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Challenge #35

These are the ten questions from War Dossier daily challenge #35, of 27 October 2026, with the correct answer and an explanation for each. Today's challenge is a different one and it is free to play.

What aircraft engine, fitted to the B-29, does this photograph show?
Credit: Alan Wilson · Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0 · View at original source

The dossier entry: Los problemas del motor Wright R-3350

The Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone, an 18-cylinder twin-row radial engine that powered the B-29, suffered serious overheating and in-flight fire problems during 1944, stemming from insufficient cooling airflow and a magnesium crankcase, a lightweight but highly flammable material. These failures caused numerous losses of aircraft and crews, especially during training in the United States before combat deployment, and forced improvements to cooling baffles and cylinder valves.

Challenge answers

1 / 10

What aircraft engine, fitted to the B-29, does this photograph show?

  • The Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone
  • The Pratt & Whitney R-2800
  • The Rolls-Royce Merlin
  • The Allison V-1710

The R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone, an 18-cylinder radial, was the B-29's specific engine and its main source of technical trouble.

2 / 10

Near which town did the first contact between Soviet and American troops take place in April 1945?

  • Torgau
  • Halbe
  • Potsdam
  • Reims

The meeting between Soviet and American patrols took place near Torgau, on the banks of the Elbe.

3 / 10

In which air force did Erich Hartmann serve?

  • The German Luftwaffe
  • The British RAF
  • The Soviet Red Air Force
  • The U.S. Army Air Forces

Hartmann flew for the Luftwaffe, mainly on the Eastern Front with the fighter wing JG 52.

4 / 10

Which British design was the US 57 mm M1 anti-tank gun derived from?

  • The Ordnance QF 6-pounder
  • The Ordnance QF 17-pounder
  • The QF 25-pounder
  • The QF 3.7-inch anti-aircraft gun

The US M1 is essentially the British 6-pounder built under licence, differing mainly in having a barrel about 40 cm longer, since American factories had no shortage of long lathes.

5 / 10

What slogan appears on J. Howard Miller's poster linked to Rosie the Riveter?

  • 'We Can Do It!'
  • 'Loose lips sink ships'
  • 'Uncle Sam wants you'
  • 'Keep calm and carry on'

Miller's poster carries the motto 'We Can Do It!', a message of encouragement to female workers.

6 / 10

Unlike the technological legacy centered on the rockets that reached space, what does Operation Paperclip specifically focus on?

  • The relocation of scientists and their technical knowledge
  • The final design of the Saturn V rocket
  • The 1969 Moon landing
  • The Soviet development of the R-1 rocket

Paperclip is the program that relocated people; the technological legacy covers the final outcome of that knowledge.

7 / 10

In which month did the first Tiger Is of schwere Panzer-Abteilung 501 arrive in Tunisia?

  • November 1942
  • June 1941
  • March 1944
  • January 1943

The first Tiger Is landed in Tunisia in November 1942, and their combat debut against the Western Allies came as early as 1 December of that same year, near Tebourba.

8 / 10

What command did Fletcher exercise at Coral Sea?

  • Overall tactical command of the Allied carrier force
  • Command of a single submarine
  • Command of Australian land-based aviation
  • Command of the Japanese fleet

Fletcher directed the combined Allied carriers from Yorktown.

9 / 10

What role did Italy adopt toward the Allies after declaring war on its former German ally?

  • That of co-belligerent
  • That of a neutral power
  • That of a British protectorate
  • That of a full coalition member since 1940

The Badoglio government declared war on Germany in October 1943 and began fighting as a co-belligerent alongside the Allies.

10 / 10

Who warned the Americans of the Japanese detachment's imminent attack minutes before it occurred?

  • Jacob Vouza, a coastwatcher scout
  • A Cactus Air Force pilot
  • Lieutenant Colonel Merritt Edson
  • A captured Japanese prisoner

Jacob Vouza, a local scout collaborating with the Allied coastwatchers, warned of the attack shortly before it began.

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