Germany's Weapons in WWII

Non-naval discussions about the Second World War. Military leaders, campaigns, weapons, etc.
Bgile
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Re: Germany's Weapons in WWII

Post by Bgile »

The US Bren equivalent would have been the BAR, and the M-14 is making something of a comeback in Afghanistan and fires the 7.62 NATO round.
lwd
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Re: Germany's Weapons in WWII

Post by lwd »

The US didn't really have a direct equivalant to the Bren. In it's place the US used a mix of BARs and .30 cal mgs.
madmike
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Re: Germany's Weapons in WWII

Post by madmike »

to Bgile, yes ive heard that some m-14s was being used over there, the aussies are sneaking in a few slr s, just for the hitting power, over the 5.56mm weapons.
The REMFs here are carrying on about the correct weapons to use(styer vs L1A1 SLR)the styer is standard , but the troops want to use a mix of styers and SLRs.
TRUST the bastards back home (NOT THE ONES DOING THE JOB) to make it tougher.
madmike
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Re: Germany's Weapons in WWII

Post by madmike »

hi everyone, just a thought on the skyraiders, What a great multi-roled aircraft, in my humble opinion one of the best prop aircraft ever. Replaced by the terrifying A-10 warthog in the cas role. And the A-10 is a lot of NASTY in a aircraft.(nasty as in its capabilities and fire power). The 30mm avenger cannon is without doubt the most powerful weapon ever mounted as the main weapon of a aircraft, And then on top of that you can hang just about anything (upto 25000kg) off the thing.....And from a very personnel point of view, As a ex grunt, the A-10 is A SHITLOAD OF FREINDLY when things go bad.And about the most beautiful thing you have ever seen when your CHIN DEEP in the SHIT !(about the bloody ugliest jet ever built) And YES i AM BIASED, here is a little fact about the HOG, they achieved the best air-to-air kill ratio in Desert Storm, MORE than ALL other aircraft in theater (not bad for a mud pounder). And i would argue the BEST close support/ground attack/Anti-tank aircraft ever built.
i would like to hear what other peoples opinions are on the old A-10.
Bgile
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Re: Germany's Weapons in WWII

Post by Bgile »

The A10 is a great airplane, but it isn't one of Germany's Weapons in WWII. I'm afraid this thread has been really slaughtered.
madmike
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Re: Germany's Weapons in WWII

Post by madmike »

hi bgile, sorry for the A-10 in there, but alot of people believe the A-10s idea came from the ju-87 stuka, as the ju-87 was adapted for the anti-tank role on the Russian front, And its success in that role(mounting 37mm guns on the wings) in destroying Soviet armour , led eventually to the development of the A-10. If we look truthfully at the weapons of that time, We can find that all nations produced good and bad weapons, NO nation made everything perfect and the best.
lwd
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Re: Germany's Weapons in WWII

Post by lwd »

madmike wrote:hi bgile, sorry for the A-10 in there, but alot of people believe the A-10s idea came from the ju-87 stuka,
The US Marines were engaged in performing CAS well before the Ju-87 existed. Certainly the easter front was considered when the A-10 was designed but I'd suggest that Soviet planes were examined as close as German ones and consideration was given to British and US ones as well.
madmike
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Re: Germany's Weapons in WWII

Post by madmike »

hi lwd, you are probably right about the A-10, coming into existence from a study of all sides and the US's own cas needs.
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aurora
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Re: Germany's Weapons in WWII

Post by aurora »

The final expression of the Focke Wulf Fw 190, considered by many as the best German fighter of World War II, was the Ta 152, an aircraft that was rather different from that designed by Kurt Tank back in 1937; however it was representative nevertheless of the lengthy evolution that the basic model had undergone during the various periods of the conflict.
The Ta 152 was created to act as an interceptor at high altitude, and as such, it proved to be capable of an outstanding performance, especially as far as speed was concerned, being superior to that of any other enemy fighter.

