Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => Aircraft and Vehicles => Topic started by: Ecke-109- on June 12, 2004, 09:34:00 AM

Title: these guys fear neither god nor devil....
Post by: Ecke-109- on June 12, 2004, 09:34:00 AM
...only that he couldnt drop his flying bomb.
(http://www.luftwaffepics.com/LCBW/Mistel-8.jpg)



(http://www.luftwaffepics.com/LCBW/Mistel-13s.jpg)
Title: these guys fear neither god nor devil....
Post by: paulieb on June 12, 2004, 11:18:07 AM
:eek:

Self-contained fighter escort?!
Title: these guys fear neither god nor devil....
Post by: Ecke-109- on June 12, 2004, 11:27:49 AM
:) No, not self contained fighter escort. This combination is called Mistel. Its an old outworn Ju88 filled with explosives, and a 109 or 190 on its top. The Ju88 was a winged bomb. It was used to bomb i.e. bridges.
Title: these guys fear neither god nor devil....
Post by: Shuckins on June 12, 2004, 11:27:56 AM
No.  Actually, these were among the first "smart bombs."

The bombers were loaded with explosives and under control of the pilot in the fighter, who flew it to the target and then released it.

Regards, Shuckins/Leggern
Title: these guys fear neither god nor devil....
Post by: paulieb on June 12, 2004, 11:29:55 AM
Wow... learn something new every day....
Title: these guys fear neither god nor devil....
Post by: Puck on June 12, 2004, 11:43:24 AM
Quote
Originally posted by Ecke-109-
:) No, not self contained fighter escort. This combination is called Mistel. Its an old outworn Ju88 filled with explosives, and a 109 or 190 on its top. The Ju88 was a winged bomb. It was used to bomb i.e. bridges.


They spelled "mistake" wrong.  No wonder they lost the war...  :D

What's the time frame on these things?  Sounds to me like some brilliant engineering to do with impossible with inadequate equipment.  Also looks like a depressingly easy thing to shoot down.

PERK THE MISTEL!!!
Title: these guys fear neither god nor devil....
Post by: Ecke-109- on June 12, 2004, 11:50:59 AM
Quote
What's the time frame on these things?


Late war, when german engeneering met desperation.
Title: these guys fear neither god nor devil....
Post by: -tronski- on June 12, 2004, 07:01:37 PM
Originally designed to hit the British home fleet at scarpa flow weren't they?

 Tronsky
Title: these guys fear neither god nor devil....
Post by: AKCasca on June 14, 2004, 10:10:26 AM
a fun diversion to fly in IL-2 AEP also.  And they make an awesome explosion when they make contact.
Title: these guys fear neither god nor devil....
Post by: Puck on June 14, 2004, 10:14:39 AM
Could the Ju88s be controlled after release. or were they strictly glide bombs at that point?  A radio-controlled kamakazi Ju88 would be nasty.
Title: these guys fear neither god nor devil....
Post by: Eagler on June 14, 2004, 10:19:41 AM
if the germans were smarter, they'd just imported kamakize pilots from Japan :)

did they have a pilot in the ju88? How did it fly? the 109 could not have lifted it without help from the ju88 engines...was it all wired into the 109?
Title: these guys fear neither god nor devil....
Post by: Puck on June 14, 2004, 10:53:31 AM
http://www.making-history.ca/ju88project/Mistel/defaultl.htm

Good stuff.
Title: these guys fear neither god nor devil....
Post by: Karnak on June 14, 2004, 02:54:56 PM
Eagler,

IIRC, the German High Command actually considered importing the kamikaze concept (not pilots, read what Sakai had to say about pilot willingness) to defend Germany, but the different cultural ethics stopped the idea.
Title: these guys fear neither god nor devil....
Post by: Rasker on June 14, 2004, 03:45:15 PM
Some History channel dealing with last-ditch Nazi superweapons said that Hana Reitsch and others actually organized a small corps of would be kamikazes that either was never deployed or actually attacked one American bomber formation with minimal results for the losses.  Hitler did feel that German lives were too valuable to lose in this way apparently.
Title: these guys fear neither god nor devil....
Post by: Puck on June 14, 2004, 04:03:22 PM
*choke*

Hitler was concerned about the lives of his troops?  Since when!? Did he suffer a stroke?  Seizure?  What changed?