The Death of Göring and the Victory of the Luftwaffe
Just like the Pied Piper
led rats through the streets
we dance like marionettes
swaying to the Symphony...
of DESTRUCTION!
- Megadeath, Symphony of Destruction.
For some time I’ve been thinking about Hermann Göring and his place in the Third Reich and his influence on the events that led to the utter defeat of the Luftwaffe. During my endavour to write the Italia Eterna ATL, I began to consider how a Luftwaffe, and a Germany, without the Iron Fatty would have looked like, and I decided to test it out. So without further ado I bring you; The Death of Göring and the Victory of the Luftwaffe.
The ATL is here and there slightly different from the one posted in the discussion thread as I’ve tried to root out as many of the all too frequent mistakes I’ve made. J
Furthermore I’d like to thank Tom B, Shadow Knight, Kalvan and the rest of you for inspiration, ideas and support.
Comments, criticism and what not are to be posted at: https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=6901
I can’t complain I’ve made myself a name
I have watched the cities riot
I have seen nations fall
And I have denied my God
While you misled us all
- Pretty Maids, Snake in Eden.
I can’t complain I’ve made myself a name
And all I really want is five minuttes of fame
Some material wealth and a life in good health
Cos all I really care about is myself!
- Claw Finger, Pay the Bill.
The Luftwaffe – German Air Force - was officially formed in May of 1935, even though it had existed in some form more or less since being banned by the Versailles Treaty as first Freikorps air formations, then later in the form of private glider plane clubs, as private air companies ala Milch’s Lufthansa and finally as part of a secret set-up at Lipetsk in the Soviet Union. However, with the enactment of the Law for the Reconstruction of the National Defence Forces, Luftwaffe was officially born together with a standing German army - Heer - and a navy - Kriegsmarine. Hitler’s close ally and stout supporter, WWI fighter ace, Hermann Göring was the mastermind behind the new air force and also served as its head as well as Minister of the civilian Reichsluftfahrtministerium - Reichs Air Ministry. Göring’s influence secured the Luftwaffe massive political backing and lots of resources in its early days.
In late 1935, only some six months after being appointed the Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe, Hermann Göring, who also served as President of the Reichstag and Prime Minister of Prussia, died as a result of the injuries sustained in a tragic traffic accident, where an Opel lorry carrying pigs for slaughter rammed Göring’s Mercedes.
The German Führer, Adolf Hitler, spoke at Göring‘s funeral: “In this sad hour it is very hard for me to think of a man whose deeds speak louder and more impressively than words can do. When we received the terrible news of the misfortune, to which our dear old comrade, General Göring, had fallen victim, many million Germans had the same feeling of emptiness which always occurs when an irreplaceable man is taken from his fellow men! However, the whole German nation knows that the death of this man means an irreplaceable loss for us. It is not only the creative personality which was taken from us, but it is also the loyal man and unforgettable comrade, whose departure touches us so deeply!” Göring’s funeral was as lavish as the dead man’s own lifestyle had been and a testimony to the skills of the organizer, Albert Speer.
The fledgling Luftwaffe’s Chef der Generalstabes der Luftwaffe - Chief of Staff - Walther Wever, an extremely capable and innovative officer, who once had served in the Heer and as Ludendorff’s adjutant in the Great War, was soon announced as the new Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe - head of the Luftwaffe. Blomberg once said he lost a future C-in-C of the Army when Generalleutnant - Lt.General - Wever began his new career in the Luftwaffe, and he just might have been right as Wever would go on the become one of Germany’s most capable commanders ever.
General der Luftwaffe - Air General - Albert Kesselring became the new Chief of Staff, while the able administrator, Erhard Milch, became Reichsminister der Luftfahrt – Air Minster- and thus in charge of the civilian side of the German aviation bureaucracy and amongst other things responsible for aircraft production and design.
Wever and Milch respectively cleaned out their two intertwined organizations and was responsible for organizing the rapid build-up of the aircraft industry and training of pilots. Wever, Milch and their advisors soon begun to build a truly modern and balanced air force with focus on air supremacy, interdiction, ground support and strategic bombing in the that order.
On the political front, men like Himmler, Hess, Goebbels, Bormann and Schacht fought over the remains of the deceased Göring’s political domain and carved out new ones. Hjalmar Schacht, with the aid of Walther Funk, emerged with near total control over the German economy, while Rudolf Hess ended up as President of the Reichstag, Joseph Goebbels got to be Prime Minister of Prussia, while Heinrich Himmler was made chief of all German police and security forces.
Later Martin Bormann, the Reichsleiter of the NSDAP and Rudolf Hess’ private secretary, would be appointed as Plenipotentiary for the Implementation of the Four Year Plan, which gave him virtually total control over the re-armament programme. Bormann’s new office was still subsequent to Hjamar Schacht though and the two, and Funk, would clash numerous times in the years to come.
Together with Wilhelm Frick, the Minister of the Interior, Goebbles and Himmler would enact the infamous Nurenberg Laws and other anti-semitic laws that in the end would lead to the system of concentration camps which claimed nearly 3 million lives as the inmates worked themselves to death in the service of an ungrateful nation.
Weapons of War
You’re the fuel to the fire
You’re the weapons of war
You’re the irony of justice
And the father of law.
- Stone Temple Pilots, Naked Sunday.
The city is closing in on him
And everywhere’s getting smaller
And smaller
And his fingers are getting itchy.....!
– Space, 2 Mister Psycho.
