Mein Duff

I got 16 out of 20
Great quiz !

stang151

9 out of 20 [:@] but hey I don't do WWI

Ernie P.

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Only 16/20 for me. <mumble grumble grapes were sour and stupid zeppilin dirigible same thing and those airplane outlines>. Thanks; Ernie P.

Mein Duff

Thats pretty decent Ernie...the one about the Castor oil got me

DeferredDefect

13/20... Oof. 

Ernie P.

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I got lost on "Zeppelin or dirigible?"; and still can't figure the difference the author gleaned. And aircraft recognition was never my strong point. The castor oil question is a really, really big thing in history. The Germans didn't have a source of castor; and had to make do with a synthetic substitute (Ersatz, maybe?) that wasn't nearly as good. As a result, none of their rotary engines could deliver full power or reliability; and they didn't really try to make higher performance versions. Long before the end of WWI, the Germans were draining used castor oil from shot down allied planes to use in their aircraft. At one point, Richthofen grounded all his rotary engined planes because the reliability was so bad. And in WWII, they did the same thing with gasoline. The blockades in each war really crippled their efforts. Thanks; Ernie P.

uncljoe

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Is someone going to ask another question on this thread ?
Semper Fi

Mein Duff

Interesting about the castor oil....didn't know that little piece of the puzzle.. Thanks

Mein Duff

Yes, who ever gets the highest score on the quiz !!!!

so far we have two 16 out of 20's......its a tie

Give it a try

Mein Duff

Go back to #5494...and click on quiz link.

Or if you don't want to play shoot your question anyway...we can still play in the meantime

SimonCraig1

I'm happy for someone else to ask a question I just thought it was a great quiz and couldn't come up with a question of my own at the time.... Glad I wasn't shot down in flames for 'cheating'.

(Incidentally, castor oil was necessary in rotary engines as it had unique lubrication properties that did not break down at high temperatures, unlike mineral oils. At very high temperatures it polymerizes and forms a protective coating a bit like Teflon, which is why you see that 'sheen' on model diesel motors.)

metaldriver

make that 3 of 16 out of 20

Ernie P.

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Actually, in a rotary engine, the oil has to go into the combustion chamber and through the engine, along with the fuel. Rotary forces dictate the oil can't find its way back to a central resevoir. Castor oil doesn't mix with gasoline, so it can still do its job of lubrication. It's an interesting subject; but the main point is how badly the Germans were suffering from the Allied blockade. It affected everything they did. A bit more data. Thanks; Ernie P.


Ersatz is an artificial substitute differing in kind from and inferior in quality to what it replaces. This is a German word literally meaning substitute or replacement.[1] Although it is used as an adjective in English, Ersatz can only function in German as a noun on its own, or as a part in compound nouns such as Ersatzteile (spare parts) or Ersatzspieler (substitute player). While the English term often implies that the substitution is of unsatisfactory or inferior quality ("not as good as the real thing"), this connotation does not necessarily exist in the German context.

The term ersatz probably gained international attention during World War I, when the Allied naval blockade of Germany throttled maritime commerce with Germany, forcing Germany to develop substitutes for products like chemical compounds and provisions. Ersatz products developed during this time included: synthetic rubber (produced from oil), benzene for heating oil (coal gas), tea composed of ground raspberry leaves or catnip, and coffee, using roasted acorns or beans instead of coffee beans. Though a similar situation arose in Germany during World War II, this connotation with the term ersatz has fallen into disuse in Germany.

As Hemer noted, the Dr.I was considerably slower than contemporary Allied fighters in level flight and in a dive. While initial rate of climb was excellent, performance fell off dramatically at higher altitudes due to the low compression of the Oberursel Ur.II, a clone of the Le Rhône 9J rotary engine. As the war continued, chronic shortages of castor oil made rotary operation increasingly difficult. The poor quality of German ersatz lubricant resulted in many engine failures, particularly during the summer of 1918.

In this Fokker D-VIII Theo Osterkamp shot down his 25th and 26th victories with this aircraft. The use of the aircraft was very limited for two reasons: (1) Early catastophic wing failures that grounded the aircraft for some time and took time to rectify (the cause is still a matter of dispute). (2) A shortage of castor oil lubricant for the engines. The ersatz oil used causing in flight engine seizures.

Ernie P.

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I think we should have a tie breaker. Let's see.... what is "Ersatz oil"? Thanks; Ernie P.

MajorTomski

15 out of 20 here and I disagree wtih several of the "facts'


One of which was that "D" in german aircraft stood for dopledecker. It simply stood for Type D between Types C and E.

http://www.wwi-models.org/misc/desig.html

Mein Duff

"Ersatz Oel" means "Substitute Oil"...or some kind of suitable replacement oil.....

Mein Duff

Gee that was easy..all I had to do was read the body text about oil...such a wiz !!

a65l

My Feedback: (17)

I'm looking for an airplane...

1. Developed late in the war, it was not a new type of plane but the way it would conduct its mission was
2. It incorporated many advanced technologies in propulsion and guidance
3. One of the first test pilots set a first, but its significance wasn't realized untill many years later

Extra Aviator

The HUN? F-100?

perttime

Messerchmitt Me 163?

a65l

My Feedback: (17)

I'm looking for an airplane...

1. Developed late in the war, it was not a new type of plane but the way it would conduct its mission was
2. It incorporated many advanced technologies in propulsion and guidance
3. One of the first test pilots set a first, but its significance wasn't realized untill many years later
4. The main offensive weapon of this aircraft was intended to be unguided rockets
5. This aircraft was designed to avoid a particular, and hazardous, flight regime of the Me 163

Ernie P.

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The famed Natter? Thanks; Ernie P.


The Bachem Ba 349 Natter (English: Viper, Adder) was a World War II German Point-defence rocket powered interceptor, which was to be used in a very similar way to a manned surface-to-air missile. After vertical take-off, which eliminated the need for airfields, the majority of the flight to the Allied bombers was to be controlled by an autopilot. The primary mission of the relatively untrained pilot, perhaps better called a gunner, was to aim the aircraft at its target bomber and fire its armament of rockets. The pilot and the fuselage containing the rocket motor would then land under separate parachutes, while the nose section was disposable. The only manned vertical take-off flight on 1 March 1945 ended in the death of the test pilot Lothar Sieber.

a65l

My Feedback: (17)

Very nice Ernie. What I found interesting, other than the whole point defense manned missle concept, was that the unlucky Lothar Sieber was the first man ever to make a vertical takeoff on rocket power.
And the flight regime the Natter avoided was the unpowered glide back to base, where the Me 163 was the most vunerable.

You're up....

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Thank you, Sir. Actually, I figure the biggest problem of the Me-163 was blowing up during landing. Here's a bit of WWI aviation trivia for you. Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What WWI ace improvised a modification to a type of machine gun, which greatly increased it’s effectiveness?

Clues:

(1) The modification was first tried on a single machine gun; and was eventually fitted to all machine guns mounted on certain aircraft.

(2) Although this was perhaps the thing of which this ace was most proud, he contributed greatly in other areas, as well. He was certainly the first in one category.

Ernie P.

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A clue for the night. Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What WWI ace improvised a modification to a type of machine gun, which greatly increased it’s effectiveness?

Clues:

(1) The modification was first tried on a single machine gun; and was eventually fitted to all machine guns mounted on certain aircraft.

(2) Although this was perhaps the thing of which this ace was most proud, he contributed greatly in other areas, as well. He was certainly the first in one category.

(3) He scored a victory on his very first combat patrol.