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Pallamaran Military Designs (World War III); Showcase for 1936-54 Pallamaran Weaponry; comments welcome
Topic Started: Apr 9 2016, 05:57 PM (67 Views)
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The J-34 Slechtvalk (Perigrine) was the most modern frontline Luchtmacht fighter aircraft when the war kicked off in 1936. A clean, gull winged design, it was considered state of the art for the time, with only the fixed landing gear being a carryover from earlier era aircraft. Powered by an 850 horsepower engine, it was capable of a top speed of 286 mph, with a range of just over 600 miles. Armament was 4x.30 cal machine guns in the wings. Like most period aircraft, it lacked self sealing fuel tanks, but did incorporate some cockpit armor.

This aircraft, and the more advanced C version would serve until replaced by the J-36 Rooivalk in 1939.
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The J-34C version introduced a more powerful engine in the 1000 horsepower range and better streamlining, allowing it to reach a max speed of 303 mph. Arriving in service in late 1937, it represented the last of the the J-34 line. Sometimes criticized for retaining its fixed gear, this feature was helpful when operating from the rough strips it often found itself having to do. The truth was, the airframe offered limited growth, and any benefit from the retractable landing gear, would have been offset by the weight of the required mechanisms. A docile, forgiving aircraft to fly, the fighter would continue serving in increasingly minor roles until the end of the war, with some converted to seaplane configuration. Others, would find themselves armed with a single 250lb bomb and used for night harassment attacks.
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In 1936, Pallamara had only a single factory capable of producing tanks, with another under construction. The armored force, was to say the least, unimpressive, with what only amounted to a couple of battalions of vehicles of a mishmash of different types, suitable only for training. Most of this problem was caused not by production issues, but doctrinal ones, as the Landsweer was having trouble deciding exactly what type of tank was needed, and what roles they should play, such as whether they should be strictly infantry support vehicles, or should concentrate on more defensive duties, being essentially mobile pillboxes. Others, felt that it was unlikely that Pallamara would find itself in a conflict where heavy armor was a common occurrence, so were pressing for light tanks, which could be more cheaply produced and issued in greater numbers, perhaps even limited to carrying heavy machine guns.

These various debates not withstanding, doctrine finally coalesced around contemporary practice elsewhere, and a foreign design was licensed, with the idea it would go into immediate production at the available factory, while the domestically developed Sentinel tank, which was larger, and heavier, would be put into production at the new factory, when both became ready.

Called simply the Landkruiser, from the word, "Pancerlandkruiser" the Pallamaran word for tank, translating into "Armored land cruiser" a batch was purchased for evaulation from the original source. Unfortunately, these tanks were a cheap export design from Celibrae, and numerous shortcuts, and cost cutting measures had been adopted, meaning a lengthy re-engineering program was needed to fix over 120 different design flaws, which threatened to derail or cancel the entire project. Despite a heroic effort to locate and fix all the shortcomings, production would be delayed for over a year, meaning the only armored vehicles the Landsweer was able to field at the beginning of the war, were tiny weapons carriers.

Fortunately, once the vehicle did start to reach service, it was relatively trouble free. Its 47mm gun was an excellent piece, capable of penetrating 60mm of armor at combat ranges, and was accurate out to 1200 meters, with both high explosive, and armor-piercing shells available. One of the largest changes to the original design was an enlarged turret ring, which would allow eventual mounting of larger weapons. In 1940 a version with a welded turret was introduced, with improved models coming off the lines until the beginning of 1944, when production was ceased in favor of better designs, the final model being the Mk V, with a 75mm gun intended for infantry support.
Edited by Pallamara, Apr 11 2016, 04:29 PM.
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When the B-10 first made its debut, it was the most advanced bomber in the world, and made all previous bombers obsolete, incorporating a number of advanced features for its day, including careful streamlining, all-metal monoplane construction, rotating gun turret, enclosed cockpit, internal bomb bay, full engine cowling and retractable landing gear, which enabled it to outperform the biplane fighters of its day. Armament was 3x .30 or .50 machine guns, and a 2,250 lb bomb load.

In Luchtmacht service, it was known as "The Boat" due to its rounded belly, and equipped no less than five fontline bomber squadrons, and one squadron of the Naval Air Service. The buildup of the Luchtmacht prewar had largely been the doing of Archduke Severian, who believed that airpower offered a more cost effect method of defending Pallamara's shores, than traditional seapower, and was thus a great proponent of building the nation's aeronautical industry up. The basic version was the B-10A, which made its debut in 1934, and this would give way to the B-10C in 1937 with 1000 horsepower engine, and bomb shackles between the engines that allowed twice as much ordinance to be carried at the expense of shorter range.

In the early phase of the war, the aircraft performed much as expected, but advances in technology rapidly made it obsolete, so after 1940, the surviviors would mostly find themselves performing secondary duties such as training, and ASW patrol, where they'd be employed until the end of the war, in the meantime, being replaced by the A-20, which was more useful against the sort of targets the Luchtmacht was called upon to strike.
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