Captured Aircrafts: Germany

The Fiat CR.32 was an Italian biplane fighter used in the Spanish Civil War and World War II. The CR 32 fought in North and East Africa, in Albania and in the Mediterranean theatre. Used extensively in the Spanish Civil War, it gained a reputation as one of the outstanding fighter biplanes of all time. But then it was overtaken by more advanced monoplane designs and was obsolete by 1939.

In spring 1936 45 CR.32s were ordered by Austria to equip Jagdgeschwader II at Wiener Neustadt. But in March 1938 the Austrian units were absorbed into Luftwaffe. After a brief period the 36 remaining aircraft were handed over to Hungary. With the Luftwaffe, these fighters were used as advanced trainers.

Developed from the M.S.300 primary trainer prototype of 1930, and its M.S.301 and M.S.302 variants, the Morane-Saulnier M.S.315 flew for the first time in October 1932. Of typically robust parasol high-wing configuration, it was of mixed construction with divided main landing gear. Four prototypes were followed by 346 series aircraft, 33 of them built post-war. In addition, five higher-powered M.S.315/2 aircraft were built for civil use, plus a single M.S.316 with a Regnier inverted-vee engine. The type became the workhorse of the French Armee de I'Air and served also with the Aeronavale and various civil flying schools. It was a favourite at many pre-war airshows flown by such notables as Thoret, Fleurquin and Detroyat. Between 1960 and 1962, 40 M.S.315s then in use as civil glider tugs were re-engined with the 164kW war-surplus Continental W-670K radial, being redesignated M.S.317.

On March 11, 1943, the Ministero dell' Aeronautica had supplemented earlier orders totalling 400 machines with an order for a further 300 Ariete IIs, although at the time of the Armistice only 147 machines (99 Serie I' and 48 Serie II') had been delivered to the Regia Aeronautica and these against the initial order for 200 aircraft. The remaining 53 aircraft on this order were nearing completion on the assembly line at Reggio Emilia, and the German authorities immediately ordered "Reggiane" to complete these, together with a further 30 aircraft of which construction had started against the third order (the second awarded the Reggio Emilia plant). Furthermore, the factory was instructed to commence immediate preparations for the production of an initial quantity of 300 examples of a new version of the Ariete II mounting a BMW 801 engine and reverting to the original fivespar wing with integral fuel tankage of the Re.2000.

The factory personnel protested that they were unable to produce such wings as they possessed no suitable sealing materials, but the Germans overruled these objections, saying that the necessary materials would be obtained from Sweden. Design of a suitable mounting to adapt the BMW 801 for installation in the Ariete II was completed rapidly, and a prototype mount was constructed in the experimental shop and transported to Germany where presumably a trial installation was to have been made in an Ariete II airframe. However, Allied attacks on Reggio Emilia put paid to all plans to manufacture the BMW 801-powered Ariete II, and also seriously affected completion of the aircraft already on the assembly line. In fact, only two were handed over to the Luftwaffe in November followed by a further six in December, and an Allied attack on the night of January 7-8, 1944 terminated production once and for all. What machinery and tooling could be salvaged from the Reggio Emilia plant was then transferred to Caproni's Taliedo factory and to another facility at Biella where tooling had already begun for 70 of the Ariete lls of the 300 that had been ordered by the Italian Ministero in March 1943. In the event, only two aircraft were completed at Biella, and of 60 built at Taliedo during 1944, only 25 reached the Luftwaffe. The Ariete II attack fighters taken over by the Luftwaffe at the time of the Italian Armistice and those delivered subsequently were delivered to hastily-formed Schlachtgruppen in France for operations against the increasingly troublesome French resistance forces, particularly in the areas of Aisne, Vercors and Limoges, some operating from the airfield at Etampes-Mondesir.

After the Italian Armistice the Luftwaffe seized a number of Re 2002s for use by the Schlachtgeschwader, and instructed the Reggiane plant to complete 53 aircraft then under construction, 25 of these actually reaching the Luftwaffe.

Source: Reggiane Re 2002 Ariete II

Marcel Riffard, who joined the French company Societe Anonyme des Avions Caudron as chief designer in 1932, became renowned during the next four years when well streamlined racing aircraft of his design won the Coupe Deutsch de la Meurthe contests in 1934, 1935 and 1936. The excellence of the basic design induced the company to develop a lightweight fighter aircraft that would benefit from the experience gained in construction and development of the Coupe Deutsch contenders, leading to the Caudron C.710 prototype which flew for the first time on 18 July 1936.

