber,
http://edan.si.edu/slideshow/viewer/?eadrefid=NASM.1993.0055_ref829
Bellanca Model 27-86 Two Seater Fighter,
http://edan.si.edu/slideshow/viewer/?eadrefid=NASM.1993.0055_ref831
Bellanca Projects, 1927;
http://edan.si.edu/slideshow/viewer/?eadrefid=NASM.1993.0055_ref715
Bellanca New Designs, 1938
http://edan.si.edu/slideshow/viewer/?eadrefid=NASM.1993.0055_ref716

 

[hesham]

And;

Bellanca Miscellaneous Handwritten Notes and Sketches, Biplanes
http://edan.si.edu/slideshow/viewer/?eadrefid=NASM.1993.0055_ref707
Mail and Passenger Plane, Low Wing, 1932-1933,
http://edan.si.edu/slideshow/viewer/?eadrefid=NASM.1993.0055_ref785
Bellanca General Design Navy Two Seater or Single Seater Fighter of High Wing Type [VF]

 

[hesham]

Bellanca Miscellaneous Handwritten Notes and Sketches, Biplanes
Slideshow | NASM.1993.0055_ref707

There is anther drawings in this report.

 

[hesham]

From 1934 report;

Please note,the tailless or looks like,a pusher and a push-pull large airplane.

http://edan.si.edu/slideshow/viewer/?eadrefid=NASM.1993.0055_ref709

 

[hesham]

And;

I am not sure about picture # 15,what was it ?.

 

[hesham]

Finally.

 

[Deltafan]

Hi,
from this great site,here is some Bellanca Projects;

Theses two concepts seem very interesting.

 

[hesham]

From;

http://edan.si.edu/slideshow/viewer/?eadrefid=NASM.1993.0055_ref710

 

[hesham]

And;

 

[hesham]

And;

 

[hesham]

And;

 

[hesham]

Finally,

this report contains some drawings from 1950s and anther drawings from 1936 and lower years,but a big surprise;

Model 27-240,a push-pull single seat airplane Project,maybe a fighter,looks like Dornier Do.335 ?!.

 

[hesham]

Here is a Convertiplane concept of 1930;

http://edan.si.edu/slideshow/viewer/?eadrefid=NASM.1993.0055_ref845

 

[hesham]

And,all I can understand,that was a Pursuit Project of 1920,for US Army competition ?.

http://edan.si.edu/slideshow/viewer/?eadrefid=NASM.1993.0055_ref849

 

[hesham]

Here is a Bellanca Army Bomber;

http://edan.si.edu/slideshow/viewer/?eadrefid=NASM.1993.0055_ref742

 

[hesham]

Also some sketches to Bellanca,please note drawing No 28 & 29,maybe a heavy
bomber Project ?.

http://edan.si.edu/slideshow/viewer/?eadrefid=NASM.1993.0055_ref711

 

[hesham]

And

 

[hesham]

And;

 

[hesham]

Finally

 

[hesham]

Hi,

here is a Bellanca-Higgins Models 22-34, 39-60, 35-48, 35-60, 36-60, 34-38 & 35-40 report,and I think all of them were a cargo airplanes ?.

http://edan.si.edu/slideshow/viewer/?eadrefid=NASM.1993.0055_ref542

 

[hesham]

Hi,

here is un-completed drawing to Model 18-40 ?.

 

[hesham]

Hi,

http://edan.si.edu/slideshow/viewer/?eadrefid=NASM.1993.0055_ref795

 

[hesham]

Hi,

there is a Bellanca navy fighter with gull-wing of 1932,I think it was intended
to compete Berliner-Joyce XF3J-1.

https://edan.si.edu/slideshow/viewer/?eadrefid=NASM.1993.0055_ref637
https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/bellanca-aircraft.34783/#post-419641

 

[Stargazer]

Not knowing that hesham had already dug into the files from the Giuseppe M. Bellanca archives, I did the same myself. Interestingly we didn't find the same things, so it's great to be complementary. Today I'd like to focus on five combat projects, all from the year 1939:

Model 17-110
A single-engine pursuit/interceptor, "designed by G. M. Bellanca as part of a proposal in a design competition" (more specifically Circular Proposal 39-770). The aircraft was also "submitted to U.S. Navy with motor inside back of the pilot", but the "Bell Airacobra took design".



Model 20-115
This was also a single-engine pursuit/interceptor for Circular Proposal 39-770, with turbo-supercharged engine.



Model 33-220 (29 June 1939)
Yet another interceptor pursuit proposal, this time in response to Army Circular Proposal No. 33-775, Army Type Specification C-615 and Army Specification R-1800-D. It was a single-seater powered by two Allison V-1710-33 engines and was in competition with the Lockheed P-38.

