OT - WWII quiz

[paulderynck]

Wasn't it a Dornier (217 maybe) that launched a radio guided bomb against the Italian ships trying to change sides?

[terje439]

ORIGINAL: brian brian

I was reading a model airplane catalog that somehow came in the mail and came up with this question...what model of aircraft launched what one could possibly call the first cruise missile, during WWII?

I had never heard of this feat before.

Another mail from JGN in my inbox today, his reply is;
Heinkel He-111. Used to launch V1 missiles.

[brian brian]

Terje has the answer I was thinking of. The radio-guided bombs were another first of course, but I had never heard of air-launched V1s. How many times did the Luftwaffe manage that? Thank God Hitler wasted all his techno toys on offensive missions that could no longer affect the outcome of the war.

[terje439]

the did so quite a few times, do not have the numbers in my head, but I believe aprox 500 times or so.


*edit* according to wikipedia - 1100 times [X(]

[Ohio Jones]

Anyone know the source for these wartime currency notes? (I have my guesses, but am looking for confirmation).


http://webhome.idirect.com/~lhodgson/ww2money.html

[Michael the Pole]

ORIGINAL: warspite1

Which two naval vessels - one Italian, one German were named after the same historical character? 

Prince Eugene.

Who was his famous colaberator, who was that colaberator's direct descendant and why was it remarkable that only Axis navys named ships after him?

What was the bizare plan that Louis Mountbatten had for constructing super-carriers?

[Michael the Pole]

ORIGINAL: terje439

ORIGINAL: brian brian

I was reading a model airplane catalog that somehow came in the mail and came up with this question...what model of aircraft launched what one could possibly call the first cruise missile, during WWII?

I had never heard of this feat before.

Another mail from JGN in my inbox today, his reply is;
Heinkel He-111. Used to launch V1 missiles.

Disagree. IMO it was the He-177 which operated with a "pure" ground to air radio guided missle. Actually used in combat against the Salerno landing transports.

What was Joe Kennedy doing when he was killed?

[brian brian]

In my question I was differentiating between the radio guided missile used in the Mediterranean, and the air-launched V-1 (from He-111s), which is more like the modern definition of a 'cruise missile'. I need to get around to reading the wikipedia entry on that, I had never heard of the feat before reading that model catalog.

And I did not know that any He-177s were used in combat either, thanks ... wasn't that one of the four-engine models every WiF player hopes to build once the Germans _really_ get rolling?


Here is an easy question ... which neutral country did Hitler and Churchill both obsess over, to the point that their staffs told them their orders based on these concerns were a strategic mistake?

[Michael the Pole]

He 177

He 177 A-02 production prototype
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Role Heavy bomber
Manufacturer Heinkel Flugzeugwerke
First flight November 1939
Introduced 1942
Retired 1945
Primary user Luftwaffe
Number built ~1,184
Variants Heinkel He 274
Heinkel He 277

Although it appears to be a two engine bomber, one of the many unique features of the 177 was it having two engines in each nacelle.
My best friend and I built an RC model of this a/c back in the middle 70's that had a 60"+ wingspan and an Estes powered Henschel Hs 293 glide bomb. Unfortunatly, it didnt survive its first flight.
Another interesting variant was deployed at Stalingrad mounted with a 50mm cannon for flak suppression missions.

[Neilster]

What was the bizare plan that Louis Mountbatten had for constructing super-carriers?

That sounds like Project Habakkuk. The plan was to construct enormous aircraft carriers out of a mixture of ice and sawdust called Pykrete, with cooling pipes all through them to keep them frozen. Tests were done and, from memory, a small vessel was constructed but the project was abandoned due to the significant technical challenges involved and changing priorities.

Cheers, Neilster

[paulderynck]

ORIGINAL: Michael the Pole


What was Joe Kennedy doing when he was killed?

Piloting a B-17 that exploded in mid-air over the English Channel. It was some kind of special volunteer mission (perhaps against sub pens, if memory serves) that involved a significant risk, but he never got his plane to the target.

Well I had to wiki it after that guess. It was a modiifed B-24 and they were trying to bomb a V-3 cannon site in Mimoyecques, France. There was some damage on the ground so they may not have even made it as far as the Channel. Aside from those minor details, my answer was bang-on!

