The Super Massive Nazi BV 222

The Blohm & Voss BV 222 Wiking was a German-built six-engined flying boat of World War II.
During its time in combat with the Luftwaffe, it was the largest aircraft to down an enemy plane. However, it also was the largest aircraft to be gunned down during the war.
Although the Wiking was intrinsically designed as a commercial transport, it was the biggest seaplane to attain production status during the war.
During the following decades, all models were thought to be lost, but a new opportunity seems to have opened for this enormous aircraft.
---
Join Dark Skies as we explore the world of aviation with cinematic short documentaries featuring the biggest and fastest airplanes ever built, top-secret military projects, and classified missions with hidden untold true stories. Including US, German, and Soviet warplanes, along with aircraft developments that took place during World War I, World War 2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf War, and special operations mission in between.
As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Skies sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect and soundtracks for emotional impact. We do our best to keep it as visually accurate as possible.
All content on Dark Skies is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas.

[@stephengardiner9867]

Eric Brown probably ended up flying more German aircraft types than any of the German test pilots did (a large percentage of them immediately post-war but still...).

[@bxmachine]

His list of aircraft flown is impressive and will probably never be surpassed.

[@ericstromberg9608]

How did that little Me 163 Komet even take off, burdened as it was by Brown's GIANT BALLS OF STEEL?

[@aussiviking604]

@@bxmachine There was a female aviatrix ,who was a ferry pilot during ww2. She accumulated more flight time and different aircraft, than anyone else during the war.There was a BBC documentary about them.

[@davetunbridge6637]

I read Browns autobiography ( I think it was or maybe just a book about him) years ago. Pretty amazing character, had lot to do with aircraft carrier development in the early years and then did a lot of testing of axis aircraft in the post war era.

[@neilcussons4744]

Eric s an amazing old guy, a true tough hero, bless him.

[@angrybigfoot752]

God those 2 stroke diesels must have been screaming at full throttle at cruising altitudes

[@dave8599]

Screaming diesels exhausting in the sky certain will give us "Dark Skies".

[@deborahchesser7375]

That’s like having a plane fly over screaming with some Detroit’s onboard

[@DrKlausTrophobie]

The Jumo 207 (a 2 stroke diesel engine for high altitude flight) run with up to 2800 rpm. Not the speeds usually associated with screaming.

[@pimpnick4920]

It's not the rpm that screams. They actually scream. Find an old farmer in your area and take a ride in his old grain truck. Bring hearing protection.

[@turbolq4]

@@DrKlausTrophobie never heard a 2 stroke diesel have ya?

[@andywhite40]

Hopefully that project to recover the aircraft comes off, it would be amazing to see one of these monsters in a museum or even better in the air!!!!

[@friedhelmwilkens1477]

Seaplanes are the best for fighting forest fires because they can fast refill water on lakes or rivers. The Martin Mars need only a few minutes for refilling

[@pauld6967]

I agree Andy. Having this plane restored and on display would be great. Having it fly again would be a spectacle to behold.

[@letoubib21]

@@friedhelmwilkens1477 Very much I doubt that the BV 222 will be able to do that if she can be recovered *. . .*

[@ruthparker1140]

("j.") Says: 100 o/o Agree! "If" they are trying to raise the one shot down 2 days before the German surrender. That would be cool. Or... What ever they can get. (: D)

[@TheDkeeler]

It would make a lot more sense to get a B-36 Peacemaker flying. That would be mind blowing!

[@markrowland1366]

Five years knowing next to nothing of these planes, is now remedied. Well done, in finding these facts, and so much film.

[@davroshalfbeard8368]

Eric brown a true legend of a man holds the record for most aircraft types flown

[@sailingmaster]

The flying boats that still remain are these beautiful ghosts, reminders of a different era of aviation and world travel. The Boeing 314s, Martin's Clippers, Grumman's Goose and Albatross and many more. They were magic. (I freely admit my bias, my first flight in something that wasn't an airliner was a Grumman Goose built in '43. It was owned by a family friend and I got to sit in the co-pilot's seat on many occasions) The jet age drove them to obsolescence, but they're amazing planes and if you ever get to fly one do it. You really won't regret it.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

We still make a few. Even jet ones...

