Hydro Junkie

And, once again, it's time for a new clue.
Looking for an aircraft:
1) This plane was designed and built by the same company that built two other legendary aircraft
2) All three aircraft were designed and built to fly long range missions
3) This plane had three major design changes after the first prototype flew due to problems with it in flight

Hydro Junkie

And, once again, it's time for a new clue.
Looking for an aircraft:
1) This plane was designed and built by the same company that built two other legendary aircraft
2) All three aircraft were designed and built to fly long range missions
3) This plane had three major design changes after the first prototype flew due to problems with it in flight
4) This plane was originally designed to fly at high altitudes "at then" high speeds

Hydro Junkie

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

You know, Hydro Junkie I'm really reluctant to toss this answer out there; but from the start, I've been convinced you were either talking about Boeing (The B-50) or Consolidated (The B-32). Both has several famous or "legendary" aircraft. Of course, the "three aircraft" produced doesn't fit. Then I thought that perhaps you were talking about a VARIANT of the B-32. Sure enough, only three of one variant were produced. So... Thanks; Ernie P.


Answer: B-32-1-CO?

B-32-1-CO
Three aircraft the same as the B-32-20CF but assembled by Consolidated – San Diego. One aircraft accepted with the remaining two units flown directly to storage and scrapped.

The Consolidated B-32 Dominator (Consolidated Model 34) was an American heavy strategic bomber built for United States Army Air Forces during World War II, which had the distinction of being the last Allied aircraft to be engaged in combat during World War II. It was developed by Consolidated Aircraft in parallel with the Boeing B-29 Superfortress as a fallback design should the B-29 prove unsuccessful. The B-32 only reached units in the Pacific during mid-1945, and subsequently only saw limited combat operations against Japanese targets before the end of the war. Most of the extant orders of the B-32 were canceled shortly thereafter and only 118 B-32 airframes of all types were built.

[h=2]Operational history[/h]
The first assignment of the B-32 began when General George Kenney, the commander of Allied air forces in the South West Pacific Area and commander of the U.S. Fifth Air Force, traveled to Washington D.C. to request B-29s. Since priority had been given to strategic bombing by the B-29, Kenney’s request was denied, after which he requested the B-32.

Following a demonstration, the Army General Staff agreed that Kenney could conduct a combat evaluation, and a test schedule of 11 missions was set up, followed by a plan to convert two of the 312th Bomb Group's four Douglas A-20 Havoc squadrons to B-32s. Project crews took three B-32s to Clark Field, Luzon, Philippine Islands, in mid-May 1945 for a series of test flights completed on 17 June.

The three test B-32s were assigned to the 312th BG's 386th Bombardment Squadron. On 29 May 1945, the first of four combat missions by the B-32 was flown against a supply depot at Antatet in the Philippines, followed by two B-32s dropping 16 2,000 lb (910 kg) bombs on a sugar mill at Taito, Formosa, on 15 June. On 22 June, a B-32 bombed an alcohol plant at Heito, Formosa, with 500 lb (230 kg) bombs, but a second B-32 missed flak positions with its 260 lb (120 kg) fragmentation bombs. The last mission was flown on 25 June against bridges near Kiirun on Formosa.

The test crews were impressed with its unique reversible-pitch inboard propellers and the Davis wing which gave it excellent landing performance. However, they found a number of faults: the cockpit had an extremely high noise level and a poor instrument layout, the bombardier's vision was impaired, it was overweight and the nacelle design resulted in frequent engine fires (Note: the latter deficiency was also shared with the Dominator's counterpart, the B-29 Superfortress), yet the testing missions were mostly successful.

In July 1945, the 386th Bomb Squadron completed its transition to the B-32, flying six more combat missions before the war ended. On 13 August, the 386th BS moved from Luzon to Yontan Airfield on Okinawa and flew mostly photographic reconnaissance missions. The missions were intended to monitor Japan's compliance with the ceasefire and to gather information such as possible routes occupation forces could take into Tokyo. During the two-hour engagement, the Dominators suffered only minor damage and none of their crew were injured. "Though the B-32 gunners later claimed to have damaged one fighter and 'probably destroyed' two others, surviving Japanese records list no losses for that day or next." Based on the Japanese action on the 17 August, U.S. commanders felt that it was important to continue the reconnaissance missions over Tokyo so they could determine if it was an isolated incident or an indication that Japan would reject the ceasefire and continue fighting.

