Arsenal J 36 Falke

J 36 Falke
Melasian J 36 Falke with a started engine on an advanced airfield near Humboldtsberg in 1942
Role	Fighter aircraft
National origin	Melasia
Manufacturer	Arsenal
Designer	Erich Krammer
First flight	10 April 1938
Introduction	1939
Retired	1961 Melasian air force
Status	Retired
Primary user	Melasian air force
Produced	1939–1946
Number built	354 + 3 prototypes
Variants	Arsenal J 42 Arsenal J 49

The J 36 Falke (hawk) was a Melasian fighter aircraft of the first half of the 20th century. It was designed by Erich Krammer and produced by the Melasian aviation company Arsenal. The aircraft is remarkable for being Melasia's first domestically designed and produced fighter aircraft and the first non-Berean type of combat aircraft to exceed speeds of 400 km/h (200 kn) in a straight level flight. The J 36 was of a mixed semi-monocoque and stressed skin design, built mostly of wood and fabric, with metal used in vital points of the structure like the engine cowling and the rudder fin joint. It also had some advanced features for the period, like the retractable landing gear, the completely enclosed cockpit and the split flaps. The high wingspan and the short fuselage provided a relatively small wing loading, while the light weight of the wooden construction coupled with a powerful V-12 engine allowed for a respectable degree of manoeuvrability.

The J 36 was a result of a fear in high echelons of Melasian government of possible Berean sanctions due to the aggressive Melasian foreign policy in Kenlong and against Mascylla. A tender was called for a lightweight fighter aircraft to replace the aging endargered Melasian air fleet, that consisted of mostly Mascyllary-built machines. The Melasian Ministry of war called for an aircraft equipped with the Lavarian-built Fábrica Automotiva Popular 12Y engine and the Nordic 20mm Oerlikon FF gun, both available after an agreemend was signed between Melasia and the respectable countries earlier 1936. Following a short public tender the variant presented by Arsenal was selected. The aircraft was introduced in 1939 and relatively quickly became the standard Melasian fighter. It served actively during the Melasian Crisis, when it proved to be a potent opponent to earlier Mascyllary aircraft on low altitudes. After the initial stages of the conflict, and the introduction of newer models by the Mascyllary air force, the J 36 began to underperform and was almost withdrawn from frontline service when the conflict seized in 1943. The remaining inventory of J 36s was then used in Kenlong, where it performed anti-guerrilla operations against the various Kenlongese revolutionary groups. The type was withdrawn from frontline service with the Melasian air force in 1949 but remained in the inventory up until the early 1960s.

The J 36 served only with the Melasian air force, although several airframes were transported to Mascylla for evaluation during the Melasian crisis. The slow production rate and the ever-growing international isolation of the country prevented its international export potential, with several states showing interest prior to the crisis being rejected by the Melasian government due to lack of surplus aircraft engines. Several attempts to improve and upgrade the model were performed throughout its service life, with the J 49 seeing the most success and becoming the next standard Melasian fighter.

Design and Development

Background

Alsich A.123 fighters of the Melasian air force in 1935. Originally intended as dive bombers, these Mascyllary aircraft formed the backbone of the Melasian fighter squadrons in the mid-1930s

The Melasian air force was formed in the aftermath of the Great war, when the state, then known as the Federated Melasian States, received several Mascyllary biplane fighters and flying boats in its inventory and formed the Melasian air corps of the Melasian army. The small air arm was used mostly for maritime patrol and remained a part of the country's army until the reforms of Wilhelm Keller, when the country received an air force as a separate branch of the armed forces. The newly-formed air force continued to use Mascyllary produced aircraft, but with the worsening relations between the two countries it became more and more apparent that a new supplier for the military must be found. The Melasian government attempted to sign a number of contracts for the delivery of military hardware from Lavaria, but these attempts were blocked by Mascylla in the Assembly of Nations, resulting in the delivery of several hundred aviational engines from the Lavarian automotive manufacturer Fábrica Automotiva Popular. As it was believed that Melasia lacked the industry to produce icompetetive modern military aircraft, the mascyllary officials allowed the purchase.

In the mid-1930s, the Melasian air force was still equipped with outdated biplane designs of Mascyllary origin, like the Alsich A.123.

Design features

Description of the J 36 in the Fallish Encyclopedia of 20th century aircraft

Variants

A J 36 Series 3 with Melasian pilots posing next to it, 1942

J 36 Serie 0

Pre-production run of 5 aircraft. The Serie 0 was completed with the earlier Fábrica Automotiva Popular 12Ycrs and two 7.7 mm machine guns in the nose. The construction used plywood as its skin everywhere except for the engine cowling. The aircraft was equipped with a wooden two-blade propeller without pitch control. The variant first flew in September 1937. All 5 aircraft were stored in at the Arsenal factory for various tests. Three were destroyed by Mascyllary bombing runs during the Melasian crisis, with the other two used for spare part cannibalizing until eventually being scrapped.