Model C 24-100-P (18 February 1939)
A full-cantilever low-wing monoplane using plastic bonded plywood in its construction, " a modern version of the Bellanca Model 28-90 low-wing military design (...) specifically designed for outstanding performance and rapid production", which could be "readily used as a single-seat fighter; two-seat fighter, observation, bomber or attack plane". Maximum speed was 325 mph, with an extremely fast rate of climb of 3,600 ft. per minute. It was powered with one Pratt & Whitney geared Twin-Wasp R-1830-S3C3-G engine

Model C 28-140 (20 September 1939)
A multi-purpose full-cantilever low-wing monoplane of plastic bonded plywood and welded steel structure, developed from the Flash series (and presumably the C 24-100-P project). The aircraft could be configured as a single-seat or two-place fighter, and also as a bomber. It was powered with one Wright GR-2600A-50 Double-Row Cyclone engine, developing 1400 hp at 2400 rpm up to 11,500 ft. The photo below looks rather convincing but could be a doctored photo as there is no evidence that the type was ever built.

 

[PFJN]

Hi,
These links and images are great. Thans for sharing them.

 

[hesham]

Many thanks,

and for 17-110 & 20-115,my dear Dynoman sent them here,

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/us-piston-engined-fighter-projects.183/page-2#post-589672
and about C 24-100 generally,

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/bellanca-c-24-100-m-c-24-100-p-projects-of-1938.35780/

 

[Stargazer]

While Bellanca was developing the ill-fated Model TES Tandem aircraft for the Chicago Daily News, he was also considering a double-decker passenger development. No doubt that the crash of "The Blue Streak" put an end to the project.

 

[Stargazer]

The notion that Bellanca doctored photos of existing types to introduce new designs was alluded to when we took a look at the Model 28-140 proposal. This is confirmed by a few other examples, such as this one, the Model 77-143 Seaplane Transport, a direct adaptation of the Model 77-140 Bomber, also using two 715 hp Wright R-1820-F3 Cyclone engines. The only actual differences resided in the square windows for the passenger cabin instead of the round ones, and the redesigned nose without the turret. There also seems to be a forward reinforcement added to the vertical tail.

Bellanca was confident enough that there was a market for the 18-place type that they actually advertised it in the December 1934 issue of Aero Digest as the "World's fastest twin engine seaplane". It was a "convertible" design, which means that it could be changed from landplane to seaplane. A three-view arrangement and a second doctored photo showing the landplane version were also published by Aero Digest (see attachments).

 

[Stargazer]

As this forum seems to have massively shifted towards modern warfare, there is probably but a handful of individuals actually interested by old unbuilt designs by long defunct companies... Too bad, but I hope these individuals continue to enjoy the fruits of my research as much as I do... Tonight, I'm offering a totally obscure project from 1953: the Model 60 Utility Airplane, a sesquiplane which bore the unmistakable mark of Giuseppe Bellanca himself, and certainly built upon earlier pre-war types and projects, most notably the Airbus/Aircruiser family and their W-shaped "lift-struts" which were a Bellanca design trademark.

The Model 60 was studied in two distinct forms: a single-engined version designated Model 60-160, for which Bellanca envisaged the use of a 1,650 hp Armstrong-Siddeley Mamba (which he mistakenly refered to as a "De Haviland", wrong spelling included!), though a Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp was also considered; and the multimotor version designated Model 60-120, which would have used either two 600 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1340-AN-2 Wasp engines, or three 400 hp Turbomeca Artouste, for a total of 1,200 hp in both cases (hence the "-120" suffix).

The all-metal Model 60 was seen by Bellanca as a possible replacement for the De Havilland DHC-3 Otter and its military versions (little did he know that the venerable bushplane would live on in operational service for another three decades!) Of course, the type was convertible to seaplane configuration, like all previous Bellanca transports. Provision was also made for external stores, pods, tanks or bombs depending on the customer's needs.

It's a pleasant surprise that the sole file about the Model 60 in the Bellanca archives contains drawings (the NASM usually removes them and asks researchers to inquire about them — most likely at a price). Unfortunately, these drawings were of pretty lousy quality, unsuitable for sharing "as is", which is partly the reason why I recreated them for inclusion here. The other reason is that I LOVE the Model 60 design, simple as that!

 

[Apophenia]

As this forum seems to have massively shifted towards modern warfare, there is probably but a handful of individuals actually interested by old unbuilt designs by long defunct companies... Too bad, but I hope these individuals continue to enjoy the fruits of my research as much as I do...