On 18 August 1945, four Dominators were given the task of photographing many of the targets covered on the previous day; however, mechanical problems caused two to be pulled from the flight. Over Japan, a formation of 14 A6M Zeros and three N1K2-J Shiden-Kai (George) fighters (apparently mis-identified as Ki-44 Tojos by the American crews) attacked the remaining two U.S. aircraft. Saburo Sakai, a Japanese ace, said later that there was concern that the Dominators were attacking. Another Japanese ace, Sadamu Komachi, stated in a 1978 Japanese magazine article that the fighter pilots could not bear to see American bombers flying serenely over a devastated Tokyo.

The B-32 Dominator Hobo Queen II (s/n 42-108532) was flying at 20,000 ft (6,100 m) when the Japanese fighters took off and received no significant damage. Hobo Queen II claimed two Zeros destroyed in the action as well as a probable Shiden-Kai. Japanese records show that no aircraft were lost. The other Dominator was flying 10,000 ft (3,000 m) below Hobo Queen II when the fighters took off. The fighters heavily damaged that Dominator, initially wounding the dorsal gunner and then seriously wounding two other members. Photographer Staff Sergeant Joseph Lacharite was wounded in the legs (his recovery required several years). Sergeant Anthony Marchione, a photographer's assistant, helped Lacharite and then was fatally wounded himself. Marchione was the last American to die in air combat in World War II. Despite the damage, the Dominator returned to Okinawa. However, the incident precipitated the removal of propellers from all Japanese fighters as per the terms of the ceasefire agreement, beginning 19 August 1945. The last B-32 combat photo reconnaissance mission was completed on 28 August, during which two B-32s were destroyed in separate accidents, with 15 of the 26 crewmen killed. On 30 August, the 386th Bomb Squadron stood down from operations.

Production contracts of the B-32 were cancelled on 8 September 1945, with production ceased by 12 October. Many B-32s ended up being salvaged at Walnut Ridge, Arkansas with a total of 38 flown to Kingman Army Airfield for disposal. The large club pip of the 386th is visible on one B-32 awaiting reclamation. Five of Kingman's Dominators were from the 386th Bomb Squadron, 312th Bomb Group's overseas assignment. Along with several other noteworthy aircraft on temporary display at Davis Monthan AFB after World War II, the last surviving Dominator, B-32-1-CF #42-108474 was written off and destroyed in 1949.

Hydro Junkie

Ernie, you got it right with the B-32. Let me go over the clues:
1) This plane was designed and built by the same company that built two other legendary aircraft
Those other two aircraft were the PBY-5/5A Catalina and the B-24 Liberator
2) All three aircraft were designed and built to fly long range missions
Kind of a no brainer here. Both the Cat and the B-24 had a combat radius of over 500 miles, long range at the time
3) This plane had three major design changes after the first prototype flew due to problems with it in flight
The design changes were changing from a B-24 style twin tail to a B-17 style single, deleting the high altitude pressurization system and reworking the gun turrets
4) This plane was originally designed to fly at high altitudes "at then" high speeds
Like the B-29, the B-32 was designed to fly at 30,000+ feet and at over 350mph
5) This plane was designed and built in conjunction with another aircraft from a different manufacturer
The B-32 was designed and built as a "fall back" in case the B29( The B-50 was a redesign of the 29 in 1948 that covered 75% of the aircraft) wasn't capable of flying combat operations as planned. Both had similar top speeds, range and bombloads

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Thanks, Hydro Junkie. I'm sorry to have spoiled what was developing into a really good question, but sometimes I just can't resist temptation. I'll try to make up for my weakness by asking a really easy question. Thanks; Ernie P.


What warbird do I describe?

Clues:

1.Arguably, although opinions may differ, the very first of its kind.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Evening clue. Thanks; Ernie P.


What warbird do I describe?

Clues:

1.Arguably, although opinions may differ, the very first of its kind.
2.And, it is still in use today.

pd1

Fly by wire F-16?

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

What warbird do I describe?

Clues:

1.Arguably, although opinions may differ, the very first of its kind.
2.And, it is still in use today.
3.Although large scale use by both military forces and civilianair fleets largely ceased by 1990.

pd1

Since there is no limit to wild guesses... DC-3 ?

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Sir; I don't think that qualifies as a wild guess. It isn't correct, but it isn't a bad guess at all. However, since bonus clues are one per day to a customer, you'll have to wait until tomorrow to qualify again. But keep guessing; it's fun, right? Thanks; Ernie P.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Morning clue. Thanks; Ernie P.


What warbird do I describe?

