German light bombers and reconnaissance aircrafts

[gekho]

Six Hs 126A-ls were sent to Spain in 1938 for combat evaluation with the Legion Condor. There they proved very successful in both the light bombing and reconnaissance roles. The five sur*vivors remained in Spain after the end of the Civil War, and a further 16 were exported to Greece. By September 1939, Hs 126 production was in full swing, and soon the Hs 126B-1 was available, powered by the originally intended Fafnir 323 radial, offering better performance. Radio equipment was also upgraded, with the FuG 17 VHF set as standard. Thirteen reconnais*sance squadrons of Hs 126s took part in the Polish campaign in September 1939. In addition to their traditional roles of army co*operation, battlefield reconnaissance and artillery spotting, they also strafed and bombed Polish positions. In the absence of effective air defense, the Hs 126 could operate with relative impunity. Hs 126s were next in action over France, performing reconnais*sance missions along the Maginot Line in late 1939. However, by the time the Luftwaffe turned on France in earnest, in May 1940, the Hs 126 was beginning to prove easy meat for fighters. Production of the aircraft slowed dramatically with the decision to procure the Fw 189 for the battlefield reconnaissance role, and the last aircraft was deliv*ered in January 1941.

While the Aufklärungsstaffel (H) waited for the Fw 189, the Hs126s flew in North Africa, and the Russian front. After the re-equipment with newer types from the spring of 1942, the displaced Hs 126s relegated to second-line duties. Among these was the towing of DFS 230 gliders. From the autumn of 1942, a handful was used as night harassment aircraft by the Nachtschlachtgruppen. Two such units operated in the Balkans, operating a few examples of the aircraft right until the last days of the war.

Source: Henschel Hs 126 Nachbau

 

[vikingBerserker]

That really looks like a fun plane to fly.

 

[gekho]

Henschel was a German locomotive manufacturer. Soon after Hitler's rise to power, Henschel decided to start designing aircraft, one of the first being the Hs 123. The aircraft was designed to meet the 1933 dive bomber requirements for the reborn Luftwaffe. Both Henschel and rival Fieseler (with the Fi 98) competed for the production contract requirement, which specified a single-seat biplane dive-bomber. General Ernst Udet, a World War I ace, flew the first Hs 123V1 prototype on its first public demonstration fight on 8 May 1935. The first three Henschel prototypes, powered by 650 hp (485 kW) BMW 132A-3 engines, were tested at Rechlin in August 1936. Only the first prototype had "smooth" cowlings, from that point on, all aircraft had a tightly-fitting cowling that included 18 fairings covering the engine valves. The Henschel prototypes did away with bracing wires and although they looked slightly outdated with their single faired interplane struts and cantilever main landing gears attached to smaller (stub) lower wings, the Hs 123 featured an all-metal construction, clean lines and superior maneuverability. Its biplane wings were of a "sesquiplane" configuration, whereby the lower wings were significantly smaller than the top wings.

The overall performance of the Hs 123 V1 prototype prematurely eliminated any chances for the more conventional Fi 98 which was cancelled after a sole prototype had been constructed. During testing, the Hs 123 proved capable of pulling out of "near-vertical" dives, however, two prototypes subsequently crashed due to structural failures in the wings that occurred when the aircraft were tested in high-speed dives. The fourth prototype incorporated improvements to cure these problems, principally, stronger centre-section struts were fitted. After it had been successfully tested, the Hs 123 was ordered into production with an 880 hp (656 kW) BMW 132Dc engine. The Hs 123 was intended to replace the Heinkel He 50 biplane reconnaissance and dive bomber as well as acting as a "stop-gap" measure until the Junkers Ju 87 became available. As such, production was limited and no upgrades were considered, although an improved version, the Hs 123B was developed by Henschel in 1938. A proposal to fit the aircraft with a more powerful (960 hp (716 kW) "K"-variant of its BMW 132 engine did not proceed beyond the prototype stage, the Hs 123 V5. The V6 prototype fitted with a similar powerplant and featuring a sliding cockpit hood was intended to serve as the Hs 123C prototype. Nonetheless, production of the type ended in October 1938 with less than 1000 aircraft in all series.

