Best medium bomber of WWII.

Nein, He 219 "Uhu", Nachtjäger ! He 177 Grief !

E

 

He 177 history;
see: Flaming Tigers

 

Ohhhh... The amazing "Uhu"... I see. What do you think it was a piece of junk?

 

First the engines did not perform well and had many breakdowns.
Second the a/c though sophisticated, did not have rear warning radar as standard unitl the last 20 or so types.
Third the cockpit was too forward and bailing out could be quite dangerous in a dive as the crew members could and did hit the props.
Fourth, only two crewmen, and in the event of an attack by a mossie n.f., another pair of eyes would of been handy.
Fifth, no rear gunners position, there was no way for this bird to defend itself as the B series never got into production.

Friedrich, we will cover the Mosquito claims by I./NJG 1 as we have all of them, and the A-6 variant / mosquito killer, which it wasn't !

E

 

Then why the hell have I herad that it was the best German night-fighter? Or did I herad that it was the best night-fighter of WWII?! I don't think so. But it is a thread by itself.

 

An a/c with too many physical problems, one reason why only I./NJG 1 kept the a/c. It was tested by II. gruppe by one or two pilots who found it lacking. NJGr 10 laughed at their example as well as Nachtjagdstaffel Norwegen who perferred the Ju 88G-6 for anti-mine laying duties.

E

 

Check out this neat link:
http://www.coastcomp.com/av/fltline2/avmovie.htm

 

Either the B-17 Flying Fortress. The B-17 is called the flying fortress because it carries 13 .50 machine guns. Making it the most heavily armed bomber in existance when it first came onto the scene. The B-17 first came along in 1941 and maintaned it's dominance in the sky until the end of the war. And what about carrier based bombers?

I'm not sure, but wasn't there another bomber with 14 .50 machine guns and 4 .75 cannon? I checked the internet,but couldn't find anything. I think I read it in a book once though.

 

The B-17 was not a medium bomber, was it?

 

NO it wasn't ! check this : www.armyairforces.com

check out everything on the site and learn !! if interested....

 

Sorry my mistake. Jeeez I can't seem to get anything right.

 

That means that it was the B-25 Mitchell. Tokyo, Japan, April 18, 1942. Real morale booster. The B-25 was also one of the more versatile weapons in WWII. Was used for high level bombling, low-level bombing, ground strafing, photo reconnaissance, and submarine patrol. 9,816 were built. Flown by Dutch, English, Chinese, Russians, and Australians as well as the U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. The B-25H was also the most heavily armed plane in WWII with 14 .50 machine guns and 1 .75 cannon. Glad it was American.

Made by the same company that made the Mustang too.

 

I'm gonna be really boring here - but I don't think Mitchells carried 14 x .50s and the cannon at the same time. The B25G had most of the forward-firing guns deleted ( retaining two for aiming purposes ) and mounted six .50s in total. I'm ready to be corrected,though - I'm not an expert on this.

I agree with you in basis, Mustang - the B25 may not be 'sexy', but I reckon it was WWII's best 'medium'.

 

Has to be the Mosquito
Why?
Well this is the stat, that does it for me.
8 Group (LNSF)flew 27,239 sorties from which 108 aircraft failed to return

 

I checked three sources. Went to the library and got a new book, Bomber Planes that made History, checked the internet, and asked a WWII guru, David C. Cooke. See, I've learned my leason! The B-25 could carry 14 .50 machine guns and 1 .75 cannon. Glad that you agree with me though.

 

Mustang, do you have access to some reference(s) that state how many B-25's and the variants went to Russia as lend lease ? I am searching for info on this.....for one of my books. The German night fighter pilots on the Ost front had a very hard time trying to catch up to this speedy a/c. The other Soviet a/c they made hamburger out of !

E

 

I am going to agree about the B-25 being a very good plane. But also agree about the 'Mosquito' and the Ju-88... ARHG! Why are there so many good planes?! I can't choose one!

 

Friedrich, you are getting very sleepy... very sleepy... you are under a spell... you favorite medium bomber was the B-25, B-25, B-25, B-25.....

 

Erich, can't find anything so far, but I did learn one very interesting thing. Bank was the NATO nickname given to Russian lend-lease B-25's.

[ 02 October 2002, 08:36 PM: Message edited by: Mustang ]

 

Thanks Mustang. I have an account by Rudi Schoenert an ace with the Ritterkreuz who was vectored onto a lone B-25 flying low. He and his crew had a terrible time catching the a/c. The Soviet crew thought they were clear from any German night fighter defences and flew over the waters edge flying flat out on the Ost see coast. Rudi finally caught them close enough to bring his 4 mg's and 4 20mm cannon to bear. He was flying a souped by Dornier 217 which was stripped of any protective armor. As the B-25 was going down the rear gunner of the B-25 made a valiant effort to give a burst of mg fire to Rudi's a/c which damaged one of his engines. As the Dornier crew watched the B-25 crash into the sea, there were no survivors........

E