SECRETWEAPONS of the LUFTWAFFE
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S E C R E T W E A P O N S of the L U F T W A F F E Copyright 1990, 1992 LucasArts Entertainment Company Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe is a trademark of LucasArts Entertainment Company All rights reserved Table Of Contents 1 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW . 5 1.1 The "Grand Alliance" . 6 1.2 The RAF's First Bombing Missions . 8 1.3 The Americans Bring Controversy . 11 1.4 Baptism by Fire . 16 1.5 The State of the Luftwaffe . 19 1.6 The Birth of the "Secret Weapons" . 22 1.7 The Casablanca Directive . 27 1.8 "The Big League" . 30 1.9 The Trials of the Schwalbe . 34 1.10 Operation Gomorrah . 37 1.11 Carnage in the Skies . 41 1.12 "Black Thursday" -- Return to Schweinfurt . 47 1.13 The Mustang Arrives . 52 1.14 Hitler Blunders Again . 54 1.15 Gathering Strength for "Big Week" . 58 1.16 Preparation for Invasion . 63 1.17 The Luftwaffe's Struggle for Survival . 67 1.18 D-Day . 69 1.19 On the Brink of Defeat . 73 1.20 Dresden . 80 1.21 Jagdverband 44 . 84 1.22 Conclusion . 88 1.23 Interview with Professor Williamson Murray . 91 2 GERMAN AND U.S. AIRCRAFT AND WEAPONS . 130 2.1 German Secret Weapons Projects . 130 2.2 German Aircraft . 135 - 1 - 2.2.1 Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6 and Bf 109G-10 Gustav Fighter . 135 2.2.2 Focke-Wulf FW 190-A and FW 190A-8 Fighter . 139 2.2.3 Messerschmitt Me 163-1a Komet Fighter . 142 2.2.4 Messerschmitt Me 262A-1a and Me 262A-2a Fighter . 145 2.2.5 Gotha Go 229A-0 Fighter-Bomber . 152 2.3 United States Aircraft . 155 2.3.1 Republic P-47C Thunderbolt Fighter ("Razorback") . 155 2.3.2 Republic P-47D Thunderbolt Fighter ("Razorback") . 158 2.3.3 North American P-51B and P-51C Mustang Fighter . 161 2.3.4 North American P-51D Mustang Fighter . 164 2.3.5 Boeing B-17F and B-17G Flying Fortress Bomber . 167 2.4 German Airborne Weapons . 173 2.5 United States Airborne Weapons . 178 3 COMBAT TACTICS . 180 3.1 General Fighter Tactics . 181 3.2 Firing Weapons . 185 3.3 Fighter Formations . 192 3.4 Fighter versus Fighter Tactics . 194 3.5 Fighters Attacking Bombers . 201 3.6 Fighters Protecting Bombers . 208 3.7 Ground-Attack Tactics . 212 3.8 Bomber Formations . 217 3.9 Bombing Tactics . 220 3.10 Flak . 221 4 MEDALS AND PROMOTIONS . 224 4.1 U.S. Army Air Force Medals . 224 4.2 Luftwaffe Medals . 228 4.3 Ranks and Promotions . 231 A QUOTES AND ANECDOTES . 233 B SUGGESTED READING . 287 C BIBLIOGRAPHY . 290 Index . 298 ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ HISTORICAL OVERVIEW ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ One of the longest and bloodiest campaigns of World War II was fought in broad daylight in the skies over western Europe from 1943 to 1945. This air battle, the greatest the world has ever witnessed, pitted two formidable adversaries against each other. On the offensive was the United States Army - 2 - Air Force, which sought to destroy the industrial might of Germany through precision bombing, and thus prove that air power could win war single-handedly. On the defensive was the German air force, the Luftwaffe, desperately battling the American bombers with experienced pilots and a variety of fighter aircraft, including the proven Messerschmitt Bf 109 and the outstanding Focke-Wulf FW 190. As this air war slowly shifted in favor of the United States, a succession of highly advanced German jet and rocket aircraft were unleashed against the hordes of American aircraft. Two of these weapons, the Me 262 jet fighter and the Me 163 rocket fighter, proved to be far deadlier in combat than anything the Americans could counter with. German technological advances at this time exceeded similar Allied research developments, but the resulting weapons were plagued by development problems, and Adolf Hitler and others in the Third Reich's leadership ultimately squandered any advantage they might have given the Germans. Still, some historians have called these advanced German warplanes "war-winning weapons"; had they seen action earlier, perhaps they would have had a chance to fully live up to their frightening potential -- and alter the outcome of the war. The "Grand Alliance" (June 1940-December 1941) With nearly all of continental Europe under German control by 1940, only Great Britain remained as an active opponent. In the summer of 1940, the fighters and bombers of the Luftwaffe pushed the fighter defense of the British Royal Air Force to the brink of defeat. But the Germans, in a strategic blunder, ceased their attacks on RAF airfields and began bombing London at the moment when victory was within reach. This four-month aerial struggle, the Battle of Britain, marked the first German setback of the war. Germany canceled Operation Sea Lion, the planned