[@jdlives8992]

There is a guy that has a older coast guard 20 seater that lives on the lake we have a place at. Let me tell you how freakin bad a$$ it is when he comes in and lands a freakin plane and sails it right into a boat house. It’s insane. Absolutely sick.

[@itsapittie]

I've always been fascinated by flying boats and floatplanes. I now live in Anchorage, Alaska which has the busiest floatplane airport in the world thanks to our expanse of undeveloped areas.

[@yknott9873]

You're 'WAAAY out-to-lunch on your horsepower ratings for the Junkers Jumo 207c diesel engine. This was a six-cylinder double-opposed Jumo 205 with a turbocharger. The 205 turned-out 600 to 700 hp; the highest rating I found for the 207 was 1,000 hp.

[@lancepharker]

I assumed the first time it was said that he meant across the whole plane, but nope, he added a zero. I like the content, but he really needs a proofreader.

[@timothystark5986]

@@lancepharker yup, I too like the content but it's obvious he does not have a proof reader or more accurately a fact checker. As far as I know there were no piston engines for aircraft that ever reached even close to 6000 hp, when I checked it was indeed about 1000 hp each for the 207c version of the engine. So it was 6000 total hp for the plane, not for each engine

[@Ofenlicht]

I thought he meant 6000hp from all 6 engines together

[@exharkhun5605]

Indeed I've commented about this before, maybe it's a quirk in his source material or he tries to lower the word count of his scripts, but he lumps horsepower together which produces WELL THIS CAN'T BE RIGHT moments in the videos. It does lead to internet searches for interesting topics like this Junkers Jumo series of diesel powered aircraft engines so in the end it's a positive for me.

[@WarblesOnALot]

@@exharkhun5605 G'day, Actually, he's a fcuking IDIOT, pretending to be a Wannabe. A Flying Boat...., is NOT - "basically a Fixed-Wing Floatplane..." Every Video this Peanut makes is RIDDLED with errors. Such is Life. Have a good one. Stay safe. ;-p Ciao !

[@joebfnl1079]

Believe it or not. These days with all the wild fire's all over the planet these days!. This aircraft would be a perfect water bomber!.

[@brrrt6666]

I'd love that!

[@shaunlaverty8898]

There’s the remaining Martin Mars for that, but apparently the old warbirds are just not economical enough and age is getting to them.

[@ribbitgoesthedoglastnamehe4681]

Hmmm. It certainly is big. But it might lose in things like accuracy, economy and the size of water it needs. A smaller plane can land on shorter and narrower bodies of water, and take off in places such as between mountains. A giant such as this needs huge amounts of space.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

@@ribbitgoesthedoglastnamehe4681 They have 747 water bombers now...

[@ribbitgoesthedoglastnamehe4681]

@@WALTERBROADDUS No. They are retired from use.

[@majorkursk780]

Should be great to see the one surviving example fly again. Watching progress of it's restoration would be amazing also!

[@tobiashaas1465]

Thenp

[@tobiashaas1465]

Then let's start restoring the single one left...

[@TurboSeth]

I wish I was rich then I could fund warplane recovery

[@majorkursk780]

@@TurboSeth Do any photos exist showing this submerged airplane?

[@MrCenturion13]

I have a 1/72 scale model of this at home. I should build it soon.

[@waterlicker8635]

You need to get the paint right now because testors is no longer making model paints because sadly today’s generation doesn’t do models anymore, which I am sad and mad because it is owned by Rustoleum and there is still a number of people who make models, in fact, most model videos I see get more than 1 million views which means that modeling as a hobby is still thriving

[@MrCenturion13]

@@waterlicker8635 : no shortage of paints down at my local!

[@52down]

Bought one on auction. I'm scared of even looking at sprues

[@Wombat1916]

I already have - it's hanging next to a B-52 and near to a B-36. They dwarf everything else!

