What are these WW2 planes?

smartcooky

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smartcooky
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Last night I was watching an episode of "Secrets of War", and I see this brief scene.... (check minute 5:44 to 5:47)



Three aircraft sweep through the scene dropping bombs, but what are they?

They appear to be...

Single engine
High-wing
Retracted undercarriage

I thought I knew most of the aircraft used by all sides in WW2, but I have no idea what these are?


Any clues anyone?
 
I'm usually pretty good at identifying WWII planes, but i don't have a clue. I tried to view it frame by frame by that doesn't help. They have a high-wing layout.



Steve S
 
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I think they're Catalinas. I can't think of any other aircraft that has that distinctive thick pillar above the fuselage supporting the wing. Catalinas, or something similar looking.

And if you ask me the video is fake; there's no way those aircraft are actually bombing those trucks.
 
Actually scratch all that, on higher resolution replay they're single prop aircraft. The initial guesses are more in keeping with the aircraft design.
 
gumboot said:
And if you ask me the video is fake; there's no way those aircraft are actually bombing those trucks.
Click to expand...

Yes, I think, as Pope130 said, it looks like an exercise, but I still think it genuine footage. "Secrets of War" is a documentary program that prides itself on accuracy. There must literally be hundreds of hours of genuine WW2 footage of aircraft bombing stuff on the ground. Why would they fake up this two seconds of footage?
 
Loire 46 or PZL P.11. More likely Loire 46's in the Spanish Civil War. There were other French parasol fighters as well. The lack of undercarriage is an illusion.
 
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iamcanjim said:
Loire 46 or PZL P.11. More likely Loire 46's in the Spanish Civil War. There were other French parasol fighters as well. The lack of undercarriage is an illusion.
Click to expand...
I think you're right about the undercarriage. The aircraft could be Focke-Wulf Fw 56s.
 
I agree that that the apparant lack of landing gear legs is an illusion. The film looks like it has been processed to increase brightness. This can cause small dark features adjacent to bright backgtounds to be lost, and larger dark areas to lose edges, making the aircraft appear spindlier than they should.

I'm also looking at the vehicles. The trucks look typical of mid to late thirties US Army types. The lead vehicle appears to be a Dodge 1/2 ton Command Car (WC-6).

The geography is consistant with the southern US, for example Georgia.

The explosions look like simulants, rather than actual aerial bombs.

This all makes the scene consistant with one of the late thirties wargames.
 
I don't believe so, all it had was a 30 cal for the observer. but if this is from a war games exercise they wouldn't be dropping live bombs that close to the truck convoy. More likely the explosions where land mines or small explosives to simulate being dropped from aircraft and set off by someone on the ground.

edit to add, it also had a 30 in the nose
 
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Of course, if this footage really is of war games, and the bombs are simulated (already planted in the ground) then there is no need for these aircraft to actually be bombers, or combat aircraft of any kind.

A light trainer is all that is required to simulate AG attack for the troops on the ground. There are any number of contemporaneous high-wing training aircraft that would fill the bill.


Cessna L-19 Bird Dog
Aeronica Grasshopper
Taylorcraft L-2
The Piper L-4 grasshopper
Piper J3 Cub

Also, if its an exercise/war games and not WW2 footage, then that will extend the possible time period from wartime to a few years either side.
 
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