Eagles of the Third Reich: Men of the Luftwaffe in WWII (Stackpole Military History Series) (64 page)

Dornier Do-17
. Nicknamed “the Flying Pencil” because of its slender body, it was originally designed as a civil transport. It was first purchased by the Luftwaffe in 1936 as a medium bomber and was in combat in Spain by 1937. It could carry an internal load of about one ton of bombs. Successful in Poland, France, and the Balkans, they proved vulnerable to the R.A.F. fighters and were relegated to a training role by the end of 1941, although some were still used on the western front. They were equipped with only three machine guns.

Dornier Do-19
. Known as the “Ural Bomber,” this four-engine bomber was designed to carry 3,500 pounds of bombs and had a range of about one thousand miles, as opposed to 750 miles for the He-111. Only one prototype ever flew. The aircraft was cancelled in April, 1937, after the death of General Wever. Dornier Do-24. A trimotor reconnaissance flying boat. About two hundred used by the Luftwaffe during the war. It was used in all coastal sectors. The Do-24 was an excellent flying boat and was adopted by several foreign countries after the war. It was still in production in the mid-1960s.

Dornier Do-215
. A modification of the Flying Pencil, this aircraft had six machine guns and a more powerful engine than the Do-17. It was still vulnerable to modern fighters. About one hundred were purchased by the Luftwaffe, some of which were used in a reconnaissance role. Production of this aircraft was terminated in early 1941.

Dornier Do-217
. Medium twin-engine bomber. Maximum bomb load: 8,800 pounds, including 3,300 external. Most models had six machine guns. The Luftwaffe purchased 1,730 of these aircraft between 1940 and late 1943, when production was terminated. Problems: too complex electronically. It also suffered from structural strain. A fast aircraft, some Do-217s were used as night fighters in 1943.

Fieseler Fi-156 “Storch.”
A single-engine, two- or three-seat aircraft with a fixed landing gear, it was remarkably versatile. About 2,700 were produced for the Luftwaffe from 1937 to 1945. It was used as a communications, liaison, command, and reconnaissance aircraft.

Flettner Fl-282 “Kolibri.”
The first helicopter in mass production, the “Hummingbird” was in service from 1942, mainly in the 40th Transport Squadron. The pilot had no enclosed cockpit. The Fl-282 was used as an observation aircraft.

Focke-Wulf FW-58 “Weihe.”
A twin-engine utility aircraft, the “Kite” was used for communications, training, light transport, or as an ambulance. About 4,500 were purchased by the Luftwaffe between 1937 and 1942. It could deliver one and a half tons of cargo but had a range of less than 500 miles.

Focke-Wulf FW-189 “Uhu.”
A twin-engine, three-seat reconnaissance aircraft, the “Owl” was known for its toughness and excellent handling, which frequently allowed it to avoid enemy fighters. About 850 were delivered to the Luftwaffe between 1940 and the fall of 1944.

Focke-Wulf FW-190.
A single-seat, single-engine fighter or fighter-bomber, it was faster than any Allied fighter when it made its appearance in combat in early 1941. It had heavy armament, including up to four machine guns and two Mauser cannons firing through the propeller hub. Besides being a formidable weapon, it was tough enough to be used on the forward dirt strips near the front. It was designed to replace the Me-109 (which it did, but never completely), but many were diverted to the eastern front to replace the vulnerable Ju-87 “Stuka. “ Its principle defect was that its performance deteriorated rapidly at high altitudes. One of its main missions after 1942 was close air support on the eastern front, where most air battles took place only a few hundred feet above the ground, rather than above 24,000 feet, as in the West. Twenty thousand FW-190s were delivered to the Luftwaffe, mainly between 1943 and 1945.

Focke-Wulf FW-200 “Condor.”
Maritime reconnaissance bomber and transport. Range: 2,200 miles. Bomb load: 2.3 tons. Originally designed as long-range commercial transport for Lufthansa, prewar Condors set speed records on transoceanic flights. However, they suffered from structural weaknesses, including wing and fuselage failures. Nevertheless, the Condor was first used operationally in June 1940, against British shipping. Very successful at first, the Allies countered it by introducing Catapult-Armed Merchantman (CAM) fighters, as well as escort carriers and long-range coastal aircraft. The Condor was forced into a purely transport role (primarily on the eastern front) by mid-1944. Total production for the Luftwaffe was 276.

