- 19 minutes ago
For educational purposes
With the failure of the German Bomber 'B' program to find a replacement for the existing medium bombers, and the continuing problems with the Heinkel He-177, the Luftwaffe found itself being forced to keep in production types with which it had entered the war.
The heavy losses in Russia and the growing effectiveness of allied air power was having a dire impact on the ability of the German bomber force to carry out its role.
In 1943, when the Luftwaffe once more launched night bomber raids against the UK, the effectiveness of the night flyer defense led to very high losses.
The decline of the Luftwaffe bombing arm is covered in the operations of the varied aircraft types employed, down to Germany's surrender in May, 1945.
Also shown are flying boats and float planes, seen operating from the Mediterranean through to the Arctic Ocean.
With the failure of the German Bomber 'B' program to find a replacement for the existing medium bombers, and the continuing problems with the Heinkel He-177, the Luftwaffe found itself being forced to keep in production types with which it had entered the war.
The heavy losses in Russia and the growing effectiveness of allied air power was having a dire impact on the ability of the German bomber force to carry out its role.
In 1943, when the Luftwaffe once more launched night bomber raids against the UK, the effectiveness of the night flyer defense led to very high losses.
The decline of the Luftwaffe bombing arm is covered in the operations of the varied aircraft types employed, down to Germany's surrender in May, 1945.
Also shown are flying boats and float planes, seen operating from the Mediterranean through to the Arctic Ocean.
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LearningTranscript
01:25At first, the German drive stormed ahead, but in the confusion over priorities lay the foundation for subsequent defeat.
01:33By late August, Stalingrad seemed about to fall.
01:40By 1942, the task of battlefield and medium-range tactical reconnaissance in the Luftwaffe on the eastern front had been
01:48taken over almost completely by Fock-Wulf's twin-boom FW 189.
01:53Named the OWL, its large expanse of glazing housing the crew in the small fuselage section saw it quickly nicknamed
02:01the Flying Eye.
02:02The 189 rapidly proved itself to be highly effective, providing intelligence not just of local enemy dispositions, for the benefit
02:11of artillery and stukas, but also of longer-range targets employed for planning the raids of the medium bombers.
02:21The heavy losses of bombers in the previous summer and winter in Russia saw their role in theatre, as providing
02:27support for army operations in the summer of 1942 become even more pronounced.
02:33Thus, the few surviving DO-17s, in addition to the JU-88s, the HE-111s, found themselves being employed even
02:41more as flying artillery in the Crimea and in the southern drive towards the Caucasus oilfields and eastwards to the
02:48river Volga.
02:50During the early summer, JU-88s, operating with von Richthofen's 8th Flieger Corps, were flying up to four bombing sorties
02:57a day from bases barely ten minutes' flying time from the city of Sevastopol, which was under attack by von
03:04Manstein's 11th Army.
03:06This intensity of operations also became the norm for bomber units supporting the attempt by 6th Army to take the
03:13city of Stalingrad throughout the late summer and autumn of 1942.
03:25Although the activities of Rommel's Afrika Korps was to generate good copy for the cameraman of the propaganda department, North
03:32Africa was never regarded as anything but a subsidiary theatre of operations by Hitler.
03:37His initial commitment of German forces had been dictated by his need to prop up the Italians, rather than from
03:44any desire to see German forces involved in the region.
03:48Nevertheless, once made, Rommel's forces needed air support.
03:52While fighters and stukers supported the ground forces in the fighting in Libya, the bomber units found themselves tasked with
03:59the reduction of the island fortress of Malta.
04:05The strategic importance of Malta to the RAF and the Royal Navy can be gauged by the losses their air
04:11and sea units inflicted on Axis shipping, taking supplies across the Mediterranean from Italy to North Africa during the last
04:19months of 1941.
04:21In September 38% of all shipping dispatched was sunk, in October 63% and in November 77%.
04:30Such losses could not be accepted and in the absence of adequate Italian forces, Hitler had little choice but to
04:37send air forces to the region to neutralize the island.
04:40In October 1941, Luftflot 2 arrived in Sicily to join the 10th Air Corps, which had been operating from bases
04:48on the island since the previous December.
04:5110th Air Corps had deployed a large number of Ju-88 formations under its umbrella.
04:56These had included Staffel from KG's 54 and 77, Camphor Group 806 and LG-1.
05:05A number of these formations were then transferred to Russia in mid-1941, leaving LG-1 to bear the brunt
05:11of Ju-88 ops in this theatre through to 1944.
05:16Bombing raids against British convoys were launched, as were attacks on the island itself.
05:21These had some effect, for by January 1942, Axis shipping losses had fallen to 20%.