[@52down]

@@waterlicker8635 why limit yourself to testors only, why there are many other superb manufacturers?

[@Ronin4614]

To think how the US Congress gave Howard Hughes such a tough time over his flying boat.

[@frostedbutts4340]

The Spruce Goose was WAY bigger than this to be fair

[@Ronin4614]

@@frostedbutts4340 Indeed!

[@simongleaden2864]

It's a flying boat, NOT a seaplane. If the fuselage is a hull that sits in the water, it's a flying boat. If the aircraft has floats that sit on the water with the fuselage clear of the water, it's a seaplane. Simple.

[@guyh.4553]

There were 2 of those massive water bombers stationed at the Moses Lake WA airport this 2021 summer. Talk about impressive! There's also a PBY Catalina there that looks like its going to be restored. I can't wait to see this boat restored! It would be cool if a different airline would come in & offer this as a luxury vacation industry

[@stantaylor3350]

Those are Marten flying boats

[@stephengardiner9867]

@@stantaylor3350 The last two remaining Martin Mars aircraft. Bloody huge. Saw them years ago at Sproat Lake in British Columbia, Canada. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there was a Grumman Goose there as well.

[@guyh.4553]

Those bombers are made in Canada.

[@skookapalooza2016]

Little known fact: The Jumo opposed piston diesel engine design was purchased by Fairbanks-Morse in Wisconsin before the war. They, in turn, produced the engine for the U.S. Navy. Since then, every U.S. submarine has had at least one example of the engine until the recent debut of the Virginia class SSN.

[@patrickporter6536]

Napier also bought a license and developed opposed-piston engines like the Deltic with 3 crankshafts.

[@keithbrown2458]

Well you did it again I’ve never heard of this plane before until you showed it thanks again

[@robinwells8879]

What a magnificent looking machine. Again, completely unknown to me. Many thanks for posting.

[@teddy.d174]

😳 Gun turrets on a freaking wing?!?!? I’m always amazed by the ingenuity of those, who design/engineer the many goodies and transports, used by the military.

[@zxbzxbzxb1]

Me-323s also had gun turrets on the wing. Guess if the wing is thick enough, why not? The Pe-8 's another one, it had 2 rear facing cannon turrets mounted behind the undercarriage nacelles underneath the wings.

[@johndoe-so2ef]

I have to wonder if they wouldn't have been better off mounting a couple autocannons in blisters alongside the tail, or perhaps adding a couple/three centerline turrets....

[@bafalconbafalcon3184]

Also check out BV 238.

[@ChiChi-dy9qi]

I'll never understand why people seek to destroy such beautiful aircraft. This should be flying at airshows.

[@Wideoval73]

Another really good video on a very unique aircraft. Keep up the good work. I really enjoy your videos.

[@gilzor9376]

Definitely a 'must do' to follow the project of raising the scuttled plane. There obviously is information on it if this much is known. The fact of it surviving intact and preserved is a fascinating subject on it's own, let alone it's place in history.

[@alward9901]

Wing gunner . ( when can I come in for dinner . It’s bloody cold out here ? )

[@hotlineztribe9096]

This is like the one RC model I would absolutely love to build at scale! However it's impossible to find plans or someone who's done a scratch build. I wish I could like this video twice!!!

[@michisauer]

Revell one had a Modell to build. You might be able to still get one of these to scale up.

[@waterwarriors911]

ABSOLUTELY LOVE YOUR CHANNEL

[@Tbonyandsteak]

Lloyd:"Germany had a batallion of men armored with Air guns." Harry:"Wow, never heard of them, what is the name of that Batallion"? Lloyd:"Luftwaffe"

[@bradwilliams1691]

Although it had 6 engines, I'm quite surprised as to the size of the propellers. They seem rather small for an aircraft of this size.

[@kendrickwilliams3696]

I love your videos. I watch them all the time.

[@americanpatriot2422]

Outstanding video and presentation.

[@paoloviti6156]

It would be nice to see the restored BV-222 flying again or at least sent to a museum!!

