World War 2 Trivia

Taylor, Welch, and Rasmussen were all stationed at Wheeler Field, but only Rasmussen , ( of these 3 pilots ) took off direct from Wheeler, still in his pajamas at that. Welch and Taylor drove 10 miles, at high speed, to Haleiwa auxiliary airfield to their P-40's. Rasmussen would probably have been airborn first of those three. As busy as everone had to be at the time, I wonder if anyone kept accurate enough track of the time to even know who shot the first aircraft down.

I think 17 US aircraft got airborn, 29 Japanese aircraft were shot down, and about 70+ damaged. Mostly due to AA, not air combat.

As I heard it, all three pilots landed more than once during the attack and immediately after to refuel/rearm, but instead of waiting they took the next available aircraft, so both Taylor and Welch flew both the P-40 and P-36 in combat that day. Can't recall specific mention of Rasmussen.
Some of those 17 US aircraft that got airborne that morning apparently had the same pilots in a few of them.

The He-100D was the propaganda fictional designation, at Heinkel it was the He-113 preproduction testbed, a follow on from the He-112b built for the DB-600 series motors and featuring experimental cooling systems to streamline the aircraft. The first skin-radiator system was unsuccessful so they installed a retractable belly radiator. For a limited period at max power it could outpace the Me-109E or anything else in the world at a comfortable rate, but it overheated in about 3mins and the radiator had to be extended. At that point the Messer was a little cleaner in sustained manoeuvres, but the Heinkel was more heavily armed.
The retractable radiator is from the He-112b so the comparison is probably between the Me-109D versus that aircraft, written up by condor legion in Spain.

The He-112b probably wound up with a name because they were put into front line service with Romania and were encountered by Allied fighters. Nobody put the "He-100" into service.
I don't recall the Japanese getting any He-113 testbeds. As far as I know they were kept at a factory lot after their infamous propaganda photos for a few months and then disassembled. I maybe forgetting some info, I'll let someone point it out rather than look it up.
He-100 were claimed as fighter kills by RAF pilots during 1941 but the Ministry confirmed these claims as pilot misreporting, by late 41 they knew the He-100D didn't exist.

Sure one might think the Japanese received a He-113 testbed for Ki-61 development purposes, since their sillouetté is so similar. A research project some time ago was published investigating the origin of Japanese wartime aircraft designs, finding British and German involvement during the 1920s-30s, for example most of the leading Japanese aeronautical engineers at Mitsubishi et al were trained by Arado.

That's where the similarity comes from, common engineering training. The research team found none of the designs, such as the Ki-61 had any other than original indigenous involvement. It wasn't a Heinkel copy, but both Heinkel and Kawasaki had the same schooling influences on how to design an inline fighter.

Hi Vanir, I was under the impression it was the other way round. The He 100 was the real thing and He 113 was the propaganda aircraft. I've read through a number of RAF combat reports that mention the 'He 113' fighter, but this was a ruse, since no such aircraft existed.

This is a cool thread and I've enjoyed some of the questions, many I couldn't answer. Time to reactivate it.

A nice, easy question that I'm sure our British friends will/should get pretty quickly. What was the first aeroplane the Supermarine Spitfire shot down in combat, and name the date and what the action has become known as.

If you mean the 'Battle of Barking Creek', where Hurricanes were attacked, are you sure this is the first combat? Thought it was a Heinkel, over the Firth of Forth?

See! I knew a Brit would probably get it - the Battle of Barking Creek on 6 September, only three days after war was declared. So the Spitfire's first kill was a Hawker Hurricane! 74 Sqn Spits versus 56 Sqn Hurris.

The Heinkel you talk of that got shot down over the Firth of Forth was, in fact a Ju 88 of I/KG30. This was the first encounter with the enemy over the UK on 16 October 1939. Two were shot down, one by Flt Lts George Pinkerton and Archie McKellar of 602 and the other by Pat Gifford of 603 Sqn. Both crashed into the sea. I knew a guy who had dug up a chunk of fuel tank - a big piece - from the beach at Port Seton, east of Edinburgh.

The first where an enemy aircraft crashed on British soil was what became known as 'The Humbie Heinkel', which was shot down on 28 October 1939 by Archie McKellar of 602 Sqn. The aircraft crashed intact near the Scottish lowland village of Humbie in Fala and Soutra District. There was a Ju 88 that crashed on a rocky outcrop off Orkney, but that doesn't count as 'British' soil, (firstly becausre Orkney Islanders don't count themselves as 'British'!) since it was out at sea.

Your turn, Airframes.

Ah, I was obviously thinking of the first enemy aircraft downed on British land.
OK, another easy one then, as i can't think of anything off the top of my head!
Which was the first British aircraft to go into action in World War 2, and when ?

Fairey Battle 2nd September 1939

Maybe I should have phrased that differently ! First British aircraft, in British service, after the declaration of War (ie, September 3rd 1939 onward.)

Airframes said:

Maybe I should have phrased that differently ! First British aircraft, in British service, after the declaration of War (ie, September 3rd 1939 onward.)

Click to expand...

Oooohhh cheeky

The first RAF bombing attack of the war was made by Wellingtons of No. 9 and No. 149 Squadrons, along with Bristol Blenheims, on German shipping at Brunsbüttel on 4 September 1939

Two Flights of Blenheims, from 107 and 110 Squadrons, based at Wyton, attacked the Admiral Sheer and the Emden at Wilhemshaven on September 4th, damaging Emden and causing casualties when one aircraft from 110 Sqn crashed into Emden after being hit by Flak. Casualties among the Blenheims were high - but not the answer I'm looking for !

Well I'm stumped now

A clue - one hour and three minutes after war had been declared.

Jeez, I just read that in one of my books last week!!! Hold on........

Whitleys saw action on the first night of the war when they dropped leaflets over Germany. 51 Squadron from Leconfield 58 Squadron from Linton-on-Ouse the first Nickel or leaflet raid over Germany.

This was the first occasion on which R.A.F aircraft penetrated into Germany during the Second World War.

Still not the answer. The order came through only minutes after war was declared, with take off 63 minutes after the declaration. The operation started from Wyton .......

Blenheim N6125 was the first aircraft to make a sortie in WW2, when it set out from Wyton to photograph some of the German fleet to prepare for later bombing, piloted by Flying Officer Andrew McPherson 139 Squadron

Correct!
It was Blenheim MkIV, serial number N6215, of 139 Sqn, which set out from Wyton on an armed recce of Wilhelmshaven and the Schillig Roads, making it the first operation of WW2. The first aircraft to penetrate into Germany was actually this aircraft, which crossed and approached its 'target' from the German side.
The following day, the raid already described took place, and again the aircraft approached their targets from the landward side, in order to avoid accidentally hitting civilian targets. Due to a ten minute delay between waves, the second wave of Blenheims attracted much more flak, and five aircraft were lost from this flight!

Ok It appears it's my turn.

Who was almost shot down by the Germans and the British in early 1942?

Winston Churchill, on his way back from Gibraltar ?