Wever and Milch went about to create a powerful fighter arm, under Air Generals Hans Jeschonnek and Ernst Udet, that consisted of Me-109 fighters, a strong tactical arm, under Air General Hugo Sperrle, that consisted mainly of Ju-87 dive bombers for ground support and He-111 bombers for ordinary tactical attacks and finally a relatively weak strategic bomber force, under Air General Robert Ritter von Greim, that was made up by Do-19 heavy bombers.
Wever and Milch had to make some tough choices in regards to the hasty re-building of a German air force. Without the political clout of the former boss, they ran into a lot of trouble getting sufficient resources as Schacht, as Minister of Economics, and to a somewhat lesser degree his number two man, Funk, was increasingly against spending absurd amounts of hard-earned Reichsmarks on weapons and the Wehrmacht in general. Strangely enough, the ambitious and generally disliked Chief of the Four Year Plan, Reichsleiter of the NSDAP, Martin Bormann, came to their aid and secured the Luftwaffe a decent flow of much needed resources. Later this initial scarceness of resources and means would benefit the duo in charge of the German air force and industry as they learned to do things the most efficient way! As it was, Wever and Milch focused nearly entirely on four designs and did their best to streamline the production of these!
Likewise did the trouble with funding help to iron out the differences between Wever, Kesselring and some of the other high ranking officers in regards to strategies and future goals for the resurgent Luftwaffe. As it was clear that the Luftwaffe couldn’t do it all, so to speak, it was decided to focus on gaining air superiority and the means to achieve that – fighters! Even though Hitler and some of the Generals were furious, Wever and Milch held their ground.
The Me-109 was to become one of the best known German fighters because of its early successes in Spain, Poland, Denmark, Norway, the Low Countries, France and especially over Britain. The Me-109 was the backbone of the German fighter command and ruled the skies over Europe from 1938 to late 1940 – where it began to be replaced by the truly deadly FW-190 -, as the German Führer, Adolf Hitler, spread Nazism across the continent of Europe by the force of arms.
The Me-109 was designed by Willie Messerschmitt in 1934 and was first flown in September 1935. In July 1938, the firm that initiated the design - Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG -, was re-designated Messerschmitt AG, so the plane often carried the prefix "Bf" instead of "Me".
In Oberkommando Luft – OKL -, Luftwaffes supreme command, it was from an early stage clear, that the Me-109 had one serious flaw, or more to the point, an Achilles heel; it was very short ranged. In the Spanish Civil War its short range prevented the Me-109 from escorting Luftwaffe bombers, thus contributing the some rather heavy losses among the new Dornier Do-19 four engine heavy bombers that Wever had been a proponent for. The problem was, however, quite cleverly solved with the application of drop tanks – ejectable, aerodynamic fuel containers strapped under the wings of the fighters.
The Me-109s earned the respect of Germany's enemies in every theater of conflict and were greatly feared by the pilots of RAF’s Fighter Command during the Battle for France and later that of Britain itself.
Another of the famous early Luftwaffe designs originated in 1935 and would be one of the leaders of Luftwaffes darlings for years to come. The Junkers Ju-87 Sturzkampfflugzeug – dive bomber -, or Stuka as it was generally called, would become synonymous with the great successes of the Luftwaffe.
The Stuka proved extremely successful in the Spanish Civil War as flying artillery with nearly pin-point accuracy. Stuka’s could dive into a near-vertical dive over its targets and hit them with godlike accuracy time after time, doing as much damage to morale as material. This ability combined with the nerve-wrecking howl of its build-in sirens, made the Stuka as much a destroyer of morale as of material things.
As long as total air supremacy was secured, the Ju-87 would be a formidable plane, but in a contested sky it would prove a death trap. The Stuka got updated several times during the War and continued to serve untill the end of hostilities in 1947.
The third of Lufwaffe’s core designs was the Heinkel He-111. It was originally designed for civilian use in Lufthansa, but had nonetheless provisions for three gun positions and a 1,000kg bomb load. Early versions featured a conventional cockpit and nose section and were used during the Spanish Civil War.
In 1938, a new version of the He-111, the He-111P, began to leave the production lines and featured a completely redesigned wing and nose with extensive glazing and off-set to improve pilot visibility and this was to become the trademark of the type for the remainder of its service. Another feature of the new P-series was its more streamlined look. By the time of the Battle of Britain, yet another variant had seen the light of day. The He-111H was an up-dated version of the He-111P and was equipped with heavier defensive armaments as the plane had proven to vulnerable to fihgter attacks in Spain and Poland. Luftwaffe control of the sky wasn’t always complete as command and control facilities were somewhat lacking in the late 30’s. Later the Heinkels would be replaced with Junker Ju-88 medium bombers, which were faster and carried an expanded bomb load.
The last of Luftwaffes so-called core designs of the 30’s was Dornier’s Do-19 heavy bomber. As Wever became Luftwaffe's first Chief of Staff he, and to a lesser extend Milch, was the most persistent advocate of long-range strategic bombers. Both Dornier and Junkers were competitors for the contract, and each received an order for three prototypes in late 1935. The Dornier design was given the project number of Do-19, while the Junkers prototype became the Ju-89.
The design that were picked was Dornier’s. The Do-19 was a innovating design constructed mostly of metal and had retractable landing gear. The Do-19 had a crew of nine - a pilot, co-pilot, navigator, bombardier, radio operator and five gunners. Its defensive armament consisted of two 7.92mm MG 15 machine guns, one each in nose and tail positions, and two 20mm cannon in ventral and dorsal turrets. The defensive armament would be upgraded after its trial by fire in Spain and later Poland as it too poved to be a relative easy target for enemy fighters. It could only, however, carry some 1600kg of bombs in internal bays.
