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zulumike โ RAMMING !
Published: 2012-11-07 16:54:35 +0000 UTC; Views: 19700; Favourites: 253; Downloads: 464
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Description
Late in World War II, the Luftwaffe used ramming to try to regain control of the air. The plan was to dissuade Allied bomber pilots from conducting bombing raids long enough for the Germans to create a significant number of Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighters to turn the tide of the air war. Only a single dedicated unit, Sonderkommando Elbe was ever formed to the point of being operational, and flew their only mission - only a month before the end of the war in Europe - on April 7, 1945. Although some pilots succeeded in destroying bombers, including one ramming during the sole mission that Sonderkommando Elbe undertook that took out two B-24s at once with one Bf 109G, Allied numbers were not significantly reduced.Credits:
Me-109 model from www.colacola.se
B-17 model from "Wings of Power" for FSX.
BG sky from mayyang.com
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Comments: 36
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Now that's some fine picture of plane getting rammed.
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JACKPOT:dah! i've been hit!
CROSSBOW:it is just a ram you'll be fine.
JACKPOT:but,sir he got my tail.
CROSSBOW:it's just a scratch you'll make home
JACKPOT:yes sir
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Bulgarian pilots did this successfuly during the air raids over Sofia in 1944
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I watched a show on The Military History Channel about this.ย What insane asshole in the Luftwaffe thought this up?!!
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me too! just loved that show think its called dogfights
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still better tahn the Japanese tactics
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Desperate Times.
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nice pic. I wonder if that particular B17 made it back though... (many did!)
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Thank You, appreciate the feedback, glad you liked it.
Yes, I have been told about the accuacy of the models used during this time frame. I do appreciate the feedback from other members concerns and will be more accurate historically on my next compositions. Thanks again.
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Fantastic detail work on this one - really conveys how horrific this desperate mission was!
One minor note - the red border around the U.S. insignia on the B-17's (and all US aircraft) was only used from July to September of 1943. It does look cool though!
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Thank you, glad you like it.
Yes, I have been told about the time frame of the models used. I appreciate accuracy of these events in history and will be aware of accuracy next time.
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I know that story of that squadron but it was only used once and they came to the conclusion it was a waste of planes and wouldnt rank it as kamikaze since the pilots were drilled to bail out after impact and use the wings to hit the other plane, and avoid to be killed as well.
Lovely creation
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'The Luftwaffe's Deadliest Mission' episode of Dogfights series showed Sonderkommando Elbe.
It even showed where the pilots were supposed to aim. My only complain is that Me-109's propeller still looks like working - It shouldn't be like this. Also, how did the pilot lose his wing?
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"ร chacun son goรปt"
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I remember the History Channel series "Dogfights" did an episode on "Elbe" along with the Japanese "Divine Wind" examples.
The planes here are from 1942 versus 45, but still show what it would look like.
The part of that story I remember is that after seeing a ramming, escorting Mustang pilots actually followed down parachuting Elbe pilots and machine gunned them ... knowing their gun cameras would show their actions later.
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I think I remember hearing about this. Though from what I heard, the 109 that had rammed the tail of the B-17 had flown straight in from the tail, and smashed directly into the tail gun, killing the gunner. Although the plane fell free, when the B-17 (miraculously) landed, they found the 109's mangled propeller in the tail turret. This could be a separate incident, though.
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There is a photo of this incident on the internet.
Thanks for the feedback.
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They were willing to try anything for their country.
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Deperate times, desperate measures.
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THere are examples of allied pilots who would resort to ramming when out of ammo. If you're above friendly territory, it can be a useful tactic. It's rarely a lack of aircraft that causes issues, it's the lack of trained pilots to operate them.
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British pilots tried to "tip" V1 flying bombs, to disable their gyroscopes
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My understanding of further reading is that they tried to ram the cockpit area, tail area and engines. They were not considered suicide missions but, try to disable the bomber and bail out or try to land their damaged plane.
In my opinion the odds of surviving would be minimal.
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everyone's heard of the Japanese Kamikazi, but not many people know of the German version of it, regulation was that if the pilot survived the crash that he bail out of his plane as soon as possible
nice work
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That's correct, but what are the odds of surviving, basically a midair. Thanks.
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