A small pre-production batch of Hs 123A-0s was completed in 1936 for service evaluation by the Luftwaffe. This initial group was followed by the slightly modified Hs 123A-1 series, the first production examples. The service aircraft flew with an armoured headrest and fairing in place (a canopy was tested in the Hs 123V6) as well as removable main wheel spats and a faired tailwheel. The main weapon load of four SC50 110 lb (50 kg) bombs could be carried in lower wing racks along with an additional SC250 550 lb (250 kg) bomb mounted on a "crutch" beneath the fuselage. The usual configuration was to install an auxiliary fuel "drop" tank at this station that was jettisoned in emergencies. Two MG 17 machine guns (7.92 mm/0.312 in) were mounted in the nose synchronized to fire through the propeller arc. The aircraft entered service at StG 162 in autumn 1936. Its career as a dive bomber was cut short when the unit received its first Ju 87A the next year. Remaining Hs 123s were incorporated into the temporary Fliegergeschwader 100 at the time of the Munich Crisis. The Geschwader (wing) had been created as an emergency measure, equipped with obsolete aircraft and tasked with the ground attack role. With the signing of the Munich agreement, the crisis was over and the Geschwader was disbanded, the Gruppen being transferred to other established units. By 1939, despite its success in Spain, the Luftwaffe considered the Hs 123 obsolete and the Schlachtgeschwader (close-support wings) had been disbanded with only one Gruppe, II.(Schl)/LG2 still equipped with the Hs 123.

Source: Luftwaffe Resource Center - A Warbirds Resource Group Site - Henschel Hs 123

 

[gekho]

Developed to replace the He 59, the Heinkel He 115 floatplane prototype was flown during 1936. Its two machine-guns were then removed, their positions faired over, and on 30 March 1938 the aircraft set eight payload/speed records. The second prototype was similar, the third introduced the 'glasshouse' canopy which became standard, and the fourth was the production prototype with float/ fuselage bracing wires replaced by struts. The He 115s were used by coastal reconnaissance squadrons of the Luftwaffe, and after the outbreak of World War II were deployed to drop parachute mines in British waters. Four reached the UK from Norway, three being modified later for clandestine operations to Norway and the Mediterranean.

 

[vikingBerserker]

Excellent!

 

[gekho]

As mentioned, the Hs-123 was seen strictly as an interim solution, though it would turn out to be far more useful than might have been expected. As for the long-term solution, the RLM issued a specification in January 1935 and four firms submitted proposals, including Arado, Ha, Heinkel, and Junkers. The Arado and Ha proposals were rejected, leading to a flight evaluation between the Junkers "Ju-87" and the Heinkel "He-118". The He-118 did badly in trials at the Luftwaffe test center at Rechlin, and the Ju-87 was selected as the winner of the competition. The Ju-87 not only won the flyoff, it would become one of the most famous Luftwaffe aircraft of World War II, and the service's most famous attack aircraft. Despite the fact that "Stuka" actually referred to any dive bomber, such as the Hs-123, the name would effectively become the exclusive property of the Ju-87. The first prototype of the Stuka, the "Ju-87 V1", had performed its initial flight in the spring of 1934. It was designed by an engineering team under Hermann Pohlmann. Professor Hugo Junkers, the founder of the firm, had little directly to do with the effort, having been removed from the company in May 1933 for his anti-Nazi views and other reasons. The government took over control of the firm and Junkers was sent off to forced retirement in Bavaria, where he would die on 3 February 1935.

The Ju-87 V1 was not a very pretty aircraft -- none of its descendants would be, either -- featuring:

A somewhat untidy nose containing an inline, water-cooled engine.

A high-set canopy for a pilot and a rearward-facing gunner / radio operator.

A braced tail with twin tailfins.

An inverted gull wing, with a flap inboard and in mid-span, and an aileron outboard on each wing.

Fixed landing gear, with the main gear in oversized pant-type fairings.

