Mein Duff

George (Screwball) Beurling?

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Man; you guys are working this thing. But I think Beurling WAS a natural pilot. Thanks; Ernie P.


Some fighter pilots preferred flying alone. If so, this ace got his wish in spades.

Question: What warbird pilot do I describe?

Clues:

(1) Like many others, he began his military career as a ground soldier.

(2) He transferred to aviation, and spent time flying in a recon unit.

(3) He wasn’t a natural pilot, and crashed several times in training.

(4) He then moved into fighters, flying escort for his unit’s recon aircraft.

(5) After being commisioned, he was transferred to a new unit; and found himself alone; really, really alone. As in the only fighter pilot in the unit.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Early morning clue. Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What warbird pilot do I describe?

Clues:

(1) Like many others, he began his military career as a ground soldier.

(2) He transferred to aviation, and spent time flying in a recon unit.

(3) He wasn’t a natural pilot, and crashed several times in training.

(4) He then moved into fighters, flying escort for his unit’s recon aircraft.

(5) After being commisioned, he was transferred to a new unit; and found himself alone; really, really alone. As in the only fighter pilot in the unit.

(6) He was an orphan, and attended military school.

Mein Duff

Mick Mannock?? I know he went on many patrols alone...

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

No, not Mannock. Mannock was never alone like this guy was alone. But you have earned another clue, which may help. Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What warbird pilot do I describe?

Clues:

(1) Like many others, he began his military career as a ground soldier.

(2) He transferred to aviation, and spent time flying in a recon unit.

(3) He wasn’t a natural pilot, and crashed several times in training.

(4) He then moved into fighters, flying escort for his unit’s recon aircraft.

(5) After being commisioned, he was transferred to a new unit; and found himself alone; really, really alone. As in the only fighter pilot in the unit.

(6) He was an orphan, and attended military school.

(7) He was medium height, slender, with blue eyes.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Afternoon clue. Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What warbird pilot do I describe?

Clues:

(1) Like many others, he began his military career as a ground soldier.

(2) He transferred to aviation, and spent time flying in a recon unit.

(3) He wasn’t a natural pilot, and crashed several times in training.

(4) He then moved into fighters, flying escort for his unit’s recon aircraft.

(5) After being commisioned, he was transferred to a new unit; and found himself alone; really, really alone. As in the only fighter pilot in the unit.

(6) He was an orphan, and attended military school.

(7) He was medium height, slender, with blue eyes.

(8) He was assigned nearly 100 miles of front lines to protect.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Late night clue. Thanks; Ernie Padgette


Question: What warbird pilot do I describe?

Clues:

(1) Like many others, he began his military career as a ground soldier.

(2) He transferred to aviation, and spent time flying in a recon unit.

(3) He wasn’t a natural pilot, and crashed several times in training.

(4) He then moved into fighters, flying escort for his unit’s recon aircraft.

(5) After being commisioned, he was transferred to a new unit; and found himself alone; really, really alone. As in the only fighter pilot in the unit.

(6) He was an orphan, and attended military school.

(7) He was medium height, slender, with blue eyes.

(8) He was assigned nearly 100 miles of front lines to protect.

(9) He was facing nearly 250 enemy planes.

Redback

Rudolf von Eschwege aka the Richthofen of the Balkans??

If by chance this is correct I will have to pass on a question due to a heavy weekends flying in prospect!!!


Terry

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Correct! Rudolf von Eschwege was the German Empire's only fighter pilot operating on the Macedonian Front. The method used to kill him (An explosive laden balloon. remotely detonated) was copied in both fact and fiction, many times.

Since Redback has indicated he is otherwise occupied, the floor is now open. First to post a question has the lead. Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What warbird pilot do I describe?

Clues:

(1) Like many others, he began his military career as a ground soldier.

(2) He transferred to aviation, and spent time flying in a recon unit.

(3) He wasn’t a natural pilot, and crashed several times in training.

