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Post World War I
At the end of World War I, the German military machine lay devastated, forbidden any attempt to rebuild. But by the dawn of World War II, its army and air forces both had been rejuvenated to sufficient vigor to conquer most of Europe. The Germans, in defiance of Versailles, thoroughly studied and tested the lessons of World War I, analyzed the emerging air doctrines of other nations, and experimented with innovative aviation technology to create the world's most powerful air force by 1940. The debates within the General Staff, led by the likes of Hans van Seeckt, Helmuth Wilberg, Wolfram von Richthofen, and Walter Wever, argued about the future role of airpower and the problems of aligning aviation technology with air doctrine. However, once Herman Goring assumed command, the Lufwaffe would become the airborne tactical arm of the Army. Germany did not dismiss the potential of strategic bombing or embrace terror bombing of civilian populations, and was not heavily influenced by its popular culture's romance with aviation. The result was Germany's comprehensive approach to highly mobile combined-arms warfare, its secret research and training in the Soviet Union, and its remarkable successes during the Spanish Civil War. Back to TopCreation of the Luftwaffe As early as 1933, the German officer Corps was keen to develop strategic bombing capabilities against its enemies. However, economic and geopolitical considerations had to take priority. 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. In December 1934, Chief of the Luftwaffe General Staff Walther Wever sought to mould the Luftwaffe's battle doctrine into a strategic plan. At this time, Wever conducted war games (simulated against the French) 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. After Wever's death on June 3, 1936, Göring began taking more of an interest in the appointment of Luftwaffe staff officers. Göring appointed his successor Albert Kesselring as CS and Ernst Udet head the Reich's Air Ministry Technical Office (Technisches Amt), although he was not a technical expert. Despite this Udet was appointed to and helped change the Luftwaffe's tactical direction towards producing fast medium bombers that were to destroy enemy air power in the battle zone rather than through industrial bombing of its aviation production. These two men disliked each other intensely and as such, failed to co-operate in the foundations of creating a good production base for delivering aircraft needed by the Luftwaffe. Udet also cancelled any further development of a strategic bomber force, limiting the Luftwaffe to tactical support of the army, thereby denying Germany the means of conducting effective strategic bombing of British cities and with no means to attack Russian factories beyond the Urals once war broke out with the Soviet Union.
Blitzkreig Unleashed in Poland at the outbreak of World War Two, it leveled all opposition within a week. With the Blitzkrieg rolling on in 1940, Norway, Holland, Belgium and France fell, but the inherent weaknesses of both the command structure and lack of strategic planning left the Luftwaffe short on the ability to bring Britian to her knees. The Germans were that confident that the war was all but over, with Great Britain on her knees, it was only a matter of time before Germany would rule all of Europe. Production in some areas even slowed down, such as fighter production. However, when a war with the Soviet Union starting soon, another blitzkreig should see another quick war with the expected victory and so Great Britain would have to negotiate a peace. As expected the blitzgreig in Russia in 1941, the Luftwaffe decimated the Soviet Air Force in the opening phase of the war destroying thousands of aircraft both on the ground and in the air. With the fronts stalemated other than Russia, the Luftwaffe had peaked by the end of 1942. Back to TopA Prolonged War With the entry of the USA into the war in late 1941, over the next two years, the Luftwaffe was stretched from one side of Europe to the other. With round the clock bombing from both the Americans and British, the loss of Italy and the Soviets rebuilding their Air Force, troubles from within the Luftwaffe showed that replacements could not match the quality of pilots who had been lost. Eventually, by mid 1944 , a lack of oil, logistics and poor leadership and constant interference from Goring as well as from Hitler regarding the production of new fighters such as the use of the new Me262. Also there was a lack of new aircraft types entering to counter planes such as the American P-51 'Mustang' which led to it's devastation in early 1944. Between February 20-25, 1944, as part of the European strategic bombing campaign, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) launched Operation Argument, a series of missions against the Third Reich that became known as Big Week. The planners intended to lure the Luftwaffe into a decisive battle by launching massive attacks on the German aircraft industry. By defeating the Luftwaffe, the Allies would achieve air superiority and the invasion of Europe could proceed. The daylight bombing campaign was also supported by RAF Bomber Command, operating against the same targets at night. The Americans flew heavily escorted missions against airframe manufacturing and assembly plants and other targets in numerous German cities including: Leipzig, Brunswick, Gotha, Regensburg, Schweinfurt, Augsburg, Stuttgart and Steyr. In six days, the Eighth Air Force bombers based in England flew more than 3,000 sorties and the Fifteenth Air Force based in Italy more than 500. Together they dropped roughly 10,000 tons of bombs. U.S. aircrews claimed more than 500 German fighters destroyed, though the numbers were massively exaggerated. The Luftwaffe losses were high amongst their twin-engined Zerstörer units, and the Bf110 and Me410 groups were decimated. More worrying for the Jagdwaffe was the loss of 17 per-cent of its pilots-nearly 100 experienced pilots were killed. Goring was quoted as saying 'Once I saw P-51s flying over Berlin in the daytime, I knew the jig was up'. Back to TopThe End of the Luftwaffe Ultimately, after the invasion of Europe and the Soviets pressing in on the eastern front, lead to miniscule counter attacks and ineffective attempts to stop the hordes of bombers roaming at will escorted by hundreds, if not thousands of fighters showed the end was in sight. Even so, the Luftwaffe still were able to launch Operation Bodenplatte on the 1st of January 1945 with some 500+ fighters and managed to have the first operational combat jet squadrons which filled Allied pilots with dread. Its pilots flew for the duration of the war, until they were either killed or incapacitated and because of this, the survivors were the highest scoring pilots of World War Two. Some squadrons had thousands of kills tallied to their scoresheets. A lot of 'Experten' had over one hundred kills, and several had kills over two hundred. Two had scored over three hundred. Regardless of the loss in men and material, by the end of the war, the Luftwaffe still rose to meet the Allies right up to the end. This showed the calibre of the men who made the Luftwaffe the most feared Air Force in the World. Back to Top
Aircraft of the Axis available from fineartamerica 
AXIS Fighters of World War Two from Imagekind |
Heinkel He51
Heinkel He111
Heinkel He219
Dornier Do217
Junkers Ju87
Junkers Ju88
Messerschmitt Bf109
Messerschmitt Bf110
Messerschmitt Me262
Messerschmitt Me410
Focke Wulf Fw190
Focke Wulf Fw200