[@davidrivero7943]

Has to be the sleekest Flying big Boat , theres ever been. That Dornie's Cockpit looks more like a Command Bridge & that Cameo of a beautiful Connie was unexpected. 👍

[@brianb7686]

One of the most important firefighting aircraft is a thoroughly modern flying boat; the Bombardier CL 415.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

Russians would say Be 200

[@bryangrote8781]

Love these videos about rare aircraft few have heard of. Also, is there ANY plane from WW2 that Eric Brown didn’t test fly? Incredible how many types he flew and somehow never got killed. Test pilots usually had short careers in that era.

[@markpaul8178]

Hi Brian,I saw a two hr.video of him once when he talked about the different aircraft he flew.He was the first pilot to land and take off in a mosquito from a British air craft carrier .He lost a lot of test pilot friends because they were to tall when they crash landed an aircraft and ether smashed their legs or broke their necks.

[@K-Effect]

I bet there's still one of these giant sleeping in Antarctica

[@ianandjohnandmaniandreni9323]

I think it was the bigger 238 shown earlier in the documentary which General Hans Kammler was rumoured to have escaped with. Could explain the empty submarines turning up in South America at the end of the war. Fuel tankers on the way down. The guy wasn't captured at the war's end, that much is certain. Being in charge of all wonder weapons (Werner Von Braun's Boss) he would've been high up on the Allies list of Top Nazis. But not a lot's been written about him compared to the others.....

[@yveaux500]

6:49 The weatherstation operation on was actually called "Schatzgräber" (for those who want to google it) Great short documentary. Well done.

[@jazzbear02]

Wounded "soldiers", not wounded "nazis", unless you want to maintain that the Wehrmacht was synonymous with nazis.

[@Rendell001]

It's become increasingly prevalent these days that no distinction is made anymore - all Germans in WWII are Nazi's by default. This of course removes any nuace from the subject and is a sign of how most topics are approached these days...

[@jasonz7788]

Great work Sir thank you

[@robertkugel4570]

Blohm & Voss was already a major ship builder in Hamburg (founded in 1877) when it established Hamburger Flugzeugbau in 1933 as a subsidiary. It changed the name to match the parent in 1937. HFB became defunct in 1945 but was revived as an independent company in 1956 and mostly acted as a subcontractor for aircraft production. Its most notable aircraft was the “Hansa Jet,” a forward swept wing design produced in the 1960s that failed as a business jet but was used by the Luftwaffe.

[@johndoe-so2ef]

Awesome that there are plans for restoration!

[@johncunningham4820]

That Dornier , that actually LOOKED like a Ship . VERY STEAMPUNK . Gorgeous .

[@allgood6760]

Thanks for this 👍✈️

[@TomasErikssonErnt]

Great vid 👍

[@luisalvirez9138]

Great content as always Sooo glad you have altered the cadence of your narration make the product much more enjoyable In the past the tone deterred from the final product Great work

[@Milosz_Ostrow]

(5:34) "... and 221 wounded Nazis ..." - What an utterly absurd statement. Were these *_card-carrying_* members of the Nazi Party, or were they just wounded German troops?

[@pickeljarsforhillary102]

I have 1/144 Anigrand kit of it and it is a monster.

[@johnmcelwain5884]

German Spruce Goose type plane? Refuel U-Boats is good plan.

[@beachboy0505]

Excellent video 📹 9:02 Eric Brown strikes again

[@slabbadanks5829]

the title of this video needs to be a thrash metal album honestly

[@johnwright291]

I read that hitlers pilot Hans Baur tried to talk hitler into escaping Berlin in this plane but was unsuccessful of course.

[@CarlosGonzalez-tk1wf]

Nais!. Thanks you.

[@samcoon6699]

Wow, this aircraft was bigger than the B-29!

[@Idahoguy10157]

Capt Eric Brown RN has flown everything!

[@clanzocu390]

Japan still uses ShinMaywa US-2 which are seaplanes/amphibious aircraft. Greece and India have also shown interest in purchasing copies of these aircraft to serve as sea and rescue aircraft for coast guard and navy.