05:29April 1942 saw the beginning of a large-scale Axis bombing campaign against Malta.
05:38Ultimately, the bombing offensive against Malta was to come to naught due to Hitler's reluctance to order the invasion of
05:45the island.
05:45Elements of LG-1 also found itself involved in the direct support of Rommel's forces in North Africa.
05:53Night attacks were launched by bomber units operating against British supply lines
05:57and flew with others operating out of bases in Greece and Crete to attack the Canal Zone and, in particular,
06:04the Port of Alexandria.
06:05By the time this film was taken in mid-1942, the growth of the Desert Air Force had made it
06:11difficult for the HE-111 and the JU-88 to operate in daylight.
06:23An outgrowth of the earlier DO-17Z, the improved Dornier DO-217E, entered service with the Luftwaffe in 1941,
06:33first seeing action with KG-40 in the anti-shipping role.
06:37Shortly thereafter, it entered service with KG-2, which in fact became the only bomber wing to be totally equipped
06:44on the type.
06:45Operating out of bases in Holland, KG-2 thus became the cutting edge of the Luftwaffe bomber force in the
06:52west.
06:53DO-217s of two KG-2 first participating with the aircraft of KG-40 in night raids on London in
07:01July 1941.
07:03Through the rest of 1941 and throughout 1942,
07:07217s were used extensively over the British Isles, raiding targets as far afield as Hull through to Exeter.
07:14They were the principal type used in the so-called Beideker raids.
07:18Losses both to crashes and interceptions by increasingly sophisticated RAF night fighters rose substantially during this period.
07:28The type was subjected to intensive testing throughout its development and subsequent combat career.
07:33Having its origin in a 1937 Luftwaffe specification, it is interesting how testing of the early prototypes included the requirement
07:43that the 217 be able to undertake dive bombing.
07:46It was thus equipped with an unusual tail-mounted cruciform dive break that was not, however, proceeded with.
07:55Further development of the 217 led to the emergence of the K and M models.
08:00Both shared the same fuselage and wing arrangement.
08:03The defining feature of these new models was the extensively glazed nose, similar to that used on the HE-177.
08:12The principal distinguishing feature between the two was retention of the BMW radials on the K and use of Daimler
08:20-Benz inlines on the M.
08:22Both were used for night bombing, but neither was built in great numbers.
08:27The film of the DO-217 engaged in combat missions is extremely rare.
08:33Even rarer is footage of the K and M variants.
08:36In this sequence, a 217K is seen taking off on a mission in Russia.
08:41This was unusual in that very few of the type served there.
08:45Although the strength of the Red Air Force had not yet driven Luftwaffe bombers from the sky in daylight,
08:50the specialized role of the 217K as a night bomber found it being employed to attack important Soviet targets by
08:58night
08:58in the run-up to the summer offensive at Kursk in July 1943.
09:28Having been thrown back beyond the start line of their previous summer's offensive by a Red Army
09:33that had run rampant since surrounding and destroying the 6th Army at Stalingrad,
09:38the Germans now began their own counter-offensive to regain the initiative in southern Russia.
09:49Recovering from the disarray that had afflicted German air operations since December,
09:54the Luftwaffe High Command was able to assist Field Marshal von Manstein
09:58in the provision of air support for his counter-offensive.
10:02By the time the German attack began on February 19th,
10:06OKL had moved significant air assets southwards to reinforce Luftflok 4
10:12under the command of Luftwaffe Field Marshal von Richthofen.
10:16Thus, by the time Manstein's mobile forces had begun their assault
10:20on the overextended Soviet formations driving hard for the river to Neipa,
10:25Richthofen had, under his command, some 950 aircraft.
10:29This corresponded to 53% of all Luftwaffe assets serving in the east.
10:36Ever since his experiences in Spain,
10:39Richthofen had emerged as one of the foremost Luftwaffe practitioners of close air support.
10:44He now wielded the aircraft units under his command,
10:48including the medium bomber Staffel,
10:50so that they became totally responsive to the needs of the ground forces.
10:55The HE-111s, Ju-88s and declining numbers of DO-17s available to him
11:01thus became even more identified with their employment as flying artillery.
11:06Their targets in many cases being retreating Soviet columns or villages
11:10turned into well-defended positions by the Red Army.
11:16In the face of such a rapidly changing battlefield situation,
11:20photo-intelligence of the movement and disposition of enemy forces became a priority.
11:26FW-189s of the recce units were extensively employed in the short-to-medium range surveillance of the battlefield
11:33to garner the information required by Luftwaffe staff planning the next sorties.