As the Luftwaffe had to prioritize after Göring’s death, the strategic bombers never showed their real worth in the the early days of the reborn Lufwaffe, but would prove invaluable in the Eastern War!
Iberian Intermezzo
Great nations built from the bones of the dead,
With mud and straw, blood and sweat,
You know your worth when your enemies
Praise your architecture of destruction!
- Megadeath, Architecture of Destruction.
I’m a product
Of my enviroment
So don’t blame me, I just work here.
- The Offspring, Americana.
In the summer of 1936, the Spanish military, the Guardia Civil and the Falange Movement rose in revolt against the Republican Government in Spanish North Africa and in Spain itself. The Nationalists, as the revolters called themselves, succeeded in seizing power in Morocco, Navarre, Galicia, Castile and Seville, but failed in several of the larger cities such as Barcelona and Madrid.
On Hitler’s explicit order the Lufwaffe sent the Nationalists some 20 fighter aircraft and later German Junkers 52’s were used to ferry over 15,000 Nationalist troops from the Spanish posessions in North Africa to mainland Spain.
Hitler soon decided that indirect and material aid alone would not be sufficient to help Generalissimo Francisco Franco’s Nationalists defeat the apparently more popular Republicans, so in September, 1936, Oberstleutnant – Lt. Colonel – Walther Warlimont was sent to Spain to have a look at the situation and act as military adviser to the Generalissimo. The following month Warlimont suggested that a German expeditionary force be sent to Spain and thus the idea of the Hermann Göring Legion was born.
Most of the senior officers in OKL in Berlin saw the possibilities in getting some valuable first hand experience of modern day air warfare, but they had to consider the flip side too, added costs and most likely deaths among the pilots and air crews. Hitler, however, soon solved their dilemma by ordering the formation of the Hermann Göring Legion as the Soviet Union began to supply the Republicans with aircrafts and tanks in the winter of ´36. Hitler was further annoyed by the appeareance of the International Brigades or Red Mercenaris as he called the Republican volunteer units.
The Hermann Göring Legion, under the command of Air Generals Ernst Udet, the C-in-C and Wolfram von Richthofen, the Chief of Staff, was soon deployed to Spain. The HG Legion was placed directly under Generalissimo Franco’s command and was in the early days of the conflict used as a crack formation where the fighting was hardest and most desperate.
The Legion initially consisted of a Bomber Group of three squadrons of Ju-52 bombers, a Fighter Group with three squadrons of He-51 fighters, a Reconnaissance Group with two squadrons of He-99 and He-70 reconnaissance bombers and finally a Seaplane Squadron of He-59 and He-60 floatplanes. As the Luftwaffe began to recieve their newer planes, such as the Me-109’s, He-111’s and Ju-87’s, the Legion was heavily reinforced and became an extremely capable and dangerous warmachine.
The OKL did its outmost to insure that as many air crews and other personel as possible were rotated into and out of the conflict in Spain and furthermore made sure to shift experienced pilots through the ever expanding training organisation, so the Luftwaffe front units always had rested and veteran pilots available and the trainees got the advanatge of instructors who actually knew what they were talking about! A side-effect of this was an increase in idiosyncratic and chivalrous behavior as trainees and new pilots took their cue from people like Udet, Galland, von Richthofen, Rudel and Mölders. As Reichsluftminister Milch once noted after having visted Adolf Galland’s fighter squadron, JG-26, after its retur from Spain; “It was not a disciplined combat unit, it was a flying circus with American cartoons painted on every aircraft and pilots wearing clothing more suited for stage actors!” Nonetheless, when the War broke out for real in 1939, most Luftwaffe air crews were not only very well trained and led, but also to a large extend veterans.
The HG Legion participated in all the major engagements in the Spanish Civil War, including of course Guernica. At Guernica the Legion showed the world how truly devastating and inhumane modern air warfare could be. In many capitals around the world the near annihilation of the sleepy Spanish town gave the various air force experts a somewhat inflated idea of airpower. The officers at OKL, however, drew a slightly different conclusion; bombers were more vulnerable than first expected and the original decision to concentrate on gaining air superiority first and foremost was the right one.
In April 1939, an official of the German Economic Policy Department, trying to reckon what Germany had spent on help to Generalissimo Franco up to that date, gave a round figure of five hundred million Reichsmarks, not a large sum by comparison with the amounts spent on re-armament in geneal. The advantages Germany secured in return were disproportionate as valuable raw materials flowed from the Spanish mines to the Third Reich’s ever hungry industries and the Wehrmacht got both training and the opportunity to test new equipment, tactics and doctrines under battle conditions.
A total of 20,000 soldiers from Luftwaffe served in the Iberian Intermezzo as, the Spanish Civil War would be known as among the Legionaires, of which some 300 lost their lives. The Legion lost 72 aircraft to enemy action and lost 160 in various accidents. The HG Legion's aircrafts dropped nearly 9 tonnes of bombs and expended in excess of 4 million rounds af small caliber ammunition during the conflict.
The build-Up
With your military mind you were born a leader
And discipline and order is an everyday procedure
So bring out the man in every innocent boy
And theach them how to search and destroy
To protect and to serve and to die with honour and pride!
- Claw Finger, Power.
The joy of violent movement
Pulls you under
- Metallica, 2x4.
