WW2 Aircraft Trivia

1. What country was the first to see an American unit make a combat parachute assault on its soil during WWII?

From Quiz American Airborne, WWII

Answer: Algeria

The 509th Battalion flew to Algeria on a one way flight from England. Their target was two French held airfields near Oran. Many planes landed in the wrong areas, out of fuel. A jump was attempted by some plane loads to assault an armored column that had fired on them but the column turned out to be American. The first operation was quite chaotic with some successes and subsequent jumps gradually improved the Airborne concept.

From Quiz The Swordfish

Answer: Fairey

The Fairey Aviation Company was founded in the UK in 1915. The company was taken over by Westland Aircraft in 1960. The Swordfish was developed by Fairey in the early 1930s and first entered service with the UK's Fleet Air Arm in 1936. The aircraft was a fabric covered, metal framed biplane designed for use as a torpedo bomber and as a naval reconnaissance aircraft. Although the design was already outdated at the start of World War II the aircraft stayed in service for the duration of the war.

From Quiz WWII Combat Aircraft

Answer: P-51 Mustang

The Mustang was strong, fast and very nimble in the air. It was used by the RAF for bomber raids over Germany and later saw action against the Japanese over the Pacific.

From Quiz World War 2 Aircraft

Answer: Arado Ar 234

Although made in limited numbers the Arado Ar 234 was the first jet bomber to enter service in Germany, but it came too late to turn the tide in Hitler's favor. This extremely fast bomber could fly faster than most Allied fighters of the day.

From Quiz Fighter Aces of World War Two

Answer: Alfred Schreiber

The first victim of Leutnant Schreiber and his Messerschmitt ME 262 jet fighter was a Mosquito reconnaissance plane in July 1944. The Mosquito was badly mauled but managed to reach its airfield where it crashed upon landing, making this the first aerial jet fighter victory in history. Schreiber would claim four more victims before being killed in crash while attempting to land the exact same ME 262, in November of that same year.

From Quiz Aircraft of the Second World War

Answer: Kurt Tank

The FW190 was one of the workhorses of the Luftwaffe and saw action on all fronts. Designed by Kurt Tank, it was accepted into the military in August 1941 and soon proved itself to be an able fighter, held in high regard by its pilots. It was an equal of the Spitfire Mk V in all aspects except turning radius. By 1945 over 20,000 had been built.

From Quiz All About the B-29 Superfortress

Answer: 10

Pilot, Co-Pilot, Flight Engineer, Bombardier, Navigator, Radio Operator, two Side Gunners, Top Gunner, and a Tail Gunner.

From Quiz The Mighty Mosquito

Answer: DH. 98

The DH. 98 Mosquito was designed as a response to the British Air Ministry requirement for a twin-engined bomber. Design started in in 1939, under Eric Bishop, who was de Havilland's chief designer. The DH.88 was the de Havilland designation for the Comet air-racing plane, which later inspired the design of the Mosquito, and the DH. 91 was the designation for the Albatross, four-engined airliner. The DH. 71 was the designation for the famous Tiger Moth bi-plane.

From Quiz Aces in the Sky: Aircraft of WWII

Answer: Focke-Wulf Fw 190

The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Wurger ("Shrike") series of aircraft proved to the aviation industry that radial engines were capable of being successfully used on single engine land based fighters. However, the tide of war eventually turned against Germany and the Fw 190 was redesigned as the D series, which was powered by Junkers Jumo 213 inline engines which give them excellent high altitude performance to counter the bomber swarms that were destroying Germany. The Fw 190 series proved to be a real menace to Allied aircrews right from its introduction in August 1941 until the end of the war in Europe.

From Quiz All About the Marauder

Answer: Widowmaker

Due to the extremely high wing loading and advanced design, the Marauder got off to a very rocky start with new pilots and aircrews. Another notable name was the "Flying Prostitute". Aircrews saw the small wings and noted the B26 had no visible means of support!

From Quiz Merlin Engined Aircraft of World War II

Answer: Fairey Battle

Despite being powered by the magnificent Merlin engine, the Fairey Battle was weighed down by having to carry a three man crew, as well as a bomb load, making it slow and vulnerable to anti-aircraft artillery, as well as attack from fighters. After a loss rate of 50% during the Battle of France, the Fairey Battle was consigned to overseas training units by 1941.

From Quiz WWII Aircraft Designers

Answer: Reginald Mitchell

Mitchell served his apprenticeship as an engineer in the steam locomotive industry. As chief designer at Supermarine, he designed over 24 aircraft, many of them seaplanes and flying boats such as the Southampton, Stranraer and Walrus. It was his invaluable experience in designing fast, streamlined aircraft to win the Schneider Trophy seaplane races in the 1920s/30s that led to him designing the Spitfire fighter aircraft.

From Quiz Lesser Known RAF Aircraft (WWII)

Answer: Westland Whirlwind

The Westland Whirlwind first entered service with the RAF in 1940. Although fast and heavily armed, with four 20mm cannon, it suffered lack of power at high altitudes and was better suited to the ground attack role. However, it was surplanted by much better aircraft such as the De Havilland Mosquito and Hawker Typhoon in this role.