J 36 Serie 1

The first production variant, with several major and minor changes implemented to various systems of the aircraft. Those included, but were not limited to:

- The implementation of aluminium alloy on sections of the fuselage skin to strenghten the construction;
- The usage of the more advanced Fábrica Automotiva Popular 12Ydrs engine;
- Wingspan increase by 24 mm (9.45 in);
- The implementation of a three-blade, all-metal variable-pitch propeller;
- The substitution of the two 7.7 mm machine guns by the locally produced copy of the M2 0.50 cal. machine gun;
- Additional oil cooler in the nose of the aircraft;
The Serie 1 was produced between 1938 and 1941, with the variant being the most numerous in Melasian service at the start of the Melasian crisis. With subpar characteristics even by 1939 standards, it was quickly replaced by more modern variants, with 65 aircraft produced by April 1941.

J 36 Serie 2

Noting the numerous drawbacks found after the first months of service in the Melasian air force, Arsenal attempted an upgrade to the J 36 by installing a more reliable and lighter hand pump for the main landing gear as an emergency measure, an additional 80 L fuel tank under the pilot, and provisions for an additional external fuel tank for long range operations. Most of the radio equipment and instruments were replaced, as the earlier variants were equipped with Mascyllary instrumets taken from earlier biplane fighters in service of the Melasian air force and were not suited for the speeds of the J 36. Additionally, most components of Mascyllary origin were replaced with identical ones produced locally or imported from Cuthland, the last Berean power to not have imposed sanctions on Melasia by 1939. 32 aircraft of the type were completed between late 1939 and mid-1941.

J 36 Serie 3

The main production variant of the J 36, with 196 produced between 1940 and 1943. The aircraft featured a modernized 12Y-45 modification of the Fábrica Automotiva Popular engine, supplied just prior to the imposement of economic sanctions by Lavaria in late 1938 but too heavy to be installed on earlier variants. The third series received an upgrade in the armament as well, with the ammunition boxes for the nose machine guns replaced with bigger ones, carrying 500 rounds each. The aircraft also received two underwing gunpods carrying an additional set of two .50 cal machine guns with 500 rounds per gun. The cockpit canopy was replaced with a new one that provided better visibility. The engine received ethanol injection system, which further inreased its performance, while the flaps were modified to the fowler type. With the improvements of the powerplant, the aircraft started to perform equally to its Mascyllary counterparts and was well-liked by its crews.

J 36V

An attempt to completely redesign the J 36 and upgrade both its performance and construction. The aircraft received a lengthened fuselage with the distinctive V-shaped tail. The engine was moved behind the pilot and the whole set of armament was placed in the nose. The aircraft was armed with 4 0.5 cal machine guns and a 20 mm autocannon, with 500 rounds per machine gun and 200 rounds for the autocannon, which was of Cuthish origin. The aircraft received bigger fuel tanks in the wings and provision for external bomb load below the wings, with the ability to carry up to two 100 kg (220 lbs) bombs. Difficulties with stability and the complex structure made the project infeasable and it was therefore cancelled. 6 airframes were constructed.

J 36 Serie 4

An ad-hoc upgrade to the third series, with provisions for two 100 kg (220 lbs) bombs added under the wings and a new water radiator mounted under the pilot.

J 36EK

With the EK standing short for Experimentelle kanonen, the J 36EK modification was an attempt to improve the armament of the aircraft to keep it up to date with the new Mascyllary aircraft types used on the Melasian theatre. The J 36EK received two underwing gunpods and two of the newer Cuthish 20 mm autocannons in them. The added weight was over 250kg, which severy limited the performance of the aircraft. It was decided to remove the original nose-mounted motorkanone and leave only the two heavy machine guns. 50 of these aircraft were produced between 1942 and 1944. Their performance was severely lacking against the Mascyllary naval air forces during the Melasian crisis, but they exceeded later during the Kenlongese civil war as ground attack aircraft. Some aircraft later would receive new gunpods with four additional 0.5 cal machine guns instead of the 20 mm autocannons, as well as one bomb rack on the belly with the ability to carry up to a 500 kg (1100 lbs) bomb. The lack of actual air forces and anti-air armament of the Kenlongese guerrillas meant that the reduced performance of the aircraft with all additional hardware installed was not critical. The type was redesignated as the J 36K Kanonenvogel in 1945. 25 of the aircraft remained in service until as late as 1961 for anti-guerrilla aerial opeations and as gunships.

