[faustus77]

Originally Posted by Tejas@perioimpl

Thanks! A million thanks.

This is definitely on the itinerary during by next UK visit.

As Shankar said, Biggles and the Camel is my biggest draw to visit there. Any German planes there? Fokkers, etc?

Tejas
Hi
Me 109 was one of the best fighter aircrafts of the second world war. AFAIR it was the most produced fighter aircraft. Subsequently it was dethroned by the Spitfire.
A titbit(don't know how far it is true).
Goering asked Galland (the ace Luftwaffe pilot) what would he like to have and Galland replied " a squadron of Spitfires"
Regards

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by faustus77

Tejas Hi Me 109 was one of the best fighter aircrafts of the second world war. AFAIR it was the most produced fighter aircraft. Subsequently it was dethroned by the Spitfire. A titbit(don't know how far it is true). Goering asked Galland (the ace Luftwaffe pilot) what would he like to have and Galland replied " a squadron of Spitfires" Regards

Absolutely correct. Adolf Galland actually is purported to have said this. Watch the movie Battle of Britain and this bit of dialogue features there. The ME109 was indeed the best. The Spitfire did dethrone it yes, with a combination of great engineering, a bit of jugaad and lots of 'luck in the nick of time' coupled with the overconfidence of the Germans.The Spitfire, they say, almost single handedly won the Battle of Britain. The De Havilland Mosquito also was a superb 'all wooden constructed' aeroplane. Superbly agile. War history is fascinating though war itself is heartbreakingly sad and so unnecessary.
In RAF Hendon, there was an Albatros and if I remember correctly there was a Fokker triplane too. Also saw an FE 2 B there, which appears in the book, Biggles Learns to Fly.

[raghu.t.k]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Yeah, I wonder which one you mean. Maybe look at your avatar??

I was very fortunate in the early 80's to get a full tour of an operational B52 base in the USA. Got to sit in various B52 cockpits, see the insides, got a peek in the simulator, maintenance facilities etc. To date it is still a very impressive plane with some pretty unique features. For instance, the undercarriage can be set at an angle to allow for cross wind landing. It allow pilots to maintain crabbing into the wind right onto the runway. Same during take off. I believe the maximum off set angle is 20 degrees:

Wow, the B52 is really an impressive one, be it on the ground or in the sky. The one I was referring to was the Vulcan on display at Hendon. It looked huge, compared to the other aircrafts around it.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

The ME109 was indeed the best. The Spitfire did dethrone it yes, with a combination of great engineering, a bit of jugaad and lots of 'luck in the nick of time' coupled with the overconfidence of the Germans.The Spitfire, they say, almost single handedly won the Battle of Britain.

There are many articles/sites/books comparing the ME109 against the Spitfire. The early Spitfires weren't that good, but they quickly improved. And for most the Spitfire is one of the prettiest plane ever.

Here's an interesting site comparing the ME109 vv Spitfire:

http://www.spitfireperformance.com/spit1vrs109e.html

The German did have the disadvantage of having to operate towards their outer range. The Allies got it right a few year later as they introduced the Mustang, which was capable of providing long range fighter escort all the way into (East) Germany. Its been demonstrated many times, air superiority doesn't win you the war, but without it, you will face a long, bloody, land war.

Originally Posted by raghu.t.k

Wow, the B52 is really an impressive one, be it on the ground or in the sky. The one I was referring to was the Vulcan on display at Hendon. It looked huge, compared to the other aircrafts around it.

Just checking, that is a B52 in your avatar? its so small, but I thought it was a B52 on final with all of its flaps down?

There is a Vulcan on display at Duxford as a well. You can see it in one of my pictures as well. Remarkable plane. There is a small aviation museum somewhere in Norfolk, not to far from Norwich. Cant remember what it was called. It used to be near my sister in law's village. They had a Vulcan on display and the allowed the public to climb into it, sit in its cockpit. Remarkable, very cramped, looks like a dual fighter cockpit. No yoke, just a stick!


Here is an excellent documentary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTDYcuoOKkM

The Vulcan is one of the three V-bombers. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_bomber). My favorite is the Handley Page Victor. There is one of those at Duxford too. I did not take any pictures. They were restoring it and it was parked in a peculiar way with its nose right into the corner of a hanger and it was one of the few planes I could not get near too, to take some good shots. It's the tanker version.

Jeroen

[faustus77]

Shankar.balan
Hi
Saw the movie in the late 1960s and remembered this dialogue.
I had read about this earlier in one of the hundreds, maybe thousands, of books I read on WW 2 between 1960 and 1967 (British Council library and the United States Information Service library had a great collection). I had nothing to do with the armed forces, just a hobby.
Quite a lot forgotten in the intervening years but quite a lot retained in the memory bank
Regards
PS: There a few members here who are interested in this topic. How about starting a thread?

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by faustus77

Shankar.balan Hi Saw the movie in the late 1960s and remembered this dialogue. I had read about this earlier in one of the hundreds, maybe thousands, of books I read on WW 2 between 1960 and 1967 (British Council library and the United States Information Service library had a great collection). I had nothing to do with the armed forces, just a hobby. Quite a lot forgotten in the intervening years but quite a lot retained in the memory bank Regards PS: There a few members here who are interested in this topic. How about starting a thread?

I love those old WW2 movies and have quite a number of those on DVD, collected over the years.
Good stuff!
Sure, go ahead and start a thread. I will be sure to participate/ contribute.

[raghu.t.k]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

.....
Just checking, that is a B52 in your avatar? its so small, but I thought it was a B52 on final with all of its flaps down?