Since German industry couldn't deliver the needed powerplant at the time, the Ju-87 V1 was fitted with a British Rolls Royce 12-cylinder, supercharged, liquid-cooled vee Kestrel engine with 391 kW (525 HP), as was the first prototype of the famous Messerschmitt Bf-109 fighter. The Kestrel engine drove a two-bladed fixed wooden prop. Engine cooling proved problematic, and so the V1 was refitted with a larger chin radiator, which did nothing to improve its looks. The second prototype, the "Ju-87 V2", featured a Junkers Jumo 210Aa 12-cylinder liquid-cooled vee engine with 455 kW (610 HP) driving a three-bladed variable pitch propeller. The V2 was originally designed with the twin-fin tail, until the V1 went into a spin during a dive and crashed, killing the pilot, Willy Neuenhofen, and an observer who happened to be in the back seat for the ride. The V2 was completed with a single tailfin, which increased the aircraft's length slightly. It was also fitted with underwing dive brakes, in the form of a pivoting slat under the leading edge of the wing outboard of the main landing gear. The lack of dive brakes had been a contributing factor to the loss of the V1. The V2 was rolled out in March 1936.

The V2 was quickly followed by the "Ju-87 V3". The V3's major changes from the V2 was a lowering of the Jumo engine to improve the pilot's forward view over the nose, plus a larger rudder and a tailplane with small endplate fins. The flight test program for the Stuka went on through mid-1936 and the aircraft proved very satisfactory. It did have its opponents but it was approved for production, with the backing of Ernst Udet, by then a senior RLM official, heavily contributing to the aircraft's political success. The fact that Udet had been forced to "hit the silk" when the He-118 prototype broke up in mid-air no doubt influenced his thinking on the matter. The "Ju-87 V4", completed in the late fall of 1936, was close to production spec, featuring such improvements as a further lowered engine; a bigger tailfin and rudder; revised landing gear pants; a modified rear canopy; and full operational kit. It led to directly to the preproduction "Ju-87A-0" machine, with the first of ten delivered before the end of 1936. The Ju-87A-0 was much like the V4, but featured an uprated Jumo 210Ca engine with 475 kW (640 HP) plus a slightly reprofiled wing to simplify manufacturing, eliminating a leading-edge "kink" that had been featured in the four prototype aircraft. The Ju-87A-0 led in turn to the "Ju-87A-1" full production variant, with initial deliveries to the Luftwaffe in early 1937. The two variants were generally identical externally, the only difference being that the Ju-87A-1 featured changes in airframe construction, also to simplify manufacturing. Three Ju-87A-1s were provided to the Kondor Legion, proving devastatingly effective in attacks on Republican shipping and ground targets. The Luftwaffe's enthusiasm for the Stuka increased accordingly. Incidentally, although Kondor Legion aircraft such as the Hs-123 and the Bf-109 were often passed on to the Nationalists, the Germans kept the Ju-87 strictly to themselves, even refusing to allow the Nationalists to inspect them, and the Spaniards never flew them.

 

[gekho]

The Ju-87A-1 was of metal stressed-skin construction and was very ruggedly built, a basic requirement for a dive bomber considering the flight stresses and combat environment it faced. Its handling was excellent and it was very responsive to its controls. It was, unsurprising given its cluttered lines, not very fast, even in a dive. Armament consisted of a single fixed forward-firing MG-17 7.9 millimeter (0.311 caliber) machine gun in the right wing; an MG-15 of the same caliber on a flexible mount in the rear of the cockpit; and a single 250 kilogram (550 pound) bomb on a belly crutch. A 500 kilogram (1,100 pound) bomb could be carried if the rear gunner was left behind. In a dive bombing attack, the pilot would fly until the target disappeared under the left wingroot. He would then shut the engine cooling vents; set the propeller to coarse pitch; open the airbrakes; and nose over to the left to dive at about an 85% angle. Red lines painted on the canopy side panels helped the pilot determine the proper bombing angle. Bomb release was a matter of pilot judgement, with the bomb swinging out on its crutch before release. An automatic flight assistance system was fitted to help the pilot deal with the stressful pull-out maneuver after bomb release. The Stuka was said to be very comfortable in a dive, and pilots didn't have the perception that they were falling past the vertical as they did in other dive bombers. The Ju-87A-1 was followed by the "Ju-87A-2", which was similar but featured a Jumo 210Da engine with 507 kW (680 HP) plus an improved propeller with broader blades, as well as updated radio gear. By May 1938, there were about 200 Ju-87A-1s and Ju-87A-2s had been built and were in Luftwaffe service, staffing four "Stukagruppen", relegating most of the Hs-123As to second-line roles.

However, by this time the Luftwaffe was receiving numbers of the much improved B-series Stuka, which featured:

The new, more powerful Junkers Jumo 211 engine.

