{"product_id":"az-model-plastic-model-kit-messerschmitt-me-1106b-5-hohenjager-1-72","title":"AZ Model Plastic Model kit Messerschmitt Me 1106B-5 Höhenjäger — 1:72","description":"\u003cp\u003eManufacturer\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAZ Model is a Czech specialist manufacturer particularly noted for limited-run aircraft kits and unusual Luftwaffe projects. AZ7539 forms part of the company's family of Messerschmitt P.1106 kits. Related boxings include AZ7537 Me 1106B-1 “Aces”, AZ7538 Me 1106B-2a “Nachtjäger”, and AZ7562 Me 1106 “Marine.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe kit was added to specialist catalogues in 2016 and is now discontinued. Super-Hobby records the last availability of the kit as 20 January 2020.\n\u003cbr\u003eKit contents\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAZ7539 represents the proposed B-5 configuration of the P.1106. It is a relatively small 1:72 scale injection-moulded aircraft kit, intended for assembly and painting.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe kit contains the principal components required to construct the projected aircraft, including:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Injection-moulded fuselage\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Swept-wing components\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Tailplane and vertical tail\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Cockpit and pilot's position\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Engine\/intake components\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Landing-gear components\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Armament details\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Small external airframe components\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Clear cockpit component\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Decals\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Assembly instructions\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe exact catalogue data gives a packaged kit weight of approximately 140 g.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBecause the P.1106 never progressed to a completed prototype, the model necessarily represents a paper aircraft rather than an aircraft based on a surviving production example.\n\u003cbr\u003eHistory of the full-size aircraft\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Messerschmitt P.1106, also referred to as the Me 1106, was one of the numerous German jet-fighter projects developed during the final phase of the Second World War.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe design emerged from the increasingly desperate German effort to develop new-generation fighters capable of dealing with the overwhelming Allied bomber offensive. By 1944–45, German manufacturers were investigating numerous jet and rocket-powered concepts under the broader Jägernotprogramm (“Emergency Fighter Programme”).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMesserschmitt's P.1106 was essentially a further development of the earlier P.1101 project. The aerodynamic configuration changed several times during development, particularly around the tail arrangement.\n\u003cbr\u003eThe P.1106B-5 “Höhenjäger”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe B-5 represented a proposed high-altitude fighter configuration.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe German designation Höhenjäger translates approximately as “high-altitude fighter.” The concept was intended to provide a specialised aircraft capable of reaching the operating altitudes of Allied heavy bombers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe P.1106 was conceived around a single Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011A turbojet, one of the most advanced German jet engines under development during the closing stages of the war.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe proposed armament consisted of two 30 mm MK 108 cannon, giving the aircraft substantial firepower for attacking heavy bombers.\n\u003cbr\u003eDesign development\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe P.1106 underwent a number of configuration changes while it remained on the drawing board.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe design process illustrates the rapid evolution of German jet-fighter thinking during 1944–45. Designers were experimenting with:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Highly swept wings\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Compact fuselage arrangements\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Single- and twin-engine layouts\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    High-altitude configurations\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Heavy cannon armament\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Improved aerodynamic efficiency\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe P.1106 was related conceptually to the earlier P.1101, but its aerodynamic arrangement was revised substantially. Contemporary descriptions specifically note repeated changes to the horizontal-tail arrangement.\n\u003cbr\u003eIntended role\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe primary purpose of the P.1106 was to attack Allied strategic bombers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe aircraft's proposed high-altitude configuration and heavy 30 mm armament were consistent with the German requirement for specialised bomber interceptors. The intention was to allow a fast jet fighter to reach bomber formations rapidly, make a short attack using heavy cannon fire and then disengage before Allied escort fighters could effectively intervene.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis concept was becoming increasingly important as USAAF heavy-bomber formations penetrated deeper into German-controlled airspace.\n\u003cbr\u003eComparison with the Me 262\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe P.1106 belongs to the same technological generation as the Messerschmitt Me 262, but the two aircraft were at very different stages of development.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Me 262 progressed through prototype testing, production and operational service. The P.1106 remained a design project.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eConsequently, there are no genuine operational performance figures for the P.1106. Published specifications should be treated as projected figures, not measured aircraft performance.\n\u003cbr\u003eWhy it never flew\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eGermany's worsening military and industrial situation made it increasingly difficult to turn advanced aircraft projects into operational machines.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBy 1945, Germany was suffering from:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Severe shortages of aviation fuel\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Allied bombing of aircraft factories and infrastructure\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Shortages of strategic materials\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Disruption of engine production\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Loss of experienced personnel\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Rapidly deteriorating military circumstances\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAlthough German engineers produced many technically ambitious aircraft proposals, there was simply insufficient time to develop all of them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eNeither the P.1101 nor the P.1106 reached series production, and the P.1106 was never flight-tested.\n\u003cbr\u003eHistorical significance\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe P.1106 is interesting because it represents the direction in which German fighter development might have proceeded had the war continued.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe design demonstrates the increasing importance of:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Jet propulsion\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    High-speed aerodynamic layouts\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Swept wings\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    High-altitude interception\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Heavy cannon armament\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHowever, it is important to distinguish the P.1106 from operational aircraft. Since no prototype was completed, its projected performance and handling characteristics remain theoretical.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor a model collector, this makes AZ7539 a representative of the German late-war “paper aircraft” genre, alongside projects such as the P.1101, P.1110 and other unbuilt Luftwaffe fighter concepts.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"AZ Model","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57504169591164,"sku":"AZ7539","price":14.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/sussex-model-centre.co.uk\/products\/az-model-plastic-model-kit-messerschmitt-me-1106b-5-hohenjager-1-72","provider":"Sussex Model Centre","version":"1.0","type":"link"}