Blohm & Voss BV 222

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blohm_%26_Voss_BV_222

The Blohm & Voss BV 222 Wiking (German: "Viking") was a large, six-engined
German flying boat of World War II. Originally designed as a commercial
transport, it was the largest seaplane to attain production status during the
war.

Prior to World War II, the German airline Luft Hansa had carried out many
transatlantic mail flights. Their main interest was passenger transport, and
they initiated a program in 1936 for which Hamburger Flugzeugbau offered the Ha
222, a very large flying boat designed by Dr. Richard Vogt. By the time an order
for three was received and work began, the company had changed its name to that
of its parent company, Blohm & Voss, and the design was redesignated the BV 222.

Construction of the first prototype, V1, began in January 1938, with
construction of the V2 and V3 following within weeks. V1 made its test flight on
7 September 1940, carrying the civil registration D-ANTE. During trials it
demonstrated that it could carry up to 92 passengers, or 72 patients on
stretchers over short distances at a maximum speed of 385 km/h (239 mph). The
flight characteristics were found to be satisfactory, but with some improvements
required. Further trials lasted until December 1940, when the V1 passed into
Luftwaffe service, receiving a military paint scheme and the Stammkennzeichen
individual alphabetic military aircraft registration code of CC+EQ, later
changed to the alphanumeric Geschwaderkennung "wing code" designation of X4+AH,
when in service with Lufttransportgruppe (See) 222.

The type had a long flat floor inside the cabin and a large square cargo door
aft of the wing on the starboard side, with such a flat floor for the hull
interior being a welcome novelty for that era. The usual balance floats for a
flying boat design were ingeniously designed as a matching pair of retracting
float units per side, which extended from beneath the wing's outer panels in
"clamshell" fashion when fully extended, and fit fully flush with the wing
panels' undersides when retracted. Only 13 aircraft are thought to have been
completed.

Originally powered by Bramo 323 Fafnir radial engines, later aircraft were
powered by six 746 kW (1,000 hp) Jumo 207C inline two-stroke opposed-piston
diesel engines. The use of diesels permitted refueling at sea by special
re-supply U-boats. C-13 aircraft was a sole example fitted with Jumo 205C and
later Jumo 205D engines.

Early aircraft were identified as V1 to V8. Production examples were designated
C-09 to C-13.


Role
Flying boat

Manufacturer
Blohm & Voss

First flight
7 September 1940

Primary user
Luftwaffe

Number built
13

V1 made seven flights between Hamburg and Kirkenes up to 19 August 1941,
transporting a total of 65,000 kg (143,000 lb) of supplies and 221 wounded men,
covering a distance of 30,000 km (19,000 mi) in total. After being overhauled at
Hamburg, V1 was sent to Athens, from where it carried supplies for the Afrika
Korps, making 17 flights between 16 October and 6 November 1941. The V1 was at
this time unarmed, and was given an escort of two Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy
fighters.

Following these flights, the V1 returned to Hamburg to have defensive armament
fitted, comprising a 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 81 machine gun in the hull, two
turret-mounted 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns, and four 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG
81s in waist mounts. The registration was changed to X4+AH at the same time and
the V1 formed the basis for the new air transport squadron Lufttransportstaffel
222 (LTS 222). Between 1942 and 1943, the aircraft flew in the Mediterranean
theatre, until in mid-February 1943 it sank following a collision with a
submerged wreck while landing at Piraeus harbour.

The V2 (CC+ER) made its first flight on 7 August 1941, and after extensive
testing was assigned to LTS 222 on 10 August 1942 as X4+AB. Since the aircraft
was intended for long-distance overwater flights, in addition to the armament
fitted to the V1 it received two rear-facing wing-mounted turrets with dual 13
mm (.51 in) MG 131s, accessed via the tubular wing spar which was 1 m (3 ft 3
in) in diameter.

In 1944, the V2 participated in Operation Schatzgräber ("Treasure Seeker"), the
code name of a German weather station at Alexandra Land in the Arctic, whose
sick crew needed to be evacuated. The BV 222 dropped a spare wheel for a Fw 200
which had sustained damage during landing near the station.

