On the preceding Aviation Continuation Page 4:
  All-Time Favo(u)rites - My Choices (moved here from main page 29 Mar 2002)
  Marine Air Terminal (La Guardia).
  Casey Jones' Academy of Aeronautics.
  Dinky Meccano Aircraft Models.
  Comet Authenticast 1:432 Aircraft Models.

On this page 5:
    TWIN-FUSELAGE AIRPLANES (moved from the main Aviation page on 09 Jul 2002)

On the succeeding Aviation Continuation Page 6:

See also the Aviation Humor page.

Nota bene - I am a passenger; NOT a pilot!  Although I logged many hours in the Link trainer at NYC's late (and, by many, lamented) Museum of Science and Industry, I only had the command controls once, ca. 1980, in the right-hand seat of a Cessna 210, when our pilot seemed determined to B-25 the Empire State Building and I conned us away from that fate.

You might visit my other pages which are replete with aviation-related historical information, such as railroads, Emile Berliner and his son Henry A. Berliner*, Chrysler and SS and Jaguar, the ordnance page, and the Fairchild Aerial Survey page.

TWIN-FUSELAGE HAZARDOUS DUTY! - Before we get into twin-fuselage airplanes, here's a photofake (left) so fabulous that I thought I'd post it; it was sent to me on 19 Jul 03 as real, purportedly of a great white shark attacking a scuba diver and Royal Something helo off the South African coast (with a miraculously identical Golden Gate Bridge in the background!); now, thanks to the Berlinerwerke Photo Dept., we can now show you the REAL twin-fuselage occurrence (right):

[As explained on Urban Legends (a great site), the original "photo" is a composite of a U. S. Air Force HH-60G Pave Hawk helo and National Guard rescue diver on a training mission off San Francisco (surprise!) and a still of a great white by famed marine photographer Charles Maxwell, shot in False Bay (how appropriate can you get!) near Cape Town.  It's been circulating since August 2001!]

However, before we get into the real thing, here's an early (1929) variant, a design study aircraft from Jack Northrop, leading to his N9MB, XB-35, and YB-49 Flying Wings; don't know if those sticks really qualify as twin fuselages:

(image from Zagi's Flying Wing History)

Lockheed P-38 Lightning

Here, courtesy of the Confederate Air Force's Air Group One, is the classic WWII Lockheed P-38 Lightning (a P-38F) and two views of a flyable bird at the Lone Star Flight Museum in Galveston, Texas, from "Rob"'s fantastic WWII WarBirds site:

(upper image from CAF; lower two images from Rob's WarBirds)

F-82 Twin Mustang

The "Confederate Air Force" in Harlingen, Texas, actually has a restorable EF-82B Twin Mustang:

Image from CAF EF-82B page.

[14 Feb 00 - funny, looking at this photo after a long absence, it occurs to me that someone
not knowing of the F-82 would think this was some drunken (or drugged) artists idea of a joke!]

Photo courtesy of the US Air Force Museum

Mitchel Field is named for NYC Mayor John Puroy Mitchel - one "l" (killed in WWI in aerial combat), NOT Gen. Billy Mitchell - two "l"s]; there are 1924 and 1931 aerial photos of Mitchel Field on both my L. I. Motor Parkway History Page 3 and LIRR/Central RR of LI Page.  The Cradle of Aviation Museum opens at Mitchel coincident with the Lindy 75th Anniversary.

Now, for some additional material, which is why I had to create yet another page (09 Jul 2002):

Mark needs any new information he can get; he'd especially like to get some information on the twin Ercoupe (two fuselages put together, with twin cockpits) that was used in airshows.

I told him it ran off with a Twin Mustang!

There is twin Ercoupe information awaiting his checking back with me!

Clearly, this is not the end of the Twin Ercoupe story, so I moved it here, where there is more room.

The twin Ercoupe was two fuselages put together, with twin cockpits for a total of four people.  The plane could be controlled from either cockpit {rather like the the P-82 Twin Mustang - SB,III}.  "It was used in airshows during the 1950's."  Mark says the August 1998 Flying has a picture of it near the back of the magazine.  It crashed after doing a show, when another plane (the original Sampson-Big Pitts) hit it while on final approach.  Both airplanes were destroyed {per Mark}.

