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For lovers of all thing Luft 46, here is a release from Antares Models that should please. They have released a resin kit of the Junkers EF 132 German long-distance jet bomber.

The Junkers EF 132 was one of the last aircraft project developments undertaken by Junkers in WWII, and was the culmination of the Ju 287 design started in 1942. The shoulder-mounted wings were swept back at a 35 degree angle and featured a small amount of anthedral. Six Jumo 012 jet engines, each of which developed 2500 kp (5500 lbs) of thrust, were buried in the wing roots. Wind tunnel results showed the advantages of having the engines within the wing, rather than causing drag by being mounted below the wing surfaces. Several wooden mock ups were built of the wing sections, in order to find the best way to mount the engines without wasting too much space while at the same time providing maintenance accessibility. The landing flaps were designed to be split flaps, and the goal was to make the gearing and operation simple. Because of the high placement of the wings to the fuselage, an unbroken bomb bay of 12 meters (39' 4") could be utilized in the centre fuselage. The tail planes were also swept back and the EF 132 had a normal vertical fin and rudder. An interesting landing gear arrangement was planned, that consisted of a nose wheel, two tandem main wheels beneath the centre rear fuselage, and outrigger-type wheels under each outer wing. A fully glazed, pressurized cockpit located in the extreme fuselage nose held a crew of five. Armament consisted of two twin 20mm cannon turrets (one located aft of the cockpit, the other beneath the fuselage) and a tail turret containing another twin 20mm cannon. All of this defensive armament was remotely controlled from the cockpit, and a bomb load of 4000-5000 kg (8818-11023 lbs) was envisioned to be carried.
A wind tunnel model was tested in early 1945, and a 1:1 scale wooden mock up was also built at the Dessau Junkers facility to test the placement of various components, and also to check different air intake openings in the wing leading edge for the jet engines. The development stage had progressed far when the Soviets overran the Dessau complex and took possession of all of the Ju 287 and EF 132 designs and components. The Soviets gave its approval for the bombed out Junkers Dessau factory to be partially rebuilt, the wind tunnels repaired and the jet engine test and manufacturing facilities to be put back into operation. The wooden mock up was inspected frequently by Soviet officials when the entire complex was carted up and removed to the USSR, along with forcibly removing all Junkers employees in October 1946. Work was begun on a glider to further test the flight handling characteristics, which was reported to be excellent. Construction work had begun on the Ju EF 132 when an order was given to stop all work, and the project was cancelled.

The kit features: more than 50 resin parts, 12 white metal parts, vac formed canopies ( a spare set included), decals, instructions. Measures of the assembled model: 45cms. span, 45cms. Length.

Ref No: ANT-7214.
Price: $90

For more information on the product above, please visit Antares Models.

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