The Blohm & Voss BV 237 ground attack and dive bomber was another asymmetric design of Dr. Richard Vogt, who designed the BV 141. It was designed to become the Luftwaffe's replacement for the aging Junkers Ju 87 dive bomber, especially after the Ju 187 and 287 designs (not to be confused with the later four jet bomber) showed no marked performance improvement over the Ju 87. There were certain advantages to the asymmetrical design of the BV 237, such as a superior pilot view and ease of construction and maitainence. The fuselage was of a lightweight, simple construction with a round cross-section throughout. The single BMW 801D air-cooled, 14 cylinder double radial engine was mounted in the fuselage front and drove a wooden VDM adjustable 3-bladed propeller.  Just aft of the engine was a single fuel tank that held 900 liters (238 gallons). The wing was mounted low, and was completely of metal construction. Two steel girders were attached to the main tubular wing spar, and an additional 1000 liters (264 gallons) of fuel could be carried with in. The one-man cockpit was located to the right of the main fuselage, and was armor plated. A nose window allowed the pilot good vision when diving and landing. The tail unit was also asymmetric, with a V-shaped strut providing support under the left horizontal tail. The main landing gear retracted outwards into the wing leading edge, and the main wheels were braked; the tail wheel retracted forwards into the fuselage. Armament consisted of two fixed forward firing MG 151 and two rear firing MG 131. The normal bomb load was a single 500 kg ( 1102 lbs) bomb, carried beneath the cockpit. However, an overload of 1000 kg (2204 lbs) could be carried; an additional 500 kg (1102 lbs) of bombs could be carried under the wings outboard of the propeller arc. Also, three MK 103 30mm cannon could be mounted beneath the wing. Additional versions included a two seat cockpit, and even a provision was made for a single Jumo 004 jet engine to be mounted beneath the wing between the fuselage and cockpit. Although a wooden mockup was constructed, the unusual asymmetric design was not accepted, plus there was really no need for a new ground attack/dive bomber this late in the war.
 
Blohm & Voss BV 237 Dimensions, Weights & Performances
 Span Length  Height   Wing Area   Max. Loaded Weight    Max. Speed    Range
14.46 m 
47' 5"
10.75 m 
35' 3"
3.3 m 
10' 10"
42 m² 
452 ft²
6685 kg 
14738 lbs
579 km/h 
360 mph
2000 km 
1243 miles
 
Blohm & Voss BV 237 Models 
  There are no scale models of the BV 237 



 

     A three-view drawing showing the location of the underwing mounted Jumo 004 jet engine
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
 

     Blohm & Voss BV 237 w/900 liter drop tank
 
 
 
 
 


 

     Two man BV 237 version w/ one SD500 kg bomb and two SD 250 kg bombs in overload condition
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Top three-view drawing and bottom two color illustrations from Reichdreams #13: Asymmetric Planes