What plane is this?

[FLOOB]

Recently watched an interview where a b17 crewman mentioned being attacked by a four engine plane that was "lobbing shells at us from beyond the range of our guns". Anybody else heard of this? What plane and what weapon could it be?

At about 23:30 in this vid.

[PR3D4TOR]

Fw 200 or perhaps a Ju 290 (the most heavily armed bomber of the war with six 20 mm cannon).

[FLOOB]

Well He 177s were equipped with 33 21cm rockets at the time of the schweinfurt raids but that is a two engine plane.

[PR3D4TOR]

Would look like a twin to an American airman.

[Ack-Ack]

Fw 200 or perhaps a Ju 290 (the most heavily armed bomber of the war with six 20 mm cannon).

I highly doubt it was either the Condor or the Ju 290.

[PR3D4TOR]

Then I'm sure you're just keeping us in suspense as to what you think it was. Please do tell.

[Scherf]

My bet is it wasn't four-engine at all - people see things that aren't there. One night fighter pilot claimed to have chased a 163 at night, others saw nocturnal jets in places where they never flew.

"Sounds like" a 110, but German use of twins in daylight is not my specialty.

[Ack-Ack]

Then I'm sure you're just keeping us in suspense as to what you think it was. Please do tell.

From the veteran's rather vague description of the "4 engine plane", it would be difficult to figure out with plane it was.  However, one can eliminate the Condor and the Ju 290 because neither of those two planes were ever used in that role.  After 1943, the Condor was removed from combat operations and used solely as a transport.  The Ju 290 was only used in the maritime/anti-shipping role as well as a heavy bomber and transport.  Records verify this.

Most likely the veteran was mistaken.

ack-ack

[Guppy35]

Could be it was straggling B-17s too.  In the mass of confusion and flying metal it would be understandable to misidentify.  I have heard the bit about Stukas before.  That one seems a bit far fetched too.

[PR3D4TOR]

At this time Germany was trowing everything they had at the bombers. Including night fighters and their own bombers who would try to drop time-fused bombs at the B-17's from above. And at night they would use day fighters on wild boar missions over German cities, attacking RAF bombers caught in search lights.

[Ack-Ack]

At this time Germany was trowing everything they had at the bombers. Including night fighters and their own bombers who would try to drop time-fused bombs at the B-17's from above. And at night they would use day fighters on wild boar missions over German cities, attacking RAF bombers caught in search lights.

While the Germans threw almost everything they could at the bombers, they didn't throw the Condor or the Ju 290.  As Guppy pointed out, it has just as much credence as the story of a Stuka dropping bombs on a B-17 raid over Germany. 

[FLOOB]

Bear in mind they were using everything they had attacking the b17s even stukas. It could be that it was just some ad hoc arrangement on a big plane. Or he just mistakenly referred to a 110 as a four engine bomber but that seems a stretch.

I thought that this monster was being tested at that time but it turns out it wasn't.

[Ack-Ack]

Bear in mind they were using everything they had attacking the b17s even stukas. It could be that it was just some ad hoc arrangement on a big plane. Or he just mistakenly referred to a 110 as a four engine bomber but that seems a stretch.

I thought that this monster was being tested at that time but it turns out it wasn't.
(Image removed from quote.)

No, the Luftwaffe never used Ju87s to attack B-17s.  There is absolutely no evidence or record of Ju87s being used to intercept B-17s over Germany other than some comment from a B-17 radio operator that claimed he saw a "Ju87 Stacey" drop bombs during a bomber raid.

[Zimme83]

Why would anyone belive that ju-87 were used to intercept bombers? Why dont use storches then? They will have the same chance to intercept a B-17 (none whatsoever). A Ju-87 can barley reach the operational altitude of the B-17 and even if it did its like 60 mph slower than the B-17 and have no guns to kill a bomber with.

[FLOOB]

Yeah there's no way a ju-87 is attacking anything at that altitude. One theory is that the airmen saw fighters dropping aerial bombs at the b17s and misidentified them as stukas.