11:39Very close contact was therefore necessary with the rapidly advancing ground units
11:44and, in the absence of radio, the Fiesler Stork was frequently used to take orders to the front line
11:50and carry information about forthcoming Luftwaffe operations.
11:54The Stork was a highly regarded type.
12:02Although the medium bombers did not move from one airfield to another quite so frequently as did Stuker and Schlachtflieger
12:08units,
12:09under von Richthofen's direction, this offensive saw them doing so much more than usual.
12:14In order to maximise their use, he wished all of his assets to be as near to the moving front
12:20line as possible
12:21to ensure a high sortie turnaround.
12:24Tightly controlling his air assets from Manstein's headquarters at Zaporoshi,
12:29the Luftwaffe realised 1,000 sorties per day between 20th February and 15th March in support of the army,
12:38compared to the January average of 350 per day.
12:41This offensive was to provide the last occasion on which the Luftwaffe was able to provide such effective close support
12:48to the army
12:49as it did in the days of the Blitzkrieg.
13:00The tangible results of this very close cooperation between the ground forces and the Luftwaffe
13:06came on March the 10th when Hitler visited von Manstein's headquarters.
13:11The Field Marshal was able to tell Hitler that since the beginning of the counter-offensive,
13:15600 Soviet tanks and 500 guns had been destroyed and the recapture of Kharkov was now in sight.
13:27For the poor ground crews keeping the bombers flying in the face of such high sortie rates,
13:32the conditions that they were forced to endure when carrying out essential maintenance were appalling.
13:38Few of the airfields used were purpose-built,
13:40and in the absence of hangars, major equipment changes, such as the replacement of this engine on a Ju-88,
13:48had to be carried out in the open, come blizzards, intense frosts and severe temperatures as low as 30 to
13:5550 degrees below zero.
13:57Quite often the appalling weather prevented the arrival of supplies and spares,
14:02and on many occasions replacing an engine meant cannibalising another aircraft that had been badly damaged
14:08to provide the necessary spares to enable another to be returned to service.
14:14It is small wonder that many Luftwaffe pilots, when talking about their own exploits,
14:19have made frequent warm references to the valiant efforts of the black men in keeping their aircraft flying whatever the
14:26circumstances.
14:32A sudden rise in temperature in the days following the 10th of March had brought the German advance to a
14:37halt in floundering mud,
14:39and raised the fear of a forced and premature end to the counter-offensive.
14:43However, the rapid return of freezing weather once more turned the earth back into iron,
14:48allowing the SS Panzer Corps and army mobile formations to resume their chase of the retreating Soviet forces and the
14:56advance on Kharkov.
15:11As the German forces approached Kharkov,
15:14Luftwaffe bombers began to concentrate their attacks on the supply lines of the Red Army units in the city and
15:20beyond.
15:21As the fourth city of the Soviet Union, Kharkov was the nexus for numerous railway lines.
15:26Those coming from the east were used to rail in supplies and weapons into the city,
15:31which Stalin did not wish to see fall again.
15:47Coming in at low level, these HE-111s attack one of the marshalling yards in the city.
15:52The snowy landscape over which they are flying is crisscrossed by Soviet tank tracks.
15:57No film better perhaps exemplifies the manner in which, during this operation,
16:02the medium bombers were employed almost as ground attack aircraft than this sequence.
16:07The nose gunner of this HE-111 employs his machine gun to strafe a goods train.
16:12Soviet soldiers can be seen running for cover.
16:15Raids beyond Kharkov also saw the medium bomber Staffan attacking Soviet positions
16:21across the frozen river Donets and deep within the Kursk salient.
16:48On the 11th of March, an SS division began to enter the western outskirts of the city.
16:53Two other SS divisions headed for the north and west of Kharkov,
16:57in effect sealing it off on its eastern side.
17:00There now began three very bloody days of fighting as the SS troops swept through the city
17:06against fiercely determined Soviet resistance.
17:10With the fall of the city, all Soviet resistance west of the river Donets collapsed
17:15and Manstein declared his operation complete on the 17th of March.
17:20In June 1943, the Luftwaffe cut their losses and cancelled the bomber B program.
17:26Ongoing since 1939, this was to emerge as the most costly failure undertaken by the German Air Force.
17:34Tasked with creating a Ju-88 replacement, Junkers built the Ju-288,
17:39which saw extensive development through many variants, none of which were ever satisfactory.
17:44Nor was the competing FW-191 any better.
17:49Both designs were extremely advanced but embraced many technical innovations
17:53and new engines that never performed adequately.
17:57It is remarkable that a heavy bomber with a production run of nearly 600 machines
18:02spread over a period of three years
18:04should nevertheless have been regarded by almost all who had anything to do with it as an abject failure.