(4) He then moved into fighters, flying escort for his unit’s recon aircraft.

(5) After being commisioned, he was transferred to a new unit; and found himself alone; really, really alone. As in the only fighter pilot in the unit.

(6) He was an orphan, and attended military school.

(7) He was medium height, slender, with blue eyes.

(8) He was assigned nearly 100 miles of front lines to protect.

(9) He was facing nearly 250 enemy planes.

(10) His first victory came quickly, but was eventually disallowed because the witnesses were transferred before they could officially verify his claim.

(11) Nevertheless, he quickly began to score victories.

(12) The ground troops he protected gave him the nickname β€œeagle”.

(13) He was wounded in combat (but shot down his opponent) and suffered from maleria.

(14) Still, he persevered, running up his victory score.

(15) He was killed in combat, after his enemies laid an elaborate trap for him.

(16) He had taken a liking for shooting down enemy balloons.

(17) The enemy put up fighters to cover their ballons.

(18) He shot down the balloon escort, and the balloon.

(19) Stories about the booby trap method which killed him have been retold, and falsely attributed to other groups and other pilots, in other places, many times.

(20) A monument was built to him, on behalf of the men on the ground whom he protected.


Answer: Leutnant Rudolf von Eschwege


Leutnant Rudolf von Eschwege was a German World War I flying ace who was the German Empire's only fighter pilot operating on the Macedonian Front. He was credited with twenty confirmed and six unconfirmed victories.

"Rudi" von Eschwege was born in Bad Homburg vor der HΓΆhe, the German Empire, on 25 February 1895. He was orphaned while young. He went to military school after completing his secondary education at Freiburg. When World War I began, he was a nineteen-year-old cadet of medium height and slender build with blue eyes. Eschwege began his combat career as an ensign with the 3rd Mounted Jaeger Regiment on the Western Front. On 9 and 10 August 1914, he fought in the Battle of Mulhouse; later, he also fought along the River Yser.

After three months, he transferred to aviation. By February 1915, he began pilot training. He was not a natural pilot, but managed to qualify after crashing several times. He was then assigned to Flieger-Abteilung 36, an aerial reconnaissance unit, in July 1915. By July 1916, he was flying a Fokker Eindekker as a fighter escort to the unit's two-seaters. He served there until autumn of 1916, when he was commissioned an officer and transferred to the Macedonian Front.

There, on the fringes of the great war, a polyglot air force of Turks, Germans, and Bulgarians battled a vastly numerically superior French and Franco-Serbian foe. There, Eschwege was assigned to another recon unit, FA 66. His brief was to patrol a 99 mile long front and guard the Bulgarian 10th Aegean Division against enemy air activities. There were a total of three German reconnaissance units in the theater, but he was the sole German fighter pilot. Opposed to him were two Royal Naval Air Service Wings, Nos. 2 and 3; two Royal Flying Corps squadrons, Nos. 17 and 24; as well as about 160 French and Serbian airplanes, equivalent to another ten squadrons. On 25 October 1916, piloting a Fokker Eindekker, he put in his first claim for an aerial victory when he "splashed" a Farman, but it went unconfirmed because the Bulgarian witnesses at a ground observation post had been transferred. His next two, on 19 November and 27 December, were his first credited victories. The Bulgarian infantry began to refer to him as "The Eagle of the Aegean Sea".

Eschwege began 1917 with a new unit, FA 30; he also began it, on 9 January, with another victory when he downed a Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.12 at his home airfield at Drama, Greece. For his next win on 18 February, he took on British ace Captain Gilbert W. M. Green and his wingman, forcing down and capturing Lieutenant J. C. F. Owen when Green's gun jammed. The following day, a British plane dropped a query about Owen's well-being, to which the Germans replied. This sense of chivalry was manifested in a different way after Eschwege's next win of 22 March, when he visited his latest victims, a wounded pilot and observer, in the field hospital, bearing them gifts of cigarettes, chocolate, and books.

