What was the worst plane that was ever made?

[slipknot]

Whatever plane Ramzey took to get here should have never been built.

[VansCrew1]

AR234 yes it's fast but it had a small bomb load. And to be honest i never heard of it before i started playing this.

[Angus]

Hehe, Stalin and Churchill mistrusted each other. Some facts:
1. Since the deal with Hitler, the USSR was feeding the German war-machine, - up to the day of Barbarossa. This particularly made Churchill sour through the BoB.....
2. None the less, Churchill saw a potential ally in the USSR, since intellience gave the information that Nazi Germany was planning on the USSR. The UK actually WARNED the USSR about Barbarossa very shortly before it went loose. The warning was discarded.
3. Still, just a few months after the start of Barbarossa, - at the battle of Moscow, the USSR were receiving the first shipments of supplies and arms from the UK. The USA hadn't joined in at the time....The "Allies" between the solstice (21 june) and Pearl harbour (7th of Dec) in 1941 were the Commonwealth and the USSR..
All worth some thoughts...

[Serenity]

AR234 yes it's fast but it had a small bomb load. And to be honest i never heard of it before i started playing this.

But you have to realize what it led to. Ar-234 eventually became the B-52 technology-wise

And they did have pretty good opporational success IIRC. They didnt fly much, but the one mission I can think of, (They were bombing a bridge whose name escapes me) was successful and highlighted the advantages of their speed and power. And the nightfighter versions werent bad either IIRC. There werent enough of them to make a difference, but I think they were an important stepping stone to modern bombers.

[AquaShrimp]

The B-29 was fatally flawed in that it had consistently overheating engines and also engine parts made of magnesium.  The overheating/fire problem wasn't fixed until the B-50 came out.

[MiloMorai]

Serenity, that would be the bridge at Remagen.

Also the Ar234 photographed the invasion beaches of Normandy with impunity.

There was planed NF versions but none were were built.

I think the Canberra/B-57 would be a closer match.

[Wingnutt]

The B-29 was fatally flawed in that it had consistently overheating engines and also engine parts made of magnesium.  The overheating/fire problem wasn't fixed until the B-50 came out.

flawed, but it still performed its task better than any other aircraft of they time could have, so far from "worst"

[AquaShrimp]

flawed, but it still performed its task better than any other aircraft of they time could have, so far from "worst"

If that task was bursting into flames and plunging into the sea, then yes, it did perform admirably. 

[Wingnutt]

If that task was bursting into flames and plunging into the sea, then yes, it did perform admirably. 

BAH, nothing could match its bomb load, to say nothing of its speed.

[Serenity]

There was planed NF versions but none were were built.

Really? There was a book on the Ar-234 I was reading in borders one day, and I swear they mentioned a few NF birds with a giant cannon strapped to their belly seeing action. Oh well.

I think the Canberra/B-57 would be a closer match.

As far as leading to the B-52, I meant that the Ar-234 paved the way for the concept of jet-powered bombers. The Ar-234 is as related to the B-52 as the Wright Flyer is to the F-22.

[MiloMorai]

Serves me right going from memory. One B-2 was converted to a NF (WNr 140145, SM+FE). It crashed on the night of Feb 13 1945 killing the pilot (Hptm Bisping) and the RO (Hptm Vogl) after a few operational sorties. Some idiot turned of fthe runway lights as it was taking off and Bisping pulled up too hard and stalled. Two 20mm MG151/20 in a Magirusbombe gunpack were used.

The crescent wing of the HP Victor was from research done at Arado.

Best book out there, tho expensive
Smith, J. Richard and Creek, Eddie J. Arado Ar 234B (Monogram Close-Up 23). Boylston, Massachusetts: Monogram Aviation Publications, 1984. ISBN 0-914144-23-5.

 

[Serenity]

Best book out there, tho expensive
Smith, J. Richard and Creek, Eddie J. Arado Ar 234B (Monogram Close-Up 23). Boylston, Massachusetts: Monogram Aviation Publications, 1984. ISBN 0-914144-23-5.

I think that's the one I was looking at, but I had to chose between that book and "Masters of the Air" (A GREAT book about the 8th AF), and I chose that instead.

[DPQ5]

The rocket pack strapped to that man was the funniest of them all.  :

I have to agree

[KD303]

Avro Manchester.

Well sort of...but if the Machester hadn't been redesigned as the Lancaster, we'd probably never have had the Lancaster. So, I think it was just a very expensive prototype(s), with the wrong engines, etc etc...

[angelsandair]

BAH, nothing could match its bomb load, to say nothing of its speed.

B-32 Dominator had the exact same bombload (around 20,000 pounds) and IIRC, the last version of the Lancaster that served in WW2 could carry 22,000 pounds.