alternatehistory.com

Let's presume the Willy Messerschmitt dies in the crash of an M-3 light plane in 1929, never becomes chief designer for the BFW, which remains a small manufacturer of light civilian planes. When 1933 rolls around and Nazi Germany is looking for a modern fighter, the RLM requests prototypes from Focke Wulf (FW-159), Arado (Ar-80), and Heinkel (He-112). The low-wing monoplane He-112A, with its heavy and complicated structure, wide-spaced retractable landing gear, inverted gull wing, and open cockpit is by far the most successful entrant. It is a fairly conservative design, but far better than the two alternatives. Heinkel secures the contract and production orders commence, with the fixed-gear Ar-80 ordered in small number as a backup. Only a few officials are concerned that the He-112A seems to be quite a bit more conservative in concept from a new super-modern fighter under development in Britain - rumored to be called the Spitfire.

When WW2 breaks out in 1939, the Luftwaffe fighter force is composed almost entirely of He-112s, still similar to the heavy and complicated A variant, but with a more powerful DB-601 engine. There are still a few Ar-80's on hand and in training squadrons. New fighters are in design (the He-113, similar in concept to the Spitfire, and Fw-190, a more modern design) but neither are expected to enter service until late 1940 or early 1941. The He-112, even with the DB engine, is clearly inferior to the Spitfire, Hurricane, and the new French D-520, and is barely superior the French MS-504 and American Curtiss P-36.

How does this affect the future course of WW2, if at all?
Top