Lufwaffe Combat Aircraft Trivia Quiz

Answer: JU-88

The JU-88 was originally conceived as a Schnell-Bomber (Fast Bomber) but it evolved into a heavy fighter, bomber destroyer, pilotless missle, night fighter, reconiassance plane, torpedo carrier, and about any other role minus that of close dog-fighting.

Answer: Focke Wulf Fw-190A

The Butcher Bird was Germany's only mass-produced fighter produced during WWII. It was heavily armed with two 13mm MG 131's and four 20mm MG 151's (A-8 model). In stark contrast, the P-51B Mustang had only four .50 caliber (12.7mm) Brownings. The Fw-190 was extremely versatile and was regularly used in every fighter role, ground attack mission, recon mission, and even as a torpedo bomber. Though the exact amount of planes produced is unknown, current figures estimate that around 21,000 of this great machine were produced.

Answer: True

The He-177 had to be one of the most arduous and unrewarding projects ever undertaken by the German aero industry. It had four engines, though only two were visible. The engines were four coupled DB-601 engines, the plan looked good on paper but the engines had more than their share of inflight fires.

Answer: Henschel 123

The Henschel was quite possibly the toughest biplane in history. It had such a solid structure and so much armour that it was quite slow and had a very short range, but its pilots loved it and it soldiered on until 1944 when the Luftwaffe ran out of them.

Answer: Millipede

The Arado 232 was designed as the successor to the ubiquitous Ju-52. The 232 was fast at around 200mph, well armed and easy to load and unload. The 232A didn't last very long because it was thought to be underpowered so the 232B was developed. This plane mounted 4 instead of just two Gnome-Rhone engines making it an exceptional transport.

However, not many were produced, less than 500.

Answer: It took off from a vertical platform

The Ba349 was armed with 24 x 73mm rockets and had a top speed over 600 mph!

Answer: True

This pilot flew for JG 27 in N. Africa
He lost his life when returning from a mission. Neither he, nor his aircraft had been struck by a single enemy bullet. An inflight fire erupted in his cockpit, he bailed out and his head hit the tail of his plane. Rendered unconcsious, he never deployed his parachute.

Answer: Junkers Jumo 213

The "Long-Nosed" Dora series of the FW-190 was the best of the bunch. Though outmatched by the Ta-152 in altitude, speed, and climb, the Dora could hold its own against anything the allies had in 1944-45. It was the first and possibly only German piston-engined fighter produced in numbers (900) to achieve parity with the P-51 Mustang.

Answer: BK5 50mm

The MG 81 was used as defensive armament on most German medium bombers. The MG131 was used as armament on most late war German fighters and late war bombers. The PaK 40 was an anti-tank gun, though it did make it into the air on the belly of a Henschel 129.

Answer: True

Even with months of warnings from Soviet intelligence and obvious German reconnaissance flights occurring daily, Stalin stubbornly refused to believe that Germany was going to attack the Soviet Union, and he made little effort to to ready his forces. In one of the largest acts of stupidity ever witnessed in Russia, his forces were lined up like dominoes waiting to be knocked down.

Answer: False

Operation Bodenplatte was a disasterous German attack on Allied Airfields in conjunction with the German offensive in the Ardennes during the winter of 1944-45. Though the Allies lost more aircraft, those could be replaced, so could the German sircraft losses, but replacing pilots was another matter.

The last experienced German pilots were expended in this assault, the only pilots left for Germany were poorly trained Hitler Youth Glider Pilots.

Answer: Blohm und Voss 222 "Wiking"

All of the above aircraft except for the Me-323 had exceptional ranges. The He-177 had a range of 3417 miles, the FW-200 had a range of 2206 miles, the Gigant had a range of 810 miles, but it was the Wiking that held the German range record with 3790 miles.

Answer: Heinkel 100

The Heinkel 100, with its 416 mph top speed, cheap construction, and better ground handling than the Bf-109 would have made it a worthy adversary for the allies right up to the last days of the war. Instead its potential was not recognized in mid 1940 and the few that were produced were used to guard the Heinkel factory.

Answer: Ta-183

The "Flitzer" (German for Whizzer) would have been an incredible aircraft and would have outclassed anything anybody had up until the F-86 Sabre of the early 1950's. By the time the war ended it was ready to go into mass production.

Answer: Committed suicide with cyanide caplet

Towards the end of the war Hermann Goering sent a telegram to Hitler who was locked in his Berlin bunker asking him since he decided to stay in Berlin that Goering would assume the role of Fuehrer. Naturally, Hitler was furious, dismissed Goering and issued that order that he be shot, which was not carried out.