Recent content by paradoxguy

The De Havilland Mosquito and the Junkers Ju 88 were successfully used in more roles than any other WWII aircraft. If I had to choose one, it would be the Mosquito for its notably superior performance.

Thanks for the responses, especially shortround6 and stona. Shortround6's explanation seems perfectly logical as the reason for the Spitfire's 8-gun configuration.

Why were the 8 wing machine guns in the Spitfire Mk I and II spread out in a 1-2-1 configuration when the Hurricane's 8 wing guns grouped together in each wing? Were there advantages to the Spitfire's wing gun arrangement, or was the gun configuration necessary for the thin elliptical wings of...

What about the North American P-51 Mustang? It did not have a bubble canopy fitted until the D-series, and I recall the B- and C-series (and later) had a large fuel tank behind the pilot's seat.

According to Erich Hartmann's semi-biography The Blond Knight of Germany, Hartmann himself led the Luftwaffe fighters through the Soviet and American groups. Of course, based on the source, I am not certain if this is true...

I don't quite recall the source, but I read that, before landing, Faber had shot down a Spitfire, and subsequently performed a victory roll over Pembry and extended his landing gear while inverted.

In 1944 the day zestorer and night fighter ace Hans-Joachim Jabs was about to land in daylight in his nightfighter Bf 110 when he was jumped by several Spitfire IX fighters. He managed to shoot down two of them, buying him sufficient time to land and for he and his crew to run for cover while...

A tangential question--why did Messerschmitt persist with hinged canopies that opened to one side or the back with their fighters and zestorers, even the Me 410 and Me 262? Did hinged canopies have an inherent functional advantage over sliding ones, or were they just simpler to manufacture?

Admittedly this is a largely speculative question, nevertheless I am curious--why was the armored glass headrest ("Galland Panzer") that was part of latter-period production Messerschmitt Bf 109's (Bf 109G-6 and after) not adapted for the Fw 190? Was the Galland Panzer effective as head armor...

I greatly appreciate the responses and discussion. GregP, the speeds you cited were even higher than I had read. Dave, the high speeds of the Ar 240/440 caught my attention and I thought if the other performance parameters were satisfactory--but handling appears to have been less than--the Ar...

I apologize if this has been addressed in previous discussions--for the past week, when I use the search function, I receive an error message. The little information I have been able to find on the Arado Ar 240 and Ar 440 suggests these heavy fighter types had a high top speed (one source cites...

I don't know the armament or performance parameters of Snoopy's doghouse, but unless they are significantly higher than the Triplane I favor the latter as I would feel overly exposed sitting atop the doghouse roof and more importantly not very comfortable with the roof's peak jammed between my...

Although his bibliography is not extensive, Peter Hinchliffe's books are well-written in a lively and engaging style and are well-researched. The Other Battle is an excellent, concise, and well-written history of the WWII British night air bombing campaign against Germany. His biography of the...

Thanks to DerAdlerIstGelandet and Steve for the Ju-52 information. I am frankly surprised so many of these aircraft remain and particularly that so many are airworthy. Admittedly my knowledge of the Ju-52 and transport aircraft in general is quite deficient. Given so many remain, I surmise...

I was channel-surfing earlier this evening and watched a few minutes of the 2008 movie Valkyrie. In the movie, the Claus von Stauffenberg character flies on what appears to be a Junkers Ju-52 transport aircraft, which appears authentic, including the tri-motor format. Do any Junkers Ju-52's...