Blohm & Voss BV 222 Wiking
Template:Infobox Aircraft The Blohm & Voss BV 222 Wiking (Viking) was a large, six-engined German flying boat of World War II, and the largest flying boat to achieve operational status during the war.
Design and development
Prior to World War II, the German airline Deutsche Lufthansa had carried out many transatlantic mail flights. However, their main interest was passenger transport, and they initiated a program in 1936 that culminated in an order for three BV 222 flying boats designed by Richard Vogt.
Construction of the first prototype, V1, began in January 1938, with construction of the V2 and V3 following within weeks. V1 made its test flight on 7 September 1940, carrying the civil registration D-ANTE. During trials it demonstrated that it could carry up to 92 passengers, or 72 patients on stretchers over short distances at a maximum speed of 239 mph (385 km/h).[1] The flight characteristics were found to be satisfactory, but with some improvements required. Further trials lasted until December 1940, when the V1 passed into Luftwaffe service, receiving a military paint scheme and the registration CC+EQ (later X4+AH).
The type was noted for a long flat floor inside the cabin and a large square cargo door aft of the wing on the starboard side. The flat floor was a welcome novelty for that era. Only thirteen aircraft were thought to have been completed.
Originally powered by Bramo 323 Fafnir radial engines, later aircraft were powered by six 1,000 hp Jumo 207C inline two-stroke diesel engines. The use of diesels permitted refueling at sea by U-boats. C-13 aircraft was a sole example fitted with Jumo 205C and later Jumo 205D engines.
Early aircraft were identified as V1 to V8. Production examples were designated C-09 to C-13.
In Service
V1 made seven flights between Hamburg and Kirkenes up to 19 August 1941, transporting a total of 65,000 kg (143,000 lb) of supplies and 221 wounded men, covering a distance of 30,000 km (19,000 mi) in total. After being overhauled at Hamburg, V1 was sent to Athens, from where it carried supplies for the Afrika Corps, making 17 flights between 16 October and 6 November 1941. The V1 was at this time unarmed, and was given a fighter escort of two Bf 110s.
Following these flights, the V1 returned to Hamburg to have defensive armament fitted, comprising a MG 81 in the hull, two turret-mounted MG 131s, and four MG 81s in waist mounts. The registration was changed to X4+AH at the same time and the V1 formed the basis for the new air transport squadron Lufttransportstaffel 222 (LTS 222). Between 1942 and 1943 the aircraft flew in the Mediterranean theatre, until in mid-February 1943 it sank following a collision with a submerged wreck while landing at Piraeus harbour.
The V2 (CC+ER) made its first flight on 7 August 1941, and after extensive testing was assigned to LTS 222 on 10 August 1942 as X4+AB. Since the aircraft was intended for long-distance overwater flights, in addition to the armament fitted to the V1 she received two rear-facing wing-mounted turrets with dual MG 131s, accessed via the tubular wing spar which was 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in diameter.
In 1944 the V2 participated in Operation Schatzgräber ("Treasure Seeker"), the code name of a German weather station at Alexandra Land in the Arctic, whose sick crew needed to be evacuated. The BV 222 dropped a spare wheel for a Fw 200 which had sustained damage during landing near the station.[2]
The V3 (initially DM+SD) first flew on 28 November 1941, and was transferred to LTS 222 on 9 December 1941 After V1's sinking, V3 returned to Hamburg where she was armed. She was destroyed along with V5 on 20 June 1943 at Biscarrosse by RAF De Havilland Mosquitos of No. 264 Squadron, RAF.[3]
V4, which had an altered height tail, was also assigned to LTS 222 for Africa flights.
V6 was shot down on 21 August 1942 on the Taranto to Tripoli route by a Bristol Beaufighter; V8 was shot down on the same route on 10 December 1942.
The V7 (TB+QL), which made its first flight on 1 April 1943, was fittted with six 1,000 hp Jumo 207C inline two-stroke diesel engines. With a takeoff weight of 50,000 kg (110,000 lb) and a range of 6,100 km (3,800 mi), it was intended as the prototype BV 222C.
Following the Invasion of Normandy in June 1944, the remaining BV 222 aircraft were formed into a unit controlled by the ultra-secret KG 200.[citation needed] Of these, C-09 was probably the BV 222 reported to have been strafed and destroyed by Hawker Typhoon aircraft of No. 439 Squadron RCAF on 24 April 1945 at Seedorf.[4], while V7 and V4 were scuttled by their crews at Travemünde and Kiel-Holtenau respectively, at the end of the war.
C-10 was probably the BV 222 reported shot down southwest of Biscarosse on the night of 8 February 1944 by a Mosquito of No. 157 Squadron, RAF.[5][3]
The V2 and C-12 aircraft were captured at Sørreisa in Norway after the war and flown to Trondheim. These two aircraft had been allegedly readied at the instructions of Hitler's pilot Hans Bauer in 1945 to fly the Führer to Japan via Greenland. These aircraft were prepared before Hitler's death, but interestingly the operation was still intended to proceed even after this according to orders dated May 1. A copy of this order to Oberstleutnant Lenschow, Kdr K-Stelle, Travemünde Fliegerhorst, still exists in archive form. The navigator of one aircraft involved was Hauptmann Ernst Koenig and he has come forward to corroborate details at the age of 93. Two of the aircraft which had been prepared for this mission were destroyed at their moorings in Germany (C-09 ?)[citation needed]
At least one aircraft, V4, is said[citation needed] to have shot down a US Navy PB4Y Liberator of VB-105 (BU#63917) commanded by Lt. Evert, on October 22, 1943. Since the war this has often been quoted as a BV 222 shooting down an Avro Lancaster[6][1].
