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00:01In June 1945, Hitler's dream of a thousand-year Reich lay in ruins.
00:07His boastful visions were shattered by the massive superiority of Allied airpower.
00:14The once-proud German air force is reduced to the same pitiful state as its cities.
00:30These American airmen are idly amusing themselves with the wreckage of the mighty Luftwaffe.
00:39Abandoned remains of German fighters are cheerfully vandalized.
00:43The man with the baseball bat smashes the tail of a Messerschmitt 109,
00:48a fighter which was almost ten years old by the end of the war.
00:59Nearby lie the remains of one of the last German fighters to enter service,
01:03the rocket-powered Comet, an aircraft that looked forward to the space age.
01:12In this aircraft graveyard are the two ends of a development spectrum
01:16which bridged the propeller age and the dawn of the jet age.
01:26The war-torn skies over Germany had seen the first jet aircraft engaged in combat,
01:32while late in the war saw the first ever use of the air-to-air missile.
01:36A chilling reminder of what might have been.
01:52This aircraft rhino-b fluctuates despite Stalin-spanile PG- RC-14-11i,
02:221936 the first deployment of forces from a new military creation the German
02:27Luftwaffe officially created just one year before the outbreak of the Spanish
02:32Civil War the Luftwaffe's Condor Legion provided devastating support for Franco's
02:38Nationalist forces the Spanish War proved the effectiveness of the new
02:44German fighter planes in the world war that followed the Luftwaffe's fighters
02:50also had a massive role to play the finest of them are among the greatest
02:55warplanes of the century first among them the famous Messerschmitt Bf 109 the treaty
03:03of Versailles made it very difficult for Germany in many respects to develop its
03:07air force but when they finally came round to breaking that treaty and decided to
03:12create the Luftwaffe they were actually in quite a good position because they were
03:16able to use the very latest technology so the first generation of German fighters
03:22such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109 were actually considerably ahead of the biplanes
03:28which the Allies were using in great numbers right up until 1936 some of the
03:33German fighters the Second World War were really state-of-the-art fighters like the
03:37Messerschmitt 262 really led the way for post-war fighter design having said that
03:43German fighter procurement and development during the Second World War was riddled
03:47with inconsistencies and confusions and bureaucratic messes really so it meant
03:54the German fighter development essentially stuttered through the Second World War
03:57rather than developing in a nice clear continuous flow besides testing the new
04:02aircraft for the fighter units of the newly born Luftwaffe the Spanish Civil War
04:07proved invaluable in terms of both combat experience and tactical development
04:13it was over Spanish territory the German fighter planes first entered combat in pairs
04:19or rotten a new tactic that enabled the lead planes pilot to engage the enemy
04:25knowing he was covered by his accompanying wingman
04:36it proved a remarkably effective innovation and the Luftwaffe soon
04:41developed the tactic further with two rotten flying together in a four-plane
04:45formation known as the shore these new four-plane formations formed the
04:52building blocks of the Luftwaffe's fighter force in World War Two
05:02in the Luftwaffe organization three fighter schwarms formed a Staffel the
05:07equivalent of an Allied squadron this operational unit of 12 aircraft was
05:14under the command of a Staffel Kapitan the next stage in the tactical hierarchy was
05:20the group consisting of three or occasionally four Staffeln giving the
05:24group 36 or 48 aircraft equal in status to an RAF wing and under the command of a
05:32commander of major or Hauptmann rank the group was the smallest self-contained
05:36unit in the Luftwaffe structure all of the Staffeln making up the group were
05:41normally all based at a single airfield with administrative support staff and
05:45aircraft repair units stationed alongside the air crews the self-contained group and
05:53were then organized into a larger formation the German equivalent of the
05:58American combat wing known as the Geschwader the Geschwader had three or four
06:05group and making a total of 100 to 150 aircraft under the command of a Commodore the
06:13headquarters of the Geschwader was normally found at an airfield alongside one of the
06:17group in the Luftwaffe the Geschwader were classified according to the role of the
06:22aircraft within them a camp Geschwader was a bombing group dive bombers were formed
06:27into Stuggergeschwader the fighters were formed into two specific subgroups most
06:33importantly there were the Jagdgeschwader which were mainly single engine
06:37fighters and there's a store a Geschwader of heavy twin-engined fighters
06:48these varied groups were organized into flag a core consisting of three or more
06:53Geschwader comprising 450 to 500 aircraft and ultimately the Luftflotten which were
