Infamous Aircraft · Dangerous Designs and Their Vices

Many aircraft, some famous and some rare, gained a reputation for being difficult to fly and sometimes downright dangerous. This book looks at some of the worst culprits over a period spanning World War One to the age of supersonic flight. The following aircraft are included.BE.2--The RFC went to war in it in 1914. The BE was easy to fly and very stable--but it was difficult to maneuver and very easy to shoot down. Tarrant Tabor--The Tabor was grotesque, a massive misfit of an experimental bomber that predictably came to grief on its first flight. Avro Manchester--The twin-engined Manchester would fly all the way to Berlin and back--only to burst into flames over its own base. Messerschmitt Me 210--The Me 210 was developed as a successor to Goering's Destroyer, the Bf110. It was a disaster with a phenomenal accident rate. Martin B-26 Marauder--They called the B-26 the Widow-maker, fast and powerful, with some savage characteristics. Reichenberg IV--a manned version of the V-1 flying bomb, was a desperation weapon, its pilots intended to fly suicide missions against Allied shipping. Tu-144--Rushed prematurely into its test program to beat the Anglo-French Concorde, the TU-144 was intended to be Russia's supersonic dream.