ok i'll post what will prob be a fairly easy one....back to the older birds..

What Made the DeHaviiland Mosquito FB XVIII Unusual and what type of operations was it meant to do.


Note: this was an operational aircraft as 18 FB VI's were converted to XVIII and they did enter combat.

Fork Tails? On a Jet? as I recall.

Edit. A case of the stupids on me. A TseTse fighterbomber convo, w/ a 6 pounder Anti Tank Gun.

Edit . I was originally thinking of the vampire.

Ok Fire_Storm20 you got the first part.. a 6 pounder gun or more exactly the 57 mm Molins or 57 m vickers quick firing weapon.

get the rest of the question and its all yours..

what type of operations were they meant for?


anyone? question's still open untill someone answers both parts

For part 2, Originally designed for tank-busting, they were also used for coastal defense, as an ASW bird, and the class is credited with at least 1 uboat kill.

good enough since you have ASW in your answer and anti-submarine warfare or anti-shipping warfare were their primary mission when developed.

so Now over to you for the next question..

additional info:

according to my references.. although the 6 pound gun was originally designed as an anti-tank weapon it was suggested that by putting one in a Mosquito it would be the answer to destroying German U-boats caught on the surface as German submarines were progressively being fitted with heavier flak guns.

It was hoped that the larger caliber gun would allow the Mosquito to attack the submarine from a stand off distance outside the range of smaller caliber flak guns.

They sank their first german sub on March 25, 1944 off the coast of France.

During D-day they were also used in a close air support role.

Name the prototype aircraft that preceeded the F-117.

HAVE BLUE and SENIOR TREND?!

Have Blue is correct. You have the next question.

"Senior Trend" was the continuation of "Have Blue". (Beautiful computer generated names, btw! - Well, in order to keep the project secret!!! ) Senior Trend should rightly be called "test aircraft" and not "prototype". The picture that I posted above is the camoflage FSD-1 Senior Trend.

Now, speaking of prototypes - What shall we do with this odd thing???



A) Is it a plane? Is it a galleon? Is it a house boat? Is it a bus? Is it a TGV-train? Is it Coney Island?
B) Did it fly?
C) Why do I call it a prototype?
D) What do you call a plane with nine wings (rather accurate in this case)

:-)

Bonus: Are there any models of this beast out there?

Good luck!!!

This 1920 tandem-wing monstrosity used three sets of triplane wings left over from WW1 bombers, bolted to a 100 {!} passenger flying boat hull. The 9000 square foot wings were equipped with ailerons and the rear set were elevators. Power was by eight 400Hp. American Liberty engines in pusher and tractor sets. It flew once, a short straight-ahead flight, upon landing it was damaged and thankfully abandoned.
If there is a model of this thing (which i doubt) i would hate to do the rigging

:-)
Whoops, it was called the Caproni CA-60.

Hi there

I think a 9-winged aircraft would be a "nonaplane" - but looking at the success, or otherwise, of the Caproni - perhaps NON-plane would be more appropriate!

All the best

Rowan

Hats off to Andy, who got just about everyting right!


A) It is actually all of the above? :-) Which plane does have bay windows!?!
B) Unfortunatly, the roller coaster type journey in March 1921 ended in with the deaths of the two pilots. It was then "mysteriously" destroyed in a fire while undergoing repairs...
C) This 100 passenger version was actually a prototype for a bigger aircraft that was supposed to carry 150 passengers (!) over the Atlantic.
D) Rowan and I have got the same kind of thinking. Given its Italian ancestry and its non-funtionality - "Mama mia, itsa nonaplana!"

Bonus; Of course there is a model (there is always a model). Peanut scale, no less. And apparently flying better than the original!



See also http://www.acsol.net/~regiaero/pnutscale.html and www.acsol.net/~regiaero/photo1.html.

Andy is up next!

Thanks PolarBear.
My question is a fairly easy one, Which W.W.2 plane was known by the codename Jerry?

Hi Andy

Jerry was the Allied codename given to the Heinkel He 112 in Japanese use - Heinkel A7He1.

There's some controversy about the validity of some photos of the aircraft. http://www.j-aircraft.com/faq/A7He1.htm

All the best

Rowan

Well done Rowan, i had a feeling you would get that one.
In 1937 the Teikoku Nihon Kaigun (Japanese Imperial Navy) found itself at a disadvantage in combat over the Chinese mainland. The fact that Navy aircraft were fighting over the mainland might seem odd, but interservice rivalry in Japan went beyond the occasional bar brawl and both services fielded complete air forces with their own types of planes.