We do indeed! And they don't get much wackier than these Bellancas that you are unearthing

 

[lark]

We do indeed! And they don't get much wackier than these Bellancas that you are unearthing

As this forum seems to have massively shifted towards modern warfare, there is probably but a handful of individuals actually interested by old unbuilt designs by long defunct companies... Too bad, but I hope these individuals continue to enjoy the fruits of my research as much as I do... Tonight, I'm offering a totally obscure project from 1953: the Model 60 Utility Airplane, a sesquiplane which bore the unmistakable mark of Giuseppe Bellanca himself, and certainly built upon earlier pre-war types and projects, most notably the Airbus/Aircruiser family and their W-shaped "lift-struts" which were a Bellanca design trademark.

The Model 60 was studied in two distinct forms: a single-engined version designated Model 60-160, for which Bellanca envisaged the use of a 1,650 hp Armstrong-Siddeley Mamba (which he mistakenly refered to as a "De Haviland", wrong spelling included!), though a Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp was also considered; and the multimotor version designated Model 60-120, which would have used either two 600 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1340-AN-2 Wasp engines, or three 400 hp Turbomeca Artouste, for a total of 1,200 hp in both cases (hence the "-120" suffix).

The all-metal Model 60 was seen by Bellanca as a possible replacement for the De Havilland DHC-3 Otter and its military versions (little did he know that the venerable bushplane would live on in operational service for another three decades!) Of course, the type was convertible to seaplane configuration, like all previous Bellanca transports. Provision was also made for external stores, pods, tanks or bombs depending on the customer's needs.

It's a pleasant surprise that the sole file about the Model 60 in the Bellanca archives contains drawings (the NASM usually removes them and asks researchers to inquire about them — most likely at a price). Unfortunately, these drawings were of pretty lousy quality, unsuitable for sharing "as is", which is partly the reason why I recreated them for inclusion here. The other reason is that I LOVE the Model 60 design, simple as that!

View attachment 721367

 

[lark]

Great work , much apreciated !

 

[Stargazer]

Today, another obscure Bellanca project is taking on new life, and for once it's not a transport, but a fighter. True, the name "Bellanca" evokes transport aircraft of all kinds, but is not often associated with combat types. Not that the poor dude didn't try! I have listed about two dozen separate fighter/pursuit proposals from Bellanca for both the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army between the early 1920s and the early 1940s, and about 10 scout/bomber/torpedo projects of all sizes and configuration. So why did Bellanca's combat designs fail to interest the military? Probably because the competition had better proposals!

The Bellanca F-1 was conceived for the U.S. Navy as a single-engine, single-seat landplane fighter of metal construction. It could take off from the deck of an aircraft carrier without the aid of a catapult, and land there with an arrester gear. Contrary to many Bellanca designs, it was not designed for floats. It was 20 feet in length, and its wing had a 35-foot span for a surface of 175 sq. ft. Two fixed synchronized .30 caliber Browning guns were fitted in the fuselage. Noteworthy is the gull shape of the wings, which was not a Bellanca trademark at all. Power was to be provided by a 625 hp air-cooled engine, either a Pratt & Whitney R-1535 or a Wright R-1510.

If the later Bellanca system of naming aircraft had existed back then, the airplane would have been something like a "Model 17-62" (175 wingspan, 625 hp), but at the time Bellanca often named his projects by the customer's name, and since it was submitted to a "Class VF (1) Special" tender, it was logically designated the "F-1". What did "VF (1) Special" refer to, anyway? One is tempted to think of a racer, but the Navy was no longer involved in air racing at the time... In a letter from G. M. Bellanca to Capt. Frank Hawks, attached to the F-1 file, the aircraft designer confirmed that his company could "build for you a special high-speed airplane with a range of 2,000 miles. We guarantee for the above a cruising speed of 220 mph at two-thirds of the maximum horsepower of the engine" (This was, of course, only months after Hawks lost his prized Travel Air Mystery Ship in a crash). But Hawks was Army, not Navy! So even if Bellanca planned to produce a racer version for him, the F-1 proposal was different. And sure enough, it looked more like the racers of those days than any fighter in the Navy's inventory back then, so who knows? Perhaps the Navy was planning to go at it again?

In any case, the F-1 did not result in any order or prototype, either for Hawks or the Navy, but that doesn't mean it was insignificant in Bellanca's design history. On the contrary, it was his first "real" combat design (his "Three-Seater Super Fighter", a decade before, relied heavily on the D.H.4 as a basis, while his 1927 "Pusher Shipplane" never went very far). True, the F-1 was typical of that awkward transition period between the biplane era and the cantilever one, when monoplanes still had to be wire-braced (the Boeing P-26 Peashooter being the most iconic of all), but with its retractable gear and streamlined fuselage, it was Bellanca's first step in a series of designs that led to the Flash series.

Research & artwork © Stéphane Beaumort / CODACAM © 2024

 

[hesham]

Hi,

basically in this topic many military aircraft projects,such as in Reply # 2,but
hard to determine their competitions ?.

 

[hesham]

I don't know if this design,a civil or military aircraft ?.