The H version could reach no less than 464 mph (748 km/h) at 30,098 ft (9,150 m) and 471 mph (759 km/h) at 41,118 ft (12,500 m). However, relatively few of these remarkable combat planes came off the assembly lines during the last months of the war and their career was rather limited, and almost non-existent in the role for which they had been conceived.

aurora
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Re: Germany's Weapons in WWII

Post by Byron Angel »

aurora wrote:The final expression of the Focke Wulf Fw 190, considered by many as the best German fighter of World War II, was the Ta 152, an aircraft that was rather different from that designed by Kurt Tank back in 1937; however it was representative nevertheless of the lengthy evolution that the basic model had undergone during the various periods of the conflict.
The Ta 152 was created to act as an interceptor at high altitude, and as such, it proved to be capable of an outstanding performance, especially as far as speed was concerned, being superior to that of any other enemy fighter.

The H version could reach no less than 464 mph (748 km/h) at 30,098 ft (9,150 m) and 471 mph (759 km/h) at 41,118 ft (12,500 m). However, relatively few of these remarkable combat planes came off the assembly lines during the last months of the war and their career was rather limited, and almost non-existent in the role for which they had been conceived.

aurora

..... The TA-152 was certainly a superb high altitude interceptor (hats off to Herr Tank - one of the truly great a/c designers), but its speed superiority depends on the altitude being considered. The P47M, at War Emergency Power, was faster in the 30,000 - 35,000 ft region.

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Re: Germany's Weapons in WWII

Post by tommy303 »

The P47M, at War Emergency Power, was faster in the 30,000 - 35,000 ft region.
....that is when the 130 to reach combat were not grounded by engine problems. That said, all 130 served with the 56th Fighter group and were responsible for all 7 jet shoot downs by that group.

Their shoulders held the sky suspended;
They stood and Earth's foundations stay;
What God abandoned these defended;
And saved the sum of things for pay.
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Re: Germany's Weapons in WWII

Post by Byron Angel »

tommy303 wrote:
The P47M, at War Emergency Power, was faster in the 30,000 - 35,000 ft region.
....that is when the 130 to reach combat were not grounded by engine problems. That said, all 130 served with the 56th Fighter group and were responsible for all 7 jet shoot downs by that group.
- - - - -

Interesting background on P47M engine bugs from 56FG website -

27th January 1945
Lucian Dade becomes the new 56th Fighter Group Commanding Officer.

During January the 61st FS becomes the first of the group's squadrons to convert to the P-47M. Engine and ignition problems
begin to plague the new fighter, preventing the 61st from flying any missions in the M during January and early February.
Having transferred out its old D models, the 61st was reliant on using P-47Ds from the other two squadrons.
The workload for the ground crews at this time was particularly heavy, especially for the 62nd and 63rd squadrons.

3rd February 1945
The 62nd FS begins to convert to the P-47M but unlike the 61st it retains some of its D models.

9th February 1945
Inspection of a P-47M which is crash landed by George Bradley after an engine failure reveals the cause as another case of a cracked ignition harness, and replacement of the existing harnesses with a new neoprene cased one commences. The fault was very similar to what had been experienced over two years before with the earlier P-47 types.

17th February 1945
The 63rd FS starts its own conversion to the P-47M and also retains many of its P-47Ds while the group continues to experience trouble with the new arrivals.

26th February 1945
More engine problems with the P-47M, traced to split poppet valve diaphragms in the Bendix carburettors,
lead to all 67 of the aircraft currently at Boxted being grounded.
Engineers from Bendix are able to manufacture replacement gaskets using British materials and all aircraft
were modified with 24 hours.
The group's operations were affected by the P-47M's unreliablity and most of the 14 missions flown that month
were only 2 squadron missions using the 62nd and 63rd squadrons P-47 Ds.
A frustrating time for all, although by the end of the month it is believed that all the problems with the new model
have been overcome and the last P-47Ds are withdrawn from Boxted.

4th March 1945
For the first time the 62nd FS fields an all P-47M formation for today's Ramrod-Aschaffenberg. However, 6 of its 14 aircraft experience engine problems, mostly involving loss of power, and return early.

5th March 1945
Today's area support over the Hamburg area sees all three squadrons airborne on a mission for the first time in a month.
51 P-47s leave Boxted and 5 abort with engine problems.

11th March 1945
2nd Lt Frank Aheron, flying the P-47M which had originally been claimed by Col Schilling as his personal aircraft in January,
is killed during a training flight. Piston failure is found to be the cause.