* - see the story of the Ercoupe/Aircoupe, the brainchild of prolific inventor Emile Berliner's son, Henry.

However, Dave McKenzie, who tried unsuccessfully to reach Mark on 13 Feb 03, sent the message along to me and I've reproduced it here (only slightly edited):

He then sold the airplane to an Ercoupe dealer in Columbus, Georgia who scavenged it as a parts source for Ercoupe repairs which led to its demise.

IT WAS NEVER INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT.

I am privileged to have a copy of the videotape of an address that Grady made to the Annual Banquet of the Lockheed Executive Men's Club at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama during '88 or '89 which shows many views of the airplane during its construction and air show performances.  The tape was filmed by the records department at Lockheed, but; since the banquet occurred at a motel in a room next to their swimming pool the audio is of poor quality and much of the tape is of the projection screen (home movie variety) that Grady was projecting the home movies onto that dated from '46 thru '50.

There is an "Ercoupe Type Club" in existence that publishes a newsletter called "Coupe Capers" that I have submitted a short article about the "Twin-'Coupe" to, accompanyied by a photo of Grady flying the airplane in the opening act of the airshow which was, "The American Flag Parachute Jump".  I submitted the article through a friend that is a member of the "Type Club", therefore; I really have no idea whether they will ever publish it.

Even though I have never pursued the rumor, it is my understanding that Grady's brother, "Bud", who performed the parachute jumps in the airshows, still resides in Huntsville and was in the, "oil business".

Again, the "Twin-'Coupe" NEVER collided with Ben Huntley in "Sampson".

(thumbnail image - click on picture for MUCH larger image)

Detail of above image from the collection of H. G. "Grady" Thrasher
(image courtesy of D. E. McKenzie - all rights reserved)

Dave says that this is a photo of Grady and Bud performing the "American Flag Parachute Jump" that was the opening act of the "Thrasher Brothers' Air Circus".  The photo is from a promotional postcard the Thrashers used.  There was a smoke generator on each engine, one producing white smoke and the other red, but on this black and white photo one can't determine which was which.

Grady Thrasher, III, son of the Grady involved here, confirmed 15 Jul 03 that that "Richard ('Bud) Thrasher is indeed the parachutist in the photo" and that he (Bud) "is the only surviving Thrasher brother"; thus that's Bud in the chute, trailing an American flag, and one might presume that Grady did NOT chew his brother to shreds with the twin props, even though it sure looks like he was about to!

Thanks a bunch to Dave for sharing this incredible photo with us.  Wonder if we can get a copy of that videotape?

For a modeler, I asked Grady III about the color scheme of the twin Ercoupe and here's his reply:

"The left fuselage and wing was painted red with white stripes,
  and the right fuselage and wing was white with red stripes.
  The tail assembly matched the respective sides."

Grady also volunteered this bit of Twin Ercoupe history:

"My father would pilot the craft from the left cockpit (which was the only one with controls).  We would often take family vacations in the plane when I was a child.  I'd ride in the left cockpit with my dad, and my mother and little sister would ride in the right.  There was no communication between the cockpits, so when the ladies needed a "rest stop", they would hold a sign against the cockpit side window and we'd find a handy landing strip (usually a small town airport with an unpaved runway) to set down, usually causing quite a stir among the locals."

(thumbnail image - click on picture for larger image)
[photo courtesy of G. Thrasher, III - all rights reserved]

That "Type Club" is actually the Ercoupe Owners Club, which is keeping the marque alive.

Back on 01 Nov 2004, one Charlie Gay sent me this info. (which I'd misplaced) on the Twin Ercoupe - I present it as given (with minimal editing):   (17 Feb 07)

"Just a note about the Twin ercoupe.  I remember reading an article on it years ago.  The guy who did the conversion wrote the article.  Some things that stand out in my mind are:

The airplane flew very well.  It would do good hammerhead stalls by varying power on the engines, probably no rudder pedals!

During the first flight a skywriter saw it and dove down while in the middle of writing PEPSI to see if what he was seeing was real.