Gotha Go-145
. A single-engine, two-seat biplane, the Go-145 was used as a primary trainer by the Luftwaffe throughout the war. Many were used to equip night harassment squadrons on the eastern front after 1942. About 10,000 were produced.

Heinkel He-45, He-46, and He-50
. These two-seater, single-engine biplanes were used as reconnaissance-bombers and advanced trainers. They had a maximum airspeed of only 180 miles per hour and were very vulnerable; nevertheless they were used on the eastern front as night harassment aircraft from 1942 until 1944.

Heinkel He-51
. Three major models of this single-seat, single-engine biplane were produced: the He-51A-1 (a single-seat fighter), the He-51B-2 (a reconnaissance seaplane), and the He-51C (a land-based, ground attack aircraft). First flown in 1932 and produced in 1933, the first He-51 was delivered to the Reichswehr in 1934, in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. They were used by the Condor Legion in Spain, and a few saw action in Poland in 1939. Some were still used as advanced trainers as late as 1943.

Heinkel He-59
. A twin-engine, two-seat biplane, the He-59 was used as a sea-plane, in coastal mining and rescue operations, and in ground attack and reconnaissance missions. First delivered to the army in 1932, the last delivery to the Luftwaffe took place in 1936. Its most famous operation took place in May, 1940, when ten He-59Cs landed sixty men on the Waal River in Rotterdam. These soldiers captured the city’s main bridge and played a significant part in the early capitulation of Holland. Some He-59s were still conducting mining operations off the Atlantic coast in 1943.

Heinkel He-70
. A three-seat reconnaissance monoplane, used by the Condor Legion in Spain. The Luftwaffe cancelled production in 1938 because of the introduction of more modern aircraft. Some He-170s (modified He-70s) were used on the eastern front in 1941.

Heinkel He-72 “Kadett”
A two-seat biplane, used as a primary trainer from 1934 until the collapse of the training program in late 1944.

Heinkel He-111
. A twin-engine medium bomber with a maximum speed of about 250 miles per hour, a 4.2-ton payload, and a range of 745 miles. The main German bomber for most of the war, it was also used as a transport in emergency situations, such as the Stalingrad relief operation. Armed with three machine guns, the He-111 experienced great success in Spain and Poland, but proved highly vulnerable to modern R.A.F. fighters in 1940. It was nevertheless in production until late 1944, largely because of the failure of the Luftwaffe Technical Branch and the German aircraft industry to produce a suitable replacement. About 5,600 were manufactured for use by the Luftwaffe.

Heinkel He-162 “Salamander.”
A single-engine interceptor, known as the “Volksjaeger” (People’s Fighter), it first flew in December 1944, and the first He-162s reached the squadrons in January 1945. About three hundred had been delivered by the end of the war, and about eight hundred were on the assembly lines. Because of Germany’s deteriorating military position, the He-162 was rushed into production and was consequently plagued with problems, including hydraulic difficulties, landing gear problems, and a tendency of the wings to collapse in flight. Even those which flew were of little use, since most of the veteran pilots were already dead, and many of the He-162 pilots were inexperienced volunteers from the Hitler Youth.

Heinkel He-177
. A two-propeller, four-engine heavy bomber designed to replace the He-111. It was faster than the He-111 and was capable of carrying 6.6 tons of bombs. First flown in November 1939, it suffered from technological difficulties throughout its career, largely because of the ridiculous OKL/Technical Office requirement that the heavy bomber had to be capable of diving. Some 1,400 were delivered to the Luftwaffe, beginning in March 1942, although they were never satisfactory. The engines frequently caught fire, even in normal flight.

Heinkel He-178
. The first jet. An experimental aircraft, it was first flown in 1939. Neither Milch or Udet were interested in it, however, and it was not mass produced. The only prototype was destroyed when Allied bombs struck the Berlin Air Museum in 1943.

Heinkel He-219
. A two-seat, twin-engine night fighter which became operational in November 1943, this aircraft was fast and extremely maneuverable. Only 219 of them had been delivered in 1944 when, for some unknown reason, OKL ordered their production stopped.

Heinkel He-277
. A four-engine heavy bomber, secretly developed by Heinkel without the permission of Hermann Goering. The first prototype flew in late 1943, and several others flew in succeeding months. It was apparently a superior aircraft. On July 3, 1944, however, the project was cancelled and the German aircraft manufacturer was ordered to produce nothing but fighters and fighterbombers.

