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German industry could build two medium bombers for one heavy bomber and the RLM would not gamble on developing a heavy bomber which would also take time. The Luftwaffe [N 2] ( German pronunciation: [lftvaf] ( listen)) was the aerial-warfare branch of the German Wehrmacht before and during World War II. [106], Nazi Germany's initial need for substantially more powerful aviation engines originated with the private venture Heinkel He 119 high-speed reconnaissance design, and the ostensibly twin-"engined" Messerschmitt Me 261 for maritime reconnaissance duties to power each of these designs, Daimler-Benz literally "doubled-up" their new, fuel-injected DB 601 engines. Luftwaffe - Wikipedia In World War I, the Fliegertruppe's initial, 191415 era Feldflieger Abteilung observation/reconnaissance air units, each with six two-seater aircraft apiece, had been attached to specific army formations and acted as support. A further five Zerstrergruppen ("Destroyer groups") were created (JGr 101, 102, 126, 152 and 176), all equipped with the Bf 110. It listed all the targets of the bombing, which included: the royal palace, the war ministry, military headquarters, the central post office, the telegraph office, passenger and goods railway stations, power stations and barracks. However Wever's vision of a "Ural" bomber was never realized,[29] and his emphasis on strategic aerial operations was lost. Gring played a leading role in the buildup of the Luftwaffe in 193336, but had little further involvement in the development of the force after 1936, and Milch became the "de facto" minister until 1937. Luftwaffe losses, on the other hand, were high as well. That incarnation of the German air force was disbanded by victorious Allied powers in 1946. The Mosquito, one of the. Udet merely conveyed OKL's own dive-bombing capability request to Ernst Heinkel concerning the He 177, who vehemently opposed such an idea, which ruined its development as a heavy bomber. " ", 2008 ., . [173] Of about 400 prisoners forced to participate in cold-water experiments, 80 to 90 were killed. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the Luftstreitkrfte of the Imperial Army and the Marine-Fliegerabteilung of the Imperial Navy, had been disbanded in May 1920 in accordance with the terms of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles which banned Germany from having any air force. This lack of understanding between the flak and flying branches of the defense would plague the Luftwaffe throughout the war. Possessing essentially the same displacement of 46.5 litres (2,840in3) as the initial version of the liquid-cooled Junkers Jumo 222 multibank engine, itself a "converse" choice in configuration to the DB 604 in possessing six banks of four inline cylinders apiece instead; coincidentally, both the original Jumo 222 design and the DB 604 each weighed about a third less (at some 1,080 kilograms or 2,380 pounds of dry weight) than the DB 606, but the DB 604's protracted development was diverting valuable German aviation powerplant research resources, and with more development of the "twinned-DB 605" based DB 610 coupled engine (itself initiated in June 1940 with a top output level of 2,950PS (2,170kW),[107] and brought together in the same way with the same all-up weight of 1.5 tonnes as the DB 606 had been) giving improved results at the time, the Reich Air Ministry stopped all work on the DB 604 in September 1942. The United States Eighth Air Force deployed to England with a daunting mission: destroy Germany's ability to wage war, and gain command of the European skies to pave the way for an Allied land invasion. [38] The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW), the overall command for all German military forces, ordered reductions in raw materials and steel used for armament production. It was renamed the Luftstreitkrfte on 8 October 1916. It is relatively certain that 2,500 German fighter pilots attained ace status, having achieved at least five aerial victories. [90] The Luftwaffe's technical edge was slipping as the only formidable new aircraft in the German arsenal was the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. Usually, the Kommodore would hold the rank of Oberstleutnant (lieutenant colonel) or, exceptionally, an Oberst (colonel). Answer (1 of 19): They lost funding as the war went on. However, after increased commitments in the east, overall operational ready rates fluctuated between 59% and 65% for the remaining year. Luftwaffe troops participated in the murder of Jews imprisoned in ghettos in Eastern Europe. [119][120] In 1944 and 1945, as many as 90,000 concentration prisoners worked in the aviation industry, and were about one tenth of the concentration camp population over the winter of 194445. To prevent the movement of large enemy ground forces to the decisive areas by destroying railways and roads, particularly bridges and tunnels, which are indispensable for the movement and supply of forces. It was not put under a unified command until 1943, which also affected the performance of the nine Jagdgeschwader fighter wings in existence in 1939. The Sturmbcke flew Fw 190A fighters armed with heavy 20mm and 30mm cannon to destroy heavy bombers, but this increased the weight and affected the performance of the Fw 190 at a time when the aircraft were meeting large numbers of equal if not superior Allied types.