The aileron control was a little sluggish.  The last flight as a twin was made after he drilled out all the rivets on the aileron trailing edges, then riveted a four inch strip of aluminum in to make larger chord ailerons.  Right after liftoff on the first flight with this modification the ailerons fluttered very badly.  After that they seperated the airplanes and reattached all the parts.  They were sold as two flying airplanes.

The centersection was not modified.  An Ercoupe has a very large bolted fitting just outboard of the landing gear for attaching the outer wing panel.  By making two steel plates the centersections can be mated together.  This would also keep both wing tanks intact.  The fuel pump return has to feed into one wing tank and all three feed together to each engine.  I don't know how the aileron pushrods were connected.  The mixer in the fuselage gives differential throw to the ailerons; more up than down.  Also, the rudders have more throw out than in so that would cause trouble with a center rudder; it may have been fixed.

Just some things I remember reading."

(click on thumbnailed picture for larger image)
[image courtesy of Z. Adams - all rights reserved]

FW 189

That Focke-Wulf (one "f") turned out to be their FW 189 Uhu (Owl), known as the "The Flying Eye", an elegant reconnaissance plane, apparently specially designed for aerial photography (see the detail shot of a camera being off-loaded from the rear viewing compartment):

(Images from Rob's WarBirds)

WRONG!  The pushme-pullyou plane was the Dornier Do-335 [the Pfeil (Arrow) - perhaps the most advanced prop plane of WWII], but what was the one wth the twin fuselage?  [See squadron13.com for a write-up with rare color pictures - my thanks to retired police officer Victor D. Hart for this Do-335 information].  The Pfeil had upper AND lower vertical stabilizers ("tail fins") so that the tail engine and prop might be said to be "between" the tails!

Holy smokes!  (Sufferin' Succotash?)  Rob's Warplanes has eight (8!) pages of Pfeil photos (144 of 'em - are they Pfeil file photos?  Say it pfast!).

YEE-HAH!  My 60-year memory served me well!  At least five Arados were twin-boomers!  Per Dan Johnson's Luft '46 site, the E.340 and E.500 were (and neither had a center horizontal tail plane, only small outboard ones), and the E.555-8, -9, and -10 were (and had just about every possible combination).

In addition to all these, it seems that Tony Fokker built a twin-fuselage plane as well; Gert Arkema wote from the Netherlands of the Fokker G1 fighter designed in the early '30s and presented in Paris 1935.  Meijnheer Arkema notes that more twin-boomed craft were designed and that the FW 189 (above) looks a lot like the G1: see for yourself:

(thumbnail image - click on picture for larger image)
[photo courtesy of G. Arkema - all rights reserved]

He-111Z "Zwilling"

I make mention above of the Heinkel He-111K twin; it was actually the He-111Z "Zwilling" ("Twin") and had an extra (fifth) engine tucked into the mid-span wing juncture:

(Images from Rob's WarBirds)

These photographs were selected from many on "Rob"'s fantastic WWII WarBirds site.

Me 321/323 "Gigant"

One of WWII's largest aircraft (and certainly the largest glider, dwarfing the British Hamilcar), the 55m (180' 5½") wingspan Messerschmitt Me 321 Gigant transport glider was originally towed by three (3!) Messerschmitt Bf 110s, a photo of which operation I'd also seen and marvelled at); this scheme was so bloody dangerous it was quickly abandoned.  That monster glider had a nose cargo door opening 11' high!

I could not originally find Messerschmitt Me 321 Gigant transport glider photos but the Gigants were later powered with six (6) captured French engines as the M-323 and the two versions were otherwise almost identical (as I recalled).  Actually, the glider had no landing gear; it took off on a detachable dolly and landed on skids.  The Me-323 had a row of five (5) large wheels on each side of the fuselage.  Both versions took off with early RATO bottles assisting.  I'd seen photos of the tow and it is simply staggering; I'm just thrilled to show it here, from the Warbirds Resource Group, two photos showing that insane triple Bf 110 rig and one on the ground on the dolly:

Here is the Me 323 powered version:

(Images from Rob's WarBirds)

These photographs were also selected from many on "Rob"'s fantastic WWII WarBirds site; I highly recommend it to you.

Twin Cub