Aircraft Trivia Quiz

Well, per "official" forum rules, since Brumbles has not came back with a question in over a week, it is open to anyone who feels he/she has a good one.

Tom

Brumbles got the answer I was looking for.  Though I misremembered the date when they folded.  Brewster ceased to be a significant factor in building aircraft though I forgot they hung on as an entity until 1946.

 Over to you Brumbles.

Bill 

Brumbles - because of governmental contracts, and the war situation Brewster was taken over by the US Navy in 1942. From that point to 1946 it was an asset of the US Gov't and only remained open because of the war situation. Here's another part of that Wikpedia article.

During WWII it became apparent that Brewster was mismanaged. The company had grown from a relatively minor aircraft parts supplier to a fully-fledged defence giant in only a few years. Jimmy Work had hired Alfred and Ignacio Miranda as the company salesmen. They had been involved on frauds, spending two years in prison for selling illict arms to Bolivia, and had over-promised Brewster production capabilities to customers. As WWII had swelled the defense industries, the quality of the newly hired work force was inferior in skills and often motivation, and the work was plagued by illicit strikes and even outright sabotage was suspected. The Navy installed a George Chapline as president of the company, easing out Jimmy Work, in the hopes of speeding up production, but then in early 1942 Jimmy Work regained control of the company, just in time to be sued for US$10 million for financial misdeeds. In May 1942 the Navy simply seized Brewster and put the head of the Naval Aircraft Factory in charge.

Mike T.

Is it Brewster, builder of the F2A Buffalo? 

I just checked on Wikipedia and the company dissolved April 5, 1946, just months after the war ended.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brewster_Aeronautical_Corporation

Now the tough part, coming up with the next question...

This aircraft company produced such terrible aircraft that it actually went out of business in the middle of World War II.  What's the company?

 I'll throw out some hints if nobody gets it quickly.

Bill 

Good guess, Bill.

Actually, when I wrote the question, I realized that there are three aircraft types, including the Corsair that can meet the "same name, over two decades" stipulation, and since no one else even tried to get it any closer, your answer is good enough for me.

Interestingly enough, the one I prefered involved three aircraft all made by the same manufacturer, which were USAAF aircraft, which also made the other one of the three that come to mind as well, essentially making two of the three choices being manufactured by the same firm. Ironically, the USAAF chose not to utilize this aircraft type as extensively as did a foreign power's air force, their varient becoming the most successful in it's role in WWII!

If you-all like, I can share my preferred choice,  or leave this one a question I can still re-ask under different wording in the future.

Now be warned, if I tell ya, you you feel like doing a *DOOOOOOOOOHHHHH*

In any case, you go next  Wild Bill

Tom

I'm sure this isn't what you're looking for, but there were three Corsairs.

 The O2U Corsair biplane was used in Nicaragua by the Marines in the early 30s as well as by the Chinese Air Force.

The F4U Corsair is well known.

So is the A-7 Corsair II (which was actually Corsair III) 

From the question, it sounds like you were looking for a USAAF/USAF name, and these aircraft first flew in three different decades.

 Bill

Thank you Mr. E. Spins

OK,

Now the trick is to word this easy question so I don't get an answer before I finished posting it:

Which US aircraft name and type designation (meaning the same letter prefix denoting the role the aircraft was meant for, but three different numbered suffixes) was actually repeated for three different aircraft which flew in a time period spanning two different decades ?

Tom

Post edit hint:

There are nice scale models of the first two, but for the third one, you would have to do some minor modifications of a kit by a different name, mainly the service markings.

T_Terrific wrote:

How about in 1957 on May 22 of that year a wing B-36 inadvertently dropped a Mk 17 "Thermonuclear" (hydrogen) bomb 4 miles SE of Kirtland AFB, NM? Would that do it? Tom

Correct, that was the one I was looking for.  I apologize for not being specific enough with the initial question. 

B-36s were involved in two "Broken Arrow" incidents.

