WWII Quiz

Dean said:
Awww, but Perseus, your questions are so interesting, even if I could not answer a lot of them. I hope you will ask more soon.

To keep things going, here is an easy one.

At the beginning of the Battle of Midway, even though Americans are loathe to admit it, the Japanese had the upper hand. they had 4 heavy carriers to the Americans three, and they had the Zero, which was in almost every way superior to the F4F Wildcat. As well, they had more of them. However, in one attack, the ungainly SBD Dauntlesses, (obsolete, about to be replaced with the TBM Avenger) which were usually easy pickings for Zeros, managed to attack without any interference even though the Zeros were in the air. It was a clear day, with a bit of high cloud cover, and the clouds were not a factor. The attack resulted in the sinking of 3 of the 4 Japanese carriers. The question: Why were the Japanese unable to stop, or even touch the Dauntlesses?

It was one of those incredibly lucky moments of WW II.
Click to expand...


Because the Japanese were too busy shooting down torpedo bombers and were out of position to attack the dive bombers thus they got a free shot at the carriers.
 
MontyB said:
Because the Japanese were too busy shooting down torpedo bombers and were out of position to attack the dive bombers thus they got a free shot at the carriers.
Click to expand...

I told you it was easy. The torpedo bombers came in at wavetop level, and all of the Zeros that were in the air went down to meet them. That allowed the Dauntlesses to come in unopposed at hign altitude and to drop their bombs on the virtually defenseless carriers, and then, the speed that they had built up in the dives allowed them to easily outrun the Zeros. Later in the day, the fourth carrier was sunk, and with it went any hope of further expansion in the Pacific.

Go for it MontyB.

Dean.
 
Ok something slightly different.

What was the designation of the first helicopter to enter production and service with the Luftwaffe?
 
MontyB said:
Ok something slightly different.

What was the designation of the first helicopter to enter production and service with the Luftwaffe?
Click to expand...
Flettner Fl 282 Kolibri.
 
redcoat said:
Flettner Fl 282 Kolibri.
Click to expand...

The information I have is of an earlier model and designation. The Fl 282 entered service in late 1942 the one I am looking for was 2 years earlier.
 
There were two, and according to my source, both were operational in 1940. One was indeed the Flettner FL-282, and the other was the Focke-Achgelis Fa 223 Drache (Dragon), a medium helicopter.
 
Dean said:
There were two, and according to my source, both were operational in 1940. One was indeed the Flettner FL-282, and the other was the Focke-Achgelis Fa 223 Drache (Dragon), a medium helicopter.
Click to expand...

Yep I had the FA-223 as the first of the two to enter production.

All yours.
 
Thank-you Monty, so here is another one. Towards the end of the war, the Russians had stopped less than 50 kilometers from Berlin to allow their logistic tail to rejoin their armies. The delay was longer than expected, and this time allowed the Germans to build up their defences in an attempt to stop the Russiand from getting to Berlin. When the attack was re-started, Marshal Zukhov almost lost his job. What was the problem, and where did it happen?

Dean.
 
Last edited:
How late are we talking here?

I will take a guess and say the problem was that the Germans had withdrawn without the Russians knowing to fortified postions on the Seelow heights consequently the massive opening Russian bombardment was wasted and infact some of it was fired into their own advancing troops.
On top of this the assault on the heights was extremely costly in terms of manpower and material and was not immediately successful.
 
You got the place, but not the problem. Why did Stalin send a very thinly veiled threat to Stalin saying that he was on the verge of being fired? It was not the botched artillery barrage.

Dean.
 
Last edited:
Dean said:
You got the place, but not the problem. Why did Stalin send a very thinly veiled threat to Stalin saying that he was on the verge of being fired? It was not the botched artillery barrage.

Dean.
Click to expand...

Well at a guess Stalin had demanded Berlin be captured by May 1st so any delay at the Seelow heights would put that under pressure.
 
That is it. Although the Russians lost tens of thousands of men in an incompetently led, completely useless frontal assault, Stalin did not care one little bit about that. All he cared about was that he wanted to take Berlin before the Americans, and specifically, he wanted the Soviet flag flying over the Reichstag on May 1st. So when the Seelow heights offensive bogged down, he threatened Zhukov with a demotion to get him to move faster. In turn, he put pressure on Konev, who had to release his reserves to take the heights, which were being brilliantly defended by the stragglers of 4 or 5 divisions. In some cases, they were facing odds of over 30 to 1.

Back to you, Monty.

Dean.

And I am sure that you will be happy to know that Futurama is being resurrected...
 
Last edited:
Hmm this questions thing is getting difficult.

Ok who attacked Gibraltar in late Sept 1940 and why.


Oh and I am not a huge follower of Futurama I just cant find the Simpsons graphic I want.

:)
 
The RN trawler Stella Sirius was sunk by bombs in Gibraltar harbour following a Vichy French air raid on the rock on 25/9/40. Presumably in retailation for the attack on French bases by the British.


Around the same time the Italian Submarine Scirè meant to attack the base utilizing a few human torpedoes, but was recalled due to lack of suitable targets.
 
Yep, over to you.

I really need to find some more challenging questions but to be honest I prefer to answer rather than ask.
:)
 
OK, I hope this isn't too difficult, but it may require a little lateral thinking.

It was not only the victims of the atom bomb 'Little Boy' who suffered an horrendous death, but also the crew who delivered it, why?
 
Ok

I have deliberately put you off the scent because the incident is very well known. This does not refer to the crew which delivered it to Hiroshima but the crew which delivered it to Tinian first!

As a bonus what was the captain's eventual fate?
 
I'm sure I could ask some challenging questions regarding WW2 but how obscure do they need to be?

For example:

What is the significance of the German Panzer Division 'Kempf'?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top