WWII Forums Quiz Part III

[redcoat]

Originally posted by Panzerknacker:

My go at the question, was it Wolfgang Luth's boat, U-181 sinking HMS Doris???

I know of only three cases where U-boats sank RN submarines, U-181 was not one of the three.

HMS Doris
I have found only one HMS Doris. An armoured cruiser of WW1 vintage, she was scrapped well before WW2

[ 18. January 2003, 03:27 PM: Message edited by: redcoat ]

[redcoat]

Originally posted by redcoat:
Who can name the submarine which holds the record for being the only submerged submarine to sink a submerged enemy submarine.

Hmmm, I thought this would be a fairly easy one
OK I'll give the answer at around 11.00am BST on thursday, if not answered before then. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 21. January 2003, 03:05 PM: Message edited by: redcoat ]

[Popski]

Oi

Operation Petticoat? [img]smile.gif[/img]

P


I think you got us nailed Red

[redcoat]

Originally posted by redcoat:
Who can name the submarine which holds the record for being the only submerged submarine to sink a submerged enemy submarine.

The answer is ;
HMS Venturer, which on the 9th February 1945 sank the German U-boat U-864 ,off the coast of Norway while both submarines were submerged
The Venturer had also sank the U-771 on the 11th November 1944, but this ship was surfaced at the time
During ww2 RN submarines sank 35 enemy submarines, the highest total of any of the submarine fleets

Ok, lets have a aircraft question now.
The Royal Canadian Air Force had only one confirmed victory in North American airspace during WW2. Who was the pilot, what was the date, what unit, what type of aircraft was he flying, and what type of aircraft did he shoot down?
Have fun

[Martin Bull]

Thanks, Redcoat - there's something else I never knew !

[Kai-Petri]

Boomer shot down a Japanese "Rufe" over Kiska on September 26, 1942.This was the first combat "kill" for an RCAF pilot over North America.
-----

http://www.rcaf.com/aircraft/p40kittyhawk.shtml

In July 1942, No. 111 sent a detachment to Umnak. Four pilots from this detachment took part in an attack on Kiska on 25 September 1942 along with 37 U.S. air craft. The Canadians straffed ground targets and Squadron Leader Boomer destroyed a "Rufe" seaplane fighter. The U.S. Air Medal was awarded to Boomer and to Flying Officers J.O. Gohl, H .0. Gooding, and R. Lynch, and Boomer was later awarded the Commonwealth DFC.

He flew a Kittyhawk.


Was this it?

[ 24. January 2003, 03:14 AM: Message edited by: Kai-Petri ]

[redcoat]

Originally posted by Kai-Petri:
Boomer shot down a Japanese "Rufe" over Kiska on September 26, 1942.This was the first combat "kill" for an RCAF pilot over North America.
-----

was this it?

Well done Kai-Petri, you are correct

Pilot: S/L Ken A. Boomer
Date: 25 Sept 1942
Unit: RCAF No 111 Squadron
Aircraft: P-40 Kittyhawk
Victim: Nakajima A6M2-N ( Allied code-name, Rufe) fighter seaplane

Happened over Kiska in the Aleutian Islands
Your turn

[Kai-Petri]

Thanx Redcoat!

Actually I was a bit confused about this where to look for but then I decided it must be Alaska for one key word and that´s how I found it!

Anyway..I decided to turn to a strange frontier for me, i.e. the Pacific Ocean war.

"On December 10 1941 the Royal Navy suffered their greatest single loss as a result of a single engagement, when the Capital ships HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse were sunk by Japanese some 50 miles off the coast of Kuantan in Malaya, with the tragic loss of over 840 officers and men."

1. Why was this achievement seen as ground breaking, on what part?

2. Force Z, which consisted of the battleship Prince of Wales, battlecruiser Repulse and four destroyer escorts. Apart from the possible "misuse" of the destroyers for protective fire something else was missing, what was that?

I´ll be back on Sunday 26th to see the answers!
Have a nice weekend!