07:00responsible for a large sector of front and could call on a total of anything
07:03between 1,000 and 1,500 aircraft in overall charge of this awesome new force
07:11with the Luftwaffe's commander-in-chief Hermann Göring and the Fuhrer himself
07:17Adolf Hitler by the time Hitler prepared to unleash his forces in northwest Europe in
07:23the spring of 1940 his fighter forces were already experienced in war in Spain in
07:29Poland and in Norway now the fighter crews prepared for their forthcoming missions
07:33over France and the low countries it was a strong fighter force consisting of 1215
07:41planes 860 of them light agile single-seaters and 355 of them heavy twin-engined
07:49aircraft in the weeks of German military triumphs that followed both types
07:55appeared to approve themselves in battle once more the successes of the light
08:00fighting units in particular were greatly assisted by the quality of the aircraft
08:05at their disposal one of the most famous planes of the whole Second World War the
08:10Messerschmitt Bf 109
08:15first flown in 1935 the Bf 109 first saw operational service in Spain in 1937 by
08:241940 the E series 109 was amongst the finest pieces of military engineering in
08:30the world a single-seater fighter the 109 E series was powered by a Daimler Ben 601
08:37engine generating 1200 horsepower and an impressive speed of 350 miles per hour
08:44with excellent acceleration its armament typically consisted of two 7.9
08:52millimetre mg 17 machine guns above the engine plus 320 millimetre mg double-f cannon two in the wings and
09:00one in the propeller
09:06but the Bf 109 was a remarkable aircraft in as much as it fought on all fronts
09:11throughout the Second World War it was the mainstay of the German fighter aircraft
09:19industry throughout the course of the war a lot of people would say that by the
09:23end of the year 1942 that it should have actually have been withdrawn and
09:29replaced by the me 209 but that never actually got into production and was
09:34never seen in the air so the Bf 109 was was very important it was a small
09:38aircraft it was very maneuverable and it was the lead single-seat fighter in the
09:44Luftwaffe it did suffer from a number of limitations which were to become upon
09:50later in the campaign but certainly in the early days in Poland and in
09:55Scandinavia it was found to be second to none certainly in the first part of the
10:00Second World War it was a match for virtually any fighter of any other
10:03combatant nation having said that as the war went on and despite its great
10:07versatility in the development through which it went something like 80
10:10different marks of Bf 109 were eventually produced by 1944 1945 it was
10:16lagging behind both other German fighter aircraft and those of its enemies in
10:21particular the Americans the Bf 109 contributed vitally to the success of the
10:26German blitzkrieg they were engaged on strafing missions in Poland and acted as
10:33bomber escorts during the invasion of France it was only as the mass evacuation
10:39of British and allied forces from Dunkirk was underway that the 109 first
10:44encountered an enemy fighter to match it the British supermarine Spitfire as 1940
10:51continued the German 109 and its British rival would become key combatants in the
10:57first ever major battle fought entirely in the air the Battle of Britain the German
11:05defeat in the Battle of Britain has been seen by many as a triumph of the Spitfire
11:09over the Bf 109 the British fighter was marginally the finer combat aircraft but
11:16only by the slimmest of margins its superior agility enabled British pilots to
11:22outmaneuver their German rivals but it was a near run thing the 109 had
11:32notoriously weak landing gear units which saw many crashes on landing significantly
11:38it also suffered from an alarming lack of range
11:47the reason that the 109 had such a limited range it was never really intended to take
11:53on a strategic role it was always intended to be flown from airfields right behind the ground forces as
12:01such the issue of range was never intended to be a large one because they were intended to be able
12:06to take off to fly to refuel and to keep flying into battle that way obviously
12:12there's nowhere to refuel over the English Channel and that's one of the real
12:16reasons I think why the Luftwaffe lost the Battle of Britain and probably why
12:20we're all still here today the failure of the Luftwaffe to destroy the RAF was of
12:26crucial significance on the 17th of September 1940 Hitler postponed indefinitely his
12:34planned invasion of Britain and the battle was effectively over despite the German defeat there
12:43can be no doubt that the Messerschmitt Bf 109 acquitted itself extremely well its contribution was
12:49certainly far more effective than many other components of the Luftwaffe which now began
12:54to show glaring inefficiencies the previously feared Junkers 87 Stuka dive bomber had to be
13:02withdrawn after catastrophic losses the twin engines Astora heavy fighters also performed poorly
13:12ironically the best known of them was another Messerschmitt design the Bf 110 the thinking behind the
