Focke Wulf Meister
Airman
- 15
- Jul 22, 2009
Now that I know the criteria for "worst", here are my candidates:
Worst Bomber: Breda Ba.88 Lince
Two Italian groups were equipped with the Breda Ba.88 in June 1940, operating initially from Sardinia against the main airfield of Corsica. The crews found that the Bredas were extremely underpowered and lacked agility, but the lack of fighter opposition resulted in them being able to perform their missions without losses.
Later, 64 aircraft became operational serving 7imo Gruppo in the North African Theatre with 19imo stationed in Sardinia, but their performance remained extremely poor resulting in the 7imo Gruppo being grounded from the end of June until September, when the Italian offensive against British forces started. Of three aircraft used, one was not even capable of taking off, and another could not turn and was forced to fly straight.
Five months after the start of the war, on 10 June 1940, Bredas were phased out as bombers and given new tasks as decoys on airfields.
Nice plane, Moose.
Worst Interceptor: Messershmitt Me163 Komet
The rocket used two propellents (both quite unstable and corrosive), that when they came in contact with each other, exploded, thus powering the rocket. HTP hydrogen peroxide mixed with hydrazine hydrate makes quite a bang! Do not try this at home. The stuff burned off very rapidly, giving just a few minutes of flight. As there were no wheels, the Me 163 landed on a skid, which was a bumpy proposition. Any residual fuels left in the tanks would then combine and explode; several aircraft were lost in just this manner. Even by itself, the HTP was highly corrosive, especially to any organic materials, so the pilots had to wear protective suits of synthetic materials. But sometimes it seeped into the cockpit, or worked through the seams of the overalls. On occasion, an Me 163 would just blow up while sitting on the ground.
Production Me 163Bs were not ready for operational use until July 1944. The Luftwaffe planned to have small units of Komets dispersed to intercept Allied bomber formations, but only 279 Me 163Bs were delivered by the end of the war. The sole operational Komet group, JG 400, scored nine kills while losing 14 of its own aircraft.
Now, that is a kill ratio you can be proud of, Herman. Nice.
Worst Fighter: PZL P.7a
During the battle for Poland in 1939, pilots flying the P.7a claimed shooting down seven German aircraft (two He 111s, two Do 17s, one Hs 126 and two Bf 110s), suffering combat losses of 22 aircraft. How embarrassing for the Luftwaffe. You actually lost planes to this hunk of junk?
HM: Boulton Paul P.82 Defiant
Contemporary with the Royal Navy's Blackburn Roc (a disaster in its own right), the concept of a turret fighter was somewhat similar to the World War I-era Bristol Fighter. In practice, the Defiant was found to be vulnerable to the Luftwaffe's more agile, single-seat Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters; crucially, the Defiant did not have any forward-firing guns. Sounds like an F-4 Phantom. (Unlike the Brits, we Americans finally deduced adding a forward-firing gun to our Double Ugly would be a good idea.)
Worst Ground Attack Aircraft: Me 210
The Me 210 was designed to replace the Bf 110 in heavy fighter role. The first examples of the Me 210 were ready in 1939, but they proved to have poor flight characteristics.
A large-scale operational testing programm throughout 1941 and early 1942 did not cure the aircraft's problems. The design eventually entered limited service in 1943, but was almost immediately replaced by its successor, the Messerschmitt Me 410 Hornisse ("Hornet"). The Me 410 was a further development of the Me 210, renamed so as to avoid the 210's notoriety. The failure of the Me 210's development programme meant that the Luftwaffe was forced to continue fielding the outdated Bf 110, to mounting losses.
Surprisingly, no Japanese or Russian aircraft on my list. Hmmmm...
Anyway, that's my two cents...
Worst Bomber: Breda Ba.88 Lince
Two Italian groups were equipped with the Breda Ba.88 in June 1940, operating initially from Sardinia against the main airfield of Corsica. The crews found that the Bredas were extremely underpowered and lacked agility, but the lack of fighter opposition resulted in them being able to perform their missions without losses.
Later, 64 aircraft became operational serving 7imo Gruppo in the North African Theatre with 19imo stationed in Sardinia, but their performance remained extremely poor resulting in the 7imo Gruppo being grounded from the end of June until September, when the Italian offensive against British forces started. Of three aircraft used, one was not even capable of taking off, and another could not turn and was forced to fly straight.
Five months after the start of the war, on 10 June 1940, Bredas were phased out as bombers and given new tasks as decoys on airfields.
Nice plane, Moose.
Worst Interceptor: Messershmitt Me163 Komet
The rocket used two propellents (both quite unstable and corrosive), that when they came in contact with each other, exploded, thus powering the rocket. HTP hydrogen peroxide mixed with hydrazine hydrate makes quite a bang! Do not try this at home. The stuff burned off very rapidly, giving just a few minutes of flight. As there were no wheels, the Me 163 landed on a skid, which was a bumpy proposition. Any residual fuels left in the tanks would then combine and explode; several aircraft were lost in just this manner. Even by itself, the HTP was highly corrosive, especially to any organic materials, so the pilots had to wear protective suits of synthetic materials. But sometimes it seeped into the cockpit, or worked through the seams of the overalls. On occasion, an Me 163 would just blow up while sitting on the ground.
Production Me 163Bs were not ready for operational use until July 1944. The Luftwaffe planned to have small units of Komets dispersed to intercept Allied bomber formations, but only 279 Me 163Bs were delivered by the end of the war. The sole operational Komet group, JG 400, scored nine kills while losing 14 of its own aircraft.
Now, that is a kill ratio you can be proud of, Herman. Nice.
Worst Fighter: PZL P.7a
During the battle for Poland in 1939, pilots flying the P.7a claimed shooting down seven German aircraft (two He 111s, two Do 17s, one Hs 126 and two Bf 110s), suffering combat losses of 22 aircraft. How embarrassing for the Luftwaffe. You actually lost planes to this hunk of junk?
HM: Boulton Paul P.82 Defiant
Contemporary with the Royal Navy's Blackburn Roc (a disaster in its own right), the concept of a turret fighter was somewhat similar to the World War I-era Bristol Fighter. In practice, the Defiant was found to be vulnerable to the Luftwaffe's more agile, single-seat Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters; crucially, the Defiant did not have any forward-firing guns. Sounds like an F-4 Phantom. (Unlike the Brits, we Americans finally deduced adding a forward-firing gun to our Double Ugly would be a good idea.)
Worst Ground Attack Aircraft: Me 210
The Me 210 was designed to replace the Bf 110 in heavy fighter role. The first examples of the Me 210 were ready in 1939, but they proved to have poor flight characteristics.
A large-scale operational testing programm throughout 1941 and early 1942 did not cure the aircraft's problems. The design eventually entered limited service in 1943, but was almost immediately replaced by its successor, the Messerschmitt Me 410 Hornisse ("Hornet"). The Me 410 was a further development of the Me 210, renamed so as to avoid the 210's notoriety. The failure of the Me 210's development programme meant that the Luftwaffe was forced to continue fielding the outdated Bf 110, to mounting losses.
Surprisingly, no Japanese or Russian aircraft on my list. Hmmmm...
Anyway, that's my two cents...