The two economic ministers, Schacht and Funk, feared that the excessive German military spending of the last years would cause inflation and economic chaos in Germany as money was poured into the Wehrmacht at a rate that not only drained the Reichsbanks reserves, but indepted the country quite deeply. Furthermore the powerfull Schacht generally disapproved of Hitler's furture aims as stated by himself several times since ‘33; war and the expansion of the Reich by the force or arms.
Still, the Wehrmacht and with it the Luftwaffe as well increased in size and power even in face of Schacht’s stiff oppostion. Besides, Milch who was no beginner in the polical arena, poposed to Wever that they should arrange for an air show to displays Luftwaffe’s most advanced weaponry for Htler and the various key figures in The Third Riech and the Wehrmacht: “The Luftwaffe must make use of such a display to win support for its expansion programme, since if war does break out it will have to bear the brunt of the fighting in the west virtually alone for the next few years!” Wever agreed, and a garnd air show was arranged. Needless to say Hitler was duely impressed and in the autumn of 1937, Hitler, prodded by Bormann, who for resns of his own sided with the Luftwaffe, battered Schacht into approving Luftwaffe and the Reichsluftministry’s budget of a little under 3 billion Reichsmark for the following year. Funding alone, however, was not the only problem plagueing Milch and Wever at this time. Shortages of much needed raw materials had become increasingly apparent as The Third Reich’s economy and its armed forces grew, especially as not only the services within the Wehrmacht itself, but also several civilian agencies competed for copper, steel, iron and other vital, but scarce resources. In the early Summer of 1938, Hitler was warned that there would have to be a significant reduction in the Wehrmacht’s rate of re-armament and expansion as the stock of said resources were virtually used up. That, of course, affected the Luftwaffe as well, but Milch put the slowing tempi to good use as he made several factories re-tool and upgrade their production lines to more modern designs instead of the older designs made so far.
As production slowed down for now, OKL and Milch in the Reichsluftministry – RLM - decided it was time to look for a fighter design to supplement and eventually replace the Me-109. Early in the War, the Me-109’s of the E series completely outclassed the Polish PZL, French Morane-Saulnier MS 406 and British Hawker Hurricane fighters, but both Milch and the officers in charge of the Luftwaffe knew that even if the war - as everyone now knew was comming - would be short and sweet, then the Luftwaffe would hopefully exist for many years to come so the future had to be planned carefully and ahead of time, so to say. The technical director of Focke Wulf Flugzeugbau, Kurt Tank, was chosen to lead the development of the new fighter. The FW-190 flew for the first time on 10th of May, 1939, and would be operational in latter half of 1940, and complete replacing the Me-109’s of the G and F series in mid-1941. Its speed, ease of handling, bubble canopied cockpit and massive firepower - the FW-190 was armed with 4 machine-guns and two 20 mm cannons – would make it the best German fighter of the war, until another Tank-design showed itself in late ’44.
Still, Milch was advised by Bormann’s Four Year Plan Office that the raw materials deficit was so serious, that the production programme might be set back with as much as five years, but in spite of these set backs, the Luftwaffe itself had been made into a formidable machine of war by september 1939. Over 2,300 combat aircraft were deployed, including some 700 medium and heavy bombers, against the Allies. Not only was the Luftwaffe an impressive force on paper, but also an experienced fighting force in reality, unlike those of the Poles, French and English they would soon face, as many Luftwaffe pilots had already gained wartime experience serving with the Hermann Göring Legion in the Iberian intermezzo or at least had been trained by veterans as the OKL kept rotating combat veterans through Luftwaffe’s large, well-oiled training organisation. As Wever said at the time: “Train hard, fight smart and live to tell about it!”
With Göring gone the empire building days of the Luftwaffe was over and Wever and Milch agreed with Grand Admiral Raeder, the naval commander-in-chief, that the Kriegsmarine ought to have its own air arm consisting of specialized planes for naval warfare. When war broke out in 1939 the German Navy had a few squadrones of older Hs-59B-2 torpedo bombers and the brand new and very effective Fieseler Fi-167 torpedo bombers, FW-200 Condor naval bombers and long range reconnaissance planes.
As Luftwaffe already possed a good training organization it was decided that air crews should receive basic training under Luftwaffe’s aegis and then specialized training under the Kriegsmarine’s supervison. Milch, being a businessman to his core, made the Kriegsmarine pay for their pilots and then some. Later the same technic would be used on the Army as they demanded, and got, pilots for their observation and personal transport planes, forward observers and ground-to-air liaison officers.
Work on two aircraft carriers had also begun in the late 1936, as Raeder had proposed that two aircraft carriers be laid down as part of Plan Z. At Fieseler Werke and Deutsche Werke constrction began and the ships were launched within a week of each other in December ‘38. As mentioned a severe lack of various vital resource were plagueing the German industry at the time, so Raeder had to halt constructiuon on two destroyers and some smaller coastal submarines to get approval from Schacht, Funk and Borman for the two projected carriers – A and B. These carriers were to be equipped with specialized carrier-based versions of the Me-109 fighter and the Ju-87 dive-bomber. Carrier A was named Hermann Göring on its launch and Carrier B was named Peter Strasser. Both ships were planned to enter service in 1941 and had a displacement of 23,000 tonnes and an aircraft complement of 42 Me-109TT fighters, Fieseler Fi-167 torpedo bombers and Ju-87CC dive bombers. Later it was planned that specially designed planes should replace the Messerschmitts and Junkers.