There is a Vulcan on display at Duxford as a well. You can see it in one of my pictures as well. Remarkable plane. There is a small aviation museum somewhere in Norfolk, not to far from Norwich. Cant remember what it was called. It used to be near my sister in law's village. They had a Vulcan on display and the allowed the public to climb into it, sit in its cockpit. Remarkable, very cramped, looks like a dual fighter cockpit. No yoke, just a stick!

The Vulcan is one of the three V-bombers. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_bomber). My favorite is the Handley Page Victor. There is one of those at Duxford too. I did not take any pictures. They were restoring it and it was parked in a peculiar way with its nose right into the corner of a hanger and it was one of the few planes I could not get near too, to take some good shots. It's the tanker version.

Jeroen

@Jeroen, yes its a B52, love all all large planes and the fast ones Nice video, did not see it in full, will keep it for next weekend. The fact that the Vulcan looks more a fighter than a bomber and the size is what I like in it.

[Foxbat]

Awesome Pics Jeroen! This is one of the places I really want to visit in my life.

I saw some mainstream German WW2 aircraft in your pics, but don't they have some more exotic German aircraft? like Me-262, He-162 or Ar 234?

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by Foxbat

Awesome Pics Jeroen! This is one of the places I really want to visit in my life.

I saw some mainstream German WW2 aircraft in your pics, but don't they have some more exotic German aircraft? like Me-262, He-162 or Ar 234?

Ooh. The ME262, 'Komet', if I remember right.
Like many brilliant German inventions, this one too, came too late in the war, by which time, there were too many fronts open and it was becoming increasingly clear that the Axis powers were losing the war.
The Komet was a tremendously powerful and fast jet-fighter, almost rocket-like in its power, but owing to its huge fuel consumption had a very limited effective range. This is what I have read about it in the past.

[Jeroen]

the ME 263 never flew as far as I'm aware. Only three prototypes were built. You might be thinking of the ME163

The ME163 was a very advanced plane for its time. But came with too many problems, limited range being the obvious one.
It took off on jettison able wheels and landed on a skid, much like fighters. Many other problems too, notably with fuel leakage. That how it often goes when you push the boundaries of technology.

Jeroen

[Foxbat]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Ooh. The ME262, 'Komet', if I remember right.
Like many brilliant German inventions, this one too, came too late in the war, by which time, there were too many fronts open and it was becoming increasingly clear that the Axis powers were losing the war.
The Komet was a tremendously powerful and fast jet-fighter, almost rocket-like in its power, but owing to its huge fuel consumption had a very limited effective range. This is what I have read about it in the past.

I think you are confusing the Me-262 Schwalbe or "Swallow" with the Me-163 Komet. The Me-262 was the words first operational jet fighter and the Me-163 was the worlds first and only operational rocket powered jet fighter. Both saw service at the end of World War II and achieved limited success.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by Foxbat

I think you are confusing the Me-262 Schwalbe or "Swallow" with the Me-163 Komet. The Me-262 was the words first operational jet fighter and the Me-163 was the worlds first and only operational rocket powered jet fighter. Both saw service at the end of World War II and achieved limited success.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

the ME 263 never flew as far as I'm aware. Only three prototypes were built. You might be thinking of the ME163

The ME163 was a very advanced plane for its time. But came with too many problems, limited range being the obvious one.
It took off on jettison able wheels and landed on a skid, much like fighters. Many other problems too, notably with fuel leakage. That how it often goes when you push the boundaries of technology.

Jeroen

Thank you for the corrections. You're probably right. Im quoting from a retained memory of some warplane book from 25 years ago or more.

[faustus77]

Originally Posted by Foxbat

I think you are confusing the Me-262 Schwalbe or "Swallow" with the Me-163 Komet. The Me-262 was the words first operational jet fighter and the Me-163 was the worlds first and only operational rocket powered jet fighter. Both saw service at the end of World War II and achieved limited success.

Foxbat
Hi
AFAIR ME 262 was the jet fighter to which the Allies had no answer.
One of the test pilots was a woman named Hanna something who died in one of the first crashes of this aircraft.
This could not go into full production as the place was overrun by the Allied forces. This was the only way they could put a stop to this aircraft.
Regards

[Foxbat]

Originally Posted by faustus77

Foxbat
Hi
AFAIR ME 262 was the jet fighter to which the Allies had no answer.
One of the test pilots was a woman named Hanna something who died in one of the first crashes of this aircraft.
This could not go into full production as the place was overrun by the Allied forces. This was the only way they could put a stop to this aircraft.
Regards

Yes you are right that the Allies really couldn't match the Me-262 in air combat. So they did the next best thing: they bombed the air fields where it was based and the factories where it was made. They also sent fighters to shoot it down during take-off and landing when its speed was the least. During the end of the war the Luftwaffe has limited resources and few trained and experienced pilots remaining. All these factors contributed in preventing the Me-262 to turn the tide of the air war.

More info can be found here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Me_262

[faustus77]

Originally Posted by Foxbat

Awesome Pics Jeroen! This is one of the places I really want to visit in my life.

I saw some mainstream German WW2 aircraft in your pics, but don't they have some more exotic German aircraft? like Me-262, He-162 or Ar 234?

Foxbat
Hi
While idling through WWII in Pictures noticed these 2 pictures of HE 162
It is a rocket plane.
http://www.ww2incolor.com/forum/show...(advice-wanted)
Regards
PS : What is AR 234? Don't seem to recollect.

Mods: As more than 30 minutes had expired couldn't edit my earlier post to add this.
Regards