A completely reengineered fuselage.

A still larger tailfin.

Sliding canopy elements, replacing the side-hinged elements of earlier variants,

Neat spat fairings replacing the pants fairings on the main gear.

Considerable attention had been paid to making the machine easier to maintain in the field.

A Ju-87A-1 was fitted with the Jumo 211 engine for evaluation in early 1938, with this machine redesignated "Ju-87 V6", leading to a more extensive modification designated the "Ju-87 V7", which was the prototype for the B-series. It led to a batch of ten "Ju-87B-0" preproduction machines, which led in turn to the initial "Ju-87B-1" full production machine. Although the V7 prototype and the preproduction Ju-87B-0 were fitted with the Jumo 211A engine with 746 kW (1,000 HP), the Ju-87B-1 featured a fuel-injected Jumo 211Da engine with 895 kW (1,200 HP), providing almost twice as much power as the Jumo 210Da of the Ju-87A-2. A Ju-87B-1 could carry two crew and a 500 kilogram (1,100 pound) bomb on the belly crutch; or a 250 kilogram (550 pound) bomb on the belly crutch and four 50 kilogram (110 pound) bombs on wing racks. A second MG-17 gun was fitted in the left wing, giving the Ju-87B-1 a total of two forward-firing guns; the rearward-firing MG-15 was retained. Five early production machines were sent to Spain, where they proved even more effective than the three Ju-87A-1s sent there earlier, though one of the B-1s was lost in action. The Ju-87B-1 quickly replaced the A-series in frontline service, with A-series machines relegated to training roles. Manufacturing and engineering for the type was passed on from the Junkers plant in Dessau to the Weser firm, with its plant at the Berlin Tempelhof airport; Weser built 557 Ju-87B-1s.

 

[gekho]

There were still some doubters about the Ju-87 in the German military when World War II broke out in September 1939, but the Stuka proved its worth in the invasion of Poland. The Luftwaffe's nine Stukagruppen had a total of 322 B-series Stukas in service for the campaign, 13 having been lost just before the beginning of the conflict during a demonstration that was interrupted by a ground fog that arose abruptly. In any case, the Stuka proved entirely devastating, performing strikes at the opening of the offensive, sinking most of the Polish Navy's vessels, almost annihilating a Polish infantry division that was caught changing trains, and smashing Polish resistance in front of German ground forces. The Stuka was part of the emerging "Blitzkrieg (Lightning War)" tactics developed by German generals such as Heinz Guderian: fast-moving armored columns would move rapidly through enemy defenses, communicating with Stukas over radios for the removal of obstacles to the advance. B-series Stukas were usually fitted with a prop-driven siren on the front of each main gear spat, using the wail of these "Trumpets of Jericho" to terrorize enemy troops in attacks. The sirens were apparently Ernst Udet's idea. They were sometimes removed since they cut the aircraft's top speed and gave warning that it was coming, but the ugly Stuka and its banshee wail became one of the most feared symbols of Nazi power, and remains so even today, exceeded only by the swastika in its notoriety. By the end of 1939, the Ju-87B-1 had been replaced on the production line by the "Ju-87B-2", the first new variant to be built by Weser. The Ju-87B-2 was similar to the Ju-87B-1 but had:

A slightly uprated Jumo 211D engine.

An improved propeller with broader blades.

Ejector exhausts to provide a slight amount of thrust.

Hydraulically-operated radiator cooling gills.

The Ju-87B-2 could carry a 1,000 kilogram (2,200 pound) bomb if the back-seater was left behind. A number of factory conversion kits, or "Umruest-Bausaetze", were created for the Ju-87B-2, resulting in several subvariant modifications:

The "Ju-87B-2/U2" featured an improved radio.

The "Ju-87B-2/U3" featured increased armor protection for the close-support role.

The "Ju-87B-2/U4" featured ski landing gear for winter operations.

A "tropicalized" modification, the "Ju-87B-2/Trop", was built for service in North Africa, and featured sand filters plus a desert survival kit. The same conversion kits were used with the Ju-87B-1, and similar conversion kits would also be available for later Stuka versions.