[Michael the Pole]

ORIGINAL: Neilster

What was the bizare plan that Louis Mountbatten had for constructing super-carriers?

That sounds like Project Habakkuk. The plan was to construct enormous aircraft carriers out of a mixture of ice and sawdust called Pykrete, with cooling pipes all through them to keep them frozen. Tests were done and, from memory, a small vessel was constructed but the project was abandoned due to the significant technical challenges involved and changing priorities.

Cheers, Neilster

Way to go Nielster[&o] a direct hit! Technically, the idea could have worked, but by the time they had worked out the details, the Greenland-Iceland gap in the anti-sub coverage, particularly aircraft coverage had been filled by the long range maritime variants of the B-24, the Martin Mariner, etc. On the political side "Dickie" had been sent out to take command in the Indian theatre, and wasn't available to push the project.

On a related subject, does anyone know why all official British Government documents written after 1940 mentioing Iceland always refer to it as Iceland(c) ?
Mike

[Michael the Pole]

ORIGINAL: paulderynck

ORIGINAL: Michael the Pole


What was Joe Kennedy doing when he was killed?

Piloting a B-17 that exploded in mid-air over the English Channel. It was some kind of special volunteer mission (perhaps against sub pens, if memory serves) that involved a significant risk, but he never got his plane to the target.

Well I had to wiki it after that guess. It was a modiifed B-24 and they were trying to bomb a V-3 cannon site in Mimoyecques, France. There was some damage on the ground so they may not have even made it as far as the Channel. Aside from those minor details, my answer was bang-on!

Great job, Paul [&o] He was piloting a B-24 that the air corps had stuffed full with a horrifying amount of explosives, and then installed a rudimentary radio controlled autopilot (hence the connection with the thread about the He 177 and its radio controlled cruise missle.) The idea with Kennedy's project was that they would take off, climb to cruise altitude and bail out over England. The controlling aircraft would then fly the aircraft across the Channel and crash the a/c into the V-3 prototype. Kennedy's aircraft exploded over Kent (there was some opinion that the explosion was caused when Kennedy armed the "bomb".) To give you some idea of the force of the explosion, it not only caused the control a/c to crash at a range of over a mile, but was reported to have caused casualties on the ground despite the fact that Kennedy's plane was flying at greater than 5000 feet when it detonated!
Mike

[Michael the Pole]

Does anyone know the neutral power that joined one of the beligerants in accordance with a treaty signed in the Fourteenth Century? Who was the Head of State of the beligerant power, and who was the Head of State that he referred to as having originated the alliance?

Mike

[brian brian]

That would be Portugal, which I think was led by a Dr Salazar during WWII? And he may have referred to the alliance with England originating during the reign of ... Henry the Vth? Errr, no I think he was 15th Century. ?

[Michael the Pole]

Great -- it was Portugal! Anyone know the originating Head pf State?

[patchogue]

Prinz Eugen's ally was the Duke of Marlborough.
 
i think he was a Savoyard (so almost french &/or Italian) and had a connection to Louis XIV.
 
the aircraft carrier was ice and straw

[patchogue]

I expect sawdust was right - should read all posts before answering [8|]

[terje439]

ORIGINAL: Michael the Pole

Great -- it was Portugal! Anyone know the originating Head pf State?

A mail from JGN about this Q;

At the Battle of São Mamede, Afonso Henriques, Count of Portugal, defeated his mother, Countess Teresa, and her lover, Fernão Peres de Trava, in battle — thereby establishing himself as sole leader. Afonso Henriques officially declared Portugal's independence when he proclaimed himself King of Portugal on July 25, 1139, after the Battle of Ourique, he was recognized as such in 1143 by Afonso VII, king of León and Castile, and in 1179 by Pope Alexander III.
Afonso Henriques and his successors, aided by military monastic orders, pushed southward to drive out the Moors, as the size of Portugal covered about half of its present area. In 1249, this Reconquista ended with the capture of the Algarve on the southern coast, giving Portugal its present day borders, with minor exceptions.

[brian brian]

Iceland(c) came about on direct orders from Churchill after he grew concerned that documents regarding the Battle of the Atlantic could easily accidentally confuse Ireland and Iceland, particularly when hand-written.