Bm-335 Lindwurm

The BM-335 is a bomber aircraft that has a significant impact of the plot of Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War, as well as in Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War.

Description
The BM-335 appears to be a late 1940s-1950s design, probably a design of the same era as the Tu-95 Bear, Tu-16 Badger, B-47 Stratojet and B-52 Stratofortress. This is evidenced by a wingman in the first mission of Ace Combat Zero, when he exclaims over the radio, "That bomber looks ancient".

The BM-335 appears to be designed for the same strategic bomber role as the B-52, as evidenced in Ace Combat Zero's mission #1, "Glacial Skies" and mission #12 "Stage of the Apocalypse." In both missions, the aircraft were used as bombers. In the former mission the BM-335s were carrying conventional munitions for an attack against an Ustio airbase; in the latter they were loaded with nuclear warheads.

Appearance
Firstly, the bomber's spotted paint scheme and cockpit design resemble the ones used in WWII Germany's aircraft programs. The cockpit windows look more like the American B-29's, but the German He 177 along with the prototype Me-264 "Amerika Kampfluegzeug" (America Bomber Aircraft) used the same style of windows as well. If Nazi Germany had gone on to develop a multi-engined, jet powered strategic bomber, the BM-335 is plausible example of what it might have looked like. The appearance of the BM-335 helps to support the belief that Belka draws its characteristics from the historical Germany.

Secondly, the BM-335 has a large bulbous area beneath the cockpit, which raises obvious design questions. Even on a subsonic aircraft, the bulge would seriously harm the aerodynamic properties of the airframe. The most plausible explanation for this that it was an extension of the bomb bay, meant to carry exceptionally heavy munitions that could not be easily miniaturized. The most important example of such heavy bombs would be early-generation atomic weaponry, similar in design to the American A-bomb "Fat Man." Belkan engineers may have designed the BM-335 after realizing, like their German counterparts, that even if they managed to create a nuclear bomb, they would have no aircraft capable of delivering the bomb to a distant target. The BM-335 might also have been useful as a platform for heavy conventional "bunker buster" bombs or early fuel-air explosive weapons, but these would have been much less important than the nuclear capability.

As nuclear weapons become smaller, the space inside the bulb could have been used for other purposes such as fuel, ECM gear, cargo or a larger bombload.



The aircraft's specs and dimensions are up for speculation. However, it appears to be slightly larger than the B-52 Stratofortress, possibly in the size range of the B-36 Peacemaker scale. If so, this would have been a remarkable feat of engineering, since the bomber was presumably designed in the 40s or early 50s when jet engines were in their infancy. Historically, the B-36 used a hybrid of jet and propeller engines precisely because of the limits of available jet engines from that era. The aircraft probably has intercontinental range (8,000 mi estimate) and can be extended by air refueling. It can be assumed that electronic upgrades have kept it a viable weapons platform at the time of the 1995 Belkan War. Based on the performance stats of similar bombers such as the B-52, estimated max speed might be as high as 550+ mph, with a ceiling of 40,000-50,000 ft. It could possibly outrun first generation jet fighters, such as the MiG-15 and F-86 Sabre.

Thirdly, the BM-335 carries an autocannon in the tail, similar to the nose-mounted cannon found in virtually all the games' fighter aircraft. This was a common feature of historical early Cold War bombers, including the B-52. But by the 1960s, most bomber designs had their tail guns removed because air to air missiles made it possible for fighters to kill a bomber from well outside the bomber's gun range. The BM-335 is unusual in that the Belkans did not choose to remove the tail gun mounts, as they appear to have done with the B-52's in their service.

The tail armament may have evolved over time from 20mm Autocannons to a multi-barreled cannon like a Vulcan. Whatever the case, the armament is extremely lethal and effective to hostile aircraft traveling too close to the bomber, based on Ace and Expert difficulty observations. The bomber's tail gun has demonstrated an ability to keep firing at enemy aircraft, even after the bomber has been critically damaged. This suggests that either the tail gunner is suicidal or that his position was deleted in favor of an automated, radar-controlled gun system. (Or it could be just a little oversight in programing by Namco).

Armaments

 * 4x 20mm M61A1 Vulcan Gatling Cannon


 * UGBS: Mk-82


 * UGBL: Mk-84


 * Nuke: B-61 Thermonuclear Bomb (Designated as the V-1 within the Belkan Military)

Comparable Aircraft

 * B-52 Stratofortress