 

[gekho]

During the invasion of France in May 1940, the Stuka proved as terrifying as it had in Poland, helping to bring about the quick collapse of French resistance. However, this was the high tide of the Stuka. During the Battle of Britain over the summer of 1940, the Ju-87 proved far too vulnerable to British Royal Air Force (RAF) fighters. One out of five Stukas was shot down and the type was withdrawn from the effort on 19 August 1940. There had been a faction in the Luftwaffe that had recognized even before the outbreak of war that the Stuka was an obsolescent aircraft and likely to suffer heavily in the face of effective air opposition. Reichsmarshal Hermann Goering, head of the Luftwaffe, had sided with the advocates of the Stuka, but now the beliefs of the doubters were starting to prove justified. The writing was on the wall for the Ju-87, though its career was far from over. After the Stuka's bloodying in the Battle of Britain, it went on to achieve its former successes in the Mediterranean theater. Stukas badly damaged the Royal Navy carrier HMS ILLUSTRIOUS on 10 January 1941, and sank the cruiser HMS SOUTHAMPTON on 11 January. The Ju-87 also put in very useful service in the capture of the Balkans and Crete in the spring of 1941. Stukas devastated Royal Navy vessels during the Crete campaign, helping to send the cruiser HMS GLOUCESTER to the bottom; also sinking the destroyers GREYHOUND, KELLEY, and KASHMIR; and badly damaging several other RN ships.

The Ju-87 also proved highly effective in North Africa, at least initially. With the invasion of the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941, the Stuka was as destructive as ever, leading the Blitzkrieg deep into the USSR while Red air power was completely crushed. Red Army troops nicknamed it the "Musician" or "Screecher". At that time, Junkers was working on the definitive "Ju-87D" series. The initial "Ju-87D-1" subvariant featured a Jumo 211J-1 engine with 1,045 kW (1,400 HP), driving a new VS-11 propeller. The new engine permitted a much cleaner installation than its predecessors, and the airframe was redesigned accordingly with a new engine cooling scheme, eliminating the older "broken nose" appearance of the Stuka. An entirely new canopy with better aerodynamics was fitted; the main landing gear fairings were reduced in size and tidied up. The fairings would actually be generally removed in service, since they didn't provide much improvement in speed and were a nuisance in muddy field operations. The tailfin was once again enlarged. Greater engine power also permitted more protective armor and fuel capacity, with the Ju-87D-1 featuring the outer wing tanks pioneered by the Ju-87R series. The Ju-87D-1 retained the twin fixed forward MG-17 guns, but replaced the single MG-15 gun in the rear with twin MG-81 guns of the same caliber, ganged together side-by-side on a common flexible mount, for a total of four guns. The MG-81 had a faster rate of fire than the MG-15, and had belt instead of magazine feed. (Very early production apparently had twin rear MG-17 guns instead.)

The Ju-87D-1 could carry a 1,800 kilogram (3,970 pound) bomb over short ranges, and the airframe and bomb crutch were reinforced appropriately. A more typical bombload was a 1,000 kilogram (2,200 pound) bomb on the crutch and two 50 kilogram (110 pound) bombs under each wing, though when used in the close-support role the wings were usually fitted with "Waffenbehaelter (weapons containers)", including a container with six MG-81 machines guns, or a container with twin 20 millimeter MG-FF cannon. As with the Hs-123, cluster munitions with butterfly bombs were also a popular weapon for schlacht missions; the container was released and promptly disintegrated, to scatter its munitions over a wide area.

The Ju-87D-1 began to replace the Ju-87B-2 in production in mid-1942 and was put to use in combat in the East and in North Africa (in the form of the "Ju-87D-1/Trop" modification). A similar variant, the "Ju-87D-2", was built in parallel, differing only in having a strengthened rear fuselage and a stronger tailwheel with a glider tow attachment, to be used in North Africa and the Mediterranean. Production was heavy enough to allow the D-series to replace the less capable B-series in frontline units. The D-series was mostly used in the close-support role, since it was tough and could carry and deliver a lethal warload, though it had to dodge enemy fighters by hiding at low level if fighter cover wasn't available. By this time, the sunshine days of the Stuka were clearly over. In the first year of the war in the East the Red Air Force had been ineffective, but by mid-1942 Soviet air power was beginning to recover. At the same time, Allied air power in North Africa was beginning to make itself painfully felt against the Ju-87. By 1943 the Stuka was clearly on the defensive on all fronts, unable to survive in the face of effective fighter opposition.