[91]. General Felmy had already expressed a desire to build a naval air arm to support Kriegsmarine operations in the Atlantic and British waters. However, Raeder and the Kriegsmarine failed to press for naval air power until the war began, mitigating the Luftwaffe's responsibility. In March 1938, as the Anschluss was taking place, Gring ordered Felmy to investigate the prospect of air raids against Britain. A Stabschwarm (headquarters flight) was attached to each Geschwader. [178] About 1,300 civilians were killed, hundreds were injured, and 90 percent of the town center was destroyed. Updates? [172], In early 1942, prisoners at Dachau were used by Rascher in experiments to perfect ejection seats at high altitudes. How The Luftwaffe Fought The Battle Of Britain [104], By the late 1930s, airframe construction methods had progressed to the point where airframes could be built to any required size, founded on the all-metal airframe design technologies pioneered by Hugo Junkers in 1915 and constantly improved upon for over two decades to follow especially in Germany with aircraft like the Dornier Do X flying boat and the Junkers G 38 airliner. The spring 1942 Amerikabomber program also sought to produce useful strategic bomber designs for the Luftwaffe, with their prime design priority being an advanced trans-oceanic range capability as the main aim of the project to directly attack the United States from Europe or the Azores. [178] A 1989 Sender Freies Berlin documentary stated that there were no military or industrial targets in the area,[179][180] except for a small sugar factory in the outskirts of the town. The Luftwaffe (pronounced IPA: ['luft..f]) is the name for the air force of Germany.It was the name for the air force of Germany during the Third Reich when Adolf Hitler was in power (between 1933 and 1945). [98] The RLM did have its own Technisches Amt (T-Amt) department to handle aviation technology issues, but this was tasked with handling all aviation technology issues in Nazi Germany, both military and civilian in nature, and also not known to have ever had any clear and actively administrative and consultative links with the front-line forces established for such purposes. Luftwaffe guards were also stationed at many of the concentration camps along with the Heer and SS. It had good speed and range, but it was not agile enough to take on RAF fighters. That's roughly equivalent to the number of German citizens who died from Allied raids."[74]. [99] This was partly owing to production planning failures before the war and the demands of the army. It mattered little, as war was avoided by the Munich Agreement, and the need for long-range aircraft did not arise.[45]. The Treaty of Versailles had banned Germany from possessing warplanes, so much of the groundwork for the Luftwaffe was laid by civilian aircraft production and Freikorps paramilitary groups. Mainly, this path was chosen to encourage more flexible use of air power and offer the ground forces the right conditions for a decisive victory. However, due to lack of co-ordination between the RLM and OKL, all fighter and bomber development was oriented toward short-range aircraft, as they could be produced in greater numbers, rather than quality long-range aircraft, something that put the Luftwaffe at a disadvantage as early as the Battle of Britain. Which Plane Did The Luftwaffe Shoot Down The Most? - War Bird Fanatics [88] Hitler, in particular, wanted the defense to rest on anti-aircraft artillery as it gave the civilian population a "psychological crutch" no matter how ineffective the weapons. The strength of a bomber Geschwader was about 8090 aircraft. It also mentioned that seven aerial mines were dropped and that areas in the center and northwest of the city had been destroyed, comprising 20 to 25 percent of its total area. World War II - Battle of Britain and Luftwaffe air raids [170] Ten thousand Luftwaffe troops were stationed on the Eastern Front for such "anti-partisan" operations.