Nazi Germany s Would-Be Wonder Weapon Was an Epic Fail
Germany wanted a fighter with a longer range. Instead, it built Frankenstein s monster that was too big to maneuver.
Here s What You Need To Remember: There is never a free lunch in aircraft design. Carrying all that extra fuel meant a bigger, heavier aircraft. A bigger, heavier aircraft required two engines and two propellers, which added even more weight. The result was that the Bf 110 weighed more than four tons, or twice that of the Bf 109.
In the mid-1930s, Nazi Germany had a problem. Its twin-engined medium bombers, such as the Heinkel 111, had a range of perhaps 1,500 miles. However, the Luftwaffe s single-engined fighter plane, the Messerschmitt Bf 109, had a range of only 400 miles (it wasn t until mid-World War II that fighters carried drop tanks). Before 1939, airpower enthusiasts believed the bomber will always get through enemy air defenses, but the Germans also realized they needed a fighter capable of escort
Scotland s aviation history celebrated through new RAF website and trail LARGE crowds gathered as an aeronaut ascended in a hydrogen balloon from the garden of George Heriot’s School in Edinburgh on October 5, 1785. Italian Vincenzo Lunardi flew over the Firth of Forth and landed at Coaltown of Callange in the Parish of Ceres, in Fife, and had travelled 46 miles. A commemorative plaque marks the site to this day. In a report from the time by Scots Magazine, it said: “The beauty and grandeur of the spectacle could only be exceeded by the cool, intrepid manner in which the adventurer conducted himself; and indeed he seemed infinitely more at ease than the greater part of his spectators.”
Aerial photograph of Tangmere airfield, 10 February 1944. Famous for its role in the Battle of Britain, RAF Tangmere holds an important place in British history. The famous Second World War aces Wing Commander Douglas Bader, and the then inexperienced Johnnie Johnson were stationed at Tangmere in 1941. It was founded in 1917 and was used as an aerodrome before being passed on to the American Air Force as a training ground in 1918. By 1925 the station re-opened to serve the RAF s Fleet Air Arm, and went operational in 1926 with No. 43 Squadron equipped with biplane Gloster Gamecocks. As war threatened in the late 1930s, the fighter aircraft based at Tangmere became much faster, with Hawker Furies, Gloster Gladiators, and Hawker Hurricanes all being used.
GTP Headlines Greece Gives Divers Access to 91 Ship and Plane Wrecks news.gtp.gr - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from news.gtp.gr Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The hidden history of 19 lost Lincolnshire airbases
From bombing raids on Hitler s Bavarian layer to Cold War nuclear silos, their history is rich and varied
Some former bases have had unusual histories post-war, here extras from the film Memphis Belle pose for the camera at Binbrook airfield in 1989
Sign up to the Grimsby Live newsletter for daily updates and breaking newsInvalid EmailSomething went wrong, please try again later.
Sign up here!
When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they’ll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. OurPrivacy Noticeexplains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time.