The D-series Stuka had been regarded as the end of the line, an interim solution to be manufactured until something better was available. Production of the Stuka had tapered off through 1941, with a total of only 476 Stukas of all types delivered in that year. Unfortunately for the Reich, it quickly became apparent that nothing better was going to be available any time soon. The planned replacement, the Messerschmitt Me-210 twin-engine heavy fighter and attack aircraft, turned out to be almost completely "snakebitten", requiring a long time and a lot of effort to work out its bugs. It was ultimately produced in relatively small numbers as the much more workable "Me-410", but it was a case of too little and much too late. Stuka production ramped back up again, heavily, in 1942, with 917 D-series machines delivered; 1,844 were delivered in 1943.

Manufacturing had moved on to the "Ju-87D-3" in late 1942, with this variant featured improved armor protection to optimize for the schlacht role. It did retain the underwing dive brakes, but had no bomb crutch and no sirens. Some Ju-87D-3s were converted to "Ju-87D-4" torpedo bombers, but they were not used operationally and were later converted back to Ju-87D-3 configuration. The Ju-87D-3 was used in experiments with personnel pods, with one such pod carried on the top of each wing outboard of the landing gear. Two people could ride in tandem in each pod, and in principle the pods could be released in a shallow dive, to deploy parachutes for a soft landing. The whole scheme was questionable and though the Stuka was evaluated with the pods, apparently they were never paradropped. Since the Stuka had undergone the "weight creep" that typically afflicts combat aircraft over their evolution, its wing loading had become unacceptable, and in early 1943 production moved on in turn to the "Ju-87D-5", which featured distinctive "pointed" extended wingtips to improve handling, as well as the jettisonable landing gear developed for the Ju-87C series. The dive brakes were deleted after initial Ju-87D-5 production since it was used almost exclusively in the schlacht role. The two forward-firing MG-17 machine guns were also replaced with twin MG-151/20 20 millimeter cannon.

Confronted with a hostile air environment, by mid-1943 the Stuka was limited mostly to night operations. The Ju-87D-5 had no particular optimizations for flying at night, with pilots coming in low and slow and dropping antipersonnel bombs on clusters of incautious Allied troops. The Luftwaffe learned this trick from the Soviets, who had become fond of using little Po-2 biplanes on such harassment raids earlier in the war. Although a "Ju-87D-6" subvariant was planned, with the focus apparently being the simplification of manufacturing, it was not built. The next variant, the "Ju-87D-7", was a Ju-87D-5 with night flight instrumentation and long flame-damper exhausts to hide the exhaust glow from the pilot or potential enemies. The Ju-87D-7 also featured a further uprated Jumo 211P engine with 1,118 kW (1,500 HP). There was also a "Ju-87D-8" variant, which was a conversion of the Ju-87D-5 to Ju-87D-7 specification. A "Ju-87E" torpedo-bomber was considered, but was cancelled after Germany gave up work on aircraft carriers in early 1943. The D-series Stukas were the last new-build Ju-87s, with the last of them rolled out in September 1944. Total production of all variants amounted to over 5,700 machines

Source: http://www.vectorsite.net/avstuka.html

 

[gekho]

