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Bv 238
The Blohm & Voss BV 238 was a German flying boat, built during World War II. It was the heaviest aircraft ever built when it first flew in 1944, and was the largest aircraft produced by any of the Axis powers during World War II. History Development of the BV 238 giant flying boat began in 1941, following the success of the smaller but still enormous BV 222 ''Wiking''. An approximately quarter-scale model of the BV 238 was commissioned to test the new, long and slim hull design. Built by the Czechoslovakian Flugtechnische Fertigungsgemeinschaft Prag (FGP), the FGP 227 arrived too late to contribute any data to the program. Although extensive defensive armament was planned the first prototype, the BV 238 V1, had none. Bearing the ''Stammkennzeichen'' alphabetic radio code of RO + EZ, it began flight trials in April 1944. It was strafed and partially sunk while moored on Lake Schaal, some miles to the east of Hamburg. One wing remained above water and it was salvaged, but by this ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
WikiProject Aircraft
A WikiProject, or Wikiproject, is a Wikimedia movement affinity group for contributors with shared goals. WikiProjects are prevalent within the largest wiki, Wikipedia, and exist to varying degrees within sister projects such as Wiktionary, Wikiquote, Wikidata, and Wikisource. They also exist in different languages, and translation of articles is a form of their collaboration. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CBS News noted the role of Wikipedia's WikiProject Medicine in maintaining the accuracy of articles related to the disease. Another WikiProject that has drawn attention is WikiProject Women Scientists, which was profiled by '' Smithsonian'' for its efforts to improve coverage of women scientists which the profile noted had "helped increase the number of female scientists on Wikipedia from around 1,600 to over 5,000". On Wikipedia Some Wikipedia WikiProjects are substantial enough to engage in cooperative activities with outside organizations relevant to the field at issue. For e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
V12 Engine
A V12 engine is a twelve-cylinder piston engine where two banks of six cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. V12 engines are more common than V10 engines. However, they are less common than V8 engines. The first V12 engine was built in 1904 for use in racing boats. Due to the balanced nature of the engine and the smooth delivery of power, V12 engines were found in early luxury automobiles, boats, aircraft, and tanks. Aircraft V12 engines reached their apogee during World War II, following which they were mostly replaced by jet engines. In Formula One racing, V12 engines were common during the late 1960s and early 1990s. Applications of V12 engines in the 21st century have been as marine engines, in railway locomotives, as large stationary power as well as in some European sports and luxury cars. Design Balance and smoothness Each bank of a V12 engine essentially functions as a straight-six engine, which by itself has perfect primary and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martin JRM Mars
The Martin JRM Mars is a large, four-engined cargo transport flying boat designed and built by the Martin Company for the United States Navy during World War II. It was the largest Allied flying boat to enter production, although only seven were built. The United States Navy contracted the development of the XPB2M-1 Mars in 1938 as a long-range ocean patrol flying boat, which later entered production as the JRM Mars long-range transport. Four of the surviving aircraft were later converted for civilian use to firefighting water bombers. Two of the aircraft still remain based at Sproat Lake just outside of Port Alberni, British Columbia, although neither is operational. Design and development The Glenn L. Martin Company scaled up their PBM Mariner patrol bomber design to produce the prototype XPB2M-1 Mars.Goebel, Greg"The Martin Mariner, Mars, & Marlin Flying Boats."''Air Vectors,'' 6 May 2006. Retrieved: 13 November 2010. The XPB2M-1 was announced on 8 November 1941. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kawanishi H8K
The Kawanishi H8K was a flying boat used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service during World War II for maritime patrol duties. The Allied reporting name for the type was "Emily". The Kawanishi H8K was a large, four-engine aircraft designed for long range and extended endurance on patrols or bombing missions typically flown alone over the ocean. The prototype first flew in January 1941, and H8K1s made their first combat sortie in March 1942. The robust H8K2 "Emily" flying boat was also fitted with powerful defensive armament, for which Allied pilots had substantial respect wherever this aircraft was encountered in the Pacific theater. Aircraft historian René Francillon called the H8K "the most outstanding water-based combat aircraft of the Second World War." Design and development At the same time the type's predecessor, the Kawanishi H6K, was entering service in 1938 the Navy ordered the development of a larger, longer-ranged patrol aircraft under the designation Navy E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blohm & Voss BV 143
The Blohm & Voss BV 143 was an early prototype rocket-assisted glide bomb developed by the German Luftwaffe during World War II. Design Blohm & Voss designers began to consider airborne missiles late in 1938, even before the outbreak of war. First of these to be developed was the Bv 143, a glide bomb with rocket booster. Trials began in 1939. By 1941, Allied merchant ships were slow and easy targets for German coastal bombers, but were proving increasingly well-equipped with anti-aircraft artillery, making short-range attacks prohibitively costly. Interest was raised in the development of a stand off weapon to engage unarmored merchant ships from beyond the range of the Bofors 40 mm gun. The BV 143 was one of several stand off bomb and missile designs researched by the Blohm & Voss Naval Engineering Works for this anti-shipping role. The Bv 143 was designed to be air-dropped from beyond the range of antiaircraft guns, glide towards the target, engage its solid rocket motor bel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MCLOS