[171]. Albert Kesselring 's Luftflotte 1 was equipped with 807 aircraft, which was augmented by 92 Seaplanes of Fliegerfuhrer der Seeluftstreitkrafte. [98] Galland also pointed to the mistakes and challenges made in the development of the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet which included the protracted development time required for its Junkers Jumo 004 jet engines to achieve reliability. The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor airliner's airframe engineered for civilian airliner use lacked the structural strength for combat maneuvering at lower altitudes, making it unsuitable for use as a bomber in maritime patrol duties. This situation with the 802 and 803 designs led to the company's engineering personnel being redirected to place all efforts on improving the 801 to develop it to its full potential. [98], At the beginning of the war, commanders were replaced with younger commanders too quickly. [173] Eugen Hagen, head doctor of the Luftwaffe, infected inmates of Natzweiler concentration camp with typhus in order to test the efficacy of proposed vaccines. Despite its belated use of advanced turbojet and rocket-propelled aircraft for the destruction of Allied bombers, the Luftwaffe was overwhelmed by the Allies' superior numbers and improved tactics, and a lack of trained pilots and aviation fuel. [184] In contrast, Pavlowitch states that almost 50 percent of housing in Belgrade was destroyed. [166] Encouraged by Gring, they murdered thousands of Jews and other civilians. [26], Nevertheless, Wever recognised the importance of strategic bombing. This was particularly apparent with the Sturmbck squadrons, formed to replace the increasingly ineffective twin-engined Zerstrer heavy fighter wings as the primary defense against USAAF daylight raids. The Sudeten Crisis highlighted German unpreparedness to conduct a strategic air war (although the British and French were in a much weaker position), and Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe be expanded to five times its earlier size. Felmy noted the alleged panic that had broken out in London during the Munich crisis, evidence he believed of British weakness. Despite the tactical victories won, they failed to achieve a decisive victory. In addition, OKL had not foreseen the industrial and military effort strategic bombing would require. [8] The air war on the Western Front received the most attention in the annals of the earliest accounts of military aviation, since it produced aces such as Manfred von Richthofen and Ernst Udet, Oswald Boelcke, and Max Immelmann. This page was last edited on 28 June 2023, at 19:44. Lindbergh viewed the Soviet Union as the paramount threat to Western civilization, and his belief in the supremacy of . By March 1940, even the DB 603 was being "twinned-up"[107] as the 601/606 and 605/610 had been, to become their replacement "power system": this was the strictly experimental, approximately 1.8-tonne weight apiece, twin-crankcase DB 613; capable of over 2,570kW (3,495 PS) output, but which never left its test phase. [7] By the summer of 1939, the Luftwaffe had twenty-eight Geschwader (wings). [116], Ground support and combat units from the Reichsarbeitsdienst (RAD), Luftschutzpolizei (LSP), National Socialist Flyers Corps (NSFK) and the National Socialist Motor Corps (NSKK) were also put at the Luftwaffe's disposal during the war. Hundreds of Luftwaffe pilots and technical personnel visited, studied and were trained at Soviet air force schools in several locations in Central Russia. "Control Council Law No. The mounting demands of the Defence of the Reich campaign gradually destroyed the Luftwaffe's fighter arm. He earned a B.A. [47], Udet's "love affair" with dive-bombing seriously affected the long-term development of the Luftwaffe, especially after General Wever's death. The air force was not subordinated to the army support role, and it was not given any particular strategic mission. It was also by far one of the most shot American fighters on this list by the top 20 Aces, accounting for 6.73 of their total claims. Black Cross/Red Star-Vol. There, it was examined by senior Luftwaffe leadership. [60] The Luftwaffe reached its largest personnel strength during the period November 1943 to June 1944, with almost three million men and women in uniform; 1.7million of these were male soldiers, 1million male Wehrmachtsbeamte and civilian employees, and almost 300,000 female and male auxiliaries (Luftwaffenhelfer). Raeder also complained about the poor standard of aerial torpedoes, although their design was the responsibility of the Wehrmacht combined military's naval arm (the Kriegsmarine), even considering production of the Japanese Type 91 torpedo used at Pearl Harbor as the Lufttorpedo LT 850 by August 1942. Knauss promoted the Giulio Douhet theory that air power could win wars alone by destroying enemy industry and breaking enemy morale by "terrorizing the population" of major cities. [131][132], Almost 1,000 fuselages of the jet fighter Messerschmitt Me 262 were produced at Gusen, a subcamp of Mauthausen and brutal Nazi labor camp,[133][134] where the average life expectancy was six months. [118] Aircraft parts were also manufactured at