From Quiz All About the Corsair

Answer: The Navy code of the manufacturing company

The "U" represented the Navy code of the manufacturing company, in this case Vought Aircraft Company. As examples: Grumman Aircraft Company was "F", Hence the F6F Hellcat, Curtis Aircraft was "C" hence, SB2C Helldiver.

From Quiz Extra Long Dogfight

Answer: 4th

Most of the 4th fighter pilots were formed from Eagle pilots who were American pilots volunteering in Britain's air force. They were transferred into the American Air Forces and formed the center of the 4th Fighter Group (sometimes known as the Blakesleewaffe) in September, 1942. The 56th Fighter Group (aka the Wolf Pack) was formed soon after the 4th, and instantly took to the P-47 Thunderbolt, which the 4th detested because it was slow and clumsy in comparison to the slight, nimble Spitfires they were used to. The scoring race between the groups lasted throughout the war.

From Quiz Zero Chance of Victory: Japanese Aircraft of WWII

Answer: Zeke

The popular name "Zero" for the A6M was the designation given by Japan for the date of its introduction into service, year 2600 Rei Shiki Sento Ki (Type 0 carrier fighter). In 1942 "Zeke" was used as the official Allied code name for the "Zero". Due to a case of mistaken identity the Allies thought a new aircraft model had been introduced and gave the aircraft the code name "Hap" for Hap Arnold but the chief of the USAAF was not pleased with the designation so the code name was changed to "Hamp" for a brief period, then to "Zeke" at around the time of the Battle of Midway when it was realized that the supposedly new model was just a variant of the same plane.

From Quiz ME-163 Komet - The "Devil's Sledge"

Answer: Professor Hellmuth Walther

Professor Walther operated the Hellmuth Walter Kommanditgesellschaft, a company which researched and developed different types of rocket engines and other means of propulsion. It took many years and several lives before the idiosyncrasies were finally worked out to a level deemed suitable for operational use. Truth be told, the engine was never safe as wartime conditions made the manufacture of the engine and the acquisition of the exotic alloys needed in such a novel powerplant nearly impossible to acquire.

From Quiz Airborne! US Paras in WWII

Answer: Geronimo!

US paras would shout, 'Geronimo' when jumping. This trend can be accredited to the 501st Parachute Infantry, the US Army's first parachute outfit.

From Quiz Luftwaffe Kampfgeschwader (Bomber Wings)

Answer: Kampfgeschwader 54

The attack on Rotterdam was one of the main reasons that the Dutch capitulated. The Germans announced the bombing of more Dutch cities if the Dutch did not surrender.

From Quiz The Dutch Airforce in World War II

Answer: Fokker G1A and Fokker D XXI

The G1A was a modern twin engined fighter with eight machine guns in the nose and a rear turret with machine guns. The D XXI was a modern single engined fighter which was armed with four 7,9mm machineguns. There were too few modern Dutch fighters to make a great impact on the Luftwaffe.

From Quiz Heinz Wolfgang Schnaufer, Fighter Ace

Answer: 1939

Schnaufer entered the Luftwaffe on the 15 November 1939. His flight training continued till 1941. He learned to fly twin engined airplanes and went finally to the Nachtjagdschule 1 (Night Fighter School 1).

From Quiz Guy Gibson - War Hero

Answer: India

Guy Gibson was born on 12 August 1918 in Simla, India, the son of Alexander James Gibson and Norah Gibson.

From Quiz The Tuskegee Airmen

Answer: Eleanor Roosevelt

While Franklin Roosevelt was President and had the power, it was Eleanor Roosevelt who took a famous flight with Chief Anderson in April of 1941. She was visiting Tuskegee for her husband and saw airplanes flying around in the skies. She asked to go for a ride with Chief Anderson. Anderson was instructed by the secret service to take off, circle the runway a few times and land again. He intended to follow instructions, but once in the air Mrs. Roosevelt asked to fly to Mobile. The two were in the air for almost an hour, much to the concern of the secret service.

From Quiz WWII Aircraft Recognition

Answer: P-51D

The P-51D was possibly the best fighter of World War II. Its combination of range, maneuverability and firepower made it one of the truly excellent aircraft of World War II. Designed by North American to an RAF requirement, the first Mustangs where mediocre at best, but as soon as a license built Merlin engine was installed in the P-51B model the aircraft was exceptional. Variants of the P-51 saw service over Korea.

From Quiz Worst Aircraft of World War II: Pt 2

Answer: Four

The TBD had several innovative firsts for the USN. However, when World War II broke out, it was outclassed by the then current generation of Japanese aircraft. During the Battle of Midway, only four of the forty-one TBDs launched returned to their carriers. After that, the USN withdrew the aircraft from service. The best thing the TBD did was provide a distraction that aided the late arriving SBD Dauntless force.

From Quiz Worst Aircraft to Fly in World War II

Answer: Boulton Paul

The Boulton Paul Defiant was known as a turret fighter. All of the armament for the aircraft was located in a four gun turret positioned to the rear. Apparently, the designers believed that this configuration would be better for the aircraft. It could pick off fighters attacking to the rear of the aircraft. For some reason the designers counted on enemy aircraft being on their fighters tail ....

From Quiz P-51 Mustang!

Answer: North American Aviation

At the time of the P-51 contract NAA was only producing SNJ trainers and B-25 bombers.

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Last Updated Oct 26 2024 5:45 AM

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