Largest flying-boat to achieve production status during World War II, the six-engine Blohm und Voss Bv 222 Viking was designed in 1936 to provide Deutsche Lufthansa with a 24- passenger airliner for the North and South Atlantic routes, but it was not until 7 September 1940 that the first prototype Bv 222 VI was first flown by Flugkapitan Helmut Wasa Rodig. Flying characteristics were pronounced good and the first operation for the Luftwaffe was flown by a civilian crew between Hamburg and Kirkenes, Norway, on 10 July 1941. Usually escorted by a pair of Messerchmitt Bf 110 fighters the Bv 222 VI, with six Bramo Fafnir radials, then started flying regular supply missions across the Mediterranean for German forces in North Africa. Several narrow escapes from Allied fighters emphasized the need for some defensive armament and the second and subsequent prototypes included a number of gun positions, while the Bv 222 VI was fitted with seven single 7.92mm and 13mm machine-guns, and under each wing a gondola mounting a pair of the latter. The Bv 222 V3 featured gun turrets on top of the wing between the outboard engines, each with a 20mm cannon. By March 1943 a total of seven transport prototypes had been completed, all with armament variations; all served with Lufttransportstaffel See 222 (LTS See 222) in the Mediterranean, three being lost (two shot down by fighters and one sunk after striking a buoy while landing at Athens). The remaining aircraft, the Bv 222 V2, Bv 222 V3, Bv 222 V4 and Bv 222 V5, were converted for maritime reconnaissance and served with Fliegerfuhrer Atlantik, some with FuG 200 search radar; the Bv 222 V3 and Bv 222 V5 were destroyed at their moorings at Biscarosse by Allied fighters in June 1943, and another aircraft was shot down by an Avro Lancaster over the Bay of Biscay in the following October. The Bv 222 V7 was the prototype of the production version, the Bv 222C, of which five examples were completed with six 746kW Junkers Jumo 205D or 207C diesel inlines and a total armament of three 20mm and five 13mm guns. Of these one was shot down by a British night-fighter near Biscarosse and another was hit by strafing Mustangs at Travemunde; the Bv 222 V2 was destroyed during the Allied reoccupation of Norway; two others were sunk by their crews at the end of the war, two were flown to the USA and one was ferried to the UK after the end of hostilities.

Source: Blohm und Voss BV.222 Viking - flying boat

 

[gekho]

In 1930 Germany was still nominally operating under the treaty of Versailles prohibiting them from developing military hardware. When Ernest Heinkel was developing this aircraft its true military nature was concealed by classifying it as a civilian aircraft. The aircraft was under development for the German Navy as a twin engined float plane constructed of various materials. The wing contained a wooden main spar with plywood and fabric covering while the fuselage was fabric around a steel frame and the tail planes were covered with light weight metal sheets.
The floats doubled as fuel tanks capable of holding 900 liters each. Even when combined with the internal fuel capacity the aircraft was still deemed to have insufficient range. While the aircraft was considered pleasant to fly it was seriously under powered. Between 1931 and 1939 one hundred forty two aircraft were manufactured and used in several roles. Some were used as trainers, some were used as torpedo bombers and most importantly, some were used as air/sea rescue aircraft. During the first months of World War II they were used to lay mines and during the Battle of Britain they were used to recover Luftwaffe pilots downed in the channel. One of the most famous and most colorful aircraft was D-ARYX, a He-59B in all white with red crosses used for SAR duty during the Battle of Britain. All examples of these aircraft were destroyed during the war and all that is left are some black and white pictures taken by crew members during their days of service.

 

[gekho]

Intended to replace Heinkel's own He 60, the Heinkel He 114 was developed originally as a private venture. Five prototypes, flown in 1936 and 1937, were powered by a variety of engines, including the 716kW Daimler-Benz DB 600, the 477kW Junkers Jumo 210, the 656kW BMW 132Dc and the 716kW BMW 132K. Ten pre-production He 114A-0 aircraft were built, with the BMW 132Dc engine, which was adopted also for the 33 He 114A-1 trainers. A development aircraft with a BMW 132K engine, flown on 16 February 1937, preceded the similarly-powered He 114A-2 which was the first operational version, armed with a fixed forward-firing 7.92mm MG 17 machine-gun and an identical weapon mounted in the observer's cockpit. Export orders comprised 14 He 114A-2s for Sweden as the He 114B-1, and six He 114B-2 aircraft for Romania (three with DB 600 engines and three with Jumo 210s). Romania also bought 12 He 114B-2S with BMW 132K engines. Fourteen He 114C-1 aircraft, with an additional fixed MG 17, were supplied to the Luftwaffe. The type saw limited war-time service, although production ceased in 1939, and some were armed with up to four 50kg bombs.

Source: Heinkel He 114 - maritime bomber, recon

 

[Gnomey]

Nice shots!

 

[vikingBerserker]

I agree!

 

[gekho]

The elegant Do 26, sometimes referred to as the "most beautiful flying-boat ever built", was of all-metal construction. The hull had a central keel and a defined step, and the wings were of gull wing configuration, the outer sections being equipped with fully retractable narrow stabilising wing-floats, instead of Dornier's famous "water-wing" sponsons extending from the lower hull for lateral stabilization. Its four engines, Junkers Jumo 205C diesel engines, were mounted in tractor/pusher pairs in tandem nacelles located at the joint between the dihedral and horizontal wing sections. The rear (pusher) engines could be swung upwards through 10° during take-off and landing, to prevent contact between the three-blade airscrew and water spray created by the forward propellers. The tail unit was of conventional design, comprising a horizontal tailplane and a single, vertical fin with rudder.