Flossenbrg, Buchenwald, Dachau, Ravensbrck, Gross-Rosen, Natzweiler, Herzogenbusch, and Neuengamme. At this time, Wever conducted war games (simulated against France) in a bid to establish his theory of a strategic bombing force that would, he thought, prove decisive by winning the war through the destruction of enemy industry, even though these exercises also included tactical strikes against enemy ground forces and communications. As one example, Luftflotte 5 was created in 1940 to direct operations in Norway and Denmark, and other Luftflotten were created as necessary. Lacking strategic bombers (the very "Ural bombers" that General Wever had asked for six years before) the Luftwaffe could not strike at Soviet production-centers regularly or with the needed force. [32], Wever's participation in the construction of the Luftwaffe came to an abrupt end on 3 June 1936 when he was killed along with his engineer in a Heinkel He 70 Blitz, ironically on the very day that his "Bomber A" heavy bomber design competition was announced. When the Luftwaffe eventually tangled it Hurricane, it claimed 1750 which is about 12% of the 14,483 built. Omissions? All first saw active service in the Condor Legion against Soviet-supplied aircraft. An American aircraft (with an English designed engine) it was capable of flying to Berlin and back. In addition, Gring regarded any other branch of the German military developing its own aviation as an encroachment on his authority and continually frustrated the Navy's attempts to build its own airpower.[95]. [61] In October 1944, the anti-aircraft units had 600,000 soldiers and 530,000 auxiliaries, including 60,000 male members of the Reichsarbeitsdienst, 50,000 Luftwaffenhelfer (males age 1517), 80,000 Flakwehrmnner (males above military age) and Flak-V-soldaten (males unfit for military service), and 160,000 female Flakwaffenhelferinnen and RAD-Maiden, as well as 160,000 foreign personnel (Hiwis). [172] The experiments were conducted at Dachau and Auschwitz. In January 1945, during the closing stages of the Battle of the Bulge, the Luftwaffe made a last-ditch effort to win air superiority, and met with failure. [citation needed], The twinned-up Daimler-Benz DB 601-based, 1,750kW output DB 606, and its more powerful descendant, the 2,130kW output DB 605-based DB 610, weighing some 1.5 tonnes apiece, were the only 1,500kW-plus output level aircraft powerplants to ever be produced by Germany for Luftwaffe combat aircraft, mostly for the aforementioned Heinkel He 177A heavy bomber. Armed forces losses: statistical research, Olma-Press, Moscow, 2001, p. 430), E.R. The Luftwaffe lacked an effective air defense system early in the war. Aircraft strength was 4,201 operational aircraft: 1,191 bombers, 361 dive bombers, 788 fighters, 431 heavy fighters, and 488 transports. "[40] The premature death of Wever, one of the Luftwaffe's finest officers, left the Luftwaffe without a strategic air force during World War II, which eventually proved fatal to the German war effort. The German air power theorists continued to develop strategic theories, but emphasis was given to army support, as Germany was a continental power and expected to face ground operations following any declaration of hostilities. The maturation of Germanys domestic aerospace industry eased the Luftwaffes reliance on American technology, and the Eurofighter Typhoon, a multirole attack aircraft built by the EADS consortium, served as the Luftwaffes principal combat aircraft in the 21st century. Another Blohm und Voss design of 1940, the enormous, 46-meter wingspan six-engined Blohm und Voss BV 222 Wiking maritime patrol flying boat, would see it capable of a 6,800km (4,200-mile) range at maximum endurance when using higher-output versions of the same Jumo 205 powerplants as used by the BV 138, in later years. What did the Luftwaffe's leadership think of the B-17 Flying Fortress [126] In 1944, many Luftwaffe soldiers were transferred to concentration camps to alleviate personnel shortages.[153]. Since the Treaty of Versailles forbade Germany to have an air force, German pilots trained in secret. [50] The Luftwaffe was just starting to accept the Junkers Ju 88A for service, as it had encountered design difficulties, with only a dozen aircraft of the type considered combat-ready. Swedish historian Christer Bergstrm dispels six myths that still surround the epic Battle of Britain . Not only did it have the necessary range but also outclassed the German interceptors of the period. [67], In the spring of 1940 the Luftwaffe assisted the Kriegsmarine and Heer in the invasion of Norway. [21], In December 1934, Chief of the Luftwaffe General Staff Walther Wever sought to mold the Luftwaffe's battle doctrine into a strategic plan. Military-age members of the NSFK were drafted into the Luftwaffe. Charles Lindbergh - Luftwaffe Designs, America First Committee, and [136] Vaivara