Blohm and Voss, founded in 1877, became a well-known shipbuilder for Germany even before World War 2 (1939-1945) took over Europe. The company also held an aircraft division and one of its more important contributors became Dr. Richard Vogt. Vogt delivered a myriad of designs to the German Air Ministry for consideration during the war - many with far-reaching goals and futuristic approaches - and there proved a particular fascination with asymmetric airframes with a case-in-point being the Bv 141.
The Bv 141 was built in fewer than thirty examples and first-flown in 1938 but its arrangement is what truly set it apart from contemporaries - the engine was held in a streamlined tail boom offset to portside from centerline. To starboard was a short nacelle housing the cockpit and crew. A wing main plane passed through both of these assemblies and only the tailboom section held tailplanes (vertical and horizontal surfaces). The asymmetric approach worked in the Bv 141 and provided a stable, if unorthodox, operating platform. By all accounts, the Bv 141 performed well in testing for its short time in the air but few were interested in such a strange design so no quantitative production was ordered.
Vogt continued to pursue several asymmetric aircraft designs during the conflict and another venture became the P.163 project aircraft. A streamlined fuselage / tailboom was set at center with the low-mounted wing mainplanes passing through it. The boom held the powerplant which was to drive a dual-propeller scheme at the nose in contra-rotating fashion. A traditional single-finned tail unit was affixed to this boom. The uniqueness of the design lay in the placement of the cockpit nacelle - set along the wingtip of the portside mainplane (housing pilot, radioman (doubling as the navigator) and a gunner). The starboard side mainplane wingtip held another crew nacelle showcasing strictly self-defense armament (and housing two dedicated gunners). Despite the twin nacelles and divided crewspaces, the aircraft could be controlled by either wingtip pod as needed.
As designed, the aircraft was to fulfill a bomber role and was rated for 2,000 kilograms of drop stores. Known measurements were a wingspan of 20.5 meters and a length of 15.5 meters.
Proposed armament was up to six 20mm MG151/20 cannons. Two would be fitted in rear-facing positions at the rear of each wingtip nacelle. Each nacelle was also given a forward0facing 20mm mounting.
The P.168 was penciled out in two major forms, P.163.01 and P.163.02. Version 01 was to feature 2 x Daimler-Benz DB613C conjoined engines driving contra-rotating propellers at the nose and these engines would be seated in the frame side-by-side. Estimated maximum speed was 545 kph. Version 02 was to carry 2 x BMW 803 series conjoined engines also driving contra-rotating propellers. Estimated maximum speed was increased to 570 kmh.
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(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)
✓Ground Attack (Bombing, Strafing)
Ability to conduct aerial bombing of ground targets by way of (but not limited to) guns, bombs, missiles, rockets, and the like.
✓X-Plane (Developmental, Prototype, Technology Demonstrator)
Aircraft developed for the role of prototyping, technology demonstration, or research / data collection.
Length
50.9 ft (15.50 m)
Width/Span
67.3 ft (20.50 m)
Height
11.5 ft (3.50 m)
Empty Wgt
11,023 lb (5,000 kg)
MTOW
18,739 lb (8,500 kg)
Wgt Diff
+7,716 lb (+3,500 kg)
(Showcased structural values pertain to the Blohm and Voss Bv P.163.01 production variant)
Installed:
2 x Daimler-Benz DB613C engines (conjoined) driving two three-bladed propellers at nose in contra-rotating fashion.
(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the Blohm and Voss Bv P.163.01 production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)
PROPOSED:
2 x 20mm MG151/20 cannons in rear-facing position in portside gondola.
2 x 20mm MG151/20 cannons in rear-facing position in starboard side gondola.
1 x 20mm MG151/20 cannon in forward-firing mounting at nose of portside gondola.
1 x 20mm MG151/20 cannon in forward-firing mounting at nose of starboard side gondola.
Up to 2,000 kilograms of conventional drop stores.
Supported Types
(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)
Hardpoint Mountings: 0
P.163 - Base Project Designation
P.163.01 - Conjoined Daimler-Benz DB613C engines.
P.138.02 - Conjoined BMW 803 series engines.
General Assessment
Firepower
Performance
Survivability
Versatility
Impact
Values are derrived from a variety of categories related to the design, overall function, and historical influence of this aircraft in aviation history.
Overall Rating
The overall rating takes into account over 60 individual factors related to this aircraft entry.
54
Rating is out of a possible 100 points.
Relative Maximum Speed
Hi: 400mph
Lo: 200mph
This entry's maximum listed speed (339mph).
Graph average of 300 miles-per-hour.
City-to-City Ranges
NYC
LON
LON
PAR
PAR
BER
BER
MOS
MOS
TOK
TOK
SYD
SYD
LAX
LAX
NYC
Blohm and Voss Bv P.163.01 operational range when compared to distances between major cities (in KM).
Max Altitude Visualization
Design Balance
The three qualities reflected above are altitude, speed, and range.
Aviation Era Span
Showcasing era cross-over of this aircraft design.
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Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective aerial campaigns / operations / aviation periods.
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Nazi Germany (cancelled)