Japan flights
Following the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, plans were made to connect Germany and Japan by air using Luftwaffe aircraft modified for very long range flights since commercial flights to the Far East by Lufthansa were no longer possible, and it had become too dangerous for ships or U-boats to make the trip by sea. Field Marshal Erhard Milch authorized a study in to the feasibility of such direct flights and various routes were considered, including departing from German-occupied Russia and Bulgaria, and a sea route using a BV 222 flying from Kirkenes in north Norway to Tokyo via Sakhalin Island, a distance of 6,400 km (4,000 mi).
The BV 222 was one of three aircraft considered seriously for the program, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 200 and the Heinkel He 177. The He 177 was ruled out due to it being considered unreliable and in 1943 the Ju 290 was selected for the flights.[7]
There were claims after the war in a German newspaper that at least one BV 222 had flown via the north pole to Sakhalin Island, the southern half of which was then part of the Japanese Empire (the northern half been Russian), prior to April 1944, whilst wearing Deutsche Lufthansa markings.[citation needed]
Postwar
Three BV-222s were captured and subsequently operated by Allied forces: C-011, C-012, and C-013.
C-012 was flown by Captain Eric "Winkle" Brown from Norway to the RAF station at Calshot in 1946, with RAF markings "VP501". After testing at Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment at Felixtow it was assigned to No. 201 Squadron RAF, who operated it up to 1947, when it was scrapped.[1]
C-011 and C-013, captured by US forces at the end of World War II, were flown to the US. Convair acquired one for evaluation at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River, the intensive studies leading to the hull design of their Model 117 which in turn led to the R3Y Tradewind.[8] Their subsequent fate is unknown[9].
The V2 aircraft briefly wore US markings in 1946. Strangely the V2 aircraft had identification markings given to her from the original V5 aircraft for Operation Schatzgräber. V2 was later scuttled by the British who filled her with BV 222 spare parts from the base at Ilsvika to weigh her down. V2 was towed to a position between Fagervika and Monk's island where it is thought she now rests perfectly preserved on the seabed, owing to low oxygen levels in the water. There are plans to raise and restore this aircraft.
Variants
- BV 222A :
- BV 222B : Proposed version powered by Junkers Jumo 208 engines.
- BV 222C : Production airacraft.
Specifications (BV 222)
Data from [citation needed]
General characteristics
- Crew: 16
- Capacity: 92 troops
Performance
Armament
See also
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
References
Notes
- ^ a b c Nicolaou, Stephane (1998). Flying Boats & Seaplanes: A History from 1905. Zenith Imprint. pp. p. 143. ISBN 0760306214.
{{cite book}}:|pages=has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Dege, Wilhelm (2003). War North of 80: The Last German Arctic Weather Station of World War II. University of Calgary Press. ISBN 1552381102.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ a b Bateson, Richard P. (February 1982). "Biscarosse Do 24s". Air Pictorial.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "24 April 1945". Summary of Events for No. 439 (CAN) Squadron.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Bowman, Martin W. (1998). Mosquito Fighter/Fighter-Bomber Units of World War 2. Osprey Publishing. pp. p. 18. ISBN 1855327317.
{{cite book}}:|pages=has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Höfling 2003, p. 35.
- ^ Sweeting, C.G. (2001). Hitler's Squadron: The Fuehrer's Personal Aircraft and Transport Unit, 1933-45. Brassey's. pp. p. 125. ISBN 1574884697.
{{cite book}}:|pages=has extra text (help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Trimble, William F. (2005). Attack from the Sea: A History of the U.S. Navy's Seaplane Striking Force. Naval Institute Press. pp. pp. 46-47. ISBN 1591148782.
{{cite book}}:|pages=has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Höfling 2003, p. 39,41.
Bibliography
- Green, William. Warplanes of the Second World War, Volume Five: Flying Boats. London: Macdonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., 1962 (5th impression 1972). ISBN 0-356-01449-5.
- Green, William. Warplanes of the Third Reich. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1970 (4th impression 1979). ISBN 0-356-02382-6.
- Höfling, Rudolf. Blohm & Voss BV 222 "Wiking" (Flugzeug Profile 40). Stengelheim, Germany: Unitec-Medienvertrieb e.K, 2003. ISSN 194240-511207.
- Krzyźan, Marian. Blohm & Voss BV 222 & BV 238 (Monografie Lotnicze 29) (in Polish). Gdańsk, Poland: AJ-Press, 1996. ISBN 83-86209-47-3.
- Nowarra, Heinz J. (translated by Don Cox) Blohm & Voss Bv 222 "Wiking" - Bv 238. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Military History, 1997. ISBN 0-7643-0295-7.
- Smith J.Richard and Kay, Anthony. German Aircraft of the Second World War. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1972(3rd impression 1978). ISBN 0-370-00024-2.
- Trojca, Waldemar. Blohm & Voss 222 Wiking (Trojca no.10) (In Polish with English captions). Katowice, Poland: Model Hobby, 2001. ISBN 83-917049-4-7.