In 1937, Deutsche Lufthansa ordered three Do 26 aircraft, which were designed to be launched by catapult from special supply ships, for transatlantic air mail purposes. The first, Do 26 A D-AGNT V1 Seeadler ("Sea eagle") was piloted on its maiden flight by Flight Captain Erich Gundermann on 21 May 1938; D-AWDS V2 Seefalke ("Sea Falcon") followed on 23 November 1938, piloted by Flight Captain Egon Fath. Both were completed and handed over to Deutsche Lufthansa before the outbreak of World War II. Due to opposition from the United States, Deutsche Lufthansa was unable to operate these aircraft on the intended transatlantic route; instead, in 1939 they were used to carry air mail between Bathurst and Natal in South Africa. The third aircraft, Do 26 B D-ASRA Seemöwe ("Seagull") was completed shortly before the start of World War II. One notable Do 26 civilian mission was carried out by V2 Seefalke, when on 14 February 1939 the veteran Lufthansa pilot Flight Captain Siegfried Graf Schack von Wittenau embarked on a mercy flight to Chile, taking 580 kg (1,279 lb) of medical supplies for earthquake victims in Chile. The 10,700 km (6,600 mi) flight lasted 36 hours.

 

[gekho]

All three Deutsche Lufthansa aircraft were impressed into military service in 1939 at the outbreak of World War II, as P5+AH, P5+BH and P5+CH respectively. Three further Do 26 aircraft (V4 - V6) were built as Do 26 C for the Luftwaffe with the more powerful 648 kW (880 hp) Junkers Jumo 205D engines; the original three aircraft were similarly converted for military service. Armament consisted of one 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon and three 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 15 machine guns. The Do 26s saw service in April-May 1940 in the Norwegian Campaign, transporting supplies, troops and wounded to and from the isolated German forces fighting at Narvik under the command of General Eduard Dietl. During this campaign three of them were lost: On 8 May 1940, V2 (ex Seefalke) was shot down by three Blackburn Skuas of 803 Naval Air Squadron operating from the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal[4] while carrying 18 Gebirgsjägers to the Narvik front. After a running fight V2 crash-landed in Efjorden in Ballangen. Siegfried Graf Schack von Wittenau, the crew and 18 soldiers were captured in bloody fighting with Norwegian forces. One of the Skuas, flown by future Fleet Air Arm fighter ace Sub-Lieutenant Philip Noel Charlton, was hit by return fire from V2 and made an emergency landing at Tovik near Harstad.

Then, on 28 May 1940, both V1 (ex Seeadler) and V3 (ex Seemöwe) were set ablaze with gunfire and sunk at their moorings at Sildvik in Rombaksfjord near Narvik, when discovered and attacked by three Hurricanes of No. 46 Squadron RAF led by the New Zealander Flight Lieutenant (later Group Captain) P.G. "Pat" Jameson, DSO, DFC and bar shortly after landing. Three mountain guns destined for the German forces fighting in the mountains east of Narvik were lost with the destruction of V1 and V3, whilst one gun was recovered from one of the aircraft before it was lost. V5 was lost on 16 November 1940 , killing its crew, after being launched at night from the catapult ship Friesenland in Brest, France. The fate of V4 and V6, which in 1944 were still assigned to the Test Unit (German: Erprobungsstelle) in Travemünde, is unclear.

 

[Gnomey]

Good stuff!

 

[proton45]

This is a cool topic...I have a soft spot for reconnaissance and liaison aircraft. I have always felt that reconnaissance and liaison pilots (artillery spotters) where the overlooked hero's of WW2. It wasn't a glorious (movie star) job, but they did so much to save lives and shorten the war.

 

[Erich]

Auch du unless I am amiss I do not see the Ju 290 of FAGr 5 fame listed for it's armed recon duties which it excelled at. we should continue this thread Gents.........

 

[Erich]

nice LW losses page for the North

Luftwaffe Loss Register - The Nordic area - Part 1 Seaplanes