WWII Luftwaffe gun camera footage
- Thread starter MikeD
- Start date
Vector4Food
This job would be easier without all the airplanes
Awesome find.
It drives me insane how every "dogfight" show is always allied pilots.
Some of the stories of some Luftwaffe aces are the really incredible ones.
I'll argue until I'm blue in the face, the Luftwaffe held the technology advantage in the fighter realm for most of the war.
A Focke Wulf 190 D9 "Dora" piloted by a competent pilot would make short work of even the D model mustang.
Calling the P-51 the best fighter is a misnomer at best, by the time it entered the war it enjoyed almost total air superiority, a vast numbers advantage, not to mention most of the skilled Luftwaffe pilots were long since dead
Watching "our" WW2 history shows is just annoying, once I began studying the other side, the true story of the war became clear. Thankfully our side won, but some of the stories on the German side of the campaign are just truly amazing stories, despite the fact they are the enemy.
History is written by the victors I guess!
It drives me insane how every "dogfight" show is always allied pilots.
Some of the stories of some Luftwaffe aces are the really incredible ones.
I'll argue until I'm blue in the face, the Luftwaffe held the technology advantage in the fighter realm for most of the war.
A Focke Wulf 190 D9 "Dora" piloted by a competent pilot would make short work of even the D model mustang.
Calling the P-51 the best fighter is a misnomer at best, by the time it entered the war it enjoyed almost total air superiority, a vast numbers advantage, not to mention most of the skilled Luftwaffe pilots were long since dead
Watching "our" WW2 history shows is just annoying, once I began studying the other side, the true story of the war became clear. Thankfully our side won, but some of the stories on the German side of the campaign are just truly amazing stories, despite the fact they are the enemy.
History is written by the victors I guess!
Vector4Food
This job would be easier without all the airplanes
They wouldn't stop complaining about turbulence
The Germans certainly were well versed in both aviation as well as design and technology. The Japanese were too. Neither could be taken lightly. In the European front, the edge the Germans had was they didn't have to worry about range, as we were the ones flying the long distance to their backyard. Same kind of issue we'd see in Vietnam in regards to Hanoi/Haiphong, though I don't give the North Vietnamese pilots the same level of credit I would give German and Japanese pilots, as it wasn't so much that the NVNs were good, as it was that the USAF had failed to train and dropped the basics of dogfighting for all-missile technology.
But going back to WWII, some of the German designs were indeed interesting. Take, for instance, the BF-110 heavy fighter/interceptor. As a bomber killer of heavy bombers, the sheer destructive power of 2 x 20mm cannons and 2 x 30mm cannons is amazing, even moreso the B-17 I cite at 1:28 that is just taking the brunt of the Bf-110 attack and keeping on trucking. Absolutely amazing. Can't imagine having to have flown heavy bombers back then through that. If Id been flying back then, Id picture myself to have been a A-26 Invader or A-20 Havoc guy, or an A-36 Apache guy.
But going back to WWII, some of the German designs were indeed interesting. Take, for instance, the BF-110 heavy fighter/interceptor. As a bomber killer of heavy bombers, the sheer destructive power of 2 x 20mm cannons and 2 x 30mm cannons is amazing, even moreso the B-17 I cite at 1:28 that is just taking the brunt of the Bf-110 attack and keeping on trucking. Absolutely amazing. Can't imagine having to have flown heavy bombers back then through that. If Id been flying back then, Id picture myself to have been a A-26 Invader or A-20 Havoc guy, or an A-36 Apache guy.
z987k
Well-Known Member
Oh can we please shoot down every airplane that asks for a ride report every 40 miles?
Also well put together in how these gun camera videos are cataloged much like American ones, with German aircraft vs American aircraft as well as shot ranges
Still amazing how that B-17 is being shot to pieces literally, and still flying. The engines taking hit after hit and still running.
Still amazing how that B-17 is being shot to pieces literally, and still flying. The engines taking hit after hit and still running.
Vector4Food
This job would be easier without all the airplanes
The footage of the 110 attack is most disturbing since its obvious tail gunner and ball turret gunners are dead or incapacitated,although judging from the position of the ball turret the gunner may have vacated it for some reason.
These are obvious early war shots, judged not only by the early model 190's but the fact most were " tail" attacks, it's my understanding this attack profile was later prohibited in favour of flanking or head on attacks to the cockpit. Been a while since I've read up on that part however, maybe I'm getting it backwards.
I imagine it takes a great deal of fortitude to attack a bomber stream from the tail, you're a prime target for tens if not hundreds of .50cal defensive fire
Even the B-24 at 5:40....tough iron that keeps on taking the hits and flying. The B-17 prior to that one, it appears that it's right horizontal stab breaks in half at 5:37 just prior to the film end.
Vector4Food
This job would be easier without all the airplanes
THeres a photo somewhere from a b-17 dropping bombs and a fellow 17 strays in the path, bomb takes off the ri horizontal stab, pretty incredible photo series
Tough to watch too at 6:18, the P-47 Thunderbolt almost appears to be a duck, with the German plane well within his "wrist" and inside a gun WEZ. I would think the T-bolt would've been junking alot more than he was, whereas it appeared he was making it easy for the German to saddle-up in-plane, in-range, and gain sufficient lead. By contrast, the P-51 at 7:39 appears to be making the German work hard for any of his shot placement.
Vector4Food
This job would be easier without all the airplanes
Luftwaffe model of the "Flying Porcupine"
Vector4Food
This job would be easier without all the airplanes
Captured B-17 used for training
Vector4Food
This job would be easier without all the airplanes
Noticed that too, perhaps where there was, the fighters footage wasn't very long thus not as interesting for propoganda?