Just like the Pied Piper
led rats through the streets
we dance like marionettes
swaying to the Symphony...
of DESTRUCTION!
- Megadeath, Symphony of Destruction.
For some time I’ve been thinking about Hermann Göring and his place in the Third Reich and his influence on the events that led to the utter defeat of the Luftwaffe. During my endavour to write the Italia Eterna ATL, I began to consider how a Luftwaffe, and a Germany, without the Iron Fatty would have looked like, and I decided to test it out. So without further ado I bring you; The Death of Göring and the Victory of the Luftwaffe.
The ATL is here and there slightly different from the one posted in the discussion thread as I’ve tried to root out as many of the all too frequent mistakes I’ve made. J
Furthermore I’d like to thank Tom B, Shadow Knight, Kalvan and the rest of you for inspiration, ideas and support.
Comments, criticism and what not are to be posted at: https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=6901
I can’t complain I’ve made myself a name
I have watched the cities riot
I have seen nations fall
And I have denied my God
While you misled us all
- Pretty Maids, Snake in Eden.
I can’t complain I’ve made myself a name
And all I really want is five minuttes of fame
Some material wealth and a life in good health
Cos all I really care about is myself!
- Claw Finger, Pay the Bill.
The Luftwaffe – German Air Force - was officially formed in May of 1935, even though it had existed in some form more or less since being banned by the Versailles Treaty as first Freikorps air formations, then later in the form of private glider plane clubs, as private air companies ala Milch’s Lufthansa and finally as part of a secret set-up at Lipetsk in the Soviet Union. However, with the enactment of the Law for the Reconstruction of the National Defence Forces, Luftwaffe was officially born together with a standing German army - Heer - and a navy - Kriegsmarine. Hitler’s close ally and stout supporter, WWI fighter ace, Hermann Göring was the mastermind behind the new air force and also served as its head as well as Minister of the civilian Reichsluftfahrtministerium - Reichs Air Ministry. Göring’s influence secured the Luftwaffe massive political backing and lots of resources in its early days.
In late 1935, only some six months after being appointed the Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe, Hermann Göring, who also served as President of the Reichstag and Prime Minister of Prussia, died as a result of the injuries sustained in a tragic traffic accident, where an Opel lorry carrying pigs for slaughter rammed Göring’s Mercedes.
The German Führer, Adolf Hitler, spoke at Göring‘s funeral: “In this sad hour it is very hard for me to think of a man whose deeds speak louder and more impressively than words can do. When we received the terrible news of the misfortune, to which our dear old comrade, General Göring, had fallen victim, many million Germans had the same feeling of emptiness which always occurs when an irreplaceable man is taken from his fellow men! However, the whole German nation knows that the death of this man means an irreplaceable loss for us. It is not only the creative personality which was taken from us, but it is also the loyal man and unforgettable comrade, whose departure touches us so deeply!” Göring’s funeral was as lavish as the dead man’s own lifestyle had been and a testimony to the skills of the organizer, Albert Speer.
The fledgling Luftwaffe’s Chef der Generalstabes der Luftwaffe - Chief of Staff - Walther Wever, an extremely capable and innovative officer, who once had served in the Heer and as Ludendorff’s adjutant in the Great War, was soon announced as the new Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe - head of the Luftwaffe. Blomberg once said he lost a future C-in-C of the Army when Generalleutnant - Lt.General - Wever began his new career in the Luftwaffe, and he just might have been right as Wever would go on the become one of Germany’s most capable commanders ever.
General der Luftwaffe - Air General - Albert Kesselring became the new Chief of Staff, while the able administrator, Erhard Milch, became Reichsminister der Luftfahrt – Air Minster- and thus in charge of the civilian side of the German aviation bureaucracy and amongst other things responsible for aircraft production and design.
Wever and Milch respectively cleaned out their two intertwined organizations and was responsible for organizing the rapid build-up of the aircraft industry and training of pilots. Wever, Milch and their advisors soon begun to build a truly modern and balanced air force with focus on air supremacy, interdiction, ground support and strategic bombing in the that order.
On the political front, men like Himmler, Hess, Goebbels, Bormann and Schacht fought over the remains of the deceased Göring’s political domain and carved out new ones. Hjalmar Schacht, with the aid of Walther Funk, emerged with near total control over the German economy, while Rudolf Hess ended up as President of the Reichstag, Joseph Goebbels got to be Prime Minister of Prussia, while Heinrich Himmler was made chief of all German police and security forces.
Later Martin Bormann, the Reichsleiter of the NSDAP and Rudolf Hess’ private secretary, would be appointed as Plenipotentiary for the Implementation of the Four Year Plan, which gave him virtually total control over the re-armament programme. Bormann’s new office was still subsequent to Hjamar Schacht though and the two, and Funk, would clash numerous times in the years to come.
Together with Wilhelm Frick, the Minister of the Interior, Goebbles and Himmler would enact the infamous Nurenberg Laws and other anti-semitic laws that in the end would lead to the system of concentration camps which claimed nearly 3 million lives as the inmates worked themselves to death in the service of an ungrateful nation.
Weapons of War
You’re the fuel to the fire
You’re the weapons of war
You’re the irony of justice
And the father of law.
- Stone Temple Pilots, Naked Sunday.
The city is closing in on him
And everywhere’s getting smaller
And smaller
And his fingers are getting itchy.....!
– Space, 2 Mister Psycho.
