JU 88 G-6
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The crew of the JU88 G6 that shot down MZ-467 in the early hours of the 17th April were: Ofw Schmidt (pilot), Ofw Michels (radio operator), Fw Kretschmer (radar operator), Uffz Heidsiek (air gunner). The G-6 entered production in the middle of 1944. It was powered by 1,750hp Jumo 213A engines, and had a top speed of 360mph, an increase of 25mph on the G-1. It carried four 20mm cannon in a pod under the fuselage. It carried the full range of radar equipment available to the Luftwaffe in 1944-5, including the FuG 220, 218, 350 and possibly the FuG 240. It entered combat in late 1944, too late to have any impact on the war. Some information about the radar which more than likely was the model used on Schmidt's aircraft: Source wikipedia FuG 217: Installed mainly in Ju 88 G-6, only a few Bf 110 G-4, He 219 or Me 262 received the Neptun. It could be combined with the additional Elfe device to automatically measure the target distance and fire the guns at a pre-set range. Manufacturer: FFO
The photos below show the FuG 217 radar, many thanks to johannes bruening for allowing me to use these photos
Jumo 213 A - Supercharged inverted V12 engine
The Jumo 213 was a World War II-era V-12 liquid cooled aircraft engine,
a development of Junkers Motoren's earlier design, the Jumo 211. The design
added two features, a pressurized cooling system that required considerably
less cooling fluid that allowed the engine to be built smaller and lighter,
and a number of improvements that allowed it to run at higher RPM. Although
these changes may sound fairly minor, they boosted power by over 500 hp
and made the 213 one of the most sought-after engine designs in the late-war
era. Junkers was not happy with this state of affairs, and started their own efforts to produce a pressurized cooling system as early as 1938. Experiments on the 211 proved so successful that it became clear that not only could the engine be built smaller, but could be run at higher power settings without overheating. Additional changes to strengthen the crankshaft and add a fully-shrouded supercharger for increased boost resulted in the Jumo 211F model, which delivered 1,400 hp at 2,400 RPM, up from 950 hp at 2,200 RPM in earlier versions. But this was only the beginning. After redesigning the engine casing to a smaller size to suit the increased cooling power and then further increasing boost settings on the supercharger, the resulting 213A model was able to deliver 1,750 PS (metric hp) at 3,250 RPM. This made it considerably more powerful than the corresponding DB 601E which provided 1,350hp, and about the same power as the much larger DB 603. Junkers decided to go after the 603's market, and made the 213's mounting points and fluid connections in the same locations as the 603, allowing it to be "dropped in" as a replacement. The 213A first ran in 1940, but experienced lengthy delays before finally being declared "production quality" in 1943. Production was extremely slow to ramp up, in order to avoid delays in the existing Jumo 211 production. By the time the engines were available in any sort of number in 1944, Allied bombing repeatedly destroyed the production lines. Production of the A models was limited to about 400-500 a month for most of 1944/45. A range of advanced versions were also developed during the lengthy teething period. The 213B was designed to run on 100 octane "C3" fuel, allowing the boost pressure to be increased and the take-off power improved to 2,000 PS. The 213C was essentially an A model with re-arranged secondary equipment (supercharger, oil pump, etc.) to allow a cannon to fire through the propeller shaft. The 213D added a new three-speed supercharger for smoother power curves and improved altitude performance, but it was decided to skip over this version. Instead the next major version was to be the 213E, and the similar 213F. These engines were equipped with a new two-speed, two-stage supercharger that dramatically improved altitude performance. The only difference between the two models was that the E included an intercooler for additional high-altitude performance, while the F model removed this and was tuned for slightly lower altitudes. The E and F models were in high demand for many late-war aircraft, including the Junkers Ju 188, Junkers Ju 388, models of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 and the Focke-Wulf Ta 152H. A more major upgrade was projected as the 213J, which replaced the earlier model's three valves with a new four-valve-per-cylinder design for increased volumetric efficiency. There was no time to work this change into the production line before the war ended. Other experimental models included the 213S for low-altitude use, and the turbocharged 213T. Source:wikipedia.org
MG 151 - Maschinengewehr 151 (The single-barrel automatic cannon used to shoot down MZ-467) Mg 151/15 Specifications:
To create the MG 151/20 round, Mauser simply necked out the MG 151/15's case (i.e. enlarged the opening of the case where the shell fits in) to fit a 20 mm shell—which, incidentally, was the same shell used in the MG FF cannon—and shortened the length of the case so that the total length of the complete round was the same for both calibres. These measures simplified conversion of the cannon between calibres, so that it was possible to convert the 15 mm to the 20 mm MG 151/20 simply by changing the barrel and making other small modifications. However, this simple modification-based approach was not without its drawbacks. The relatively short case of the 20 mm round, coupled with the larger and heavier 20 mm projectile cost some muzzle velocity (950 m/s for the 15 mm round vs. 800 m/s for the 20 mm round—a 16% drop). However, in comparison to the earlier MG FF cannon, the MG 151 had a higher muzzle velocity which gave it a more predictable trajectory and higher impact velocity/longer range.
20mm M-Geschoss shell. The 20 mm MG 151/20 was also fitted on the Macchi C.205, the Fiat G.55 and Reggiane Re 2005, the most powerful Regia Aeronautica fighter aircraft, built around the Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine. After WWII, numbers of ex-Luftwaffe MG 151/20 cannon were removed from inventory and from scrapped aircraft and used by various nations in their own aircraft. The French Air Force and French Army aviation arm (ALAT) utilized MG 151/20 cannon as both fixed and flexible armament in various aircraft, including helicopters. The FAF and ALAT jointly developed a rubber-insulated flexible mount for the MG 151/20 for use as a door gun, which was later used in combat in Algeria aboard several FAF/ALAT H-21C assault transport helicopters and on HSS-1 Pirate gunship helicopters. French Matra MG 151 20mm cannons were used by Portugal, Rhodesia and South Africa fitted to their Alouette III helicopters. The 15mm caliber is similar to a 14.5mm round, developed in World War 2 for the Soviet PTRD and PTRS antitank rifles and used in post-war heavy machine guns. Recent developments of 14.5mm High Explosive Incendiary rounds may be regarded as a revival of the 15mm cannon concept. [Source - Wikipedia]
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