Tue, Sep 02, 2003
Our little weekend quiz drew a number of
responses from readers, including the well-written note below.
I'm sure you figured you'd get email from some jackass about
the answers to the quiz being wrong. Well, I guess I'm that
jackass... sort of...
The Me 264 [above] was not the only bomber capable of
hitting New York from Occupied Europe. The Junkers Ju 390 was in
competition against the Me 264 and was chosen over the Me 264 due
to the high order of commonality between the Ju 390 and the Ju 290
already in production.
In January of 1944 the Ju 390 took of from Mont de Marson in France
and flew within 12 miles of the US coast north of New York. It
returned successfully to its base after the 32+ hour mission.
The Me 264 was the more-advanced aircraft -- better
performance and grater range -- but it never actually flew a
test mission to the US. It is the one known as the
"Amerika-Bomber," and it had a 45-hour endurance. If Germany
had picked the best aircraft for the role... it just would not have
been Germany.
So I feel either the Me 264 or Ju 390 [below] would
be correct answers with the bottom line being that Germany never
had a "fully operational" aircraft capable of hitting the US.
References:
Green, William. Warplanes of the Third Reich.
Doubleday, 1970.
Smith, J.R. and A.L. Kay. German Aircraft of the Second
World War. Putman Aeronautical Books, 1972.
Keep it up --Bill Pearce
[While we're at it, while we gave the correct answer to one
question, we answered incorrectly. Here's what we mean:
Question: Which branch of the American military
had a higher combat death rate in World War II, The Air Corps or
the Marine Corps?
Answer: More US servicemen died in the Air
Corps than the Marine Corps. While completing the required 30
missions your chance of being killed was 71%.
Note: the rate was higher in the Air Corps (the
correct answer to the question); the Marines lost more men (the way
we phrased the answer was incorrect) --ed.]
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