Military Vehicles, WW2

The Incredible War Machines of WWII 2nd article

supermarine spitfire

The Incredible War Machines of WWII

In my previous post, I the German Battleship Bismarck, the world’s largest armored warship Japanese Yamato, the Japanese Air Force’s kamikaze attack jets, the Gustav Cannon with its astonishing size, the Russian T-34 tank with its revolutionary oblique angle armor and incredibly low cost. We studied war machines.

I apologize for not being able to write in the last part of the previous article – and this is what happens – upon your intense request, and I continue with the missing machines and continue with the most memorable combat vehicles used in World War II, the biggest and bloodiest total war in history. and I list those who guided the course of the war and those who demonstrated the genius of military engineering. You can reach my first article here.

Of course, besides the land and sea vehicles I mentioned in my previous article, the war continued in the air and even under the sea, and both Axis (the Axis community formed by Nazi Germany, Italy, and Japan) and the Allies (Britain, America, France, and Russia were The Allies community, united against the Axis Powers) sought to dominate each other in every field.

Supermarine Spitfire

The Spitfire, the British Royal Air Force’s production record and one of the most reliable aircraft of the Second World War, was a pre-war fighter that made its first flight in 1936; However, with its reliability and structure that can perform its job until its last day, its mass production started in 1938 and a total of 20 thousand 351 units were produced until 1948.

The Spitfire, a short range fighter, was designed to stave off enemy air strikes and to take down enemy fighters and bombers.

The Spitfire 12 cylinder Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, which changed many different wing designs and was used with different wing structures in countries affiliated with the Allied Block, could reach a speed of 595 kilometers per hour and had a collision range of 760 kilometers. (the fuel and engine of the period allows this, there is nothing to do)

Today, much more of the Spitfire fighters, 53 of which can fly, are exhibited in museums in different parts of the world.

supermarine spitfire

P-51 Mustang

The P51 Mustang, with a wingspan of 11.27 meters, was a single-seat, single-engine fighter like the Spitfire; however, the Mustang also had an underbody bomb sled that could be used for various bombing missions.

Thanks to the 1930 horsepower Merlin engine used in the P51-D model, the Mustang, which could accelerate to 726 kilometers per hour, had an operational range of 1777 kilometers and a reach of 4667 kilometers with its fuel tank that could be released.

The Mustang, with 3 on each wing, 6 50-caliber M2 Browning machine guns in total, could also carry 2 bombs weighing 450 kilograms.

Designed to be able to operate in long distances, this aircraft was made portable on aircraft carriers with the P51-H model and extended its range of duty much more.

Messerschmitt BF-109

Messerschmitt BF109, with its most characteristic complexity like any German war machine, was slower than Allied fighters with a speed of 640 kilometers and its range was lower than the Mustang at 850 kilometers; However, Messerschmitt was a real war machine and fighter with 2 13 millimeter machine guns, 1 30 millimeter anti-aircraft gun, 2 20 millimeter sub-wing machine guns and 2 Gr.21 rockets.

Messerschmitt BF-109, which can carry 1 250 kilograms or 4 50 kilogram bombs if desired, was the fighter plane that dropped the most aircraft in the Second World War and half of the Soviet Red Army’s air losses in Operation Barbarossa had given him to his head.

Despite this success, German soldiers gave numerous nicknames to this plane, which was produced in close to 35 thousand units.

Messerschmitt BF-109

Focke-Wulf 200 Condor Bomber

This all-metal four-engine long-range bomber, one of which was disarmed and designed as Hitler’s private aircraft, on Adolf Hitler’s own order, was designed to fly at a maximum altitude of 3000 meters without a pressure cabin – the same class aircraft of that period were generally up to 1500 meters. was coming out –

Described as the most modern aircraft in the world, Condor can bring 30 fully equipped soldiers to the desired point with its 5-person crew; Thanks to its four 9-cylinder radial BMW engines, it was able to accelerate to 360 kilometers at an altitude of 4800 meters and had a range of 3560 kilometers with 14-hour flight time.

In order to protect itself, this aircraft, which had a 20-millimeter anti-aircraft gun on the front, wing directions, and 4 13-millimeter machine guns on the rear, had a bomb-carrying capacity of 5400 kilograms.

Condor, which is one of the most difficult bombers to drop due to its flight height and fuselage structure, was in the characteristic structure of the Third Empire Period (Third Reich) like many war machines, that is, it was a flashy and complex structure.

Focke-Wulf 200 Condor

Avro Lancaster

The favorite of the British Royal Air Force, Lancaster took off for the first time in 1941 and landed on the runway for the last time in 1963 with its individuals used by Australia and Canada. (Last used in Lancaster Canada)

These 7377 bombers were also used in dam raids targeting Germany’s industry and were specially developed to demolish dams, carrying the “bouncing bomb” basically resembling a bouncing barrel on water.

Having been mentioned in the most successful operations of the Second World War, Lancaster also had an important place in history for his pilots and himself and was honored with many medals. (yes, medals can be given to planes, ships, etc.)

Featuring a 12-cylinder, liquid-cooled Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, each with 1280 horsepower, Lancaster was able to reach speeds of 454 kilometers per hour and a height of 2800 meters with a crew of 7 pilots.

With 2 Browning Mark II machine guns in the nose, 2 in the back and 4 in the rear, Lancaster had a normal maximum capacity of 6350 kilograms, and with an expanded bomb cabin, it had a bomb-carrying capacity of 9979 kilograms.

(One of the most legendary mass production machines of the Second World War, he is loved and respected)

B-17 Flying Fortress

Developed by the United States in the 1930s and started to be used in 1938, the B-17 Flying Castle, which broke the agreement during the tests, was stabilized by the soldiers, and after 200 orders, 12,731 were produced, making itself one of the favorites of the American Air Force. has made it; The name of two flying fortresses was given to him by the soldiers.