concentration camp in Estonia was also established for shale oil extraction;[137] about 20,000 prisoners worked there and more than 1,500 died at Vaivara. [113] In fact, when protests were raised, Hans Jeschonnek, Chief of the General Staff of the Luftwaffe, said, "First we've got to beat Russia, then we can start training! The estimated total number of destroyed and damaged for the war totaled 76,875 aircraft. This article features descriptions of the most important Luftwaffe aircraft in the German aircraft in the run-up and during World War Two. In order to accomplish it, thousands of American airmen had to face the constant threat of death daily. Moreover, Germany did not possess the economic resources to match the later British and American effort of 19431944, particularly in large-scale mass production of high power output aircraft engines (with output of over least 1,500kW (2,000hp). In April 1933 the Reich Aviation Ministry (Reichsluftfahrtministerium or RLM) was established. The so-called "Gring program", had largely been predicated on the defeat of the Soviet Union in 1941. "[22][23], Corum states that under this doctrine, the Luftwaffe leadership rejected the practice of "terror bombing" (see Luftwaffe strategic bombing doctrine). [53], In April and May 1941, Udet headed the Luftwaffe delegation inspecting the Soviet aviation industry in compliance with the MolotovRibbentrop Pact. [133] Synthetic oil was produced from shale oil deposits by prisoners of Mittlebau-Dora as part of Operation Desert directed by Edmund Geilenberg in order to make up for the decrease in oil production due to Allied bombing. The battle received its name from a speech Winston Churchill delivered to the British House of Commons on June 18, 1940, in which he stated, "the Battle of France is over. With the rise of the Nazi Party and the repudiation of the Versailles Treaty, the Luftwaffe's existence was publicly acknowledged on 26 February 1935, just over two weeks before open defiance of the Versailles Treaty through German rearmament and conscription would be announced on 16 March. With rapidly dwindling supplies of petroleum, oil, and lubricants after this campaign, and as part of the entire combined Wehrmacht military forces as a whole, the Luftwaffe ceased to be an effective fighting force. What was the Luftwaffe's main role during World War II? - Quora Organization of the Luftwaffe (1933-1945) - Wikipedia Despite the shortage of raw materials, Generalluftzeugmeister Ernst Udet had increased production through introducing a 10-hour working day for aviation industries and rationalizing production. But at the start of 1944, Eighth AF commander Jimmy Doolittle made a major change in offensive fighter tactics, which defeated the Luftwaffe's day fighter force from that time onwards. [20] The General Staff blocked the entry of Douhet's theory into doctrine, fearing revenge strikes against German civilians and cities. Even a Leutnant (second lieutenant) could find himself commanding a Staffel. The Imperial German Army Air Service was founded in 1910 with the name Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches, most often shortened to Fliegertruppe. However, these were "appointments", not ranks, within the Luftwaffe. In 1941 an average of 981 aircraft (including 311 fighters) were produced each month. Furthermore, Trenkner stated that German bombers first destroyed the town's hospital. He was acquitted on all four counts. [14][15], The German officer Corps was keen to develop strategic bombing capabilities against its enemies. However, economic and geopolitical considerations had to take priority. The P-51 was therefore able to 'break the back' of the Luftwaffe and gain air supremacy over europe. The airplane was a wondrous invention that let man dominate the skies. The Dornier Do 17 and its variants rounded out the main 3 bomber aircraft types of the Luftwaffe, with over 2,100 built. The responsibility of the defense of German air space fell to the Luftgaukommandos (air district commands). [12], Another prominent figure in German air power construction this time was Helmuth Wilberg. This led to a rush on the part of the RLM to produce the Junkers Ju 86, Heinkel He 111, and Dornier Do 17 before a proper evaluation was made. [156] Several Luftwaffe divisions, including the 1st Parachute Division,[157] 2nd Parachute Division,[158] 4th Parachute Division,[159] 19th Luftwaffe Field Division,[160] 20th Luftwaffe Field Division[161] and the 1st Fallschirm-Panzer Division,[162] committed war crimes in Italy, murdering hundreds of civilians. [130] Part of this increase was due to the deportation of the Hungarian Jews; the Jgerstab program was used to justify the deportations to the Hungarian government. From 1943, the Luftwaffe also had an armored division called Fallschirm-Panzer Division 1 Hermann Gring, which was expanded to a Panzerkorps in 1944.