The V3 (initially DM+SD) first flew on 28 November 1941, and was transferred to
LTS 222 on 9 December 1941. After V1's sinking, V3 returned to Hamburg where it
was armed. It was destroyed along with V5 on 20 June 1943 at Biscarrosse by RAF
de Havilland Mosquitos of No. 264 Squadron RAF.

V4, which had an altered height tail, was also assigned to LTS 222 for Africa
flights.

V6 was shot down on 21 August 1942 on the Taranto to Tripoli route by a Bristol
Beaufighter; V8 was shot down on the same route on 10 December 1942.

The V7 (TB+QL), which made its first flight on 1 April 1943, was fitted with six
746 kW (1,000 hp) Jumo 207C inline two-stroke diesel engines. With a takeoff
weight of 50,000 kg (110,000 lb) and a range of 6,100 km (3,800 mi), it was
intended as the prototype BV 222C.

Following the Invasion of Normandy in June 1944, the remaining BV 222 aircraft
were transferred to KG 200. Of these, C-09 was probably the BV 222 reported to
have been strafed and destroyed by Hawker Typhoon aircraft of No. 439 Squadron
RCAF on 24 April 1945 at Seedorf. V7 and V4 were scuttled by their crews at
Travemünde and Kiel-Holtenau airport respectively, at the end of the war.

Three BV 222s were captured and subsequently operated by Allied forces: C-011,
C-012, and C-013. C-012, captured at Sørreisa in Norway after the war along with
V2, was flown by Captain Eric "Winkle" Brown from Norway to the RAF station at
Calshot in 1946, with RAF serial number "VP501". After testing at Marine
Aircraft Experimental Establishment at Felixstowe it was assigned to No. 201
Squadron RAF, who operated it up to 1947, when it was scrapped.

C-011 and C-013 were captured by US forces at the end of World War II. On August
15 and again on August 20, 1945 LT Cmdr Richard Schreder of the US Navy
performed test flights along with the German crew of one of the BV 222 aircraft
that had been acquired by the US. In two flights resulting in a total flight
time of 38 minutes they experienced 4 engine fires. While many spare engines
were available they were of substandard quality due to the lack of quality
alloys near the end of the war, and caught fire easily. Since the aircraft was
not airworthy with these engines, the aircraft was taken out to open water and
sunk by a navy destroyer.

Other reports indicate the US captured aircraft were flown or shipped to the US.
Convair acquired one for evaluation at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River, the
intensive studies leading to the hull design of their Model 117 which in turn
led to the R3Y Tradewind. Their subsequent fate is unknown.

Specifications (BV 222C-09)

General characteristics
Crew: 11-14
Capacity: 92 troops or 72 wounded on stretchers
Length: 37 m (121 ft 5 in)
Wingspan: 46 m (150 ft 11 in)
Height: 10.9 m (35 ft 9 in)
Wing area: 255 m2 (2,740 sq ft)
Empty weight: 30,650 kg (67,572 lb)
Gross weight: 45,990 kg (101,391 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 49,000 kg (108,027 lb)
Powerplant: 6 × Junkers Jumo 207C 6-cyl. liquid-cooled opposed piston 2-stroke
diesel engines, 745 kW (999 hp) each for take-off
Propellers: 3-bladed variable pitch tractor propellers

Performance
Maximum speed: 330 km/h (205 mph; 178 kn) at 46,000 kg (101,413 lb) at sea level

390 km/h (242 mph) at 5,000 m (16,404 ft)Cruise speed: 300 km/h (186 mph; 162
kn) continuous economical at sea level

344 km/h (214 mph) at 5,550 m (18,209 ft)Ferry range: 6,100 km (3,790 mi; 3,294
nmi)
Endurance: 28 hours at 245 km/h (152 mph) at sea level
Service ceiling: 7,300 m (24,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 2.4 m/s (470 ft/min)
Time to altitude: 6,000 m (19,685 ft) in 52 minutes

Armament

Guns:
3 × 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons (one each in fwd turret and two wing turrets).
5 × 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns (One in nose and four in beam positions)



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