Tremulis Zero Fighter (1944)

IN STOCK

Retail Price: $75.00 + Shipping

ABOUT THE DESIGN:

ABOUT THE MODEL:

Alex S. Tremulis is best known as an automotive designer. However, he enlisted in the Army following Pearl Harbor and, in 1944, joined the Army Air Corps' R&D team at Wright Field outside Dayton, Ohio, to design advanced concept aircraft. One of these, dubbed the "Zero Fighter," was a rocket-powered vertical take-off fighter intended to operate at extreme altitudes.

Tremulis envisioned a one-man rocket plane launched atop a liquid-fueled booster. (This was before the Allies were aware of Germany's V-2.) The booster would propel the fighter on a sub-orbital or even orbital trajectory. Upon completion of the mission, the swept-winged aircraft would glide back to earth and land like a conventional airplane.

Although the Zero Fighter never made it beyond the design stage, many of its concepts helped the Air Force develop the X-20 Dyna-Soar 15 years later.

Scale: 1:48
Number of Pieces: 21
Pattern: Scott Lowther
Casting: Acme Design
Decals by JBOT
The finished model stands 14" high!