Aircraft Trivia Quiz

OK, here's my question: What was the largest single strike by allied aircraft in WWII? How many aircraft did it involve, what type of aircraft were they, what was the date, and what was the target?

Okay, I don't have an answer (yet), but I do have a question.  By largest single airstrike, do you mean the most planes on a single target or the most planes launched on a "maximum effort" including multiple targets?  May be a stupid question, but I have the answer to the later but not to the former (I think).  Thanks.

Okay...here is my bid for the answer for largest strike on a single target.  Not including fighters, but just the aircraft attacking the target my answer is on 12 March 1945 a force of 1,107 bombers - 748 Lancasters, 292 Halifaxes and 68 Mosquitos - dropped 4,851 tons of bombs on the city of Dortmund. 

So how did I do?

Blackhawk91 wrote:

Okay, I don't have an answer (yet), but I do have a question.  By largest single airstrike, do you mean the most planes on a single target or the most planes launched on a "maximum effort" including multiple targets?  May be a stupid question, but I have the answer to the later but not to the former (I think).  Thanks.

Actually, I don't think there is a clear reference to the "largest single airstrike in WW 2" because there are actually four factors and two theaters in the mix.

The factors are:

1. Number of planes. There were some "1000 plane raids", including an RAF effort to rescue Bomber Command that literally fielded anything that was not consigned  to a fighter group and could carry some sort of bomb, in a massive raid on Cologne, including RAF trainers. This was sort of a reverse-play on the theme for the rescue operation for Dunkirk when the British sent anything that could cross the channel to save the remaining Birtish Army there.
2. Tonneage dropped in a single raid. This is not necessarily determined by the number of planes, but according to the bomb load capacity of the planes used and the type of bomb used.
3. Amount of target area efffectively destroyed in a single raid. Some of your incindiary raids on Japan, especially Tokyo,  did more damage in terms of both lives lost as well as structures destroyed, then that done to any individual European target, including Dresden.
4. Kilotonneage of explosive power delivered in the raid in question. It could be said either atomic bomb was the biggest, since the damage done amounted to an entire city with a single blow by a single bomber.

The air raids that softened up the French coast for the Operation Overlord invasion and following were massive, and generally were the first major effective employment of carpet bombing,and incorperated both Bomber Command and the U.S. Eighth Air Force bombers as well as hundreds of fighter-bombers, including Hawker Typhoons, P-38's,47's, B-25's & 26's. etc.

As a hapless victim on the receiving end of any of these, I would contend that the raid that blew up my house and killed my family was the biggest.

So there ya go

  Tom T

Well, this is what I have found out so far.  In July of 1945, The USN launched their first 2000+ a/c raid on the Japanese islands.  There may have been USAAF and USMC a/c involved as well, but I have not been able to find out for sure.

In Dec. 1944, the US 8th Air Force launched a raid of almost 3000 a/c including fighter escort to help relieve some pressure on the ground troops during the Battle of the Bulge.  I have not been able to find details for pre-D-Day softening up raids or the raid that was used to pave the way for the breakout at St. Lo.

The information for the raid that I mentioned before was taken from the book Luftwaffe Aces when they were talking about H. Schauffer (sp.?) and his life during the war.

I kept thinking about the question because like T_Terrific said that it could be taken many different ways, but I guess I just decided to try and keep it with the number of aircraft.  (I know, I know, I assumed and y'all know what they say about that (hee haw))

wdolson2 wrote:

The Russians got around this problem with a solution I think it better.  Most of their modern turbo jet aircraft have a taxi inlet on top of the plane.  They switch to the main inlet for take off.  They only have to be concerned about keeping the runway clean.

Some Russian aircraft have retactable intake screens to block debris on takeoff, here's a pic

http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/flankers_pages/intakes.htm

Blackhawk91 wrote:

In Dec. 1944, the US 8th Air Force launched a raid of almost 3000 a/c including fighter escort to help relieve some pressure on the ground troops during the Battle of the Bulge.  I have not been able to find details for pre-D-Day softening up raids or the raid that was used to pave the way for the breakout at St. Lo.

I was thinking in terms of a/c, and Blackhawk91, I think you're close enough. the actual raid was 2048 8th AF bombers and over 500 RAF ones attacking targets during the BOTB. It took place on Dec. 24.

You get the next question.

Blackhawk91 wrote:

Well, this is what I have found out so far.  In July of 1945, The USN launched their first 2000+ a/c raid on the Japanese islands.  There may have been USAAF and USMC a/c involved as well, but I have not been able to find out for sure. In Dec. 1944, the US 8th Air Force launched a raid of almost 3000 a/c including fighter escort to help relieve some pressure on the ground troops during the Battle of the Bulge.  I have not been able to find details for pre-D-Day softening up raids or the raid that was used to pave the way for the breakout at St. Lo.

For you-all's information, in the book Fortress of the Skies, by Bowman and Ness, an Osprey publication, the author states on P. 187; "In all, 1729 'heavies' dropped 3596 tons of bombs on D-Day" alone. That does not include the Bomber Command night bombing before nor the various medium and fighter-bomber incursions.

As far as St. Lo, the same author states on p. 190; " On the 24th and 25th, the largest formation of bombers since D-Day dropped thousands of fragmintation bombs and 100-lb GP [General Purpose] bombs on German positions in the St. Lo area...". Unfortunately, no specific numbers are given.