[@jacobstewart1950]

The line that the flying boat trailed off after the war was funny. The US navy tried to have a jet powered flying boat to deliver nukes

[@chrislong3938]

Not many seem to know this but that 'step' seen on all flying boats was invented due to the mutual cohesion between the craft and the water...it broke that cohesion and allowed the plane to lift off much faster than they might, normally. You can thank Glenn Curtiss for it! Just a little nugget.

[@xfirehurican]

Look like something the Soviet AF would come up with.

[@Minong_Manitou_Mishepeshu]

Bet that had the range to fly to Nueschwabenland.

[@michaelprocter1298]

If they make another BV 222 and fly it would be amazing.

[@DHNetwork]

that , is a beautiful flying boat..

[@MrPh30]

Kg 200 ,KampfGeschwader ,special flights, covert missions,cqptured flights. Many clandestine operations, between Europe and South America and much more .

[@Blackadder75]

War is a terrible thing and not something to glorify, but I am happy that there are so many small stories about unusual machines on land , sea or air, both sides tried out various experimental devices.

[@blakhorizon915]

That music surprised me and I love it

[@777jones]

I was hoping for a contrived ukelele so good

[@blakhorizon915]

@@777jones im waiting for a cold open of screaming bagpipes lol

[@michaelchristensen6884]

I so wish that military members from the past would have had the forethought to preserve at least one model of each military vehicle/plane. So many vehicles have been lost in time never to be seen again.

[@ZGGordan]

BB2222V222C222 this guy is the best narator ever :D

[@bigsmoke6189]

That's 6 X 1000 hp engines , not 6000 hp jumo diesels

[@andrewdrabble8939]

A BV222 would certainly be a sight to behold

[@MrWjb55]

i hope they will get her up but i haven't seen any news in years about raising her

[@HarborLockRoad]

Id heard recently that one, possibly 2 the americans had captured were sunk off the east coast after testing, the story could be b.s. but you seem to confirm that at least one was.

[@fredo0084]

Amazing aircraft

[@vaultboye]

Would love to see this thing in WT.

[@matthews931]

What a beautiful flying beast 😀

[@ericstromberg9608]

Pretty svelte-looking for a big flying boat.

[@cenccenc946]

The germans seem to have built great experimental machines, then failed to follow through on mass production in favor of the "wonder weapons". Imagine if they had built thousands of these able to solve their frontline logistics problems. a similar error was made with their jet program. Like they failed to actually recognize they already had their "wonder weapons".

[@markpaul8178]

A thought very well expressed.

[@joshjonson2368]

Thousands of bv222s? Lol maybe if they deforest all of Germany they might be able to assuming the brits don't level their manufacturing facilities first

[@edwardgilmour9013]

The footage at 9:52 match with "Purposely sunk by a 'navy destroyer'"; includes footage (blurred) of two planes flying off; suggesting a rocket attack?

[@robertmcmanus636]

Stock footage. This channel does stuff like that all the time.

[@jasonharryphotog]

They should really of been building them in volume , diesel long range variants would probably been very useful , and that size seems to be more a standard later on for military

[@Ag3nt0fCha0s]

Nah, what they really needed was stuff to take out the Reds

[@marcredmond]

Great Channel Guys ! What's the name of the piece of music used in the opening of this video ?

[@docholliday7157]

I still want an entire wing consisting of PBY-5 (or Super Cat), Short Shetland (or Sutherland) Grumman Goose and Albatross, Beriev Albatros and Martin Mars aircraft.

[@marinegunny826]

I love the giant flying boats! Don't care whether allied or axis. Wish they were still around.

[@bombasticbuster9340]

We either need to advance large, rigid airships, or giant ground effect ocean planes to move cargo faster. Some places like Hawaii and Puerto Rico would benefit from fast shipping. It could be more cost effective than current cargo. Not to mention the current stoppage of cargo vessels off the California coast could be lessened by a flying boat that could land in more areas without a port or bay.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

Not really. The Return of speed vs. Cargo is small.

[@richardgaunt9417]

Hey next time, after talking about the largest planes the Luftwaffe has to offer, what about the smallest planes of the Luftwaffe? Like the Bv-40 attack glider?