On 13 February 1950, a B-36, serial number 44-92075, crashed in an unpopulated region of British Coumbia, resulting in the first loss of an American nuclear weapon.

Then on 22 May 1957, a B-36 accidentally dropped a Mark-17 hydrogen bomb on a deserted area while landing at Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque NM. Only the conventional trigger detonated, the bomb being unarmed. These incidents were classified for decades. 

That's some scary stuff!!!! 

You're up Tom!

How about in 1957 on May 22 of that year a wing B-36 inadvertently dropped a Mk 17 "Thermonuclear" (hydrogen) bomb 4 miles SE of Kirtland AFB, NM?

Would that do it?

Tom

wdolson2 wrote:

Is that the B-52 that accidentally dropped an unarmed nuke off the coast of Spain in 1966?  Bill

I forgot about that one.  I should have been more specific.  The one I'm looking for happened on the US mainland in the 1950s

Is that the B-52 that accidentally dropped an unarmed nuke off the coast of Spain in 1966?

 Bill

This aircraft's claim to fame is that it accidentally dropped a Mk.17 Hydrogen bomb.... 

What is this aircraft?

telsono wrote:

One note here, the USS Langley (originally the collier Jupiter) had the honor of being designated the first US Navy aircraft carrier (CV-1), but during the 1930's she was reconverted to a seaplane tender (AV-3 in 1937). She was lost on 27 February 1942 while ferrying fighters to Java. Although she was our first aircraft carrier, her re-designation made her not the first of our carriers sank in WWII, if anyone thought of her.

I thought of the Langley when I wrote the question, which is why I said "fleet carrier".  The US also lost some escort carriers after the Princeton, but the Princeton was the last fleet carrier (ie high speed and designed to go in harm's way against enemy combat ships) lost. 

 The Princeton was also the only fleet carrier completed during the war that was lost.  All the others were pre-war carriers.

I didn't think about it at the time I wrote the question, but today is the 65th anniversary of the battle that changed the war in the Pacific: Midway.

 Bill

One note here, the USS Langley (originally the collier Jupiter) had the honor of being designated the first US Navy aircraft carrier (CV-1), but during the 1930's she was reconverted to a seaplane tender (AV-3 in 1937). She was lost on 27 February 1942 while ferrying fighters to Java. Although she was our first aircraft carrier, her re-designation made her not the first of our carriers sank in WWII, if anyone thought of her.

Mike T.

 That  bit of trivia struck me when I read Sherman's book many years ago.

You got it.  Over to you.

 Bill

Capt. Frederick C. Sherman (Lexington Battle of the Coral Sea)

Rear Admiral Frederick C. Sherman (Battle of Leyte Gulf)

This wanders a little off the aircraft subject too, but it applies to aircraft carriers.

 The first US fleet carrier lost in World War II and the last fleet carrier lost were under the command of the same person.  He had a different rank and different position the last time, but he was still in the direct chain of command.

 Who was this?

Bill 

You are correct, sir. 

Your turn! 

That would be the day of the Doolittle Raid in 1942.  It was also the day Yamammoto was killed in 1943.

 April 18 is also the day before Eric Hartmann's birthday and two days before Hitler's.

 Bill

This is only peripherally aircraft related, but I think it's an easy one for WWII geeks like me:

What is the aircraft-related significance of the date April 18 during the Second World War?  

And don't forget that the B-52 was named after an Italian immigrant "Strato Fortrezzi". 

Isn't it ironic that the B-25 Mitchell is the only one?  That really surprises me for some reason. 

You're up! 

Would that be the Cleveland Browns?

No wait, that's the only NFL team named after an individual...

P-38 Lightning was named after "Lightning" Joe Collins, right?  And the P-51 Mustang after Mustang Sally, of song lore...  P-47 Thunderbolt, after Zeus?  

(Just funnin' ya.  We all know it's the B-25 Mitchell, after the aviation visionary, General Billy B-25.)

This is probably an easy one..... 

What is the only American military aircraft that was named after an individual? 

Matt90 wrote:

Darn...it was a hoax. Google it, and the first site that comes up proves it.

