Best Bomber of WW2 (continued)

[the lancaster kicks ass]

well that's like saying the Roc would have been good if it didn't have a turret sitting on the back.........

 

[mosquitoman]

But that's the point, put some decent engines in and Germany would have a decent heavy(ish) bomber

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

again, that's like saying if you put an ultra light-weight and unbelievably drag-free turret in a Roc it would have been amazing!! the fact is they didn't and it was never going to happen, you could however propose it as a "what if"..........

 

[cheddar cheese]

No I see where MM was coming from. Its similar in respect to the Komet, a good airframe badly let down by its engines.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

yes but he said it was a decent bomber, it can't be good if the engine sucks, the airframe can but the plane itself, if the engine sucks, so does the plane.........

 

[cheddar cheese]

I fail to see the logic in that at all.

 

[plan_D]

What lanc is saying is; the He-117 wasn't a good aircraft because the engines were a mess. He probably agrees that the airframe had the potential to be a good aircraft but the He-117 never did have better engines, so it's a poor aircraft.

 

[mosquitoman]

Well, to put this into Lanc's terms. The Manchester was a good bomber as long as they put 4 Merlins in instead of 2 Vultures

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

no, the manchester was a bad bomber. the airframe was good, but the engines were bad, as such the manchester was a bad bomber...............

 

[cheddar cheese]

Ok then, the engines were bad, but they didnt blow up on every sortie. does that mean that on the missions where the engines prove reliable, that its a bad bomber? I think not...

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

If they had just put better engines in the He-177 or even made the He-277 they would have had a great bomber. Imagine a He-177 with BMW-801's. I dont know if that would have been possible but hey just something to think about.

 

[cheddar cheese]

I agree that would be quite formidable.

 

[plan_D]

Even when the He-117s engines weren't on fire it was still a bad aircraft because it had a tendency to set on fire at any moment. Would you want to fly in an aircraft that's well known to just catch fire!?!

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

But thats the point, if they had modified the aircraft to use different engins such as the BMW 801.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Even when the He-117s engines weren't on fire it was still a bad aircraft because it had a tendency to set on fire at any moment. Would you want to fly in an aircraft that's well known to just catch fire!?!

Early B-29s did But no "D" I have to agree with you. I thinh the 177 must of been another "Mechanic's Nightmare!"

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

That I will agree with you. As a mechanic I dont think I would have wanted to work on one, especially a 277 the frankenstein of bombers.

 

[plan_D]

You wouldn't want to work on an EE Lightning either.

The He-117 had potential in it's airframe but what it was, it was a pile of burning junk. And that's when it was flying.

 

[MP-Willow]

Well this has been a great read! Sorry I have been away. The Ju-88 was used everywhere and if they could hve got the 288 organized more there might have been hope. Also the He-111 had more potantial and I think could have been developed into a 4 engine heavy.

16KJV11: You said that raide on New York would have been posible with in-flight refueling and some carriers for fighter cover. That would have been an incredible capital cost and the Graft Zeplin was scrapped because the Navy was focused on U-boats. Also a few German Carriers would have drawn a lot of American carriers say a few Large fleet carriers that would have almost ouble the compliment of aircraft and those would be a lot better.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

You wouldn't want to work on an EE Lightning either.

I'VE HEARD!

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Well this has been a great read! Sorry I have been away. The Ju-88 was used everywhere and if they could hve got the 288 organized more there might have been hope. Also the He-111 had more potantial and I think could have been developed into a 4 engine heavy.

16KJV11: You said that raide on New York would have been posible with in-flight refueling and some carriers for fighter cover. That would have been an incredible capital cost and the Graft Zeplin was scrapped because the Navy was focused on U-boats. Also a few German Carriers would have drawn a lot of American carriers say a few Large fleet carriers that would have almost ouble the compliment of aircraft and those would be a lot better.

Interesting stuff, but I think we put too much stock in the chance that Germany was able to develope a 4 engine bomber that could reach North America, and I don't care how advanced they might of been, without fighter escort, they would of been doomed.

The Germans were bearly able to keep a fighter over London for 1/2 hour, you think they would of done better over New York?!?