[Martin Bull]

The destruction of the 'Prince of Wales' and 'Repulse' was seen as ground-breaking as it spelt the end for the all-big-gun capital ship operating alone. The ships were at the mercy of and overwhelmed by Japanese airpower ; this was not a 'traditional' ship-to-ship engagement.

The missing element was fighter cover from the RAF which had been requested but not provided.

A less-obvious side-effect of the Battle was a tremendous loss of British prestige in the Asia/Far East area.

[Kai-Petri]

10 points out of 10 possible.Over to you, Martin!

[Martin Bull]

A 'Battle of Britain' question.

Who, according to the understandably imaginative press of the time, 'brought down the Dornier which bombed Buckingham Palace' ?

[C.Evans]

Wasnt he that British Actor that was famous for playing a Confederate Soldier in "Gone With The Wind" who joined the RAF and was killed sometime during the Battla of Britain?

I can look up his name later if his name wasnt Howard--somethingorother.

[C.Evans]

OK, my guess is Leslie Howard.

[Panzerknacker]

I know for a fact it was Ginger Lacey....... [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Panzerknacker]

That has to be who you mean-I believe the incident happened on either September 10, 13 or 29, 1940.
Sorry, but I can't remember the exact date off the top of my head, but know for a fact, the pilot you mean is Ginger Lacey, and that occurred in September 1940.

[Martin Bull]

No !

'Ginger' Lacey got the ' Heinkel that bombed Buckingham Palace' ( in fact it wasn't, but that's another story.... )

[redcoat]

Originally posted by Kai-Petri:
Force Z, which consisted of the battleship Prince of Wales, battlecruiser Repulse and four destroyer escorts. Apart from the possible "misuse" of the destroyers for protective fire something else was missing, what was that?

I know you've accepted Martins answer "aircover" but you also could have also said "Aircraft Carrier" because Force Z was to have sailed with HMS Indomitable a RN aircraft carrier. However HMS Indomitable ran aground off Jamaica and was damaged, so she couldn't travel with Force Z to the pacific.

[Martin Bull]

Well-pointed-out, Redcoat ! Actually, I thought I shouldn't have said just 'RAF' as soon as I typed it....

OK. you're all struggling with the Buckingham Palace Dornier so I'll give it away with an easy clue :

It happened on 'Battle of Britain Day'.....

[urqh]

One of 2, Douglas Bader, or...

Winston churchil in a Lancaster throwing tins of cigars out the rear gun turret?

[Kai-Petri]

Another pilot of 504 Squadron, Sergeant R.T.Holmes, decided that he would take on no less than three Dorniers at the same time. The first, after a short burst bellowed smoke, but as he flew past he got a spray of black oil on his windscreen. But that did not deter him from going in on a second Dornier ahead. Another short burst as the Do17 was lined up in his sights, and smoke and flames came from the stricken bomber and it dived away. He then took on a third, but soon afterwards, his Hurricane banked sharply and he lost all control, he started to go into a wild spin. It is not known as to whether he collided with the third Dornier, or was hit by enemy gunfire but he found it difficult to extract himself from the doomed fighter. Suddenly, he managed to free himself and jumped, the parachute breaking his fall just twenty feet or so above the rooftops of some houses in fashionable Chelsea. His backside hit the sloping roof of one of the houses, and he began to slide down the roofless, fall off over the guttering and straight down into the garden below, and into a garbage bin . The Dornier came down about a mile away crashing into the forecourt of Victoria Station, practically demolishing a small tobacconist's shop.


I am not sure but is the "story" that he rammed the Dornier because he was out of ammo and survived...and no problems with the Hurricane either..??

[Martin Bull]

You got it, Kai ! Ray Holmes it was....

Actually, about six or seven different fighters attacked the hapless Dornier and the 'plane was already doomed when along came Ray...but posterity usually credits him with the 'kill'.

As an unattractive footnote, the Dornier crew escaped by parachute and landed near the Oval cricket ground where they were attacked by an angry mob of civilians - one of the crew died from injuries received.

Kai - over to you !