World War II Warplanes part 2 Trivia Quiz

Answer: de Havilland Mosquito

The Mosquito served many roles for the RAF and allies. These included photo-recon, light bomber, fighter-bomber, maritime strike and night fighter.

Answer: Junkers Ju 87

This aircraft, like most bombers, was vulnerable to enemy fighters. As WWII progressed, there were no longer enough Luftwaffe fighters to escort Stuka strikes of any size.

Answer: Focke-Wulf Fw 190

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 was more heavily armed and more maneuverable than its predecessor. The earlier 190s just could not perform well at high altitude, where they where needed against allied bombers. By the time modifications were made, the war was going badly for the Luftwaffe.

Answer: Fairey Swordfish

A torpedo dropped from a Swordfish damaged Bismarck's rudder. The Royal Navy had many ships chasing the Bismarck. In all, Six battleships and battlecruisers, two aircraft carriers, thirteen cruisers, and twenty-one destroyers were involved. Bismarck was trying to reach the occupied French Atlantic coast.

The critical hit allowed the Royal Navy to engage the Bismarck, which the Germans soon scuttled to avoid its capture.

Answer: Republic P-47 Thunderbolt

Thunderbolts could suffer heavy battle damage and still return to base. The arrival of P-51 Mustangs sent more Jugs to ground attack, as they were better suited to take ground fire damage. The Gulf War veteran tank-buster A10 is also named Thunderbolt, but affectionately called the "Warthog".

Answer: Nakajima B5N

"Kates" help sink USS Lexington at the Coral Sea, USS Yorktown at Midway, and USS Hornet at Santa Cruz. At Pearl Harbor, a "Kate" dropped a modified armor piercing 16" shell and struck the USS Arizona's powder magazine, destroying the ship and killing 1,177 of her crew. "Kates" were being replaced with Nakajima B6N "Jills" late in the war, but low numbers and poorly trained pilots prevented the "Jills" from making any great difference.

Answer: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk/Tomahawk

The "Tigers" were U.S. military volunteers who fought for China against Japanese forces right after the U.S. entered the war. P-40s were considered about equal to Messerschmitt Bf 109s they faced in North Africa. They could not perform well at high altitude so there were none used as fighters in NW Europe.

Answer: Grumman TBF Avenger

After Douglas TBD Devastators suffered nearly 90% loses at Midway, the Avenger began replacing the Douglas TBD Devastator in 1942. Future U.S. President George H. W. Bush was shot down in an Avenger after bombing Chichi Jima. He was recovered by the submarine USS Finback.

Other flight crews from his squadron were captured, then tortured and executed. At least one, but possibly as many as four of these men were cannibalized by their captors.

Answer: Dewoitine D.520

This French fighter only numbered about 75 effectives at the outbreak of war. Others were being retrofitted to higher standards. They had some success against Regia Aeronautica (the Italian Royal Air Force).

Answer: Boeing B-29 Superfortress

The name plays off of Boeing's B-17 Flying Fortress. Large formations would firebomb cities, causing terrible casualties. But the Superfortress gained infamy for delivering two bombs. The B-29 "Enola Gay", piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets, dropped the atomic bomb "Little Boy" over Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945. Three days later, "Bockscar", piloted by Major Charles Sweeney, dropped the atomic bomb "Fat Man" over Nagasaki. Though tens of thousands died in the blasts and from radiation poisoning, most agree that forcing the surrender saved several million lives. Ongoing bombing and an eventual invasion could have taken years to end the struggle.