The B-17, which started its mission in 1941 with the British Royal Air Force, showed itself in the skies of the world by sending either bombs or parachute troops to almost every front of the Second World War and became one of the planes that dropped the most bombs in the Second World War. (of course, he didn’t get past Lancaster)

With its full crew of 10 people, the “Flying Castle” could reach a speed of 462 kilometers with its 4 turbo-super-charged engines and could reach almost the endurance limit of the pilots. (If you let go, it will take 10 thousand meters or something, and the pilots cannot stop, there is always oxygen or something missing)

The number of machine guns, which is the reason why this plane is called a flying fortress, increases the confidence of the soldiers in the plane, while the B-17, who knows how to fend off the attackers with a total of 13 50-caliber M2 Browning machine guns deployed in 8 different positions, 3600 kilograms in short-range missions and 2000 kilograms in long-range missions. it could carry bombs, and when overloaded, it could increase this limit up to 7800 kilograms.

The B-17 Flying Fortress, which demonstrates Boeing’s success in bombers, would later be developed to become the B-29 Super Fortress, and the two Boeing B-29s, Enola Gay and Bockscar, would become the world’s first nuclear bombers to carry atomic bombs dropped on Japan.

German “U-Boats” (submarines)

German U-boat submarines, one of the biggest factors in the war for supremacy in the Atlantic Ocean (which is u-boot German and used for underseeboot meaning submarine) President Winston Churchill wrote in his own diaries that “the thing that frightened me the most during the war was the u-boat danger. And Germany has the largest submarine fleet of its time.

When the war ended, almost 3,000 Allied ships (175 warships and 2,825 trade or logistics vessels; estimated) were sunk by u-boat torpedoes.

The type VII model u-boat, known as the “workhorse”, which is the most widely used and most produced, was a frightening weapon that could go down to 230 meters deep, with a mission range of 15700 kilometers, and travel at a speed of 14.1 kilometers underwater.

This model, which can carry a total of 14 torpedoes in 5 torpedo tubes with a crew of up to 52 people, contained 1 8.8 centimeter ship cannon to protect itself on the water and could be equipped with various anti-aircraft batteries.

When we consider that the sonar and radar systems of the period were not very advanced, Germany’s huge submarine fleet may indeed be the thing that the Allied Bloc feared the most.

U-Boat

HMS Illustrious Aircraft Carrier

As the first landing on the ship deck was made in 1911 as a result of the American tests, the idea of ​​an aircraft carrier became increasingly common. (America’s distance from Europe and the inability to intervene in the air on the roads leading to distant colonies gave rise to this idea, and then it was revealed how great advantage aircraft carriers provided in the Second World War.)

Although the idea originated in the United States, by 1937 the navy that launched the first modern aircraft carrier was the British Royal Navy, and with HMS Illustrious, it set the line for modern floating military airports.

Having armor of 114 millimeters on the waterline, 76 millimeters on the deck, 114 in the hangar, and 64 millimeters in the watertight compartments, the ship protected itself with 8 dual-purpose 4 and a half-inch guns and 6 anti-aircraft guns, while hosting 36 aircraft on the single launch pad runway.

HMS Illustrious, which was developed with new additions until 1955, the end of its term of office with the modifications made during the war; By serving in the Mediterranean and European waters, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific, he showed how a modern aircraft carrier would look like and how to use it.

HMS Illustrious

Shinano Aircraft Carrier

The aircraft carrier launched by Japan in 1944 was an aircraft carrier called the supercarrier, and this Japanese Yamato-class ship was the largest aircraft carrier ever built.

This giant, with a weight of 65800 tons, had 8 dual multipurpose guns, 35 triple 25-millimeter anti-aircraft guns, and 12 anti-aircraft missiles, along with 400 millimeters of armor at the thickest part of the waterline and 75 millimeters on the deck, and could carry 47 aircraft.

Leaving Yokosuka Port on 19 November after production was completed, Shinano had received orders from the Japanese admiral to head to Kure Port before 28 November, after the American bomber plane was seen nearby and was flying reconnaissance.

Although the ship’s commander Abe said that some parts of the ship, the electrical parts and compartments were still completed and even missing at some points and the crew might have insufficient training, Shinano, whose request was rejected, on the morning of 28 November; Leaving the port with 2175 crew, 300 port guard and 40 civilians

Encountering with the American submarine Archerfish on the evening of the same day, Shinano noticed the submarine only 1 and a half hours after the start of the pursuit and could react; However, the job was too late and Shinano, who left the port for his first mission, sank because of 4 torpedoes he was the target on the night of the same day. (so the largest aircraft carrier the world had ever seen was actually seen by very few people)

Soviet Submarine L-3

L-3, the most memorable of the Lenin class submarines, was a mine submarine carrying 12 torpedoes and 14 sea mines launched in 1931 and served in the Baltic Navy.

During the sinking of the torpedo-laden German transport ship Goya, which was his last collision, he also sank, causing the deaths of around 8000 people.

This piece of L-3, whose periscope tower was dismantled after this mission, still remains as a memorial today as a memory of one of the Soviet Union’s most successful and most pathetic achievements.

Soviet Submarine L-3

NOTE TO THE READER:

Please share your comments for the rest of this series so that I know what to write; I will move on to infantry weapons such as the Stg44, Ak-47, Mosin-Nagant sniper rifle, or technologies and machines used in the First World War. (though I am thinking of writing both separately; but let me get your opinion too) “Sorry for the long post”

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