13:21twin engine fighter was logical enough the Luftwaffe were amongst the first to commission a twin engine
13:26fighter which in theory offered the speed and firepower of a single-seat fighter with the added
13:32advantage of extra protection and longer range first flown in 1936 the Bf 110 entered operational service in
13:46in April 1939 and appeared to offer everything expected of it
13:53powered by two Daimler Benz engines the Bf 110 could attain a maximum speed similar to the 109 around 350
14:01miles per hour
14:02but with a range up to 150 miles further its armament was also impressive consisting of one 7.9mm Mg15
14:12machine gun
14:13four Mg17's of the same caliber and two 20 millimeter MgFF camera
14:21in its early combat use this firepower was deployed decisively
14:27Poland Scandinavia and Northwest Europe the Bf 110 carried out its primary role of escorting bombers with little in the
14:34way of opposition
14:37but against a stronger enemy the outcome would be different
14:43in the Battle of Britain the weakness of the 110 was cruelly exposed
14:48against the single engine fighters of the RAF the Bf 110 was very vulnerable
14:55a difficult plane to maneuver easily the twin engine fighter was relatively easy prey for the agile spitfires and hurricanes
15:02which could turn inside the cumbersome turning circle of the 110
15:09embarrassingly for the Luftwaffe the Bf 110 originally designed as an escort plane
15:15soon found itself needing its own escort of 109s
15:20the Battle of Britain was undeniably a disaster for this previously highly regarded type
15:27the great German air ace Adolf Galland noted its weakness
15:32there's a store a must perform as well as a fighter
15:35since this was not the case it could not achieve its goal in the operations intended for it
15:46further disappointments followed its deployment in North Africa
15:49and by 1941 the Bf 110 was no longer considered a frontline fighting aircraft
15:57but the events of 1940 did not mean the end of the Bf 110
16:02later in the war the Luftwaffe needed to combat the growing menace of British night bombers
16:08they needed a fighter which was sufficiently large to accommodate the new technology of radar
16:14with the cover of night to compensate for its technical shortcomings
16:18the Bf 110 fitted the task perfectly
16:23until the end of the war it remained in service as a night fighter
16:29the Bf 110 was also successfully modified for use as a long-range reconnaissance plane
16:35and one version proved effective as a fighter bomber
16:41although the Bf 110 proved ineffective in its originally intended role
16:45its later versions remained in production almost to the very end of the Second World War
16:55another aircraft which saw service right to the end of the war was the Bf 109
17:02its longevity was the result of the G series introduced in 1942
17:08this new improved version boasted an increased armament and a new engine the DB 605
17:15some versions of which generated 1800 horsepower
17:24this powerful version constituted 70% of the entire delivery of 109s to the Luftwaffe
17:33in total over 30,000 Messerschmitt 109s were produced its place in 20th century military history is secure
17:47ironically this apparent success may have masked a real dilemma for Luftwaffe
17:57when it came to the modifications that were made post 1942
18:01the lack of manoeuvrability due to the weight of the engine and the more heavy armaments
18:07meant that a once very good manoeuvrable speedy aircraft
18:11that probably was better at over 20,000 feet than under 20,000 feet
18:16was becoming increasingly disadvantageous in dogfights and aerial combat
18:21both the Supermarine Spitfire and the Messerschmitt Bf 109
18:26went through a long and relatively complex development process during the Second World War
18:31dozens of variants of both aircraft were produced as the war went on
18:35the Messerschmitt Bf 109 did suffer from a number of deficiencies when compared to the Spitfire
18:40first its rate of turn was somewhat slower than that of the Supermarine Spitfire
18:45and in close-quarter dogfights such as those that occurred in 1940 over Britain
18:49this was a significant deficiency
18:52in addition it had a relatively limited range and endurance
18:55and in addition during the Battle of Britain at least due to some rather faulty tactics
19:00it was required to form a sort of close escort role for German bombers
19:04it couldn't be used to its maximum advantage
19:07in 1941 the Luftwaffe unveiled a fighter which was even better than the legendary Messerschmitt 109
19:14this was the Focke-Wulf 190
19:18single-seater like the 109
19:20the original FW 190 was powered by an air-cooled BMW 801 radial engine
19:26which was housed in a large nose cone
19:30the 1700 horsepower engine produced a top speed of 382 miles per hour
19:36a performance that could be boosted in most models by an emergency boost power system
19:42the top speed of the D9 version was an impressive 440 miles per hour
19:50unfortunately for the Luftwaffe technical problems with the 190's engine production
19:56meant that it could not be produced in large numbers until later in the war
