Luftwaffe: Difference between revisions
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*[[List of aircraft of the WW2 Luftwaffe|Lust of aircraft of the WW2 ''Luftwaffe'']] |
*[[List of aircraft of the WW2 Luftwaffe|Lust of aircraft of the WW2 ''Luftwaffe'']] |
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*[[Luftwaffe serviceable aircraft strengths (1940-1945)|''Luftwaffe'' servicable aircraft strengths (1940-1945)]] |
*[[Luftwaffe serviceable aircraft strengths (1940-1945)|''Luftwaffe'' servicable aircraft strengths (1940-1945)]] |
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==Post War== |
==Post War== |
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Revision as of 00:59, 2 September 2004
The Luftwaffe (literally, "air weapon") is the air force of Germany.
World War I
Founded during World War I with the emergence of military aircraft, the Luftwaffe utilized a wide variety of aircraft. After the war ended, it was dissolved under conditions of the Treaty of Versailles.
On February 26, 1935, Adolf Hitler ordered WW I flying ace Hermann Göring to re-instate the Luftwaffe, although the treaty was still in force.
World War II
By 1939, on the eve of the outbreak of World War II, the Luftwaffe had become the most powerful air force in the world. As such it played a major role in Germany's early successes in the war, and formed a key part of the Blitzkrieg concept, much thanks to the use of the innovative Junkers Ju 87 dive bomber (Sturzkampfflugzeug - "Stuka"). A contingent from the Luftwaffe (The Legion Condor) was sent to support Franco's forces in the Spanish Civil War with planes (notably the Ju 87) and personnel.
The inability of the Luftwaffe to control the skies in the Battle of Britain after the tactical mistake of shifting the focus of operations to bombing industrial targets in cities instead of British airfields formed a key point in the war. German air power, which suffered from a shortage of fuel and less than perfect management, diminished further with the arrival of the Americans, though it remained strong, especially on the Eastern Front, and enjoyed an advanced technical standard.
One unique characteristic of the Luftwaffe (as opposed to other independent air forces) was the possession of an organic paratrooper force, termed fallschirmjäger.
The Luftwaffe was the first air force in the world to use an operational jet fighter - the twin-engine Messerschmitt Me 262, although the aircraft was plagued by reliability problems of its jet engines: while the Junkers JUMO 004 engines were of the advanced axial-flow design, they suffered from a lack of high-quality strategic materials during manufacturing, a result of the Allied bombing offensive and the turn of war fortunes for Germany. The Me 262 was soon joined by other highly advanced aircraft designs, such as the Arado Ar 234 twin and four-engine jet bomber/reconnaissance aircraft, the Heinkel He 162 single-engine jet fighter (powered by a BMW jet engine), the Messerschmitt Me 163 rocket fighter and others. A variety of further highly modern aircraft designs were either at the testing stage or even ordered into production by the time the war ended. The German aviation industry also developed the first cruise missile used operationally on large scale, the Fieseler Fi 103 V1 flying bomb.
As modern as these aircraft were, they alone couldn't be the magic bullet to prevent Germany's total defeat in the air. The Luftwaffe lacked fuel, trained pilots, organizational unity and safe airfields. The Allies, however, were able to gain much more from Germany's technical efforts: Operation Paperclip, for example, was one of many designed in 1944/45 to obtain either technical specimens, data, or the design personnel itself and "evacuate" it to the United States, England, Russia or France.
See also
poopoo
Post War
Following the war, German aviation in general was severely curtailed, and military aviation completely forbidden until West Germany joined the NATO in the 1950s. Throughout the following decades, the West German Luftwaffe was equipped mostly with US-designed aircraft manufactured locally under licence.
During the 1960s, the Starfighter crisis was a big problem for German politics, as many of these Lockheed F-104 fighters crashed after being modified to serve for the Luftwaffe purposes. Therefore the Starfighter was called "widow-maker" (German: Witwenmacher).
The Luftwaffe of East Germany flew Soviet-built aircraft, like MIG 29. After reunification they were taken over by unified Germany but will be taken out of order due to budget cuts during the next years.
Since the 1970s, the Luftwaffe of West Germany and then the reunited Germany has actively pursued the construction of European combat aircraft such as the Panavia Tornado and more recently, the Eurofighter. Some Soviet-built planes were taken over and used by the united Luftwaffe, but most of these were taken out of service or sold to the new Eastern European allies.
In 1999, for the first time since 1945, the Luftwaffe engaged in combat operations as part of the NATO-led Kosovo War. No strike sorties were flown and the role of the Luftwaffe was restricted to providing support, for example with suppression of enemy air defence (SEAD) sorties.
No Luftwaffe aircraft were lost during the campaign, but the force's role proved to be controversial in Germany because of the strong sentiment still present in the population that is opposed to the use of force by Germany in international affairs.
See also
- Luftwaffe serviceable aircraft strengths (1940-1945)
- List of military aircraft of Germany
- List of air forces