Republic/Ford JB-2:

The Republic-Ford JB-2, also known as the Thunderbug, KGW and LTV-N-2 Loon, was an American copy of the German V-1 flying bomb.

I came across some blueprints for this and decided to develop a hyper detailed CAD model.

The blueprints are very poor quality; incidentally all of them are marked “illegible”, however, it is possible to extrapolate some key information that will provide a good accurate replica. At this stage, I am not sure exactly how far I can take this project but I shall endeavor to model every part that I can find and then take it from there.

As usual, I have all the key dimensions listed in spreadsheets for future reference. I studied the wing profiles and discovered the airfoil used is the NACA 0015. The wing construction is rather unusual in that the ribs are formed from 2 mirrored sections. As the project progresses I will explain that in more detail as an addendum to this post…so watch this space.

Update 26th Dec 2024:

Made quite good progress on this project. Still a lot of work to do, particularly on the empennage. I will take a break for a few days and post another update in a week or so.

Update 1st Jan 2025:

A few images showing the progress on this model build showing the Engine Intake, Wing construction and miscellaneous work on the Empennage including the Rudder Support.

Update 7th Jan 2025:

The horizontal stabiliser is almost finished. Notice the inclusion of the spoilers on the underside. The Aft fuselage deck has also been added. A close-up view of the Air bottles shows the surrounding supporting structure.