Blohm & Voss BV 238

BV 238
The prototype BV 238 V1 in June 1944
Role	Flying boat
Manufacturer	Blohm + Voss
First flight	April 1944
Primary user	Germany
Number built	1 (with 2 incomplete prototypes)

The Blohm & Voss BV 238 was a German flying boat (Flugboot) built during World War II. It was the heaviest aircraft ever flown when it first flew in 1944, and was the largest aircraft produced by any of the Axis powers in World War II.

The BV 238 V1, bearing the four-letter Stammkennzeichen factory radio code of RO + EZ, first flew in April 1944. Six 1,287 kW (1,750 hp) Daimler-Benz DB 603 inverted V12 piston engines were used in total, arranged in three forward-facing engine nacelles on each wing. Each engine's coolant radiator was placed in a chin cowl directly under the engine, bearing an almost identical appearance to those fitted to the Do 217M medium bomber and some examples of the Do 217J night fighter, possibly as standardized Kraftei ("power-egg") unitized engine modules.

The sole completed BV 238 was strafed and sunk while docked on Schaalsee. Sources differ regarding the date, the attackers and the attack aircraft used.

According to American sources, the BV 238 V1 was destroyed September 1944 by P-51 Mustangs of the US 361st Fighter Group. The lead Mustang, Detroit Miss, was piloted by Lieutenant Urban "Ben" Drew, and another was piloted by William D. Rogers. Drew was told after the attack that he had destroyed a BV 222 , another large flying boat. He continued to believe this was the case until he was contacted by the BBC in 1974 for a documentary and told that their research had determined that the aircraft he had destroyed was actually the BV 238 V1, undergoing flight tests at the seaplane base at Schaalsee.

...
Wikipedia