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The Focke-Wulf Ta 254 was a design for an improved version of the Ta 154 twin-engined fighter, with bigger wings to improve its service ceiling. The Ta 254 was originally developed as the Ta 154D, with the D-1 being a two-seat night fighter and the Ta 154D-2 a single-seat day fighter. The Ta 154D inherited the longer fuselage of the Ta 154C, which was 3ft 7 ¼ in longer than on the Ta 154A, while the wings were 30% bigger.
The designation of the new design was changed to the Ta 254. Two production series were proposed - the A series, to be powered by the Junkers Jumo 213E engine and the B series, which would have used the Daimler-Benz DB 603L. The original D-1 became the A-1, and the D-2 became the A-3. A third variant, the two-seat day fighter A-2 was also introduced.
The A-1 to A-3 would have been duplicated with Daimler-Benz engines as the B-1 to B-3.
The A-1 would have been heavily armed, with potentially up to eight cannon - six forward firing and two in the 'schräge' or 'jazz music' position, firing upwards.
None of the planned aircraft were ever completed.
Variants
A-1
The A-1 was to have been a two-seat night fighter with a hinged cockpit canopy, a metal nose and ejector seats.
A-2
The A-2 was a two-seat day fighter with a sliding canopy
A-3
The A-3 was a single-seat day fighter.
B-1 to B-3
As the A-1 to A-3 but with Daimler-Benz DB 603L engines
Stats for A-1 (performance figures are estimates)
Engine: Two Junkers Jumo 213E
Power: 1,750hp each
Crew: Two
Wing span: 58ft 4 3/4in
Length: 44ft 11 1/4in
Height: 12ft 4 3/4in
Weights: Unknown
Max Speed: 412mph at 34,777ft
Cruising Speed:
Service Ceiling: 37,729ft
Endurance: 3 hours
Armament: 2 x MK 108 and 2 x MK 151 or 6 x Mk 108; two extra Mk 108 if GM 1 boost not installed
Aircraft of the Luftwaffe 1935-1945, Jean-Denis G.G. Lepage.
Combines a good background history of the Luftwaffe with a comprehensive examination of its aircraft, from the biplanes of the mid 1930s to the main wartime aircraft and on to the seemingly unending range of experimental designs that wasted so much effort towards the end of the war. A useful general guide that provides an impressively wide range of information on almost every element of the Luftwaffe
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