Pelzig
ACCESS: Secret
- Joined
- 23 October 2008
- Messages
- 448
- Reaction score
- 65
Also in the July 1981 issue of Airpower, Robert Mikesh included the profile below. He lists it as the Rikugun Army Experimental Model 7 Heavy Bomber. It is his claim that it was a scaled up version of the Kogiken Plan VI heavy bomber (also included below). Not one of the numerous Kogiken designs, which were all completed by 1941, would evolve into actual aircraft. For those who don't know, the entire Kogiken series was a study of engineering and designers were given free reign to come up with ideas that would use equipment and technology which was on the drawing board but not yet in service. The intent was to keep ahead of the arms race. Some of the information collected did, however, turn up in some later aircraft.
Since the Plan VI bomber was completed in 1941 as a design, Mikesh is saying that this "Plan VII" was the old Plan VI scaled up (though his image doesn't seem to scale at all to the other much larger bombers on the same page). He also says his image is provisional (despite being an almost exact copy of the actual Plan VI aircraft).
I don't doubt that the data from the Kogiken planning was revisited throughout the war as reference to perhaps solve a problem. I'm just curious if this "Plan VII" design was seriously considered (or even existed) along with the other 4- and 6- engine bomber concepts.
Since the Plan VI bomber was completed in 1941 as a design, Mikesh is saying that this "Plan VII" was the old Plan VI scaled up (though his image doesn't seem to scale at all to the other much larger bombers on the same page). He also says his image is provisional (despite being an almost exact copy of the actual Plan VI aircraft).
I don't doubt that the data from the Kogiken planning was revisited throughout the war as reference to perhaps solve a problem. I'm just curious if this "Plan VII" design was seriously considered (or even existed) along with the other 4- and 6- engine bomber concepts.