Henschel Hs-123
. Single-seat biplane used as a dive-bomber and close support aircraft in the early days of the Luftwaffe. Although the last delivery was made in 1938, this obsolete aircraft was used in the Balkans and on the eastern front until the end of 1944.

Henschel Hs-126
. A single-engine, two-seat reconnaissance aircraft. First produced in 1936, it was manufactured until January 1941. About eight hundred were used by the Luftwaffe. Vulnerable to modern fighters, the Hs-126 was employed on the eastern front and in the Balkans in reconnaissance, antipartisan, and night harassment operations until the end of the war.

Henschel Hs-129
. Inferior, underpowered, single-seat, close support aircraft. More than eight hundred were produced before production was cancelled in late 1942. They were used mainly on the eastern front.

Henschel Hs-130
. A high-altitude bomber which reached heights of more than 40,000 feet. It was developed too late in the war to be mass produced. Junkers Ju-52. Tri-engine passenger and freight aircraft, occasionally used as a bomber. It could carry 1.5 tons of freight, or about seventeen passengers. Originally built for Lufthansa in 1930, it was perhaps the premier transport aircraft of its day. It was adopted by many foreign air forces and civilian aviation firms and was manufactured for the Spanish air force as late as 1975. About five thousand served in the Luftwaffe during the war. The Ju-52 was the mainstay of the Luftwaffe’s transport branch throughout the conflict. Junkers Ju-86. Twin-engine bomber, except for the R-model (Ju-86R), which was a reconnaissance airplane. First produced in 1936, it carried about one ton of bombs and three machine guns for defense. It performed well in Spain and Poland but was obsolete by 1940. It was used on the eastern front after that date. About one thousand were produced for the Luftwaffe.

Junkers Ju-87 “Stuka.”
A single-engine dive-bomber and ground attack airplane, the Ju-87 was one of the most famous airplanes in the history of military aviation and the most feared airplane in the early years of the war. It had two seats: one for the pilot in front and one in the rear for the gunner, who faced aft. It was usually armed with a one-ton bomb and twin machine guns or cannons under the wings, with a third machine gun in the rear of the cockpit. Some models carried a single 1,000-pound bomb under the center of the fuselage and four 500-pound bombs under the wing. The B-model had a range of 373 miles and a maximum speed of about 240 miles per hour. Later models had a range of up to 620 miles. It entered production in 1935. The Ju-87 was highly effective in Poland, France, the Balkans, and the eastern front but was too slow when operating against modern Allied fighters. It suffered such heavy losses in the Battle of Britain that it had to be withdrawn. After 1942, when the quality of the Red Air Force began to improve, the Ju-87 was replaced by the FW-190. Production of the Stuka was terminated in 1944, although some continued to serve in night attack units until the end of the war. About 5,000 were produced.

Junkers Ju-88
. Developed in 1936 as a dive-bomber, the Ju-88 was used in a variety of roles, including level bombing and close ground support, as well as antitank, night fighting and reconnaissance operations. About 15,000 were produced in the war. Some models of the Ju-88 could carry up to 3.3 tons of bombs. Structurally sound and highly maneuverable, its performance was severely cut because the Technical Office added the requirement that it be able to dive. It also lacked defensive armament (carrying only three machine guns) and was therefore vulnerable to Allied fighters. Nevertheless it proved superior to the Me-110 as a night fighter, and it appeared primarily in that role in the last years of the war. Production of the Ju-88 did not halt until its factories were overrun.

Junkers Ju-188
. A twin-engine bomber. Production of the Ju-188 began in 1941 and continued until 1944, when resource shortages forced its termination. A good medium bomber, it carried 3.3 tons of bombs and four or five machine guns, depending on the model. About one thousand were produced in the war.

Junkers Ju-288
. A part of the “B-Bomber” program, this twin-engine medium bomber consumed too many valuable resources and had several developmental problems. Although about twenty-five prototypes were produced, it never reached the production lines. The Ju-288 was scrapped by Hermann Goering upon the recommendation of Erhard Milch.

Messerschmitt Me-108
. An excellent four-seat, single-engine communications, ambulance, and utility aircraft, the Me-108 was in production from 1934 to 1944. About one thousand were used on all fronts throughout the war.