Did the German flying wing ever fly?
In the late 1930s, Germany produced several prototypes of flying wing aircraft. In 1943, the Horton Brothers test flew their Ho. Germany. Purportedly it had a ram-jet engine and could achieve speeds approaching 600 miles per hour. A prototype aircraft flew in test flights in February 1945 – just three months before the end of WW2 in Europe. The results were encouraging, but there was no time and no manufacturing capability to develop it to operational status.
What plane did German pilots fear the most?
Luftwaffe fighter pilots feared the Spitfire most, the Mk V entered service in early 1941, the first P 51 in 1942 and it was inferior, the P 51 D not until mid 1944, by then there were other Spitfires, the Mk IX and XII in 1942, the Mk VII, VIII and XIV in 1943, these were all better than the P51D. The P-51 was originally about 10% faster than the Spitfire. That much speed advantage gives the faster plane a flight envelope near the top of the slower plane’s envelope and above, a region of superior maneuverability based on the fact that maneuvering at maximum speed causes a plane to lose both speed and altitude.P-51 Both the P-51 and the P47 were excellent. The drawback to the P-51 was it was water- cooled and the P-47 was air cooled. The P-47 could take a lot more punishment and was better suited for ground attack. The P-51 better suited for dog fighs.
What kind of planes did they fly in WWII?
Many different bombers were used during World War II. The B-17, B-24, B 26, and B-29 were the workhorses of the AAF fleet. Both the B-25 and B 26 were twin engine, all-metal monoplanes. The B-25 Mitchell and B-26 Marauder were medium bombers used mainly at altitudes of 8,000 to 14,000 feet. During the war, 414 B-29s were lost, teething difficulties, especially engine fires, accounted for the majority with enemy action bringing down only 147. Used exclusively in the Pacific during World War 2 the B-29s were first deployed to airfields in China in June of 1944.
What did German pilots think of the Spitfire?
The Spitfire handles well, is light on the controls, faultless in the turn and has a performance approaching that of the Me 109. As a fighting aircraft, however, it is miserable,’ Major Werner Mölders, JG 51, Luftwaffe. The Spitfire’s Perception For the Germans, it seems, it was more acceptable to have been shot down by the RAF’s Spitfire, rather than any other aircraft. Later, in 1944, the same thinking applied for the Allies in Normandy.
What was the most feared plane in WWII?
Used to be that the German Messerschmitt was the most feared fighter plane in WW2. But then in 1943, the US came up with the Mustang – a plane very capable of taking on the Messerschmitt. In general, they respected the US bird. One of the famous German pilots even told that he realized that his country was doomed to lose once he saw that US plane over Berlin. Of course, adequate pilots with decent combat experience couldn’t underestimate a dangerous rival and the P-51 was a very dangerous opponent.