Clues:

1.Arguably, although opinions may differ, the very first of its kind.
2.And, it is still in use today.
3.Although large scale use by both military forces and civilian air fleets largely ceased by 1990.
4.Originally considered to be somewhat underpowered, that problem was fixed by adding a couple more engines.

elmshoot

My Feedback: (6)

P2V Neptune
they added two jet engines running on avgass
Sparky

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Sparky; good to hear from you, Sir. The P2V is an excellent answer; but as the next clue will show, not the correct answer. Thanks; Ernie P.


What warbird do I describe?

Clues:

1.Arguably, although opinions may differ, the very first of its kind.
2.And, it is still in use today.
3.Although large scale use by both military forces and civilian air fleets largely ceased by 1990.
4.Originally considered to be somewhat underpowered, thatproblem was fixed by adding a couple more engines.
5.First put in usein 1932.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

What warbird do I describe?

Clues:

1.Arguably, although opinions may differ, the very first of its kind.
2.And, it is still in use today.
3.Although large scale use by both military forces and civilian air fleets largely ceased by 1990.
4.Originally considered to be somewhat underpowered, that problem was fixed by adding a couple more engines.
5.First put in use in 1932.
6.Its firstbombing missions were flown in 1932 - 33.

Hydro Junkie

Okay, let me shoot in a wild guess:
JU-52

After all, it was an airliner and was used, though not well, as a bomber

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Ding, ding, ding! And we have a winner. Good going, Hydro Junkie; and you are up, Sir. Take it away. The Ju 52 was really an amazing aircraft. The first Luftwaffe aircraft, a bomber, a transport, a passenger liner, a trainer, a real jack of all trades. Utilized from the early 1930's through the late 1980's. Thanks; Ernie P.


What warbird do I describe?

Clues:

1. Arguably, although opinions may differ, the very first of its kind.
2. And, it is still in use today.
3. Although large scale use by both military forces and civilian air fleets largely ceased by 1990.
4. Originally considered to be somewhat underpowered, that problem was fixed by adding a couple more engines.
5. First put in use in 1932.
6. Its first bombing missions were flown in 1932 - 33.
7. It utilized a novel wing design.
8. Its lifting capacity and ability to handle large and bulky cargo won it quick acceptance by commercial customers and military forces alike.
9. It was routinely fitted with skis and floats.
10. In fact, its first bombing missions were while equipped with floats.
11. In a slightly later conflict, it was utilized for medevac and aerial supply missions.
12. It could carry over 3,000 pounds of bombs.
13. The majority of aircraft produced were manufactured after it was probably obsolescent.
14. And, the majority were transport versions.
15. Despite this, it played a key part in one of the most auspicious, and audacious, feats of arms in modern history.

Answers:
Ju 52

The Junkers Ju 52 (nicknamed Tante Ju ("Aunt Ju") and Iron Annie) is a German trimotor transport aircraft manufactured from 1931 to 1952. It saw both civilian and military service during the 1930s and 1940s. In a civilian role, it flew with over twelve air carriers including Swissair and Deutsche Luft Hansa as an airliner and freight hauler. In a military role, it flew with the Luftwaffe as a troop and cargo transport and briefly as a medium bomber. The Ju 52 continued in postwar service with military and civilian air fleets well into the 1980s.

The Ju 52 was similar to the company's previous Junkers W 33, although larger. In 1930, Ernst Zindel and his team designed the Ju 52 at the Junkers works at Dessau. The aircraft's unusual corrugated duralumin metal skin, pioneered by Junkers during World War I, strengthened the whole structure.

The Ju 52 had a low cantilever wing, the midsection of which was built into the fuselage, forming its underside. It was formed around four pairs of circular cross-section duralumin spars with a corrugated surface that provided torsional stiffening. A narrow control surface, with its outer section functioning as the aileron, and the inner section functioning as a flap, ran along the whole trailing edge of each wing panel, well separated from it. The inner flap section lowered the stalling speed and the arrangement became known as the Doppelflόgel, or "double wing".

Lufthansa's 21st-century airworthy heritage Ju 52/3mg2e (Wk-Nr 5489) in flight, showing the Doppelflόgel, "double wing" trailing edge control surfaces.

The outer sections of this operated differentially as ailerons, projecting slightly beyond the wingtips with control horns. The strutted horizontal stabilizer carried horn-balanced elevators which again projected and showed a significant gap between them and the stabilizer, which was adjustable in-flight. All stabilizer surfaces were corrugated.

The fuselage was of rectangular section with a domed decking, all covered with corrugated light alloy. There was a port side passenger door just aft of the wings, with windows stretching forward to the pilots' cockpit. The main undercarriage was fixed and divided; some aircraft had wheel fairings, others not. There was a fixed tailskid, or a later tailwheel. Some aircraft were fitted with floats or skis instead of the main wheels.