The C.710, despite its small size and weight, soon showed its potential for development, for even with fixed landing gear and armed by two 20mm cannon its 336kW Renault 12Ro1 engine was sufficient to provide a maximum speed that exceeded that of many contemporary fighters. This led to the C.713 Cyclone, first flown in December 1937, which was generally similar in overall design and powerplant, but which introduced retractable tailwheel type landing gear and redesigned vertical tail surfaces. Final evolution of Riffard's design was the C.714.01 prototype, first flown in the summer of 1938, which differed by having some structural strengthening and a wing of improved profile.

The factory testing of this prototype confirmed Riffard's performance estimates, and it was handed over to the CEMA for trials in September 1938. In November there followed an order for 100 C.714 production aircraft which were required to have four 7.5mm wing-mounted machine-guns. Of low-wing cantilever monoplane configuration, the C.714 was an all-wood construction, except that all control surfaces had light alloy framework and fabric covering. The wing section was so shallow that it wasnot possible to mount machine-guns conventionally, within the wing structure, and special streamlined pods were designed, these carrying a pair of guns beneath each wing.

Production began in the summer of 1939, and 50 of the aircraft which had been intended to serve with the Armee de I'Air were diverted to the assistance of Finland, but only six had been received by 12 March 1940, the balance being presumed to have been lost en route. It is believed that about 40 C.714s were delivered to the French air force, which, after some 90 had been built, cancelled production because of dissatisfaction with the type's rate of climb. They were used to equip an all-Polish squadron which became known as the 'Warsaw Group' (GC 1/145), this unit seeing action against the Germans between 2-13 June 1940. Following the collapse of France, a small number were used by the Vichy French air force, and about 20 were confiscated by the Germans for use by the Luftwaffe.

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gekho said:

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Specifications Osádka: - Crew: -
Rozpětí: 15,60 m Wingspan: 15.60 m
Délka: 11,69 m Length: 11.69 m
Výška: - m Height: - m
Nosná plocha: 35,44 m² Wing area: 35.44 m²
Plošné zatížení: - kg/m² Wing loading: - kg / m
Hmotnost prázdného stroje: 3102 kg Empty weight: 3102 kg
Max. Max. vzletová hmotnost : - kg Takeoff Weight: - kg
Pohonná jednotka: 2x Walter Sagitta I-MR Powerplant: 2 x Walter Sagitta I-MR
Výkon pohonné jednotky: 542 k (404 kW) Power drive unit: 542 hp (404 kW)
[ editovat ] Výkony [ edit ] Performance Cestovní rychlost: - km/h Cruising speed: - km / h
Maximální rychlost: 380 km/h Maximum speed: 380 km / h
Dostup: 7000 m Ceiling: 7000 m
Stoupavost: 6,6 m/s Rate of climb: 6.6 m / s
Dolet: 1250 km Range: 1250 km
[ editovat ] Výzbroj [ edit ] Armament 1x pevný kulomet vz. 1x fixed machine gun vz. 30 ráže 7,92 mm 30 caliber 7.92 mm
1x pohyblivý kulomet vz. 1x mobile machine gun vz. 30 ráže 7,92 mm 30 caliber 7.92 mm
500 kg bomb 500 kg bombs

Praga E-51 prototype was very interesting modern and innovatively solved reconnaissance and light bomber aircraft. Stroj byl zalétán 26. The machine flew on the 26th května 1938 s třídílným křídlem a střeleckou věží na zádi trupu. May 1938 with a three turret wing and aft fuselage. Věž však způsobovala velké problémy hlavně v oblasti ocasních ploch, takže byla sejmuta a na zádi se objevilo aerodynamicky příznivě vyřešené střeliště. The tower, however, caused major problems mainly in the tail, so it was removed and the stern appeared aerodynamically shoot favorably resolved. Přesto se dále projevovaly některé nedostatky, které nebyly do německé okupace v roce 1939 spolehlivě vyřešeny. Yet also exhibited some flaws that were not the German occupation in 1939 reliably resolved. Po obsazení zbytku Československa Němci stroj zabavili a předali svým vojenským expertům a konstruktérům ke zkoumání. After the occupation of the rest of Czechoslovakia, the German machine confiscated and handed over its military experts and engineers to investigate.

Great stuff mate!

The Farman F.222 began to enter service with Armee de l'Air in the spring of 1937. Unlike its predecessor, this plane featured a retractable undercarriage. Twenty-four aircraft were produced with redesigned front fuselages and dihedral added to the outer wing. During World War II these planes were used in leaflet raids over Germany and then night bombing raids during May and June 1940. These resulted in three losses. The Farman F.222 was involved in a notable operation carried out by French fighter pilot James Denis. On June 20, 1940, realising that the Battle of France was lost, Denis borrowed a Farman F.222 from an airbase near Saint-Jean-d'Angély. He flew to Britain with twenty of his friends, and joined the Free French Air Force, in which service he subsequently became an ace, shooting down nine German aircraft.

