"Room for one up front"
I Just found out, about a outlandish configuration for a fighter plane, It's the SPAD A2Attachment 160821Attachment 160822
It's one of the more strange attempts to design an aircraft with forward firing capabilities. The gunner/observer sat in a small cabin that was attached in front of the prop of the engine. There were many problems with this design, ranging from lack of communication between crew members, to a safety issue for the observer.
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The first military aircraft produced by SPAD's chief designer, Louis Béchereau, was the SPAD A.1 prototype. Early combat experience had shown it was desirable to have forward-firing machine guns. However, synchronization devices synchronization devices to fire a gun through the propeller were not yet available and several solutions were tested by various manufacturers.
One of the most complex was that adopted by Béchereau on the A.1. In addition to its pilot, the aircraft was designed to carry an observer/gunner placed in a streamlined nacelle in front of the propeller. With this configuration - designed to combine the advantages of the tractor and the pusher types, the observer had a clear field of fire and vision to the front. However, this also seriously limited the pilot's vision, notably during landing, made communication between the pilot and the observer nearly impossible and implied the risk of the observer being hit by the propeller, not to mention being crushed by the motor in even a relatively mild crash or "nose-over". A broadly similar adaptation of the British B.E.2c - the B.E.9 was abandoned for these reasons.
The nacelle (called a "pulpit") was fitted with a flexible Lewis machine gun on a tubular mount, and incorporated air intakes on its sides to redirect some air towards the 80-hp Le Rhône 9C rotary engine, which was largely screened by the nacelle. It could also be hinged down to give an easier access to the engine or to start it.
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A wire mesh screen was installed behind the observer, to stop him from hitting the propeller.
Aside from this unorthodox configuration, the aircraft was of a rather standard wood and fabric construction. The wings had a one-bay design. To prevent the long wires from vibrating excessively in flight, two light vertical struts were added in the middle of the bay to retain and strengthen the wires, giving the aircraft the looks of a two-bay biplane. The fuselage was reportedly strong and "well-designed" So loved was the plane, that many observers stood back (with a tear in their eye?) and watched the planes being exported to Russia.
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And you can get one from Shapeways!
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Originally Posted by QB Fox
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