20:01it was a serious misfortune for in 1941 the 190 was the best of all the German fighters
20:12and firepower the 190 was a force to be reckoned with
20:16when it first entered combat its armament consisted of two 7.9mm machine guns
20:22and four 20mm MG151 cannon
20:26more than a match for the Spitfires of the time
20:36the 190 was also a superb aircraft to fly
20:39highly manoeuvrable it was perfectly designed for the art of air combat
20:47although some later versions were modified for use as fighter bombers
20:50it is as a conventional fighter aircraft that the 190 is remembered today
20:56whereas the BF 109 was needing to be phased out by 1942
21:02the FW 190 continued to a very high degree of serviceability
21:08right to the end of the war
21:09it was easy to modernize, it was easy to service, it was an aircraft that Luftwaffe pilots loved to fly
21:19because it had very good handling ability
21:21and was generally an aircraft that could be relied upon throughout the war
21:28with the advent of the 190 the Luftwaffe was again able to take back superiority in the air
21:36in terms of single seat fighters
21:39and it became such a successful machine that during 1943
21:44the allied losses, particularly in the American Air Force
21:48became so high that at certain times later on in that year
21:51they were forced to suspend the bombing campaign over Germany
21:56the 190 was the fighter that contributed to those losses
22:00and it caused the American Air Force in particular to have to completely review their own tasks
22:06and develop their own fighters so they could compete
22:09The FW 190 was a superb aircraft, absolutely brilliant aircraft
22:14very well conceived, well thought out aircraft
22:18when it first appeared in the skies of France over 1941
22:22the principal RAF fighter, the main opponent of it was the Spitfire Mark V
22:27the FW 190 was able to outstrip the aircraft in virtually every aspect of combat
22:36the cockpit
22:37it was very well made, very solid, very sturdy
22:39yet streamlined, elegant little aircraft
22:43virtually 360 degree visibility out the cockpit
22:46the cockpit was a nice layout
22:48so it was a fighter pilot's dream
22:50and many have said that the aircraft was close to being as perfect an aircraft design as it was
22:55and the Germans certainly exploited this aircraft
22:57was almost taking over completely the dive bomber role
23:01or the ground attack role from the Ju-87 by 1943
23:04so very excellent aircraft
23:07when first used in action in July 1941
23:11the FW 190 caused a sensation
23:14in engagements with the British Mark V Spitfire
23:17it proved to be by far the superior war plane
23:21this incredible footage of the Diab Raid in 1942
23:25includes rare film of FW 190s engaging Spitfires and hurricanes
23:33fatally, production difficulties meant that it was less of a threat to the British than it might have been
23:40had the 190 been available in numbers a year earlier
23:43the course of the Battle of Britain may have been very different
23:49in any event, by July 1941
23:52Hitler had chosen to open a new front to the war
23:55with his invasion of the Soviet Union
24:01in the terrible fighting that followed on the Eastern Front
24:03the FW 190 proved to be a fighter without equal in that theatre
24:09on the Western Front
24:10as the German Reich faced the might of the huge American bombers
24:14it became an unrivalled defensive fighter
24:17by 1944
24:19production of the 190 had reached 1000 per month
24:23and the aircraft was still evolving
24:27late that year
24:29the souped-up D9 model was introduced
24:31known as the Long Nose series
24:35in its final, fastest version
24:38the 190's top speed was a remarkable 472 miles per hour
24:44in total, over 20,000 aircraft were delivered to the Luftwaffe
24:50the quality of its design meant that after the war
24:53the 190 continued to see service
24:56as part of the Air Force of France
24:59the quality of the 190 as a combat aircraft
25:03was never in doubt from the moment it first astonished the British
25:06in the summer of 1941
25:10but the following year
25:12an experiment took place involving a 190
25:15which clearly indicated the future direction of fighter design
25:20the experiment was a staged air battle
25:24between the highly regarded 190
25:26and a new experimental fighter
25:28the Heinkel 280
25:31the results of the demonstration
25:34were clear
25:36despite the proven qualities of the FW 190
25:39the Heinkel emerged as the winner
25:43the difference between them
25:44lay in their engines
25:47the new Heinkel was the first combat aircraft
25:50to be fitted with the latest in engine technology
25:53the jet engine
25:56long before the war began
25:59aircraft designers had realized
26:01that the performance of propeller driven aircraft
26:03was ultimately limited
26:06the laws of physics governing drag efficiency
26:09and the weight of the aircraft
26:10meant that a speed of 500 miles per hour
26:13was the best that could ever be obtained
26:16by a conventionally powered aircraft
26:19the attainment of speeds above this figure
26:22would require a completely new system of propulsion
26:27the invention of the jet engine
26:29offered a solution to the problem