The Germans were not especially interested in this airplane, but on 21 May 1943, Luftwaffe requested Regia Aeronautica to hand over 39 Lioré et Olivier LeO 451, captured by Italians troops in SNCASE factory in Ambérieu-en-Bugey (Lyon). The Luftwaffe - that claimed to have previously bought the Lioré - gave in exchange a stock of 30 Dewoitine D.520. Subsequently, the 451s were converted into transport aircraft for fuel and troops. Other Lioré were delivered to the Regia Aeronautica and 12 were put in service with a ground attack unit, although they saw almost no active service.

Some MB 151 and MB 152 captured in 1940 were transformed under German colors for training. The MB 151 n°55 (Y-542) was damaged on September 22nd, 1940 by Oberfeldwebel Otto Schulz (future Ritter Kreuz) ; it was probably used at that time at the Ergänzungsstaffel of the JG 51 at Cazaux (France). In 1942, some MB 152 of GC II/8 under Vichy colors were also transferred to the Luftwaffe as training aircrafts.

After the armistice in September 1943, the Germans captured 200 SM.82s, many being operated as transports by the Luftwaffe. The Germans were thus rewarded for the delays in their order for 100 S.82s, only 35 of which were delivered in 1943. These aircraft had better capabilities as transports than the Ju 52, the standard transport aircraft of the Luftwaffe, even if it was much more robust, being all metal. The "Savoia Gruppen" operated many of these aircraft, with a force in early 1944 of over 230 aircraft, but little is recorded of the activities of these aircraft in the last 18 months of the war as most were adhoc units.records were either not kept or destroyed. In 1944 almost 300 SM.82s were built for the Germans, as no bombing raid on the Savoia Marchetti factory was ever made by the Allies, which is something of a mystery since it was one of the most important aircraft industries in the Italian Social Republic, the puppet state installed by Germany in northern Italy. The aircraft continued in service with both the Fascist and Allied Italian air forces. Of around 750 SM.82s built, about 500 were used by the Germans.

In September 1943, despite the almost extinction of bombers units, there were still 150 SM.84s in available, with over 100 serviceable. Almost all of these were captured by the Germans, though they were rarely used. Some were sent to the Slovenské vzdušné zbrane, and 10 remained with RSI's Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana, but were not used. Seven were used by the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force as transports. Shortly after the end of WWII, the aircraft was phased out of service.

The Praga BH-41, later redesignated E-41, was a military advanced trainer aircraft produced in Czechoslovakia during the 1930s. Designed in response to a Defence Ministry competition and based on the BH-39, it was a conventional biplane design with unstaggered two-bay wings of equal span. The pilot and instructor sat in open cockpits in tandem, and the fixed tailskid undercarriage featured divided main units. The powerplant had been specified by the government to be the Hispano-Suiza 8Fb which were then being manufactured under licence by Škoda. The E-41 was selected as the winner of the competition, and a contract for 43 aircraft was signed. Praga also produced a verion powered by a ZOD 260 radial diesel engine, designated the E-141. This was not a success and only a single prototype was built. In 1936, a BH-41 was fitted with a Walter Pollux II engine, and designated the E-241. Following successful trials, an order was placed for a second batch of aircraft, this time for 95 machines with this engine.

The SK V6 experimental twin-boom light monoplane illustrated here was eventually adapted as the SK SL6 to /light test the control surface arrangement of 8lohm and Voss's proposed "Arrow Wing".

The Ilyushin Il-2 (Cyrillic Илью́шин Ил-2) was a ground-attack aircraft (Shturmovik) in the Second World War, produced by the Soviet Union in very large numbers. In combination with its successor, the Ilyushin Il-10, a total of 42,330 were built, making it the single most produced military aircraft design in all of aviation history, as well as one of the most produced piloted aircraft in history along with the American postwar civilian Cessna 172 and the Soviets' own Polikarpov Po-2. It is regarded as the best ground attack aircraft of World War II. It was a prominent aircraft for tank killing with its accuracy in dive bombing and its 23mm guns being able to penetrate tanks' thin back armour.

Here is A Fairey Battle of 150 squadron crash landed in France.

Great pics!

Good pics!

Where do you get this stuff?!?!?!?! Awesome!

P-40 served with the RAF as Tomahawks; with Gen Chennault's AVG or "Flying Tiger" group in China; with the RAAF, SAAF, Soviet Union and Turkish Air Force. Improved P-40D and P-4OE served with the RAF as Kittyhawks, with the RCAF and Soviet Union; and still later versions went to the RNZAF. USAAF usage of the P-40 was mainly in the Middle East and Pacific theatres, but by far the greatest proportion of P-40 built went to Allied nations under Lend-Lease agreements.

Interesting photo... looks like the gear just collapsed.