As the Battle of Britain came to a close, the Luftwaffe began arming its single-engined fighters with bombs, using them in preference to twin-engined bombers against many daylight targets. Two units were designated for these Jagdbomber (literally fighter-bomber) attacks - 10/JG 26. Their targets included shipping and coastal installations, railways, gas holders and selected military and civilian objectives. The detrimental effect on British morale caused by these 'Tip and Run' attacks was devastating.
How could the British military combat the raids effectively? How could the local...
As the Battle of Britain came to a close, the Luftwaffe began arming its single-engined fighters with bombs, using them in preference to twin-engined ...
The Heinkel He 111 was the main workhorse of the Luftwaffe's bomber force throughout much of the Second World War. Consequently, when Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, three entire Kampfgeschwader consisted of He 111s. Initially used as direct support for the German ground forces, as the campaign progressed the He 111 was switched to attacking the Soviet infrastructure, particularly trains and marshaling yards, and used as a transport aircraft taking in supplies and for troop evacuation.
Variants of the He 111 were used in anti-shipping roles, in both the Atlantic...
The Heinkel He 111 was the main workhorse of the Luftwaffe's bomber force throughout much of the Second World War. Consequently, when Hitler launched ...
The most iconic German aircraft of the Second World War, the Messerschmitt Bf 109 was the Luftwaffe's principal fighter from 1939 until 1942 when the superior Focke-Wulf Fw 190 came into greater prominence. The Bf 109 served in every theater of the war, particularly in the invasion of France and the Low Countries, the Battle of Britain and the invasion of the Soviet Union, the Mediterranean and with Rommel in North Africa.
In the later years of the war, the Bf 109 fought with success in the defense of Germany against the Allied bombers. The Bf 109 was the most produced fighter...
The most iconic German aircraft of the Second World War, the Messerschmitt Bf 109 was the Luftwaffe's principal fighter from 1939 until 1942 when the ...
Designed as a fast bomber that could outrun the fighters of the era, the twin-engine Junkers Ju 88 became one of the most versatile aircraft of the Second World War. Such was the success of the design that its production lines operated constantly from 1936 to 1945, with more than 16,000 examples being built in dozens of variants - more than any other twin-engine German aircraft of the period.
From an early stage it was intended that it would be used as a conventional light bomber and as a dive-bomber. As such, it served in the invasion of Poland, the Norway campaign, the Blitzkrieg...
Designed as a fast bomber that could outrun the fighters of the era, the twin-engine Junkers Ju 88 became one of the most versatile aircraft of the Se...
Originally built as an airliner that could carry passengers across the Atlantic for Deutsche Lufthansa, the Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor developed into the Luftwaffe's principal long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft. It was used in the North Sea and in the Atlantic, searching for Allied convoys and warships, passing on information to waiting U-boats.
The Fw 200 was also capable of carrying a bomb load of up to 2,000kg, and it was claimed that Condors sank more than 300,000 tons of Allied shipping. By September 1940, one unit, KG 40 based at Bordeaux-Merignac in Occupied France, had...
Originally built as an airliner that could carry passengers across the Atlantic for Deutsche Lufthansa, the Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor developed into th...