About this time, Eschwege managed to upgrade to an Albatros D.III fighter, which he would fly to the end. It was while flying this plane that he was wounded during May, by the gunner on a British two-seater. Disregarding his wounded right arm and his plane's punctured fuel tank, he pressed home a successful attack and returned home to make a dead-stick landing. Nor was this wound his only drawback; he fell ill from malaria in early September.

By the beginning of October, Eschwege had run his score to sixteen wins. He then began to choose British observation balloons for his targets. He managed to down two of them during October and November, plus a Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter that tried to defend one of them. On 21 November, he attacked a balloon that had risen to the unusually high altitude of 2,500 feet. As he laced it with machine gun fire, it exploded and knocked him out of the air. The balloon had been fitted with a dummy observer and 500 pounds of high explosives; the booby trap was command detonated to kill Eschwege. His death quashed his pending award of the Pour le Merite.

Rudolf von Eschwege's coffin was carried to his grave by six British aviators, and he was buried with full military honors. Some days after the funeral, a British plane dropped a message on the German's home airfield. It read: "To the Bulgarian-German Flying Corps in Drama. The officers of the Royal Flying Corps regret to announce that Lt. von Eschwege was killed while attacking the captive balloon. His personal belongings will be dropped over the lines some time during the next few days." When the parcel was dropped, it contained a photo of his funeral packed along with his personal items. In turn, the Germans dropped a flag and a wreath for Eschwege's grave. The Bulgarians later built a monument to him.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Anyone have a question they would like to ask? If no one steps forward soon, I will take the lead; since it was my question Redback answered. But no more guessing if you won't post the next question! Thanks; Ernie P.

perttime

OK, here goes:

What aircraft?

1) As others had already produced faster aircraft, there was an urgency to match - or at least get close to - those speeds
2) Currently available engines were not up to the task, as is.

perttime

What aircraft?

1) As others had already produced faster aircraft, there was an urgency to match - or at least get close to - those speeds
2) Currently available engines were not up to the task, as is.

3) first and second prototypes crashed, for different reasons.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

The Consolidated P-30 (PB-2)? Or version thereof? Thanks; Ernie P.


The Consolidated P-30 (PB-2) was a 1930s United States two-seat fighter aircraft. An attack version called the A-11 was also built, along with two Y1P-25 prototypes and YP-27, Y1P-28, and XP-33 proposals. The P-30 is significant for being the first fighter in United States Army Air Corps service to have retractable landing gear, an enclosed and heated cockpit for the pilot, and an exhaust-driven turbosupercharger for altitude operation.

In 1931, the Detroit Aircraft Corporation, parent company of the Lockheed Aircraft Company built a two-seat single-engined fighter aircraft based on the Lockheed Altair high-speed transport as a private venture. The prototype, the Detroit-Lockheed XP-900, flew in September 1931 and was purchased by the United States Army Air Corps as the Lockheed YP-24. Its performance was impressive, being faster than any fighter then in service with the Air Corps, and an order for five Y1P-24 fighters and four Y1A-9 attack aircraft was placed for the new aircraft, despite the loss of the prototype on 19 October 1931. The Detroit Aircraft Corporation went into bankruptcy eight days later, however, leading to the cancellation of the contract.

When the Detroit Aircraft Corporation failed, the chief designer of the YP-24, Robert J. Woods was hired by Consolidated Aircraft. Woods continued to develop the YP-24, the design becoming the Consolidated Model 25, with all-metal wings replacing the wooden wings of the YP-24 and a larger tail. The Army Air Corps ordered two prototypes as the Y1P-25 in March 1932, to be powered by a Curtiss V-1570-27, fitted with a turbo-supercharger on the port side of the forward fuselage. The order for the second prototype was quickly changed to a Y1A-11 attack aircraft, omitting the supercharger.