In its original configuration, designated the Ju 52/1m, the Ju 52 was a single-engined aircraft, powered by either a BMW IV or Junkers liquid-cooled V-12 engine. However, the single-engine model was underpowered, and after seven prototypes had been completed, all subsequent Ju 52s were built with three radial engines as the Ju 52/3m (drei motoren — "three engines"). Originally powered by three Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet radial engines, later production models mainly received 574 kW (770 hp) BMW 132 engines, a licence-built refinement of the Pratt & Whitney design. Export models were also built with 447 kW (600 hp) Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp and 578 kW (775 hp) Bristol Pegasus VI engines. The two wing-mounted radial engines of the Ju 52/3m had half-chord cowlings and in planform view (from above/below) appeared to be splayed outwards, being mounted at an almost perpendicular angle to the tapered wing's sweptback leading edge (in a similar fashion to the Mitsubishi G3M bomber and Short Sunderland; the angled engines on the Ju 52 were intended to make it easier to maintain straight flight should an engine fail, while the others had different reasons). The three engines had either Townend ring or NACA cowlings to reduce drag from the engine cylinders, although a mixture of the two was most common (as can been seen in many of the accompanying photographs), with deeper-chord NACA ducts on the wing engines and a narrow Townend ring on the center engine (which was more difficult to fit a deeper NACA cowl onto, due to the widening fuselage behind the engine). Production Ju 52/3m aircraft flown by Luft Hansa before World War II, as well as Luftwaffe-flown Ju 52s flown during the war, usually used an air-start system to turn over their trio of radial engines, using a common compressed air supply that also operated the main wheels' brakes.

[h=3]Prewar civil use[/h]In 1932, James A. Richardson's Canadian Airways received (Werknummer 4006) CF-ARM, the sixth ever-built Ju 52/1m. The aircraft, first re-fitted with an Armstrong Siddeley Leopard radial engine and then later with a Rolls-Royce Buzzard and nicknamed the "Flying Boxcar" in Canada, could lift approximately three tons and had a maximum weight of 7 tonnes (8 tons). It was used to supply mining and other operations in remote areas with equipment too big and heavy for other aircraft then in use. The Ju 52/1m was able to land on wheels, skis or floats (as were all Ju 52 variants).

Before the nationalisation of the German aircraft industry in 1935, the Ju 52/3m was produced principally as a 17-seat airliner. It was used mainly by Luft Hansa and could fly from Berlin to Rome in eight hours. The Luft Hansa fleet eventually numbered 80 and flew from Germany on routes in Europe, Asia and South America.

[h=3]Military use 1932–1945[/h]The Colombian Air Force used three Ju 52/3mde bombers equipped as floatplanes during the Colombia-Peru War in 1932–1933. After the war, the air force acquired three other Ju 52mge as transports; the type remained in service until after World War II.

Bolivia acquired four Ju 52s in the course of the Chaco War (1932–1935), mainly for medical evacuation and air supply. During the conflict, the Ju 52s alone transported more than 4,400 tons of cargo to the front.

In 1934, Junkers received orders to produce a bomber version of the Ju 52/3m to serve as interim equipment for the bomber units of the still-secret Luftwaffe until it could be replaced by the purpose designed Dornier Do 11. Two bomb bays were fitted, capable of holding up to 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) of bombs, while defensive armament consisted of two 7.92mm MG 15 machine guns, one in an open dorsal position, and one in a retractable "dustbin" ventral position, which could be manually winched down from the fuselage to protect the aircraft from attacks from below. The bomber could be easily converted to serve in the transport role. The Dornier Do 11 was a failure, however, and the Junkers ended up being acquired in much larger numbers than at first expected, with the type being the Luftwaffe's main bomber until more modern aircraft such as the Heinkel He 111, Junkers Ju 86 and Dornier Do 17 entered into service.


The Ju 52 first saw military service in the Spanish Civil War against the Spanish Republic. It was one of the first aircraft delivered to the fraction of the army in revolt in July 1936 as both a bomber and transport. In the former role, it participated in the bombing of Guernica. No more of the bomber variant were built after this war, though it was again used as a bomber during the bombing of Warsaw during the Invasion of Poland of September 1939. The Luftwaffe then relied on the Ju 52 for transport roles during World War II, including paratroop drops.
[h=4][/h][h=4]World War II[/h]
While in use by the Deutsche Lufthansa the Ju 52 had proved to be an extremely reliable passenger airplane and was, therefore, adopted by the Luftwaffe as a standard aircraft model. In 1938, the 7th Air Division had five air transport groups with 250 Ju 52s. The Luftwaffe had 552 Ju 52s at the start of World War II. Even though it was built in great numbers, the Ju.52 was technically obsolete. Between 1939 and 1944, 2.804 Ju 52s were delivered to the Luftwaffe (1939: 145; 1940: 388; 1941: 502; 1942:503; 1943:887; and 1944:379). The production of Ju 52s continued until approximately the summer of 1944; when the war came to an end, there were still 100 to 200 available.