26:32pioneered in England by Sir Frank Whittle
26:34and in Germany by Hans Joachim van Ohehen
26:37the world's first jet powered flight
26:39took place in Germany
26:40in August 1939
26:43just days before the start of the war
26:48though the flight was successful
26:50it attracted little in the way of interest
26:53but the Heinkel company continued to work with the new technology
26:57and in 1941 they produced the world's first jet powered military aircraft
27:04this was the HE280
27:06that would later prove itself against the FW 190
27:16powered by twin YUMO 004 turbo jets
27:19the 280 had a top speed of 508 miles per hour
27:23well in excess of any conventional combat aircraft
27:33despite this the German leadership again gave the project little more than passing interest
27:41only eight of these remarkable aircraft were ever built
27:44eventually however the Nazi leadership realized the potential of a jet powered fighter
27:50but the Messerschmitt company not Heinkel was chosen to build it
27:55the Soviet Union
27:55the Soviet Union
28:04the Soviet Union
28:07the Soviet Union
28:08what they produced
28:09was one of the most celebrated aircraft of World War II
28:12the ME262
28:14the ME262
28:17was an outstanding weapon of war
28:19it was a state of the art aircraft
28:23that the general of the German fighters said he would rather have one ME262
28:29than five BF 109s
28:32it looked like a shark
28:34it was aerodynamic
28:36it was incredibly fast
28:38a very powerful engine
28:40and it was also something that packed a very heavy punch
28:44its armaments were extremely good
28:46by virtue of the fact that it took a long time to produce large numbers of them
28:51partly because German aircraft industry had to be dispersed across Germany in the face of Allied bombing
28:56because there was a deficiency of trained skilled personnel to work on the engines and the airframes
29:02a lack of fuel and that obviously had significant impacts on pilot training
29:06it meant that the ME262 effectively dribbled into combat
29:10certainly it was never faced in the air in numbers of more than maybe a dozen on any single occasion
29:15in the longer term of course the ME262 was enormously important
29:19and it provided post-war American, British and Russian aeronautical engineers
29:25with an enormous amount of inspiration for post-war jet fighter design
29:29in actual fact the war had already been lost by the time the 262 took to the air
29:35in any kind of significant numbers
29:37the real turning points of World War II really came in June
29:421944 when Army Group Centre in Russia were completely destroyed by Operation Bagration
29:48and the Allied landings of course took place in Normandy after that
29:53that the end was really in sight
29:55so no matter what technology had been introduced or how successful or how radical that technology was
30:02the Second World War was really already lost by that point
30:06the development of the 262 was dogged with difficulties
30:10though it flew for the first time under jet power in July 1942
30:15it was two years later before it began to be used operationally
30:20there were production problems with the engine
30:23the Junker's YUMO 004B turbojet
30:26there also were political problems
30:29both within the Messerschmitt company and externally
30:34most importantly the development of a potentially world beating fighter aircraft
30:40was hampered by Hitler's belief in its power as a fighter bomber
30:45even as the war began to turn against him
30:48the German leader obsessively clung to the concept of offensive air warfare
30:52that had served him so well in his early triumphs
30:57he insisted the 262 be used as a fighter bomber
31:05eventually Hitler relented and allowed a small percentage of 262s to be exclusively fighters
31:13aware of the potential of the new aircraft to turn the course of the war
31:17Messerschmitt simply decided to make available far more fighters than the Führer had ordered
31:23for Germany Hitler's delays and interferences proved vital
31:30it was only after allied troops had landed in continental Europe
31:34that the 262 was able to enter operational service
31:38theoretically the ME 262 could have made a difference to air combat over Germany
31:43in 1943 but in 1944 it was unrealistic to expect enough of them to arrive
31:50to actually make a difference to the strategic bombing scenario at that time
31:54there were 55 ME 262 sorties against 1,100 American bombers and their escorts
32:01on the 10th of April 1945
32:03they managed to only shoot down 10 enemy aircraft
32:07but they lost 27 jet aircraft themselves
32:11there is no question that the 262 was a far, far better aircraft than any allied fighter in the sky
32:19but it was outnumbered by such a massive amount that they couldn't really press home their attacks
32:26and they were destroyed as they took off from airfields or as they landed on airfields
32:31so for that reason Hitler's insistence that it be equipped as a fighter bomber
32:37isn't really a significant factor in the debate
32:43The performance of the 262 was all that the Germans had wished for
32:47its twin YUMO engines provided 1,980 pounds of thrust and gave a top speed of 540 miles per hour
