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Blohm and Voss Bv 222 Wiking (Viking)

Blohm und Voss Bv 222 Viking History

Blohm & Voss Bv 222 Wiking (translated as "Viking") is a large airship designed by Germany during World War II. The behemoth system has limited service, mainly responsible for transportation tasks, and some reconnaissance tasks as secondary tasks. Due to their inherent long range, transport planes often make powerful reconnaissance platforms.

Production of the Bv 222 was delayed during its development, and although it included defensive weapons, it proved to be extremely vulnerable to enemy fighter jets. About thirteen servings were made.

Where there was never a plane

Bv 222 scored some "firsts" during the battle. She became the largest aircraft to kill an enemy aircraft of the war (believed to be an Allied US Navy PB4Y Liberator, although sources sometimes incorrectly refer to it as the Avro Lancaster) and the largest aircraft to be shot down in a conflict . She also became the largest airship class to reach operational status during the war.

Bv 222 Origins

The Bv 222 began with a design in 1936 and was itself built to civilian aircraft specifications. While many planes are used to transport mail across continents, passenger transport is becoming popular and German transport company Deutsche Lufthansa needs a large plane to handle the situation. Three examples of Bv 222 were ordered and presented in three respective prototype forms, referred to simply as Bv 222 V1, Bv 222 V2 and Bv 222 V3. Construction of the first of these three systems began in January 1938. The first flight took place on September 7, 1940 with the prototype V1.

Testing will continue until December of this year. Early forms fit Bramo Fafnir 323 series radial piston engines. These were later replaced by Junkers Jumo diesel engines for easier resupply at sea, and the fuel was provided by the loaded submarine.

Call of War

However, in 1941, the Bv 222 entered service with the Luftwaffe, delivering much-needed supplies throughout the Mediterranean to Afrikaans troops operating in North Africa. Interestingly, the initial ground flight was flown by a civilian crew and used combat escort. The flight departs from Athens, Greece.

Finally, throughout the design process, to meet escort needsthus freeing up much-needed fighters to fight elsewherethe Bv 222 V1 was equipped with a series of defensive machine gun and 20mm cannon positions. One 13mm machine gun was mounted in the nose position, and the other four were mounted on the fuselage transom windows. A 20mm cannon has been added to improve defense with forward-placed dorsal turrets. Now officially named the German War Effort, the V1 became the backbone of the new squadron of Lufttransportstaffel 222.

The V1 served until February 1943, when it was lost while trying to land after a collision with underwater wreckage at sea.

The V2 first flew on August 7, 1941, and was officially released for service after nearly a year of evaluation. The V2's main difference was the addition of turrets on the wings, which the crew could access through tunnels in the spars. The Bv 222 now has a total of 3 x 20mm MG 151/20 cannons (1 x in the dorsal turret; 2 x in the wing turrets) and 5 x 13mm MG 131 machine guns (1 x in the nose and 4 x x in the torso support).

Despite such an impressive lineup, the defensive foam provided by these weapons is limited at best, especially given the Bv 222's speed and sheer size, making it an attractive target for passing enemy fighters.

The V3 came online next, with the first flight on November 28, 1941, and entry into service on December 9. She directly replaced the sunken V1, but was self-destructed by the RAF in June 1943 in Biscarrosse, southwest France. The V4 follows, with a slightly revised (higher) vertical tail. The V5 was also lost in Biscarrosse, France in June 1943.

The V6 was destroyed by enemy fire on 21 August 1942 on the important supply route from Taranto to Tripoli. The V7 first flew on April 1, 1943, with six Junkers Jumo 207C diesel engines, each producing 1,000 hp. The V8 was lost on December 10, 1942 on the same Taranto to Tripoli route as the V6.

Ultimately, the Bv 222 V7 prototype was selected as the official production model of the military Bv 222 and appeared under the final model nomenclature "Bv 222C". Prototypes in early service (V2, V3, V4 and V5) became maritime reconnaissance platforms, the main differences being defensive weapons and some FuG 200 series search radar systems installed at Fliegerfuhrer Atlantic.

The Bv 222B was a proposed variant of the Junkers Jumo 208 series engine, but never materialized.

Bv 222 Walk

At the heart of the Bv 222C is a dedicated long-distance hauler. It can carry 92 soldiers and 11 to 14 base personnel. The pilot and co-pilot sit on the elevated flight deck with excellent overhead, sideways and forward visibility. All six engines can be explained between the two pilots just by looking outside. The deep fuselage proved to be a massive structure, streamlined from the tapered nose assembly to the tapered tail end.

The long-span wing assembly is a shoulder-mounted monoplane with three Junkers Jumo 12-cylinder engines below and three engine nacelles on one wing. The wingtips have rounded edges.

The rear wing consists of a large-area circular vertical rear wing complemented by a pair of equally circular horizontal planes. Crew access doors are found on the sides of the hull near the waterline, a pair of front and rear.

The cargo compartment is accessed through a large square cargo door mounted on the starboard side behind the wing assembly. Including general war supplies and soldiers, the cargo compartment can also accommodate the wounded in the medical car.

Since the advantage of any airship is its incredible water landing capabilities, the Bv 222 was designed with a traditional boat-like hull for cutting and moving such surfaces. This allows the Bv 222 to land or take off from the water with relative ease, provided there are sufficient air lines to do so.

Since the Bv 222 has no landing gear, it is limited to water sports.

The production Bv 222C retains a wingspan of nearly 151 feet with a wing area of ??2,744. 8 square meters. She is over 36 feet tall and her length is over 121 feet. The beast still weighs 67,572 pounds unladen and displaces 100,503 pounds when loaded. Her maximum take-off weight (MTOW) is over 108,030 lbs.

Top speed at 16,400 feet is 242 mph, while at sea level it can cruise at 189 mph. Range is an impressive 3,790 miles. Her service ceiling is limited to 23,950 feet, with a climb rate of 473 feet per minute.

The hammer finally falls

Bv 222 fought until the end of the war, when several complete examples were taken as trophies by the Allies. The U.S. kept two completed planes, while the U.K. brought back one for itself.

The RAF actually used their Bv 222 until 1947, while the US studied the design and introduced a similar hull on their upcoming Convair R3Y "Tradewind" airship transport. The other two Bv 222s were sunk by their German crews before the end of the war.