12th March 1945
Another oil loss related engine failure causes 2nd Lt Alfred Bolender to make an emergency landing in Belgium.

13th March 1945
61st FS pilots Luther Hines and Richard Tuttle are killed following a collision during a training flight.

14th March 1945
2nd Lt Earl Townsends P-47M develops an oil leak during today's Ramrod. While returning to Boxted the aircraft's engine fails
while still over the North Sea and while bailing out 2nd Lt Townsend is believed to have struck the aircraft's tail and is killed.

15th March 1945
Another engine failure results in the death of 63rd FS's Lt Willard Scherz.

16th March 1945
Once again all the P-47Ms are grounded.
War Weary P-51 Mustangs are sent to Boxted. Pilots reluctantly begin transition training while ground crews,
Republic technicians, engineers from Pratt and Whitney and 8th Air Force Technical staff
renew their efforts to solve the problems with the P-47M.
One crew chief notices that it's becoming easier to pull the propeller of his assigned P-47M through,
and compression tests are conducted with telling results.

A stripped down engine revealed that rust was present on the iron piston rings and that on engines with low compression
readings oil was being pumped up the breather line increasing the pressure and causing failures. The cause of the rust
being traced to inadequate protection against the salt water atmosphere of the Atlantic crossings.
It was decided to change all engines in P-47Ms with less than 50 hours engine time and over three quarters
of the group's aircraft received new engines.
9 days after the group was taken off operations, the P-47M's problems were finally resolved and the group returned
to operational duty on March 25th.
Much to the ground crews', and many of the pilots' relief, the Mustangs left Boxted.
The Wolfpack was back in business!



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paul.mercer
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Re: Germany's Weapons in WWII

Post by paul.mercer »

Karl Heidenreich wrote:Just an example, one that is not of "allied" liking.

The overall best most succesfull pilot of WWII is Eric Hartmann with 352 kills.

The following 111 (one hundred eleven) top aces below Hartmann are all German (not a single American, British, Polish, Japanese nor Soviet). Just Germans. Germans flying "inferior" Me 109, FW 190 or Me 262 (jet, which the "allied" superior technology lacked).

The 113 top ace pilot is Finnish (Ilmari Juustilainen with 94 kills), still on the Axis Side. And I doubt this guy flew a Spitfire or a Wildcat.

The 114 is Japanese: Tetsuzo Imamoto with also 94 kills (his personal record shows 202 kills but only 94 were awarded). And he flew a Zero, which has been disqualified as a good oponnent for the Brewster Buffalo or the Wildcat.

The first allied top aces appears down the list and is not even American: Ivan Kozhedub with 62 kills. I doubt his plane was a Mustang.

The first American appears LOWER: Richard Bong, with 40 kills. Hartmann outskills this guy by 880%.

OK. Let´s say that the nazis lied to everybody. Then Eric Hartmann only shot down half those he claimed and that somehow USA didn´t account properly Bong´s score and he shot down three times as much. Still Hartmann outscores Bong 176 kills to 120. Still the German was 50% better than Bong.

And he did it on a German plane.. you know, inferior technology and non worthy German warriors...
Without wishing to detract from the obvious skills of the German pilots and their excellent 109's and 190''s, how many of these 'kills' were against obsolete aircraft in Poland, France and the early Russian campaigns, as well as the disasterous daylight raids by the US bomber force - as opposed to modern fighter to fighter combat as in the Battle of Britain and dogfights against the later Spitfires and Mustangs?
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Re: Germany's Weapons in WWII

Post by alecsandros »

paul.mercer wrote:
Without wishing to detract from the obvious skills of the German pilots and their excellent 109's and 190''s, how many of these 'kills' were against obsolete aircraft in Poland, France and the early Russian campaigns, as well as the disasterous daylight raids by the US bomber force - as opposed to modern fighter to fighter combat as in the Battle of Britain and dogfights against the later Spitfires and Mustangs?
... There were many German aces who fought only against Biriths and American pilots. Hans Joachim Marseille is the most known (140+ victories), but thre are many others with 30-80 victories.

Of course the aces with 200+ victories come from the eastern front, were Luftwaffe had air superiority for several years in the row...
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Re: Germany's Weapons in WWII

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