Manufacturer: Davis

Model: unknown

Name: Jet Manta

Type: Jet fighter

Date:

Status: Operational

Country: United States of America

Service: U.S. Army Air Force

Designation: P-68B

Meet a (very) a distant cousin of the Gloster Meteor... The Davis Manta was actually a real aircraft project, which went as far as a full-scale mock-up.

The Davis Jet Manta is a jet-powered development which was suggested to me by KJ_Lesnick. The idea was to modify the Manta with wing root intakes and exhaust à la Banshee to see what other modifications might be needed on the original design.

From a purely graphic aspect I have very little merit regarding this image, and the credit really belongs to Ronnie Olsthoorn, who did a fantastic job with his CG rendering of the Manta (reproduced below right).

I didn't change a thing to the overall configuration or the wing's shape. My modifications include the removal of the contra-rotating props in the nose, the addition of wing-root intakes and exhausts, the thickening of the rear fuselage, the raising of horizontal stabs and the reshaping of the tail fin, which may seem like quite a lot but when you look at the result, it's really still Ronnie's work that shines!

• The Manta is really interesting, the crescent wing was used only a few times in real hardware. (RussC)