First to fly was the Y1P-25, which was delivered to the Air Corps on 9 December 1932. It demonstrated promising performance, reaching a speed of 247 miles per hour (398 km/h) at 15,000 feet (4,600 m), but was destroyed in a crash on 13 January 1933, killing its pilot, Hugh M. Elmendorf (whose name was later given to Elmendorf Air Base in Alaska).

The Y1A-11, armed with four forward-firing machine guns instead of the two of the Y1P-25 and racks for 400 lb (182 kg) of bombs was delivered to Wright Field on 5 January 1933. On 20 January 1933 the Y1A-11 disintegrated in midair, killing pilot Irvin A. Woodring. Despite the loss of both prototypes in a week, on 1 March 1933, the Air Corps placed an order for four P-30 fighters and four A-11 attack aircraft. These production variants differed from the prototypes in having stronger fuselages, simplified undercarriages and more powerful engines.

perttime

Noo...

What aircraft?

1) As others had already produced faster aircraft, there was an urgency to match - or at least get close to - those speeds
2) Currently available engines were not up to the task, as is.
3) first and second prototypes crashed, for different reasons.

4) 10 pre-production aircraft were ordered and built but then the project was canceled. (sources differ on the exact number)

perttime

What aircraft?

1) As others had already produced faster aircraft, there was an urgency to match - or at least get close to - those speeds
2) Currently available engines were not up to the task, as is.
3) First and second prototypes crashed, for different reasons.
4) 10 pre-production aircraft were ordered and built but then the project was canceled. (sources differ on the exact number)

5) The "others" (hint 1) had reached those speeds with new engine technology
6) Based on prior experience, it was felt that developing that technology, alone, had too many possibilities to fail. So, they went for a conventional engine but added parts of the new technology to give the aircraft a boost

deatonbt

Yak-3RD

- Brian

perttime

What aircraft?

1) As others had already produced faster aircraft, there was an urgency to match - or at least get close to - those speeds
2) Currently available engines were not up to the task, as is.
3) First and second prototypes crashed, for different reasons.
4) 10 pre-production aircraft were ordered and built but then the project was canceled. (sources differ on the exact number)
5) The "others" (hint 1) had reached those speeds with new engine technology
6) Based on prior experience, it was felt that developing that technology, alone, had too many possibilities to fail. So, they went for a conventional engine but added parts of the new technology to give the aircraft a boost

7) It was armed with 3 X 20mm gun (second prototype was unarmed)

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Still lots of choices that fit all the clues. How about the I-185? Thanks; Ernie P.


The Polikarpov I-185 was a Soviet fighter aircraft designed in 1940. It was flown with three different engines, but all of them were either insufficiently developed for service use or their full production was reserved for other fighters already in production. The I-185 program was cancelled after a yet another engine failure of the favored 2,000-horsepower (1,500 kW) Shvetsov M-71 radial on 27 January 1943.

The I-185, designed in early 1940, was based on the I-180, which was itself a development of the I-16, but was virtually a new design. The monocoque fuselage was similarly built of 'shpon', molded birch plywood, and also had an integral tailfin, but it was considerably longer than that of the I-180. The two-spar, all-metal wing was smaller and thinner than the I-180's wing, nearly as thin as that of the Supermarine Spitfire's wing at 13% at the root and tapered to 8% at the wing tip. The wing had a NACA-230 profile and was skinned in duralumin. Pneumatically powered split flaps and leading edge slats were fitted. The outer wing panels had 3Β° of dihedral. The fabric-covered control surfaces were framed in duralumin. The protected 540-litre (119 imp gal; 143 US gal) fuel tanks were mounted between the wing center section spars. The I-185 used a conventional undercarriage with a retractable tailwheel. The unproven 1,492 kW (2,000 hp) 18-cylinder, two-row Tumansky M-90 radial engine was carried on welded steel tubes. It was fitted with a ducted spinner to improve cooling with the air expelled through gills as in the I-180 to provide additional thrust. The synchronized armament was mounted in the fuselage, two 7.62 mm (0.300 in) ShKAS machine guns and two 12.7 mm (0.50 in) Berezin UBS machine guns. A 500-kilogram (1,100 lb) bomb could be carried under overload conditions. The first prototype was completed in May 1940, but the only available example of the M-90 did not provide enough power for take-off. The prototype was modified to use another experimental engine, the 895-kilowatt (1,200 hp) Shvetsov M-81 radial, but this was not nearly powerful enough for flight tests. The I-185 (M-81) finally took to the air on January 11, 1941, but it was decided not to waste further development and await a more powerful engine which was fortunate as the M-81 was cancelled in May 1941.