The Ju 52 could carry eighteen fully equipped soldiers, or twelve stretchers when used as an air ambulance. Transported material was loaded and unloaded through side doors by means of a ramp. Air dropped supplies were jettisoned through two double chutes; supply containers were dropped by parachute through the bomb-bay doors, and paratroopers jumped through the side doors. Half-track motorcycles (kettenkraftrad) and parachute troops' supply canisters were secured under the fuselage at the bomb bay exits and were dropped with four parachutes. A tow coupling was built into the tail-skid for use in towing freight gliders. The Ju 52 could tow up to two DFS 230 gliders.

The first major operation for the aircraft was in Operation Weserόbung, the attack on Denmark and Norway on 9 April 1940. Fifty-two Ju 52s from 1. and 8. Staffel in Kampfgeschwader 1 transported a company of Fallschirmjδger and a battalion of infantry to the northern part of Jutland, and captured the airfield at Aalborg, vital to support the operation in southern Norway. Several hundred Ju 52s were used to transport troops to Norway in the first days of this campaign.

Most Ju 52s were destroyed after the war, but 585 were manufactured after 1945. In France, the machine had been manufactured during the war by the Junkers-controlled Avions Amiot company, and production continued afterwards as the Amiot AAC 1 Toucan. In Spain, Construcciones Aeronαuticas SA continued production as the CASA 352 and 352L. Four CASA 352s are airworthy and in regular use today.

A CASA-built Ju52/3m appears in the opening sequence of the 1968 Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood film Where Eagles Dare.

Hydro Junkie

And to think I was just playing around. Okay, here we go again. Give me a bit to come up with something

Hydro Junkie

Okay, got one.
Looking for an aircraft:
1) This plane was used by both the Navy and Air Force of the country it was manufactured in
Good Luck

Hydro Junkie

And, again, it's time for another clue.
Looking for an aircraft:
1) This plane was used by both the Navy and Air Force of the country it was manufactured in
2) This plane was manufactured by a company known for it's combat aircraft's outstanding records
Good Luck

Hydro Junkie

And, again, it's time for another clue.
Looking for an aircraft:
1) This plane was used by both the Navy and Air Force of the country it was manufactured in
2) This plane was manufactured by a company known for it's combat aircraft's outstanding records
3) This plane was one of three different types in service at the same time manufactured by one company
Good Luck

Hydro Junkie

And, again, it's time for another clue.
Looking for an aircraft:
1) This plane was used by both the Navy and Air Force of the country it was manufactured in
2) This plane was manufactured by a company known for it's combat aircraft's outstanding records
3) This plane was one of three different types in service at the same time manufactured by one company
4) This plane was the only one of the three(from clue #3) that was used operationally in several different configurations requiring an internal reworking to facilitate the different task specific requirements
Good Luck

Hydro Junkie

Gee, did everyone go on vacation or what? Not one guess on this one yet. And, again, it's time for another clue.
Looking for an aircraft:
1) This plane was used by both the Navy and Air Force of the country it was manufactured in
2) This plane was manufactured by a company known for it's combat aircraft's outstanding records
3) This plane was one of three different types in service at the same time manufactured by one company
4) This plane was the only one of the three(from clue #3) that was used operationally in several different configurations requiring an internal reworking to facilitate the different task specific requirements
5) Of the three planes referred to in clue three, this was not the one with a single engine
Good Luck

Hydro Junkie

And, again, it's time for another clue.
Looking for an aircraft:
1) This plane was used by both the Navy and Air Force of the country it was manufactured in
2) This plane was manufactured by a company known for it's combat aircraft's outstanding records
3) This plane was one of three different types in service at the same time manufactured by one company
4) This plane was the only one of the three(from clue #3) that was used operationally in several different configurations requiring an internal reworking to facilitate the different task specific requirements
5) Of the three planes referred to in clue three, this was not the one with a single engine
6) This plane used one of two different engines, depending on the branch of service was flying it
Good Luck

pd1

Douglas B-66?