Worst looking AFV of the War

[CMplayer]

Does anyone have a picture of a totally lopsided looking German observation plane which didn't make it past the prototype stage? (ring a bell?) I saw a model kit of it once, but can't remember any details.

[ 12-29-2001: Message edited by: CMplayer ]</p>

[Kanonier Reichmann]

If your thinking of the Blohm & Voss which had the engine located at the front of the fuselage with the cockpit located on a seperate mounting on the wing where you'd imagine a second engine would be, then it certainly went way past prototype stage. From memory, a number were produced and apparently they were a delight to fly, if you could get over the bloody strange look of the machine.

If you're not talking about the Blohm & Voss then forget I mentioned it!

Regards

Jim R.

[CMplayer]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Kanonier Reichmann:

If your thinking of the Blohm & Voss which had the engine located ...<hr></blockquote>

Yes that's it. Thx for the name of the plane and the correction to my faulty memory! A quick search brought up these pictures, but does anyone have a better one?

[ 12-29-2001: Message edited by: CMplayer ]</p>

[Kanonier Reichmann]

Now THAT is definitely not a stylish looking machine even if it may have been perfectly functional.

Regards

Jim R.

[mike8g]

This 'thing' was built by Blohm & Voss (manufacturer) and was called BV 141. The were even more uglier variants produced, with a fully armored gondola intended to be used as a ground attack plane.

Some links:

http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/LRG/bv141.html

http://biic.piranho.de/avio/PLANES/GERMANY/PLANES/Blohm_~1.htm

http://www.csd.uwo.ca/~pettypi/elevon/gustin_military/db/ger/BV141BLO.html

BTW, what about this seaplane prototype (BV P.111)

http://members.visi.net/~djohnson/bv/bvp111.html

[ 12-29-2001: Message edited by: mike8g ]</p>

[CMplayer]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by mike8g:

The were even more uglier variants produced, with a fully armored gondola intended to be used as a ground attack plane.<hr></blockquote>

Was the idea kind of like the killing joke?

[CMplayer]

...fly it over the Russian trenches and they all stand up... Hey Vlad get a lookski at this!... thus exposing themselves to a TOT barrage.

[gredeker]

I have a book called "The World's Worst Aircraft" which is full of hilarious examples, including the BV141. It has entries such as the SeaDart (the only supersonic seaplane), the Tarrant Tabor (a huge post WWI bomber which violently somersaulted and disintegrated on the first attempted takeoff, killing all on board), Lockheed and Convair's attempts to make a plane that stood on its tail for a vertical takeoff, and other oddities from throughout the course of aviation history.

[Jagdratt]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Gyrene:

[

Ugly planes? Any German WWII twin engine bomber/night fighter and any Russian biplane.[/QB]<hr></blockquote>

Really? The He111 is a beautiful plane - streamlined and unlike anything else in the air. (never say that, some AF grognard will drag out ten similar planes no one else has ever heard of). Actually the entire early war medium bomber fleet - He111, Ju88, Do215 - was quite attractive compared to the competition. And the Condor has to be one of the nicest looking four engine bombers - which is good since it wasn't a succesful bomber.

[l3w53r]

Worst looking are the Kiwi-Shack-on Wheels and WWII Japanese tanks.

Dunno, I just like the Loaded-And-Deadly look, so that includes well-used shermans; PZ-IIL's,PZ-III's ;Panther, Tigers and their variants.

Worst looking aircraft, I dunno,

The best looking aircraft, F4U's, A-10, F/A-18, F-14, more F4U's and A-10's, german WWII bombers, P-51's, Machi C.202, JU-87 Stuka's and the Dornier (Do-17 I think) that has a prop at the front front, a prop at the back, and an ejection seat

[Kirill S.]

a stuka is good looking?

[mike8g]

l3w53r,

the plane you're looking for is the Dornier 335 "Pfeil"

The Do-17 was the pre- and early-war twin engine medium bomber.

[ 01-03-2002: Message edited by: mike8g ]</p>

[Affentitten]

The asymetrical Bv 141 actually flew very well, and out-performed its competitors during tender for the recon aircraft contract. It was sheer prejudice against its looks that saw it shelved. Interesting considering the slightly similar gondola on the FW 189, which was also produced in a ground attack version:

That prejudice against unusual airframes was thrown out the window in later years though. My personal favourite is the Ba 349 "Gnatte" (Gnat). The idea was that this rocket would blast upwards to meet incoming bomber formations. On the way up through the bombers, the pilot would trigger the spray of rockets in the nose cone, hopefully nailing a B-17. The Gnatte would then pass above the formation, where its fuel would cut out. The pilot was then to aim the craft back down at the bombers, lining up for a ramming attack. He was supposed to bail out just before impact.

I'm sure the Luftwaffe cadets were queueing up for a chance to fly this baby.

[gredeker]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Affentitten:

My personal favourite is the Ba 349 "Gnatte" (Gnat).<hr></blockquote>

Another one that made it into "The World's Worst Aircraft". I'll look it up when I get home to post the author, year and publisher if anyone's interested.

[Ogadai]

On the Bv141, Eric "Winkle" Brown, Chief RN Test Pilot at Farnborough during most of the war, had the chance after the surrender, to fly one. He writes about his expeirence in one of his books on flying the weird, the wonderful and the prosiac in WWII. While he states it was only a quick circuit or two of the airfield and that he experienced hydraulic problems with the example he flew (something which was apparently endemic to them), he claimed it was pleasant enought to fly, without any major vices, which he considered unusual, considering its configuration. It should not, in my opinion, at least be amongst the "worst aircraft" list. Unusual, yes, but not bad. The Fw-189 was a better, simpler aircraft, which is the reason why it beat it.

