The Blohm&Voss Asymmetric Plane.

In 1937, the German Air Ministry issued a specification for a single-engine three-seat short-range reconnaissance and observation aircraft, with the emphasis on good all-round visibility.

Blohm&Voss was primarily known at the time for building flying boats.The unorthodox design of the Bv-141 featured an asymmetric layout.

The plane was remarkably aerodynamic even though it was undoubtedly the most unorthodox-looking aircraft constructed during World War II.

Blohm&Voss Bv-141 was 12,14m long, with a wingspan of 15,44m and weight of 3900kgs, putting it in almost the same size as the Messerschmitt Bf-110.

Powered by a 865-hp BMW radial engine, the Bv-141 had a respectable (for 1938) top speed of 400km/h and a ceiling of 9000m, while its 1126-kilometers range was almost twice that of its closest competitor, the Focke Wulf Fw-189.

Blohm&Voss Bv-141 was armed with two fixed forward-firing 7.92mm MG17 machine guns, plus two MG15 guns of similar caliber firing to the rear. Able to carry a camera and racks for four 50kgs bombs, that plane proved successful during initial trials.

The second prototype was flown to a testing facility in the spring of 1941, and the plane continued to make a good overall impression. As a result, the design team proposed developing a couple more aircraft for use on the Eastern Front.

Mass production plans never came to fruition. Only 26 Blohm&Voss Bv-141s were built in total. The Luftwaffe opted to mass-produce the Fw-189 instead.

The Blohm&Voss assembly lines were being used to produce the Fw-200 Condor, as the original Focke Wulf factory had been bombed to oblivion.

Many analysts look back on the Blohm&Voss Bv-141 as the most remarkable aircraft of WWII, but they generally regard it as a failure. It was indeed remarkable, but it wasn’t a failure. The plane initially was good — better than the Fw-189. But the design team simply ran into too much opposition in the course of development.