Also, on P. 196, the same author states regarding on order given on Christmas Eve 1944; "the Eighth [Air Force] mounted the largest single attack so far when 2034 'heavies' headed for Germany...The 1st BD made a direct tatical assault on airfields in the FrankFurt area and on the lines of communication immediately behind the German 'bulge'."

However, on P. 277,the same author states; "On 22 February [1945], Operation Clarion (the campaign to destroy the German communications network) was launched. More than 6000 Allied aircraft from seven different commands were airborne that day and they struck transportation targets throughout western Germany and northern Holland."

So, I would say, take your pick

So what's the next question?

  Tom T

Okay, here is my new question:

   What type of aircraft was responsible for the inadvertent (sp?) release of chemical weapons during WW 2 and where did it occur?

Now there was an unconfirmed story that the Japanese Sally bomber called "Washing Machine Charley" dropped a bomb near Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, hitting the hut that housed the de-salinazation (fresh water) plant that was being used alternately to distill liquor and was also storing both the local stash of hootch as well as water treatment and cleaning chemicals (which included chlorine and ammonia) would it? It created a vapor cloud that drifted away from the American lines over to the Japanese and made them gleefully drunk just before they choked to death on the deadly (phosgene) gas created by the combination of ammonia and chlorine.

Of course, it is possible that this story is a fabirication.

  Tom T

Hadn't heard that story, but sounds like a heck of a way to go....anyway keep going

Blackhawk91 wrote:

Hadn't heard that story, but sounds like a heck of a way to go....anyway keep going

OK

I don't know if this story is true, but here goes:

Then there was the one about the captured B-17 that was being flown around Germany both for Luftwaffe pilot orientation as well as for propaganda purposes. On day it was landing on an airfield near one of the concentration camps that was being used for poisen gas evalution, the brakes failed, and the pilot froze, and the B-17 taxied at high speed off the airfield, into an an off-limits area with storage buildings with, among other things, nerve and cyanide gas cylinders in storage.

The huge B-17 propellers destroyed the parimeter fence as well as making kindling of the small building, and sheared the small pipes connecting the cannisters, releasing a huge vapor cloud, leaving an unaccounted for number of officers and enlisted men dead, since the entire incident was covered up.

It turns out, one of the luftwaffe personnel sitting in the tail gunner position was trying out his oxygen gear, so he made it out alive to tell the story.

Once again, although this story can be a complete fabrication, I do like telling them.

Tom T  

Still not the one I am looking for, but I keep reading some interesting things.  The incident that I am looking for is documented and included an investigation as well as having at least one book written about it

I realize that this will not be the one you are looking for either, but I will share it anyway:

When I was in the eighth grade, one of my teachers in Los Angeles was a former soldier in the Japanese Army, and he told this story, which I am sure is not documented.

While stationed on the island of Chi Chi Jima, the Japanese troops got bored and they had a stash of mustard gas. Since mustard gas is a blistering agent, they decided to apply some to themselves and have a contest to see who got the biggest blister. Well, as one soldier was preparing to apply some on himself, there was an air raid involving some TBF's, and he panicked and literally spilled an open cannister onto his boot and legging.

The result was he won the contest, as they had to cut his boot off, since his entire foot was one huge blister.

I am sure this one will not "win the prize" either, but I did enjoy sharing it.

As a suggestion, for the incident you have in mind, you might drop us a hint or two, such as was it the ETO or the PTO, which nationalities were involved, etc.

Tom T

Blackhawk91 wrote:

Okay, here is my new question:    What type of aircraft was responsible for the inadvertent (sp?) release of chemical weapons during WW 2 and where did it occur?

Ju-88 at Barri, Italy (not sure of the spelling there).

With you-all's permission, since I have not been ablew to get any response form Roadkill, and it has been a while, I would like to submit a question:

Which aircraft is credited with sinking more ships then any other during WWII?

Tom T

You fellas need a hint or two.

1. This single aircraft actually sank more ships than any other in history.
2. The aircraft was not American.
3. This was a single-engine aircraft.

More hints later if this drags on.

  Tom T

T_Terrific wrote:

You fellas need a hint or two. This single aircraft actually sank more ships than any other in history. The aircraft was not American. This was a single-engine aircraft. More hints later if this drags on.   Tom T

Kate?

The list of single engine aircraft that did sink any ships is pretty short.  I take it you mean ships and not boats, barges, and other small craft.  There were hundreds of those sunk in the Solomons alone. 

I also assume you actually mean total number of ships and not tonnage.  The Japanese sunk a lot of Allied shipping in the Far East in the first days of WW II, but most of those ships were small freighters and warships destroyers and smaller.

I would expect that US carrier planes sunk more tonnage, but a fair percentage of that tonnage would be in a few ships.  1 Yamato class battleship can displace as much as a fleet of freighters.

Bill

I apreciate your usual insightful input, Bill.

This time Dravos got it

This was an unusual factoid I gleened from a new book I just got publishing the previously classified plans and illustrations of WWII from all players, titled "Graphic War".

Obviously this figure does not reflect total tonneage, as I believe that honor might have actually gone to the later SB-2C Curtiss Helldiver, which actually sank more then the Dauntless near the end of WWII.

Give us a nice one Dravos!

  Tom T

The main problem with this thread is that if you get the answer right; you have to come up with another question. So hard.

OK, here is mine. What was the largest calibre gun fitted to a plane during the Second World War?

Best of luck.

Dave Ross