[@jamesmerkel9442]

320: I hve never seen this ether like lots of sea stuff u mentioned my special love for type esp b4 airports built WW2 or any where till yrs later small ports.

[@weirdshibainu]

The Germans needed thousands of these in a non flying boat configuration as strategic bombers for use in Russia.

[@thegrinch8161]

Crickey, it would be easier to which planes the small who walked tall didn't fly. Captain brown I doff my cap to you in respect and when I have my nightly snifter I'll salute you sir.👍

[@pauld.b7129]

Flying boats should make a comeback. It would solve lots of issues with getting supplies to small islands and Pacific nations, as well as inland in hard to reach places with a large enough river... They do this with choppers, smaller boats and helicopters, but these would have much more payload.

[@1701echopapa]

I see that you've reduced the amount of fake dust and dirt. Good show!

[@JackGordone]

The Grumman Douche?!?! You meant DUCK, I think.

[@norlockv]

It’s the Grumman Goose.

[@BV-fr8bf]

Can't wait to pull my family to see this restoration.

[@paulybassman7311]

On the 222... I noticed the wing "floats" were actually Hydroplanes

[@kevinwhite9761]

It’s a beautiful plane

[@edwardfletcher7790]

Flying boats were such a great idea...

[@josephkool8411]

They ate rotten polar bear meat? You should make a video about that

[@alastair9446]

I bet they ate the liver, too much vitamen A

[@CaptHollister]

I can't help but think that one of Germany's refuelable at sea, diesel-powered giant flying boats could have been the twished-for Amerika bomber Germany wanted rather than the different dead-end land-based giants they could never quite develop.

[@Grimenoughtomaketherobotcry]

Now you know which aircraft corporations had Adolph's ear. Or at least Goering's.

[@lucasnelson6646]

This music is a bop

[@redtomcat1725]

A noble but expensive undertaking to salvage and restore the unit preserved in the fiord.

[@TheSchmed]

No mention of Hughes’ Spruce Goose ?

[@timgosling6189]

The 2 early attempts at building seaplanes in the 19th century aren't really relevant as neither could fly under its own power. Their only successful features were having wings and not sinking. Flying boats later did become more popular with the advent of powered flight. The larger BV238 only flew as a single prototype and never saw combat. The Wiking had a long flat 'floor' inside its cabin, not a 'long flat door'. Just to clarify it had six 1000 hp engines, not 6000 hp engines. The exact number built is known, and it is 13. They are individually well documented. The BV222B with the higher-power diesels never got past the concept stage as the engines weren't actually available. The five production C-standard aircraft were given the 1000 hp diesel. I think the Russians would take issue with you showing Moscow as a potential base for Nazi flights to Japan. German land forces did just get in sight of Moscow but famously never took the city. All engine fires are significant. You mean a significant number of engine fires, and I'd say racking up four engine fires in 38 minutes total flight time equates to one on every take off. That would certainly discourage further attempts! Congratulation on the video though; a lot of it does for a change match what you're saying.

[@robertphillips6296]

It sadly amazing what has been thrown away over the years because it was believed to be worthless only to discover it's true value after it was gone.

[@billpetersen298]

You should talk to my ex wife.

[@1DEADBEEF1]

The forest fire fighting airplane at the end looks to be a famous polish dromader - nothing in common with flying boats!

[@vahe2391]

The Bv 222 was the only gigantic flying boat built by Nazi Germany to ever reach production, and its wingspan was comparable to that of the Short Shetland flying boat built by the UK near the end of WW2. The military transport capabilities of the Bv 222 were in such high demand that the first Bv 222 prototype was dispatched to Athens, Greece, from which it carried supplies for the Afrika Korps, making 17 flights between October 16 and November 6, 1941.

[@frestkd]

German Soruce Goose before there was the Spruce Goose

[@turkeytrac1]

Which is bigger, the VB 222 or Howard Hughes's Hercules aka "the spruce goose"?

[@BV-fr8bf]

Spruce goose