32:56over 100 miles per hour faster than any allied plane
33:04its armament varied during its brief operational life
33:08some later models were fitted with radical experimental weapons
33:13but its standard firepower consisted of four 30mm Mk108 cannon
33:19and the fighter bomber versions that were made carried two 1,100 pound bombs
33:27in action the 262 proved itself a magnificent war plane
33:33in the first month of operations 25 of the Messerschmitt jets succeeded in destroying 50 allied bombers
33:41in total the small force of operational ME 262s destroyed over 100 allied aircraft
33:54the only British jet of the war the Gloucester Meteor was totally outclassed by the 262
34:02right up to the end of the war it proved a menace to the allies
34:06in total 1433 of these magnificent fighter planes were built
34:12Adolf Galland noted with delight that the ratio of German aircraft shot down for each allied bomber
34:18changed from 5 to 1 to 1 to 5 almost overnight
34:26unfortunately for the Germans even this spectacular achievement was too little too late
34:34most of the 262s that were built often failed to take to the air
34:38in the last months of the war there were chronic shortages of fuel
34:42combined with a lack of pilots trained to fly the new jet
34:48the 262 may have been superior to any of its enemies
34:51but the sheer numbers of allied aircraft involved in the final assault on Germany
34:56proved more decisive in the end
34:59the situation that would have resulted
35:01if the 262 had been deployed more quickly
35:04remains one of the great unanswered questions of World War 2
35:08Hitler's desire to convert the 262 into a bomber may have been one of his more costly mistakes
35:16if there was indecision about whether the 262 should be used in an interceptor role
35:21there was no such doubt concerning another Messerschmitt plane that entered service in 1944
35:28the remarkable ME-163 comet
35:33the comet was one of the most unusual planes ever to take to the air during World War 2
35:39virtually every feature of its design was innovative
35:42it was tail-less
35:43it had no landing gear
35:45it could travel under its own power for just 7 minutes
35:48yet when it was introduced in 1944
35:51the comet represented a serious attempt to combat the allied bombing
35:55which was devastating Germany's heart line
35:59the specifications of the comet are intimately connected with the job it was designed to do
36:04most importantly it was powered by a rocket engine burning not one but two propellants
36:11a mixture of hydrogen peroxide or T-STOF
36:14and a hydrazine-methanol mixture known as C-STOF
36:20the plane took off from a wheeled trolley
36:22which dropped away once the plane was airborne
36:26the comet would then enter a remarkable climb
36:29in just two and a half minutes it attained an altitude of 30,000 feet
36:35it was then in a position to engage enemy bombers
36:38with its two 30mm MK-108 cannon
36:41before gliding back to ground
36:45it was a remarkably simple and original concept
36:49nothing like the comet was ever produced elsewhere
36:52during World War II
36:58the most remarkable feature of the comet was its speed
37:01at 30,000 feet it could attain nearly 600 miles per hour
37:07some test models were faster still
37:10in October 1941
37:12a comet set a world speed record
37:14flying at 623 miles per hour
37:18a record that would survive
37:20until 1947
37:22but the development of the comet was troubled by technical difficulties
37:27only in July 1944
37:29were the pilots of the Jagdgeschwader 400
37:32able to engage the enemy with their unique new war plane
37:37the comet achieved some success in battle
37:40on the 24th of August 1944
37:43comet pilots succeeded in destroying four American bombers
37:47an achievement that would not be surpassed
37:51again fuel shortages would be a problem
37:55the small force of operational comets
37:58was able to take to the air only sporadically
38:01in addition there were problems with the basic design of the plane
38:06most significant was the lack of landing gear
38:10landing on a skid called for skilled airmanship
38:14the slightest error could mean that the plane could fall over on landing
38:19if this happened
38:20the danger was that any rocket propellants left in the aircraft would be disturbed
38:25and a catastrophic explosion was the likely result
38:30throughout the aircraft's life
38:32more comets were lost in accidents than enemy planes destroyed by them in combat
38:40the Messerschmitt 163 comet was an astonishing aircraft way ahead of its time in many respects
38:47it was incredibly fast at a truly astonishing rate of climb
38:51but it suffered from a number of fairly crippling problems
38:54first of all there were never enough of them
38:56only about 350 were actually delivered towards the end of the war
38:59second its combat endurance was relatively limited
39:04third and perhaps most lethal of all
39:07to pilot the thing required an element of courage verging on the suicidal
39:12because essentially you were sitting on top of a large bomb
39:14either on taking off or on landing
39:17any impact would almost spontaneously cause the aircraft to explode
