KerbalX

Description

This craft and related world-building are a part of the very talented HolidayTheLeek’s ongoing ‘Forever War’ universe.

As the war turned to the Coalition Powers’ favour by the early 1940’s, the need for a capable attack aircraft was recognised in order to challenge ground forces if an invasion of the Royal Isles should
occur. Subsequently, a design was drafted for a rugged, high performance aircraft that carried four
20mm cannons and was capable of harassing enemy troops, supply vehicles and armour. The DP-11
Tornado that was in development at the time seemed to be a fine aircraft for the required
specifications, but shortly after its first flight in February of 1940 the availability of the highly
advanced Rapier H-24 engine fell into dramatic decline as the Bavarian war machine tightened it’s
grip on the shipping lanes, squeezing the Royal Isles dry of resources.

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As such, alternative power-plants were considered. The much sought after Falcon engine was
equally unavailable due to its consumption in the manufacturing of the exceptionally valuable DP-9
Trojan and DP-7 Valiant, and it seemed no other inline engines would be available in time. The
prospect of adapting the fledgling Tornado’s airframe to mount a radial engine was considered. The
venerable and reliable 14 cylinder Hercules engine was, at the time, available in abundance due to
the as of yet undamaged industrial capacity of the Southern Isles. Durham Aircraft quickly set about
the acquisition and testing of the Hercules in the prototype airframe of the Tornado. Early testing
was marred by a number of problems. In order to mount the vast engine, the nose of the aircraft
was entirely reworked, obstructing the pilot’s visibility and upsetting the aerodynamics of the
aircraft considerably. Furthermore, the four bladed propeller mounted to the Hercules produced
tremendous torque, especially at lower speeds during take-off and landing, making both
manoeuvres very hazardous. The design was brought back to the drawing board.

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By early 1941, a reworked prototype featuring a number of considerable modifications was tested.
The tail of the original Tornado had been bisected into a twin-tail design with very prominent rudder
control, enormously mitigating the yawing of the aircraft as a consequence of torque from the
engine. The Fuselage had been almost completely redesigned so as to accommodate a much higher
seating position, affording the pilot greater visibility. One of the most striking changes was the
addition of an additional Hercules engine in the nose, with both engines sharing a common gearbox
in a contra-rotating design. This eliminated much of the engine torque, as well as massively
improving performance, with the added benefit of increased redundancy should one engine fail. A
new and very large four bladed propeller was mounted to both engines to give excellent low altitude
performance. This produced the new gull-wing configuration of the original Tornado’s wing so that
the landing gear could extend far enough as to prevent the large propellers from striking the ground.
The test flight was a resounding success. The aircraft exhibited excellent handling characteristics as
well as an impressive top speed and fantastic energy retention, making it well suited to diving
attacks. The RIAF (Royal Isles Air Force) leapt to place an order for the aircraft, which was renamed the
Marauder, as it now shared very little in common with the original Tornado design.

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However, despite the early successes of the Marauder, it was available in too few numbers to slow
the inexorable march of Coalition Forces into Western Arbon, with the Royal Isles being occupied by
1943. Surviving Marauders were test flown by Bavarian pilots, who were impressed by its
performance and power at low altitudes. Design elements of the aircraft were subsequently
incorporated into later Bavarian fighters. Plans for the Marauder managed to escape the Royal Isles
along with an exodus of military officials and key figures. They found their way to New Australis,
aiding in indigenous Australite aircraft designs.

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Press ‘Space’ to toggle the fuel cells and motors.
Use the throttle keys to increase and decrease power.
Use the ‘H’ and ‘N’ keys to adjust the propeller pitch and reach the aircraft’s top speed of 150m/s.

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Built in the SPH in KSP version 1.7.3.

Details

• Type: SPH
• Class: aircraft
• Part Count: 229
• Pure Stock