A second prototype was completed at the end of 1940 with a 14-cylinder, 1,268 kW (1,700 hp) Shvetsov M-82A radial engine. The forward fuselage had to be redesigned to accommodate the slimmer engine and the armament was revised to three synchronized 20 mm (0.79 in) ShVAK cannon. The drawings for this engine installation was passed to Lavochkin and Yakovlev where they proved very useful in designing their own fighters using the M-82 engine, notably the Lavochkin La-5. A third prototype was also built that used the larger and heavier Shvetsov M-71 radial engine of 1,492 kW (2,000 hp). The flight tests of both of the latter versions were interrupted by the German invasion in June 1941 and all three prototypes, plus the Polikarpov design bureau, were evacuated to Novosibirsk.

Flight testing resumed in early 1942 and the M-71-powered versions, which now included the re-engined first prototype, proved to be faster than the Messerschmitt Bf 109F by 47 km/h (29 mph) at sea level and 20 km/h (12 mph) at 6,000 metres (19,685 ft) with a top speed of 630 km/h (390 mph) at that altitude. It was recommended for immediate production, even before it began combat trials in November 1942. All three aircraft were assigned to the 728th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 3rd Air Army of the Kalinin Front and were tightly controlled to prevent the loss of the prototypes. For example, all sorties had to be flown over Soviet-controlled territory and required the express permission of the 3rd Air Army staff to fly. Pilots' reports were quite enthusiastic; the 728th's commander, Captain Vasilyaka wrote: "The I-185 outclasses both Soviet and foreign aircraft in level speed. It performs aerobatic maneuvers easily, rapidly and vigorously. The I-185 is the best current fighter from the point of control simplicity, speed, maneuverability (especially in climb), armament and survivability."

Based on the glowing report by the NII VVS (Naoochno-Issledovatel'skiy Institoot Voyenno-Vozdooshnykh Seelβ€”Air Force Scientific Test Institute) in early 1942 preparations began to put the I-185 (M-71) into production. A 'production standard setter (etalon)' aircraft was built in April 1942 with a redesigned engine cowling. Its gross weight increased by 144 kg (320 lb) over the earlier prototypes, but the reduction in drag from the new cowling was significant and the top speed increased to 650 km/h (400 mph) at 5000 meters. It underwent manufacturer's tests between June and October and was submitted for the State acceptance tests on 18 November. However, flight testing was interrupted by the need to replace the engine between 17 December 1942 and 26 January 1943. The new engine failed the next day and the aircraft crashed on 27 January. Flight tests were ordered to be continued with the original prototypes to validate the range figures, but the first prototype crashed on 5 April, killing the pilot as he attempted a dead-stick landing.

All work to put the I-185 into production was cancelled afterwards, even with the M-82 engine, as they were all required for the La-5 fighter. Another reason cited was that the La-5 used the fuselage of the Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Goudkov LaGG-3 which was already in production in three plants and would involve less disruption of the production lines. Another factor may have been that the La-5 required less duralumin to build, something in short supply at the time.

perttime

Nor quite there yet...

What aircraft?