39:22it was also extremely difficult to fly in the air
39:26so it was an extremely dangerous aircraft
39:29and indeed more were lost to spontaneous combustion than were lost to allied fire
39:36even if the fuel didn't explode it had an appallingly corrosive capacity
39:41and it tended to burn spontaneously on contact with any organic material
39:47and that included of course the pilot
39:48the comet included some remarkable technology
39:53it was the technology ultimately that would be used to push the space shuttle into orbit
39:59it was a rocket fighter
40:01but some of the technology had some quite alarming and frightening limitations
40:06once the aircraft was in the air it only had enough fuel for seven minutes of powered flight
40:13after which the theory was that the thing had picked up so much speed
40:16that it could glide into action and it would be travelling so much faster than any allied fighters
40:22that no one could touch it
40:24in practice it actually worked
40:25they did manage to shoot down a large number of bombers
40:28but of course the aircraft was completely vulnerable on its descent
40:32in a sky that was full of mustangs and the next generations of allied fighters
40:37who naturally had a field day
40:41the chief limitation of the comet was its limited range
40:44it carried enough fuel for a mere seven minutes of powered flight
40:48the sheer speed of the plane also made engaging the enemy difficult
40:54once a pilot had an enemy plane in range
40:56his plane was moving so quickly that there was a real danger of crashing into the target
41:03in an attempt to solve this problem
41:05the last weeks of the war saw the introduction of a completely new firing system on the comet
41:10it was known as the Jagerfaust or fighting fist
41:16nothing like it had ever been seen before
41:22firstly the comet's firepower was increased
41:24it was fitted with ten massive 50 millimeter cannons
41:29the idea behind the vertical mounting was simple
41:33the comet would now engage the enemy from below
41:36in action the pilot would attempt to fly directly below an enemy plane
41:41photoelectric cells would then automatically activate the Jagerfaust
41:46and fire 2.2 pounds of explosive shells upwards in quick succession
41:58with the end of the war now imminent
42:00it was the only time the system was ever used
42:06innovations such as Jagerfaust
42:08are typical of the last months of the war
42:10as German designers desperately pursued any option
42:14that might make an impression against allied air power
42:18in weaponry these options included ever larger calibers of gun
42:23many of these new guns were incorporated into the great Messerschmitt jet
42:27the 262
42:29the 50 millimeter BK5 cannon was fitted to some later models
42:34an enormous gun originally designed for ground use against tanks
42:39this was eventually surpassed with a weapon of 55 millimeter caliber
42:44while some late test models were equipped with the new MG 213 revolver cannon
42:51in the post-war world this innovation in particular
42:55will be taken up by the world's air powers
42:59of all the new weapons fitted to the ME 262
43:03perhaps the most remarkable was one actually used in combat
43:08this was the R4M
43:10a 55 millimeter rocket and the world's first air-to-air missile
43:16in March 1945
43:18six 262s of Jagdgeschwader 7
43:21were fitted with a new weapon
43:24each aircraft was armed with 24 of the missiles
43:27twelve under each wing
43:30on the 18th of March
43:32these 262s engaged an American bomber formation
43:35and three B-17s were destroyed by the new missiles
43:42although there were subsequent problems with the R4M
43:45notably a tendency for the firing mechanism to jam
43:48it is likely that it could have made a valuable contribution
43:51to the German fighter force had it been introduced earlier
43:58in terms of aircraft design
44:00the Luftwaffe were desperately making innovations
44:02right up to the end of the war
44:04November 1944
44:06saw the first flight of the amazing Dornier 335 A1
44:15a single seat fighter
44:16the 335 was remarkable for its engine arrangement
44:20two Daimler Ben 603 G's
44:23one behind the other
44:28this highly unusual layout
44:31utilized not one but two propellers
44:33one at each end of the aircraft
44:37this resulted in a potentially tough combat aircraft
44:40with a top speed of 477 miles per hour
44:46but once again
44:47it was too late
44:48to make any meaningful impact on the Allies
44:54despite its undoubted qualities
44:57the 335 never flew an operational combat mission
45:02nevertheless
45:02it represented the very limits
45:05of propeller driven propulsion
45:15developed from the Dornier Dio 17 was the 215
45:19which is an effective night fighter
45:20a little bit slow but still effective in its role
45:23there were many versions that were on the drawing board for this aircraft
45:26two seat night fighters
45:28heavy bombers, high altitude fighters
45:30there was even one that was designed as a half jet powered
45:33and half piston engine powered
45:34so very unusual aircraft
45:40another remarkable design concept
45:43was the Bachem BA 349 Natter
45:47an SS sponsored design
45:50produced so late on in the war