Wever and Milch went about to create a powerful fighter arm, under Air Generals Hans Jeschonnek and Ernst Udet, that consisted of Me-109 fighters, a strong tactical arm, under Air General Hugo Sperrle, that consisted mainly of Ju-87 dive bombers for ground support and He-111 bombers for ordinary tactical attacks and finally a relatively weak strategic bomber force, under Air General Robert Ritter von Greim, that was made up by Do-19 heavy bombers.
Wever and Milch had to make some tough choices in regards to the hasty re-building of a German air force. Without the political clout of the former boss, they ran into a lot of trouble getting sufficient resources as Schacht, as Minister of Economics, and to a somewhat lesser degree his number two man, Funk, was increasingly against spending absurd amounts of hard-earned Reichsmarks on weapons and the Wehrmacht in general. Strangely enough, the ambitious and generally disliked Chief of the Four Year Plan, Reichsleiter of the NSDAP, Martin Bormann, came to their aid and secured the Luftwaffe a decent flow of much needed resources. Later this initial scarceness of resources and means would benefit the duo in charge of the German air force and industry as they learned to do things the most efficient way! As it was, Wever and Milch focused nearly entirely on four designs and did their best to streamline the production of these!
Likewise did the trouble with funding help to iron out the differences between Wever, Kesselring and some of the other high ranking officers in regards to strategies and future goals for the resurgent Luftwaffe. As it was clear that the Luftwaffe couldn’t do it all, so to speak, it was decided to focus on gaining air superiority and the means to achieve that – fighters! Even though Hitler and some of the Generals were furious, Wever and Milch held their ground.
The Me-109 was to become one of the best known German fighters because of its early successes in Spain, Poland, Denmark, Norway, the Low Countries, France and especially over Britain. The Me-109 was the backbone of the German fighter command and ruled the skies over Europe from 1938 to late 1940 – where it began to be replaced by the truly deadly FW-190 -, as the German Führer, Adolf Hitler, spread Nazism across the continent of Europe by the force of arms.
The Me-109 was designed by Willie Messerschmitt in 1934 and was first flown in September 1935. In July 1938, the firm that initiated the design - Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG -, was re-designated Messerschmitt AG, so the plane often carried the prefix "Bf" instead of "Me".
In Oberkommando Luft – OKL -, Luftwaffes supreme command, it was from an early stage clear, that the Me-109 had one serious flaw, or more to the point, an Achilles heel; it was very short ranged. In the Spanish Civil War its short range prevented the Me-109 from escorting Luftwaffe bombers, thus contributing the some rather heavy losses among the new Dornier Do-19 four engine heavy bombers that Wever had been a proponent for. The problem was, however, quite cleverly solved with the application of drop tanks – ejectable, aerodynamic fuel containers strapped under the wings of the fighters.
The Me-109s earned the respect of Germany's enemies in every theater of conflict and were greatly feared by the pilots of RAF’s Fighter Command during the Battle for France and later that of Britain itself.
Another of the famous early Luftwaffe designs originated in 1935 and would be one of the leaders of Luftwaffes darlings for years to come. The Junkers Ju-87 Sturzkampfflugzeug – dive bomber -, or Stuka as it was generally called, would become synonymous with the great successes of the Luftwaffe.
The Stuka proved extremely successful in the Spanish Civil War as flying artillery with nearly pin-point accuracy. Stuka’s could dive into a near-vertical dive over its targets and hit them with godlike accuracy time after time, doing as much damage to morale as material. This ability combined with the nerve-wrecking howl of its build-in sirens, made the Stuka as much a destroyer of morale as of material things.
As long as total air supremacy was secured, the Ju-87 would be a formidable plane, but in a contested sky it would prove a death trap. The Stuka got updated several times during the War and continued to serve untill the end of hostilities in 1947.
The third of Lufwaffe’s core designs was the Heinkel He-111. It was originally designed for civilian use in Lufthansa, but had nonetheless provisions for three gun positions and a 1,000kg bomb load. Early versions featured a conventional cockpit and nose section and were used during the Spanish Civil War.
In 1938, a new version of the He-111, the He-111P, began to leave the production lines and featured a completely redesigned wing and nose with extensive glazing and off-set to improve pilot visibility and this was to become the trademark of the type for the remainder of its service. Another feature of the new P-series was its more streamlined look. By the time of the Battle of Britain, yet another variant had seen the light of day. The He-111H was an up-dated version of the He-111P and was equipped with heavier defensive armaments as the plane had proven to vulnerable to fihgter attacks in Spain and Poland. Luftwaffe control of the sky wasn’t always complete as command and control facilities were somewhat lacking in the late 30’s. Later the Heinkels would be replaced with Junker Ju-88 medium bombers, which were faster and carried an expanded bomb load.
The last of Luftwaffes so-called core designs of the 30’s was Dornier’s Do-19 heavy bomber. As Wever became Luftwaffe's first Chief of Staff he, and to a lesser extend Milch, was the most persistent advocate of long-range strategic bombers. Both Dornier and Junkers were competitors for the contract, and each received an order for three prototypes in late 1935. The Dornier design was given the project number of Do-19, while the Junkers prototype became the Ju-89.
The design that were picked was Dornier’s. The Do-19 was a innovating design constructed mostly of metal and had retractable landing gear. The Do-19 had a crew of nine - a pilot, co-pilot, navigator, bombardier, radio operator and five gunners. Its defensive armament consisted of two 7.92mm MG 15 machine guns, one each in nose and tail positions, and two 20mm cannon in ventral and dorsal turrets. The defensive armament would be upgraded after its trial by fire in Spain and later Poland as it too poved to be a relative easy target for enemy fighters. It could only, however, carry some 1600kg of bombs in internal bays.