Other variants

Main article: Arsenal J 42

The third converted J 42 during its test flight, February 1942

J 42

After the initial hostilities between the Melasian state and Mascylla began in May 1941, officials from Melasia and Cuthland signed a contract for the delivery of 250 of the modern R-75 radial engines, with the provisions made for future delivery of the technical documentation and production experts to Melasia to allow for local production of the type. The first batch of 50 engines was delivered in June 1941 under the cover of Cuthish humanitarian aid convoy. The second batch, as well as the documentation and some of the required equipment for the production had to be delivered two weeks later, but the rising risks as well as the worsening relations between Cuthland and Mascylla forced the Cuthish government to prohibit any exports of military hardware. The R-75 had superior characteristics to the older Y12 available in Melasia, but had the major problem of being a radial air-cooled engine. This required a major upgrade to the construction of the J 36, which was the only Melasian aircraft available to potentially mount the new engine. Between mid-1941 and early 1942, the J 36 construction was significantly redesigned in order to accommodate the R-75, and the first five J 36s to be converted joined the air force for evaluation in February 1942 as the J 42. The usage of a radial engine required an additional redesign of the armament scheme, with the 20 mm motorkanone being removed as it could no longer be used. Instead, an additional third 12.7 mm machine gun was added in the nose, and two 20 mm guns were mounted in the wings of the aircraft. The J 42 proved to have superior characteristics to most Mascyllary carrier-born aircraft and was the first truly high-altitude fighter to join the Melasian air force. However, in March 1942 the Mascyllary air force attacked the military facilities in Jürgenshafen, destroying most of the stored R-75 engines and heavily damaging the rest. As there were neither spare parts nor the ability to locally produce the engines, further work on the J 42 was halted, with the five constructed aircraft joining the air force and performing their duties until the end of the conflict. The work done on the J 42 would later be utilized on the J 46, a new fighter designed from scratch after the end of the crisis.

Operators

Melasia

• Melasian Air Force operated the type since its introduction in 1939 up until 1961, and used it in the Melasian crisis and during the Kenlongese civil war

Mascylla

• Several aircraft were captured during the Melasian Crisis and shipped to Mascylla for evaluation and trials

Specifications (J 36 Serie 1)

3-view drawing of J 36 Serie 1 Falke

Data from The J 36 type certification sheet

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 7.40 m (24 ft 3 in)
• Wingspan: 9.36 m (30 ft 9 in)
• Height: 2.57 m (8 ft 5 in)
• Wing area: 16 m² (170 sq ft)
• Airfoil: NACA 63(2)-615
• Empty weight: 1,360 kg (2,998 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 2,460 kg (5,423 lb)
• Fuel capacity: 440 kg (520 L avgas)
• Powerplant: 1 × Fábrica Automotiva Popular 12Y V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine
  

619 kW (830 hp) for take-off at 2,520 rpm at sea level

567 kW (760 hp) rated power at 2,400 rpm at sea level

641 kW (860 hp) rated power at 2,400 rpm at 3,150 m (10,335 ft)

• Specific fuel consumption: 0.265 kg/kWh (0.436 lb/(hp⋅h))
• Specific oil consumption: 0.008 kg/kWh (0.013 lb/(hp⋅h))

• Propellers: 3-bladed variable-pitch propeller, 3 m (9 ft 10 in) diameter
  

Performance

• Maximum speed: 442 km/h (275 mph; 239 kn) at 1,500 m (4,900 ft)
• Cruise speed: 380 km/h (236 mph; 205 kn) at 1,500 m (4,900 ft)
• Stall speed: 120 km/h (75 mph; 65 kn) without flaps
• Range: 820 km (510 mi; 443 nmi) at 66% power
• Combat range: 600 km (373 mi; 324 nmi)
• Endurance: 2 hours 30 minutes (average combat mission)
• Service ceiling: 8,000 m (26,000 ft)
• Time to altitude:
  

5,000 m (16,404 ft) in 8 minutes 46 seconds

• Wing loading: 154 kg/m² (32 lb/sq ft)
• Power/mass: 2.95 kg/kW (4.85 lb/hp)
• Take-off run to 8 m (26 ft): 320 m (1,050 ft)
• Landing run from 8 m (26 ft): 420 m (1,378 ft)

Armament

• Guns:
  

• 1× 20 mm (0.787 in) Oerlikon FF cannon (60 rounds)
• 2× 12.7 mm (0.500 in) Arsenal M2 machine guns (200 rpg)

See also

Related development
Arsenal J 42
Arsenal J 49

Further reading

• The J 36 preliminary design calculations