Manual command to line of sight (MCLOS) is a method for guiding guided missiles. With an MCLOS missile, the operator must track the missile and the target simultaneously and guide the missile to the target. Typically the missile is steered with a joystick, and its path is observed through a periscope-type telescopic sight. The missiles are usually equipped with a magnesium flare in the base that automatically ignites on launch and allows the gunner to visually track the fast-moving missile in a manner similar in concept to tracer ammunition. MCLOS requires considerable training and practice to master, since even a minor disruption in the gunner's concentration would likely cause a miss. These guidance systems have marginal accuracy on tank-sized targets, even with perfect line-of-sight by the gunner, due to erratic flight paths requiring timely manual corrections. As demonstrated by the Israeli Army under fire from Soviet-armed Arab states, responding to the distinctive smoke puff ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kehl-Strasbourg Radio Control Link
The Kehl-Straßburg radio control link was a German MCLOS radio control system of World War II. The system was named for Strasbourg, the French/German city on the Rhine and Kehl, at the time a suburb of Strasbourg. It was used by the Fritz X guided bomb and the Henschel Hs 293 guided missile, and would also be trialled in test of the Henschel Hs 298 MCLOS-guidance air-to-air missile. Description The generic term ''Funkgerät'', the source for the ''FuG'' prefix, translates directly into "radio equipment" in English (funk - radio; gerät - equipment), and also prefixed the designations of other various types of German military electronics, like the ''Lichtenstein'' and ''Neptun'' airborne intercept radar series, and the ''Erstling'' IFF radio gear, among others. The ''Kehl-Straßburg'' system combined two units. The dual-axis, single-joystick-equipped ''Funkgerät (FuG 203) Kehl'' series of radio-control transmitter sets, fitted aboard the launch aircraft, were used to send ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henschel Hs 293
The Henschel Hs 293 was a World War II German radio-guided glide bomb. It is the first operational anti-shipping missile, first used unsuccessfully on 25 August 1943 and then with increasing success over the next year, ultimately damaging or sinking at least 25 ships. Allied efforts to jam the radio control link were increasingly successful despite German efforts to counter them. The weapon remained in use through 1944 when it was also used as an air-to-ground weapon to attack bridges to prevent the Allied breakout after D-Day, but proved almost useless in this role. Development The Hs 293 project was started in 1940, based on the "Gustav Schwartz Propellerwerke" pure glide bomb that was designed in 1939. The Schwartz design did not have a terminal guidance system; instead, it used an autopilot to maintain a straight course. It was intended to be launched from a bomber at sufficient distance to keep the aircraft out of range of anti-aircraft fire. A Henschel team, under Dr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SC1000 Bomb
The SC 1000 ('' Sprengbombe Cylindrisch 1000'') or ''cylindrical explosive bomb'' was a large air-dropped general-purpose thin-cased high explosive demolition bomb used by Germany during World War II. Weighing more than , it was nicknamed the ''Hermann'' by the Germans in reference to the fat ''Luftwaffe'' commander, Hermann Göring. Design In December 1941, the bomb had a body of drawn steel to which a heavy pointed nose cone was welded. At the other end was a base plate, just forward of which the magnesium alloy tail was tack welded onto the body, and also bolted to the tail attachment brace. Around the nose of the bomb was a ''kopfring'' - a metal ring, triangular in cross section, designed to prevent ground penetration or to stop forward momentum when hitting water. The bomb was attached to the aircraft horizontally by a H-type suspension lug.TM 9-1985-2 (1953), pp. 9–10 The bomb was fitted with a single transverse fuse pocket. The bomb was usually filled with a mixtur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SC250 Bomb
The SC 250 (''Sprengbombe Cylindrisch 250'') was an air-dropped general purpose high-explosive bomb built by Germany during World War II and used extensively during that period. It could be carried by almost all German bomber aircraft, and was used to notable effect by the Junkers Ju 87 ''Stuka'' (''Sturzkampfflugzeug'' or dive-bomber). The bomb's weight was about 250 kg, from which its designation was derived. It was used in the Eastern Front and many other theatres, and was feared for its destructive power. The SC 250 was one of the most commonly used bombs in World War II and was deployed extensively during the Blitz on London. Design The bomb consisted of two or three sections, depending on the grade of the bomb; in the grade (''Güteklasse'') I bombs, the nose cone and the bomb body were forged out of a single piece of high quality alloyed steel or the nose was welded to the body; these bombs were of the highest mechanical strength and they were meant to be used again ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MG 151/20
The MG 151 (MG 151/15) was a German 15 mm aircraft-mounted autocannon produced by Waffenfabrik Mauser during World War II. Its 20mm variant, the 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon, was widely used on German Luftwaffe fighters, night fighters, fighter-bombers, bombers and ground-attack aircraft. Salvaged guns saw post-war use by other nations. Development and wartime history (MG 151/20) The pre-war German doctrine for arming single-engine fighter aircraft mirrored that of the French. This doctrine favoured a powerful autocannon mounted between the cylinder banks of a V engine and firing through the propeller hub, known as a ''moteur-canon'' in French (from its first use with the Hispano-Suiza HS.8C engine in World War I, on the SPAD S.XII) and by the cognate ''Motorkanone'' in German by the 1930s. The weapon preferred by the French in this role was the most powerful 20mm Oerlikon of the time, namely the FFS model, but this proved too big for German engines. Mauser was given the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MG 131
The MG 131 (shortened from German: ''Maschinengewehr'' 131, or "Machine gun 131") was a German 13 mm caliber machine gun developed in 1938 by Rheinmetall-Borsig and produced from 1940 to 1945. The MG 131 was designed for use at fixed, flexible or turreted, single or twin mountings in Luftwaffe aircraft during World War II. It was one of the smallest, if not the smallest among the heavy machine guns of that conflict, with a weight of 16.6 kilograms (37 lb,) less than 60% of the M2 Browning or the Breda-SAFAT machine gun. Despite this, the MG 131 was a rapid fire weapon with an elevated firepower for its mass. It was equipped with HEI ammunition. Its nearest contemporary equivalent may have been the Japanese Ho-103, itself based on the earlier American M1921 Browning machine gun. The other main Axis automatic weapon of similar caliber, the Italian Breda 12.7 mm was around 13 kg heavier and bigger, while slower by at least 150 rpm. This small size allowed them to be mou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