As the Luftwaffe had to prioritize after Göring’s death, the strategic bombers never showed their real worth in the the early days of the reborn Lufwaffe, but would prove invaluable in the Eastern War!
Iberian Intermezzo
Great nations built from the bones of the dead,
With mud and straw, blood and sweat,
You know your worth when your enemies
Praise your architecture of destruction!
- Megadeath, Architecture of Destruction.
I’m a product
Of my enviroment
So don’t blame me, I just work here.
- The Offspring, Americana.
In the summer of 1936, the Spanish military, the Guardia Civil and the Falange Movement rose in revolt against the Republican Government in Spanish North Africa and in Spain itself. The Nationalists, as the revolters called themselves, succeeded in seizing power in Morocco, Navarre, Galicia, Castile and Seville, but failed in several of the larger cities such as Barcelona and Madrid.
On Hitler’s explicit order the Lufwaffe sent the Nationalists some 20 fighter aircraft and later German Junkers 52’s were used to ferry over 15,000 Nationalist troops from the Spanish posessions in North Africa to mainland Spain.
Hitler soon decided that indirect and material aid alone would not be sufficient to help Generalissimo Francisco Franco’s Nationalists defeat the apparently more popular Republicans, so in September, 1936, Oberstleutnant – Lt. Colonel – Walther Warlimont was sent to Spain to have a look at the situation and act as military adviser to the Generalissimo. The following month Warlimont suggested that a German expeditionary force be sent to Spain and thus the idea of the Hermann Göring Legion was born.
Most of the senior officers in OKL in Berlin saw the possibilities in getting some valuable first hand experience of modern day air warfare, but they had to consider the flip side too, added costs and most likely deaths among the pilots and air crews. Hitler, however, soon solved their dilemma by ordering the formation of the Hermann Göring Legion as the Soviet Union began to supply the Republicans with aircrafts and tanks in the winter of ´36. Hitler was further annoyed by the appeareance of the International Brigades or Red Mercenaris as he called the Republican volunteer units.
The Hermann Göring Legion, under the command of Air Generals Ernst Udet, the C-in-C and Wolfram von Richthofen, the Chief of Staff, was soon deployed to Spain. The HG Legion was placed directly under Generalissimo Franco’s command and was in the early days of the conflict used as a crack formation where the fighting was hardest and most desperate.
The Legion initially consisted of a Bomber Group of three squadrons of Ju-52 bombers, a Fighter Group with three squadrons of He-51 fighters, a Reconnaissance Group with two squadrons of He-99 and He-70 reconnaissance bombers and finally a Seaplane Squadron of He-59 and He-60 floatplanes. As the Luftwaffe began to recieve their newer planes, such as the Me-109’s, He-111’s and Ju-87’s, the Legion was heavily reinforced and became an extremely capable and dangerous warmachine.
The OKL did its outmost to insure that as many air crews and other personel as possible were rotated into and out of the conflict in Spain and furthermore made sure to shift experienced pilots through the ever expanding training organisation, so the Luftwaffe front units always had rested and veteran pilots available and the trainees got the advanatge of instructors who actually knew what they were talking about! A side-effect of this was an increase in idiosyncratic and chivalrous behavior as trainees and new pilots took their cue from people like Udet, Galland, von Richthofen, Rudel and Mölders. As Reichsluftminister Milch once noted after having visted Adolf Galland’s fighter squadron, JG-26, after its retur from Spain; “It was not a disciplined combat unit, it was a flying circus with American cartoons painted on every aircraft and pilots wearing clothing more suited for stage actors!” Nonetheless, when the War broke out for real in 1939, most Luftwaffe air crews were not only very well trained and led, but also to a large extend veterans.
The HG Legion participated in all the major engagements in the Spanish Civil War, including of course Guernica. At Guernica the Legion showed the world how truly devastating and inhumane modern air warfare could be. In many capitals around the world the near annihilation of the sleepy Spanish town gave the various air force experts a somewhat inflated idea of airpower. The officers at OKL, however, drew a slightly different conclusion; bombers were more vulnerable than first expected and the original decision to concentrate on gaining air superiority first and foremost was the right one.
In April 1939, an official of the German Economic Policy Department, trying to reckon what Germany had spent on help to Generalissimo Franco up to that date, gave a round figure of five hundred million Reichsmarks, not a large sum by comparison with the amounts spent on re-armament in geneal. The advantages Germany secured in return were disproportionate as valuable raw materials flowed from the Spanish mines to the Third Reich’s ever hungry industries and the Wehrmacht got both training and the opportunity to test new equipment, tactics and doctrines under battle conditions.
A total of 20,000 soldiers from Luftwaffe served in the Iberian Intermezzo as, the Spanish Civil War would be known as among the Legionaires, of which some 300 lost their lives. The Legion lost 72 aircraft to enemy action and lost 160 in various accidents. The HG Legion's aircrafts dropped nearly 9 tonnes of bombs and expended in excess of 4 million rounds af small caliber ammunition during the conflict.
The build-Up
With your military mind you were born a leader
And discipline and order is an everyday procedure
So bring out the man in every innocent boy
And theach them how to search and destroy
To protect and to serve and to die with honour and pride!
- Claw Finger, Power.
The joy of violent movement
Pulls you under
- Metallica, 2x4.
