WWII Quiz

Lieutenant Commander Gerard Broadmead Roope, Captain of HMS Glowworm for his attack on the German heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper. The award was justified, in part, by the recommendation of Kapitän zur See Hellmuth Heye, who wrote to the British authorities via the Red Cross, giving a statement of the valiant courage Lt Cdr Roope had shown when engaging a much superior ship in close battle. The award of the Victoria Cross to Lieutenant Commander Roope was not made until 6th July 1945, when it was possible to corroborate the circumstances with German sources, including the captured log.

OR

Flying Officer Lloyd Allan Trigg when he engaged a German U-boat, U-468, under the command of Oberleutnant Klemens Schamong. His aircraft received several catastrophic hits from the anti-aircraft guns during his bombing runs and was on fire as Trigg made his final attack. It then crashed, killing Trigg and his crew, so the only witnesses to his high courage were the U-boat crew members. The U-boat sank, but the seven survivors were rescued by a Royal Navy vessel and the captain reported the incident, recommending Trigg be decorated for his bravery. It was on the enemy's testimony that the award was given.
 
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We´ll continue with the special units.

What was the name of the units typically consisting of three men whose purpose it was to parachute into enemy territory and contact the local resistance groups. Dropped slightly in advance of the front line they were to act as liaison between the Allied military and the resistance fighters, either organizing supply drops of arms and equipment to these forces and offering instruction in their use, or harnessing their strength to hinder the enemy in direct support of nearby Allied military units. They were a part of SOE or OSS, however their role was strictly military and in contrast to SOE's established role this did not include any element of espionage.
 
Who was the only pilot ever to barrel rolled a Lancaster bomber?

His co pilot had just come off ops and was absolutely terrified :shock:. Who was he?
 
I am only aware of one, Sir Ken Adam, 88, who fought in the Royal Air Force during Second World War, was born Klaus Adam. He flew Typhoons with 609 Sqdn.

I'd be extremely interested to know who the second one was.

The only others I know of who served in the British Military joined either the Army the RN or the RM.

Geoffrey Perry (Horst Pischewer) and Geoffrey Perry (Horst Pinchewer) captured Lord Haw Haw William Joyce. “I shot him in the bum,” Mr Perry recalled gleefully.

Today, Bill Howard, Sir Ken Adam, Willy Field and Geoffrey Perry still meet up once a month in London, where they all live.

They share memories and chat about the time when they, as "friendly aliens", became part of Churchill's German army.

Geoffrey said: "When people ask me what we talk about, I tell them we discuss 'How ve von ze war!'"
 
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Sir Ken Adam and his brother Dennis were the first German-born pilots in the RAF, Dennis joining No. 183 Squadron in 1944, as part of the same Wing (No. 123) that his elder brother was flying in with No. 609 (West Riding) Squadron.

I accept your answer. Now it's your turn.
 
42RM said:
Sir Ken Adam and his brother Dennis were the first German-born pilots in the RAF, Dennis joining No. 183 Squadron in 1944, as part of the same Wing (No. 123) that his elder brother was flying in with No. 609 (West Riding) Squadron.

I accept your answer. Now it's your turn.
Click to expand...

I never realised he had a brother.

OK here's one

What serious fault occurred on the Roll Royce Merlin engine that caused Alex Henshaw to crash land or bail out 11 times?
 
Skew gear failure.
The skew gear meshed with the magneto, a failure of this kind resulted in a total engine stop, causing the ignition to stop.
 
Correct.

A particular factory/ assembly shop were putting the gear train together in a different assembly sequence, so that the "lash"- the small amount of slop between one gear and the next- didn't come out quite the way it did when doing it the right way. This must have imparted some torsional stress to the skew gear drive shaft that caused it to snap. When, through analysis of the failures, they figured out the above, the shop adopted the correct assembly sequence and the failures stopped.

Your turn.
 
He bailed out of a Lancaster without a parachute form 18000 feet.

His fall was broken by pine trees and a soft snow cover on the ground. He was able to move his arms and legs and suffered only a sprained leg.

Alkemade was subsequently captured and interviewed by the Gestapo, who were initially suspicious of his claim to have fallen without a parachute until the wreckage of the aircraft was examined. He was then a celebrated POW before being repatriated in May 1945. The Germans were so impressed that Alkemade had bailed out without a parachute and lived that they gave him a certificate testifying to the fact.

He was one lucky fella.

I wonder if he bought a lottery ticket?
 
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