Many consider the following plane to be one of the biggest failures when it comes to operational aircraft that was used during World War II. The Breda Ba.88 Lince was a bit of a dud for numerous reasons. While its streamlined design was ahead of the curve, the plane generally suffered from poor performance due to the military equipment installed into it.
In the end, production came to a halt, and the remaining airframes were placed on airfields, essentially as decoys to mislead the enemy during their recon missions. It’s impossible to deny though that the Breda Ba.88 Lince certainly looked the part.
Kellett-Hughes XH-17
One of the main purposes of a helicopter is to hoist large and oversized loads to places that traditional planes cannot access. So when the Hughes Aircraft Company designed the largest helicopter in the world, the XH-17 in 1952, people were delighted.
It consisted of a 120-foot rotor system but in the middle of the testing stage, the XH-17 showed that it was not up to the task as flames began to rise from the jet engines on the rotor tips. Apparently, those as far as eight miles away from the helicopter could hear the monstrosity burning to ashes.
Hughes H-4 Hercules
This prototype airlift flying boat certainly looked the part. Designed and built by the Huges Aircraft Company, the Spruce Goose, as it was colloquially known, was supposed to be used for transatlantic flights during World War II, but ultimately wasn’t completed in time.
When you consider the fact that the Spruce Goose was built primarily from wood, the amount of manpower allocated to making it, and its limited use, there were plenty of reasons why this plane should never have been made in the first place. But probably the biggest problem was how much it cost to make ($23 million in total), with plenty of cost overruns along the way.
Lockheed F-104 Starfighter
While its design was pretty great, that’s pretty much where the positives ended for the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. This single-engine fighter was used quite frequently by the Americans during the Cold War, and produced by other nations around this time too. Lockheed designer Kelly Johnson was determined to transition to more lightweight aircraft.
When it was in commission, the plane suffered from problems with its General Electric J79 engine and gained a bad reputation for causing many accidents. It was nicknamed the “Widowmaker” because of this. Other issues as to why it should never have been made, to begin with, include its cost overruns, as well as the fact many countries that it was exported to didn’t have the infrastructure to operate them properly.
Sukhoi T-4 / Project 100
Here is one example of a plane that never even exceeded its Prototype Stage. Also known as the “Sotka,” the Sukhoi T-4, in theory, was a great plane for performing recon missions and was also designed to be a strategic bomber. Of course, this meant that there were a number of reasons why it wasn’t fit for entering mass production.
Poor testing, high costs, and potential political tensions between the Soviet Union and the West may have all played a part in its downfall. However, probably the biggest issue was the technological hurdles it faced. It was a very ambitious project, with its design maybe not necessarily ready for the aviation technology of the time.