The two economic ministers, Schacht and Funk, feared that the excessive German military spending of the last years would cause inflation and economic chaos in Germany as money was poured into the Wehrmacht at a rate that not only drained the Reichsbanks reserves, but indepted the country quite deeply. Furthermore the powerfull Schacht generally disapproved of Hitler's furture aims as stated by himself several times since ‘33; war and the expansion of the Reich by the force or arms.
Still, the Wehrmacht and with it the Luftwaffe as well increased in size and power even in face of Schacht’s stiff oppostion. Besides, Milch who was no beginner in the polical arena, poposed to Wever that they should arrange for an air show to displays Luftwaffe’s most advanced weaponry for Htler and the various key figures in The Third Riech and the Wehrmacht: “The Luftwaffe must make use of such a display to win support for its expansion programme, since if war does break out it will have to bear the brunt of the fighting in the west virtually alone for the next few years!” Wever agreed, and a garnd air show was arranged. Needless to say Hitler was duely impressed and in the autumn of 1937, Hitler, prodded by Bormann, who for resns of his own sided with the Luftwaffe, battered Schacht into approving Luftwaffe and the Reichsluftministry’s budget of a little under 3 billion Reichsmark for the following year. Funding alone, however, was not the only problem plagueing Milch and Wever at this time. Shortages of much needed raw materials had become increasingly apparent as The Third Reich’s economy and its armed forces grew, especially as not only the services within the Wehrmacht itself, but also several civilian agencies competed for copper, steel, iron and other vital, but scarce resources. In the early Summer of 1938, Hitler was warned that there would have to be a significant reduction in the Wehrmacht’s rate of re-armament and expansion as the stock of said resources were virtually used up. That, of course, affected the Luftwaffe as well, but Milch put the slowing tempi to good use as he made several factories re-tool and upgrade their production lines to more modern designs instead of the older designs made so far.
As production slowed down for now, OKL and Milch in the Reichsluftministry – RLM - decided it was time to look for a fighter design to supplement and eventually replace the Me-109. Early in the War, the Me-109’s of the E series completely outclassed the Polish PZL, French Morane-Saulnier MS 406 and British Hawker Hurricane fighters, but both Milch and the officers in charge of the Luftwaffe knew that even if the war - as everyone now knew was comming - would be short and sweet, then the Luftwaffe would hopefully exist for many years to come so the future had to be planned carefully and ahead of time, so to say. The technical director of Focke Wulf Flugzeugbau, Kurt Tank, was chosen to lead the development of the new fighter. The FW-190 flew for the first time on 10th of May, 1939, and would be operational in latter half of 1940, and complete replacing the Me-109’s of the G and F series in mid-1941. Its speed, ease of handling, bubble canopied cockpit and massive firepower - the FW-190 was armed with 4 machine-guns and two 20 mm cannons – would make it the best German fighter of the war, until another Tank-design showed itself in late ’44.
Still, Milch was advised by Bormann’s Four Year Plan Office that the raw materials deficit was so serious, that the production programme might be set back with as much as five years, but in spite of these set backs, the Luftwaffe itself had been made into a formidable machine of war by september 1939. Over 2,300 combat aircraft were deployed, including some 700 medium and heavy bombers, against the Allies. Not only was the Luftwaffe an impressive force on paper, but also an experienced fighting force in reality, unlike those of the Poles, French and English they would soon face, as many Luftwaffe pilots had already gained wartime experience serving with the Hermann Göring Legion in the Iberian intermezzo or at least had been trained by veterans as the OKL kept rotating combat veterans through Luftwaffe’s large, well-oiled training organisation. As Wever said at the time: “Train hard, fight smart and live to tell about it!”
With Göring gone the empire building days of the Luftwaffe was over and Wever and Milch agreed with Grand Admiral Raeder, the naval commander-in-chief, that the Kriegsmarine ought to have its own air arm consisting of specialized planes for naval warfare. When war broke out in 1939 the German Navy had a few squadrones of older Hs-59B-2 torpedo bombers and the brand new and very effective Fieseler Fi-167 torpedo bombers, FW-200 Condor naval bombers and long range reconnaissance planes.
As Luftwaffe already possed a good training organization it was decided that air crews should receive basic training under Luftwaffe’s aegis and then specialized training under the Kriegsmarine’s supervison. Milch, being a businessman to his core, made the Kriegsmarine pay for their pilots and then some. Later the same technic would be used on the Army as they demanded, and got, pilots for their observation and personal transport planes, forward observers and ground-to-air liaison officers.
Work on two aircraft carriers had also begun in the late 1936, as Raeder had proposed that two aircraft carriers be laid down as part of Plan Z. At Fieseler Werke and Deutsche Werke constrction began and the ships were launched within a week of each other in December ‘38. As mentioned a severe lack of various vital resource were plagueing the German industry at the time, so Raeder had to halt constructiuon on two destroyers and some smaller coastal submarines to get approval from Schacht, Funk and Borman for the two projected carriers – A and B. These carriers were to be equipped with specialized carrier-based versions of the Me-109 fighter and the Ju-87 dive-bomber. Carrier A was named Hermann Göring on its launch and Carrier B was named Peter Strasser. Both ships were planned to enter service in 1941 and had a displacement of 23,000 tonnes and an aircraft complement of 42 Me-109TT fighters, Fieseler Fi-167 torpedo bombers and Ju-87CC dive bombers. Later it was planned that specially designed planes should replace the Messerschmitts and Junkers.
, Jihad.