1) As others had already produced faster aircraft, there was an urgency to match - or at least get close to - those speeds
2) Currently available engines were not up to the task, as is.
3) First and second prototypes crashed, for different reasons.
4) 10 pre-production aircraft were ordered and built but then the project was canceled. (sources differ on the exact number)
5) The "others" (hint 1) had reached those speeds with new engine technology
6) Based on prior experience, it was felt that developing that technology, alone, had too many possibilities to fail. So, they went for a conventional engine but added parts of the new technology to give the aircraft a boost
7) It was armed with 3 X 20mm gun (second prototype was unarmed)

8) It had a V12 engine but that is not the unusual part

pilotal

Ryan Fireball ?

perttime

Ryan Fireball does not quite match ALL the hints so far...

What aircraft?

1) As others had already produced faster aircraft, there was an urgency to match - or at least get close to - those speeds
2) Currently available engines were not up to the task, as is.
3) First and second prototypes crashed, for different reasons.
4) 10 pre-production aircraft were ordered and built but then the project was canceled. (sources differ on the exact number)
5) The "others" (hint 1) had reached those speeds with new engine technology
6) Based on prior experience, it was felt that developing that technology, alone, had too many possibilities to fail. So, they went for a conventional engine but added parts of the new technology to give the aircraft a boost
7) It was armed with 3 X 20mm gun (second prototype was unarmed)
8) It had a V12 engine but that is not the unusual part

9) Delays in producing "the new parts of the power system" delayed completing the pre-production aircraft - which caused severe criticism against factory management

perttime

What aircraft?

1) As others had already produced faster aircraft, there was an urgency to match - or at least get close to - those speeds
2) Currently available engines were not up to the task, as is.
3) First and second prototypes crashed, for different reasons.
4) 10 pre-production aircraft were ordered and built but then the project was canceled. (sources differ on the exact number)
5) The "others" (hint 1) had reached those speeds with new engine technology
6) Based on prior experience, it was felt that developing that technology, alone, had too many possibilities to fail. So, they went for a conventional engine but added parts of the new technology to give the aircraft a boost
7) It was armed with 3 X 20mm gun (second prototype was unarmed)
8) It had a V12 engine but that is not the unusual part

9) Delays in producing "the new parts of the power system" delayed completing the pre-production aircraft - which caused severe criticism against factory management
10) For some, the criticism came in the form of being arrested for industrial sabotage

perttime

What aircraft?

1) As others had already produced faster aircraft, there was an urgency to match - or at least get close to - those speeds
2) Currently available engines were not up to the task, as is.
3) First and second prototypes crashed, for different reasons.
4) 10 pre-production aircraft were ordered and built but then the project was canceled. (sources differ on the exact number)
5) The "others" (hint 1) had reached those speeds with new engine technology
6) Based on prior experience, it was felt that developing that technology, alone, had too many possibilities to fail. So, they went for a conventional engine but added parts of the new technology to give the aircraft a boost
7) It was armed with 3 X 20mm gun (second prototype was unarmed)
8) It had a V12 engine but that is not the unusual part
9) Delays in producing "the new parts of the power system" delayed completing the pre-production aircraft - which caused severe criticism against factory management
10) For some, the criticism came in the form of being arrested for industrial sabotage

11) It did NOT have a rocket engine

perttime

What aircraft?

1) As others had already produced faster aircraft, there was an urgency to match - or at least get close to - those speeds
2) Currently available engines were not up to the task, as is.
3) First and second prototypes crashed, for different reasons.
4) 10 pre-production aircraft were ordered and built but then the project was canceled. (sources differ on the exact number)
5) The "others" (hint 1) had reached those speeds with new engine technology
6) Based on prior experience, it was felt that developing that technology, alone, had too many possibilities to fail. So, they went for a conventional engine but added parts of the new technology to give the aircraft a boost
7) It was armed with 3 X 20mm gun (second prototype was unarmed)
8) It had a V12 engine but that is not the unusual part
9) Delays in producing "the new parts of the power system" delayed completing the pre-production aircraft - which caused severe criticism against factory management
10) For some, the criticism came in the form of being arrested for industrial sabotage

11) It did NOT have a rocket engine
12) it was canceled because the "new technology", and new engines had become accessible

racer639

Caproni Campini N1