Modern-Aviation

Ship builder Blohm & Voss built a couple of large flying boat transport aircraft for Germany during the war. The huge (220,460 pound max. take off weight), six-engined, Bv-238 did not reach production or operational service before the war ended and only one prototype was ever built. It was destroyed while tied to its dock at Schaal Lake in September 1944 by three P-51 fighters.

Bv 222 Viking, first flew in September 1940 and the first Bv 222 (aircraft V1) accepted by the Luftwaffe was carrying supplies and personnel between Hamburg and Norway in 1941. By the Fall of 1941, the Bv 222 was operating in the Mediterranean theatre, ferrying supplies to the Afrika Corps. During the course of the war, Bv 222's operated in diverse theatres, from Africa to the Arctic. As a troop transport, the Bv 222 could transport up to 92 passengers or 72 wounded men on stretchers.
The Viking was based on the design of a trans-Atlantic civil airliner being developed before the war for Lufthansa and the type was carried forward as a large military transport. The Bv 222 became the largest aircraft to shoot down an enemy airplane during the war, when a Bv 222 (V4) shot down a PB4Y (B-24) patrol plane.

Only 13 Bv 222's were built. The early Vikings (aircraft V1 through V6) were powered by six Bramo 323 nine-cylinder radial engines. V7 became the prototype for later production and was fitted with six Junkers Jumo 207C twelve-cylinder opposed diesel engines, and apparently so was V8. Later production aircraft (designated C9 through C12) were also powered by Jumo diesel engines. C13 was fitted with Jumo 205C and later Jumo 205D engines.

From the end of 1941 onward, Bv 222's were armed for self-defense. This originally included a 13mm machine gun in a forward top turret located behind the control cabin, a 13mm machine gun in an aft dorsal turret, four lateral firing 8mm machine guns (two/side) in waist mounts and an 8mm nose gun. In aircraft V2 this was augmented by turrets mounted on the upper surface of each wing aft of the outboard engines, each carrying a pair of 13mm machine guns. An alternative and presumably later armament scheme was reported to be three 20mm cannons (one each in the forward top turret and the wing turrets, the aft dorsal turret having been deleted) plus five 13mm machine guns (one in the nose and two/side).

The Bv 222 could haul its crew of 11 and 92 troops and their supplies on its two decks. Most freight and the majority of troops were carried on the lower (cargo) deck. Fuel was carried in a huge tubular wing spar, variously described as being either 39" or 57" in diameter, that extended from wing to wing through the fuselage. The center section of this wing spar was subdivided by bulkheads into fuel tanks. A passageway in the wings gave access to the engines during flight an also to the wing mounted machine gun turrets that were fitted to V2 and later aircraft.

Because so few Bv 222's were built, each was practically a custom built airplane and the specifications varied. Four Bv 222's were captured by the Allies at the end of the war. One (C12) was flown from Norway to the UK, where it was tested, put into operation and eventually scrapped. V2 was also captured in Norway and eventually scuttled by the British to dispose of her. Two (C11 and C13) were taken by the U.S. for testing and later presumably scrapped, although their precise fate is uncertain. None survives today, although there are plans to raise V2 for restoration. Here are some specifications for the Bv-222.

General characteristics
Type: Six-engined transport flying boat
Wings: All metal, high wing, cantilever monoplane; vertically split
            stabilizing floats retract flush with the underside of the wing; electric
            de-icing equipment
Hull: All metal, two-step
Power plant: Six BMW Bramo 323 R nine-cylinder radials or 1000 hp
                      Junkers Jumo 207 C 12-cylinder opposed diesel engines with
                      three-bladed propellers
Crew: 11-14 plus 92 passengers
Dimensions: Span 157', length 105', max. hull width 9' 10", height 35'
                       9.125", wing area 2744.8 sq./ft.
Length: 43.35 m (142 ft 3 in)
Wingspan: 60.17 m (197 ft 5 in)
Height: 12.8 m (42 ft 0 in)
Wing area: 360.16 m2 (3,876.7 sq ft)
Empty weight: 54,780 kg (120,769 lb)
Gross weight: 90,000 kg (198,416 lb) for reconnaissance missions
                         95,000 kg (209,439 lb) for bomber missions
Max takeoff weight: 100,000 kg (220,462 lb)
Powerplant: 6 × Daimler-Benz DB 603G inverted V-12 liquid-cooled piston
                      engines, 1,417 kW (1,900 hp) each for take-off
                      1,163 kW (1,560 hp) at 7,375 m (24,196 ft)
Propellers: 3-bladed constant-speed propellers

Performance
Maximum speed: 350 km/h (217 mph; 189 kn) at 60,000 kg (132,277 lb) weight at sea level
425 km/h (264 mph) at 60,000 kg (132,277 lb) at 6,000 m (19,685 ft)
Landing speed: 143 km/h (77 kn, 89 mph)
Range: 6,620 km (4,113 mi; 3,575 nmi) at 365 km/h (227 mph) at 92,000 kg (202,825 lb) at 2,000 m (6,562 ft)
Service ceiling: 7,300 m (24,000 ft)
Wing loading: 261 kg/m2 (53 lb/sq ft)
Endurance: 19-20 hours

Armament
Guns: 8 x 13 mm (0.512 in) MG 131 machine guns with 1,800 rpg; 4 in each nose and tail turret
8 x 13 mm (0.512 in) MG 131 machine guns with 900 rpg; 4 in each wing mounted turret
4 x 13 mm (0.512 in) MG 131 machine guns with 500 rpg; 2 (as a twinned MG 131Z) in each manually aimed beam/waist position
2 x 20 mm (0.787 in) MG 151/20 autocannon with 1,400 rpg in forward dorsal turret
Bombs: 20 x 250 kg (551 lb) SC 250 bombs in wing bomb bays
and 4 x 1,000 kg (2,205 lb) SC 1000 bombs on external racks
or 2 x 1,200 kg (2,646 lb) LD 1200 torpedoes on external racks
or 4 x Henschel Hs 293 missiles on external racks, if Bv 238 fitted with FuG 203 Kehl MCLOS guidance transmitter
or 2 x 1,000 kg (2,205 lb) BV 143 glide bombs on external racks