At the time the Navy air services were small and equipped mostly with older biplanes. Meanwhile the Soviets were supplying the Chinese air forces with the I-15bis and I-16 fighters. Although the new A5M "Claude" was largely similar to the I-16, they were just starting to enter service and available in small numbers only. The Navy was concerned about the lack of fighters and went looking for new designs that could be purchased off the shelf to bring the squadrons to strength quickly. At the time the majority of modern design work was taking place in Europe, and with England no longer on friendly terms they turned to Germany for a new fighter.

In late 1937 a delegation visited Marienehe and saw V9 in action. They were impressed with what they saw and placed an order for thirty of the B series planes, with an option for 100 more. They even purchased one of the older designs to take back with them immediately (according to the primary source below, this was the V5). Upon arriving in Japan the planes were named A7He1, the A7 refers to the 7th navy fighter design (the Zero was 6th), and the He1 means it's the first version of this particular design, and built by Heinkel.

In testing the He 112B proved superior to the A5M2 in many ways, notably in speed where the 112 could easily outrun the A5M to the tune of 65km/h. Yet the test pilots rejected the plane out of hand because the A5M was more maneuverable. Maneuverability was considered to be the single most important factor for any fighter, everything and anything was sacrificed to improve it. It could be said that the Japanese were still fighting WWI in the air, and the focus on maneuverability would later prove to be the downfall of their air forces.

In the end the plane was rejected and the option for the additional 100 was canceled. The thirty already purchased were delivered over a period in 1937 and '38, drawn from a number of production runs. Upon arriving in Japan they were used for training duties, but the V11 with it's DB600Aa was used for testing. As it turns out the A7 designation would later be assigned to the A7M, essentially an advanced Zero which also never saw combat.

info from Maury Markowitz

Hi Andy

Wow! That's a heck of a lot more info than I've ever seen on the "Jerry"! I love this "Jeopardy" quiz - I'm learning new stuff all the time!

I'll go and sort out a question.

All the best

Rowan

OK - a really easy one to move things along!

I've seen a couple of variations on this, but it's such a great quote, it should be straightforward enough...:

What aircraft was described as "100,000 rivets flying in close formation"?

All the best

Rowan

I've heard the quote, but with 50 thousand rivets!

It should be the Avro Shackleton

LOL! I said it was easy!

And, no matter how many rivets in close - or loose (I've heard that too) - formation... it was a wonderful aircraft!

Over to you PolarBear

All the best

Rowan

The Shackleton sure has many rivets! It also has quite a few propellers (eight contra-rotating), as can be seen on this picture.


(Yes - I do insist on the modelling aspect. This fine South African specimen in 1/144 can be seen on http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/Gal4/3001-3100/Gal3058_Shakleton_McDonald/gal3058.htm)

Each propeller has three blades, which makes a total of no less than 24 propeller blades (do you see where I'm going with this one?!)

Which aircraft (or other flying object) has the most propellers??? Let's count them blades!

Since I'm going to be travelling tomorrow night, you'll only have 22 hours... ...starting now.

ok i'll start the ball rolling with a tied pair..

the Tupolev Tu-20 Bear 4 turbo props with 2 counter rotating props of 4 blades each..

32 blades in all

and the Antonov An-22 Anteus also with 4 turbo props with 2 counter rotating props of 4 blades each.

for another 32...

these are a few like others.. so maybe someone will be able to out do them

56!

Antonov An-70 = 4 X 14 bladed counter rotating propellers!


Jean-Luc

Jean-luc is in the lead!

Here's a cool picture of the AN 70's contra-rotating propellers in action (each with eight blades at the front and six at the rear).



56 is not bad! But where are the monsters with more than a hundred blades!?!?

Still more than 10 hours to go...

Hi PolarBear!

The motors are looking more like mincing machines than aircraft propellers! Someone wanting a Hamburger? :-)

Jean-Luc

Time's up! - Looks like the Antonov plant has done it again! (Remember the 32-tired AN 225 form the "most tires" thread). :-) I wonder what their designers are up to before going to the drawing boards!

The following conversation was overheard at the Antonov plant in Gostomel (near Kiev) - Hey dude, let's draw a plane with like a zillion antennas!!! - Hehe, that's awsome, dude!! Go for it!!! I'll make one with the longest nose ever!! - Cooool, man!!!


Well done, Jean-Luc! Your turn!