invasion of England, but continued to bomb England by night. Though supplying the British with aid through the Lend-Lease program, the United States was reluctant to help Britain further by entering a new war. Meanwhile, in other battlefields of the world, German victories mounted. Adolf Hitler rescued his Axis partner Benito Mussolini following Italy's unsuccessful attack on Greece, and in April of 1941 launched his own invasions of Greece and Yugoslavia, both of which fell a short time later. After British forces routed the Italians in East Africa, German desert troops pushed back the British in Libya and Egypt. On May 20, German paratroopers landed on Crete, and the former British stronghold was captured eleven days later. But the most important German offensive began on June 22 as Operation Barbarossa -- the invasion of Russia. Over the ensuing months, the German army, supported by the Luftwaffe, pushed deep into Russian territory. Though they suffered heavy losses, the Russians held, and on December 4, the German drive on Moscow was halted. But events taking place on the other side of the world would greatly affect the course of the European war. On December 7, 1941, Japanese aircraft attacked and sank most of the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. The next day, in a show of support for his Axis ally Japan, Hitler declared war on - 3 - the United States. At last, Britain had a powerful ally in its struggle against Germany, and thus the "Grand Alliance" was born. The RAF's First Bombing Missions (August 1940-June 1942) During the Battle of Britain and the Blitz of London, the British people wanted desperately to show that they were still in the fight, and were demanding vengeance for their bombed-out cities. The RAF's Bomber Command launched a series of retaliatory "nuisance raids," first against Berlin, then against German military targets. Later, in an effort to break the morale of the German people, this bombing campaign was increasingly directed at cities. Missions flown in daylight resulted in heavy British losses, and the RAF decided to switch to night bombing, hoping the darkness might offer some protection. Unfortunately, precision bombing proved nearly impossible at night, since few of the bombers could even find their targets, let alone hit them. With only one-third of the bombs landing within five miles of their target, the RAF attacks were more hazardous to sheep and cows than to Germans. Moreover, the RAF bombers were without fighter escort, and losses to German night fighters mounted. Recognizing that their bomber force was too weak to do the job, in November of 1941 British prime minister Winston Churchill curtailed the bombing offensive against Germany and won cabinet approval to build up Bomber Command to 4,000 aircraft. Then, in February of 1942, Air Chief Marshal Arthur Harris took over as head of Bomber Command. "Bomber" Harris, as the dynamic new leader was known, opposed precision bombing, arguing that damage caused by what he called "panacea" attacks on pinpoint targets could be easily repaired. Instead, he favored large-scale area-bombing attacks on population centers, which would leave the inhabitants homeless and lower civilian morale, particularly among industrial workers. Moreover, he was convinced that this type of bombing could by itself actually win the war against Germany. Fortunately for Harris, the British aircraft industry was just starting to turn out large numbers of four-engined, long-range bombers, including the Lancaster and the Halifax, that could carry the heavy bombloads and huge bombs he had envisioned. To test his theory of area bombing, Harris decided to strike several German cities, choosing them for their vulnerability and their proximity to England, rather than for their military importance. The first of these cities was the German port of Lubeck, which the RAF bombed on the night of March 28. Over half the city, whose buildings were mainly of wood construction, went up in flames. Next, the German city of Rostock-Warnemunde, home to a Heinkel aircraft factory, was bombed over four nights, with even better results. Buoyed by these successes, Harris ordered Operation Millenium, a thousand-plane raid on Cologne, for the night of May 27. This bomber force, by far the largest aerial armada ever assembled, leveled 600 acres of the city, destroyed 250 factories, and killed 469 people. Only forty-one bombers were lost in the mission, which set a fire that could be seen for 200 miles. The success of the Cologne raid was a tremendous boost for the confidence of - 4 - Bomber Command, and the newly knighted "Sir Bomber" Harris ordered similar raids during June on the German cities of Essen, home of the gigantic Krupp armaments works, and Bremen, where the Focke-Wulf factory was located.