The hoax part comes up if you google with two r's in Sherrill, on the Flying Tiger website, no less.  It's an interesting read as well.  Was a good question, nonetheless....

Indeed this is the story I was looking for- altho the article is not quite complete. Until the last ten years or so- it was simply known as the "ghost" P-40 -for the actual name of the pilot was not known until recently. Also, the 2 intercepting p-40's fired upon the "old" marked p-40-fearing it to be a japanese trick- but stopped when it made no defensive manuveurs. upon closing the strange P-40-for it was still wearing 1941 markings(red center to the star and all) - they noticed the pilot slumped over in his seat- as well as the fact that it had no landing gear at all! more than likely it took off from some sort of dolly arrangement- (perhaps like a Me 163) to complete it's final , brave mission.

"Corn Sherill- a truly brave man whose name shouldn't be forgotten

regards all, Keith

hudskit wrote:

I thought I had escaped from having to ask another question, but alas, apparently not. Who can tell me about " Corn " Sherill and his contribution to US Army Air Corps lore? Good Luck with this one- and not a bit of air racing involved in this one....regards all, Keith

I thought this was a great story, so I simply copied and pasted it instead of trying to re-write it. 

"April 1942 Kienow, China Air Task Force Base.

A hour before darkness fell over eastern China, the silence was broken by a frantic cry from the Chinese officer on duty in the operations cave that a lone aircraft was approaching. Was it an enemy Japanese plane? The Japanese never sent out single aircraft but perhaps they might be trying a new tactic to catch the eight Warhawk P-40 fighter planes formerly known as the famed Flying Tigers on the ground.

Not taking chances, Flight Leader John Hampshire ordered 2 P-40s up into the air. The unknown aircraft was only 30 miles to the east and fast approaching.

10 miles from the Kienow airfield, the two pilots spotted the mystery plane flying low 200ft above the ground. It was a American made P-40 with American insignia! Where did it come from? The pilots noticed that it was very badly shot-up, the fuselage looking more like a sieve, and through the shattered windshield was the bloody face of the pilot, but the plane held steady, flying straight and true.

However, minutes later, the aircraft suddenly plunged downwards, hitting the ground with an explosion.

Who and what was that P-40 doing so far from the nearest US airbase? Where did it come from?

Apparently, so they learnt much later on that the pilot was one "Corn" Sherill based on the Philippine Island of Mindanao. After the fall of most of the Phillipines to the Japanese in the Spring of 1942, Corn Sheril and 11 mechanics decided to field one last mission against the invaders. Cannibalising parts from a few decrepit airplanes, they put together a single flight-worthy P-40 and fitted it with a few bombs and a large auxiliary fuel tank. The mission? An improbable bombing run at the heart of the Japanese empire, a naval base on the island of Formosa (Taiwan, then a Japanese Colony).

Corn Sherill flew the patched-up aircraft north to Formosa and 5 hours later, so unexpected was his attack that he was able to drop his bombs virtually unopposed, strafing and destroying a large number of grounded Japanese aircraft lined up in neat rows and bearing the rising sun insignia.

Leaving a wake of destruction, Corn Sherill turned westward, towards China and his one chance of survival, the Chinese nationalist airbase of Kienow. However, his plane was now riddled by shrapnel from anti-aircraft fire and low on fuel. Japanese Zeros, scrambled to intercept, poured yet more punishment into the P-40. Flying a desperate weave, a badly wounded Corn Sheril performed the best flying of his life, flying by the seat of his pants and finally escaped his pursuers in the clouds.

Low one fuel and forced to nurse a badly damaged plane without working instruments, he flew by dead reckoning alone. Somewhere between Formosa and Kienow, Corn Sheril died, but somehow his aircraft held true, perhaps from a braced stick against his knees. The plane continued on its course, flown by a dead man, directly towards the safety of the Allied airbase. That was where the two pilots from Kienow found the lone fighter, after a long and amazing flight through the heart of the Japanese empire."