His books are a treasure trove of information about WWII aircraft. There were very few of the major or even minor types that Brown didn't fly and he's left an excellent record of his experiences in about 4-5 books. He had many notable firsts to his credit, including:

First onboard landing & takeoff of a tricycle undercarriaged aircraft on a carrier (P-39).

First onboard landing & takeoff of a twin-engined aircraft on a carrier (Mosquito).

First onboard landing & takeoff of a jet aircraft on a carrier (Meteor).

He also scored 3.5 kills flying Martlets.

[edward_n_kelly]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by CombinedArms:

I'd rank the best looking fighters as: Spitfire, Mustang, Fw-190, P-38 (I always thought it looked cool, anyway) and P-40 (the Flying Tiger version with the shark teeth)--in that order. <hr></blockquote>

Funny I always thought that the "shark's mouth" on the P-40 was 112 Sqn RAF in the Western Desert before the "Flying Tigers" were formed.

Anyway the use of the shark's mouth and other animal markings was common from before WWI.....

Edward

[edward_n_kelly]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Ogadai:

On the Bv141, Eric "Winkle" Brown, Chief RN Test Pilot at Farnborough during most of the war, had the chance after the surrender, to fly one. He writes about his expeirence in one of his books on flying the weird, the wonderful and the prosiac in WWII. While he states it was only a quick circuit or two of the airfield and that he experienced hydraulic problems with the example he flew (something which was apparently endemic to them), he claimed it was pleasant enought to fly, without any major vices, which he considered unusual, considering its configuration. It should not, in my opinion, at least be amongst the "worst aircraft" list. Unusual, yes, but not bad. The Fw-189 was a better, simpler aircraft, which is the reason why it beat it.

His books are a treasure trove of information about WWII aircraft. There were very few of the major or even minor types that Brown didn't fly and he's left an excellent record of his experiences in about 4-5 books. He had many notable firsts to his credit, including:

First onboard landing & takeoff of a tricycle undercarriaged aircraft on a carrier (P-39).

First onboard landing & takeoff of a twin-engined aircraft on a carrier (Mosquito).

First onboard landing & takeoff of a jet aircraft on a carrier (Meteor).

He also scored 3.5 kills flying Martlets.<hr></blockquote>

And the first and certainly one of the few to deliberately land a jet on an aircraft carrier without an undercarriage (no - not battle damage a version of the DH Vampire built to lad on a rubber mat !)

Anyway, his landing of the jet was fascical. HMS Ocean had assumed it had been scrubbed because of weather so all hands were at dinner and he landed without wires or barriers !

I read somewere his "type" listing was up in the 500 + range.

Had flown the the "Volksjager" He162 and he was to demonstrate it again but the aircraft disintigrated in a test flight by another pilot. Delamination of the wings (poor glues) caused the "fleet" to be grounded.

He also saw the loss of the Do335 at Farnborough where the rear engine caught fire and destroyed the control cables without the pilot being aware of it.

Edward

[Iron Chef Sakai]

Was'nt the DO-335 the fastest propellar driven plane of the war?

[Brian]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Iron Chef Sakai:

Was'nt the DO-335 the fastest propellar driven plane of the war?<hr></blockquote>

No. No where near it. That honour goes to I believe the Ta-152c.

Fastest non-production prototype was I believe the CAC-15, but it appeared just after the war.

[KenH]

quote:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally posted by Iron Chef Sakai:

Was'nt the DO-335 the fastest propellar driven plane of the war?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Depends on who you talk to I thought I once read somewhere the 335 was the fastest prop fighter, but I can't remember the source. I know the Ta-152 WAS very hot, one account of an example being flown by Kurt Tank, was jumped by 4 Mustangs while on a test flight (no armament) --- he escaped simply by opening the throttle and leaving them in the dust.....

[Herr Oberst]

Link

You can go there to see a portrait of the Ta-152

[Chosun-few]

Has anyone mentioned the infantry tank mark 1 matilda, so named because of it's comic duck like appearance. Calculated to inspire confidence in the crew!!

[CeeJee]

The well-named XB-42 Mixmaster:

And the even-better-named XF5U Flying Pancake:

[PVLLVS MAXIMVS]

Its not from WW2, but I thought this plane needed honorable mention. I especially liked the test pilots comments :

"You look at the plane and say, 'Wow, that doesn't look very aerodynamic,' " said Air Force test pilot Ken Dyson. "Then you look at the aerodynamics of it and you say, 'Wow, that doesn't look very aerodynamic.' " Dyson added that Tacit Blue lived up to its other nickname, HUM, for Highly Unstable Mother. "I can't believe how many times I crashed it in the simulator," he said.

And just to pretend like Im keeping things on topic, the Bison and the Kiwimobile are pretty ugly, but I have always thought that the rusian's multi-turret abortions were the worst... like a man with 3 arms or something.

[karch]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Iron Chef Sakai:

Was'nt the DO-335 the fastest propellar driven plane of the war?<hr></blockquote>

I've seen a number of quotes stating the P-47M as being the fastest piston engine plane EVER built. Here is one link, and there is a book called THUNDERBOLT! that has more statistics about it.

http://www.geocities.com/pentagon/quarters/9485/P-47M.html

I always figured the Do335 or FW190D was the fastest, but I think this version of the Thunderbolt actually was. There was one account in the book of 500MPH reached will ballast in the wings for MGs and full ammo.

Scott Karch