45:52that it never engaged a single allied aircraft
45:55it provides a fascinating reminder
45:58of the desperation of the Nazi regime during those final months
46:03like the comet
46:04the Natter was a small interceptor plane powered by a rocket
46:09the story grows even more bizarre
46:10when we discover the rocket powered Natter was built
46:13from wood
46:15but it could fly
46:18unlike the comet
46:19it was launched vertically from the ground
46:21to an altitude in excess of 30,000 feet
46:24the Natter was designed to attack an enemy plane in two ways
46:29firstly with its armament of missiles
46:30which included the R4M rockets
46:33and then with a ramming procedure
46:37the pilot was to aim his plane at the enemy
46:39and then split his craft into two
46:42the front half descending with the pilot to the ground
46:46the rear half crashing into the enemy plane
46:51we will never know if this semi expendable plane
46:55would ever have succeeded in its radical intentions
46:58only seven manned test flights ever took place
47:02before Germany surrendered
47:07the impending collapse of the Third Reich
47:10also resulted in one of the most bizarre operational warplanes ever to see service
47:15the Heinkel He 162 Salamander
47:20in September 1944
47:22the Aviation Ministry announced its desire for a small mass produced single seat jet fighter
47:28known as the Volksjager
47:31the people's fighter
47:34just three months later
47:36on the 6th of December
47:37the Salamander flew for the first time
47:42the dream of a mass produced people's fighter
47:45did not however become reality
47:49just one unit was eventually deployed in combat
47:51and although it did claim one kill
47:54the war ended before its effectiveness could be confirmed
47:59the Salamander is interesting
48:01not only in itself
48:03but for the insight its creation gives us into the minds of the German leadership at the time
48:09Goering and others
48:11seriously wanted the plane to be piloted by half-trained members of the Hitler Youth
48:17though the plan came to nothing
48:19it demonstrates the loss of reason affecting the Nazi leadership
48:23as the inevitability of their defeat began to sink in
48:28for all the skill and innovation shown by aircraft designers in the great German aircraft firms
48:34the Luftwaffe's fighters were no longer in a position to influence the war's outcome
48:40with the benefit of hindsight
48:42it is possible to identify errors in Hitler's overall strategy
48:46that led to the defeat of his Nazi regime
48:50interviewed as a prisoner of war
48:52the great air race and fighter leader Adolf Galland
48:56identified what he considered the reasons for the ultimate failure of the German fighters
49:02for Galland and others
49:04the Nazi leadership failed to take the concept of the fighter seriously enough
49:09before the war
49:11the Luftwaffe comprised 30 bombergruppen
49:149 Stukagruppen
49:16and 13 fightergruppen
49:19the high command personified by Hitler
49:22favored the bomber disproportionately
49:25and it was difficult for senior figures from within the fighter force
49:28to influence high command decisions
49:33the absence of a single fighter command structure like that of the RAF
49:38was a major factor
49:43the failure to replace the BF 109 with the FW 190 early enough
49:48was also identified as a major factor by Galland
49:52as was the further failure to replace the 190 with the 262 as soon as it was available
50:00in addition to the neglect of new technology in fighter design
50:04the fighters already in service were not produced in sufficient numbers quickly enough
50:11in 1941 when Germany was already fighting on three separate fronts
50:16she produced a total of just 250 fighters a month
50:22by 1944 production of some individual planes exceeded a thousand in the same time period
50:30but by then the tide of the war had turned
50:38Galland was also highly critical of Goeing whom he held in the utmost contempt
50:47after the war he gave his captors a forceful statement of his views
50:57Goering as commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe
50:59had from the moment of the loss of air superiority on the various fronts
51:03committed no realistic reflection argument or decision to prevail
51:08instead he squandered time and energy in the most disgusting insulting of the fighter force
51:15by this he achieved in the fighter force itself
51:18as well as in the other branches and among the people themselves
51:21exactly the opposite effect of that he sought
51:26everyone spoke in general terms about the failure of the fighter force
51:34ultimately the failure of the Luftwaffe's fighter force cannot be explained
51:38without reference to the failure of Hitler's overall strategy for the war
51:44despite the often brilliant innovations of their fighter plane designers
51:47and the undeniable skill of their airmen
51:50it was the German leadership that led to the ultimate failure of their fighter force
51:55in the second world war
52:26perfect!
52:26if you love you will guide me!
52:26at the moment of work is the fuel of the fighter plane
52:26j-r-1ok
52:26.com it
52:27was p which... walha
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