18:10That, indeed, was the lot of Heinkel's HE-177 grief.
18:15Born out of a late-30s specification to provide the Luftwaffe with a long-range heavy bomber,
18:21its development was stymied by persistent engine problems.
18:25Contrary to appearance, the type was actually a four-engine design,
18:29but the Daimler-Benz engines were coupled, each driving one propeller,
18:34giving the impression that it was a twin-engine type.
18:37While pilots reported that the handling and performance of this large aircraft were fine,
18:42these qualities were negated by the alarming and very frequent tendency of the engines to catch fire in flight.
18:49Nor was the development of such a large aircraft in its early stages
18:53helped by the ludicrous requirement that it also be able to function as a dive bomber.
18:59The first production model designated the HE-177A1
19:03entered service in the summer of 1942 with KG-40 in France, but was not a success.
19:11The HE-177s of one KG-50 were rushed eastwards to serve as transports flying into Stalingrad.
19:18Nor would they a success.
19:20In the meantime, the 177A3 had entered production
19:24and left it to be replaced by the A5 variant in February 1943.
19:30Seen here undergoing maintenance are the coupled Daimler-Benz engines
19:34on an HE-177A5 belonging to KG-40.
19:39Film of operational HE-177s is non-existent,
19:42the only footage remaining of the type showing the testing of the prototypes.
19:47In spite of the difficulties with the aircraft,
19:50development of new variants spawned many sub-types,
19:53differing one from another in terms of armament and role.
19:57One of the immediate solutions to the 177's power plant problems
20:01would have been to have given it four separated engines.
20:05Heinkel's proposal to do exactly this was met with indifference, irritation
20:09and downright bloody-mindedness.
20:12When finally flown with four separated engines,
20:15it had to be given the code designation HE-177BO
20:20because Goering had forbidden Heinkel to speak of it.
20:24HE-177s nevertheless saw combat in 1944.
20:2935 HE-177s were used to bomb England during Operation Steinbock.
20:35It was also used in Russia.
20:39Referred to under the programme cover name of Large Salmon,
20:42the development of anti-shipping missiles was a major innovation
20:46by the Germans in the Second World War.
20:48Of the two types developed,
20:50the most employed in combat was the HS-293,
20:54an example of which is seen here being mounted on the underside
20:57of a Heinkel 111 for testing purposes.
21:01The second anti-shipping weapon was known as the Fritz X,
21:05but unlike the HS-293, was an unpowered radio-guided bomb.
21:10It had to be released from a much higher altitude than the 293.
21:16The origin of the HS-293 missile came in 1939
21:20when a Dr. Herbert Wagner produced designs
21:23which were employed by the Henschel company
21:25to create their remote-controlled gliding bomb.
21:29In the following year, steps were taken to develop prototypes
21:32and much work was carried out on radio control systems.
21:37By May 1940, the first airborne tests were planned,
21:41employing a modified HE-111 as a carrier aircraft.
21:45Unguided tests preceded the first remote-controlled firings.
21:49The second of these is seen here in this film.
21:53Having been launched, the missile is guided towards the target
21:56by the observer using a joystick.
21:59This transmitted signals to the missile
22:01which controlled its passage through the air.
22:03The test was considered a success.
22:141943 saw the HS-293 deployed on HE-117s with KG-40 in the anti-shipping role,
22:22operating out of Bordeaux-Merignac.
22:24It could carry up to three missiles.
22:29The impact of a strike by an HS-293 on a ship
22:33can be seen in this film of a firing of one of the missiles
22:36against a 6,000-tonne vessel
22:38employed as a target off the coast of Pomerania
22:41in the spring of 1941.
22:44It illustrates the primary limitation of the system
22:48in the requirement that the launch aircraft fly straight and level
22:51to enable the missile director to observe the flares on the rear of the weapon.
22:57It was by this means that he knew how to direct it onto its target.
23:01Such a flight path rendered the carrier plane totally vulnerable to attack
23:06from enemy fighters and anti-aircraft fire, as was indeed the case.
23:14The long-span 217K2 especially had developed
23:18to enable it to carry either the HS-293 or the Fritz X,
23:23although the earlier DO-217E4 was able to carry a single HS-293
23:28on an outer wing pylon.
23:31Although the Junkers company had carried out extensive preliminary work
23:35on an improved JU-88B quite early on,
23:38the great success of the JU-88A series
23:41and the assumption that by 1942-43
23:45it would be replaced by the Bomber B had seen it sidelined.
23:49The very obvious failure of the latter
23:51and the need to supplement and replace the JU-88
23:54led to the 88B providing the basis of the JU-188.
23:59This new type entered service with one KG-6 in May 1943.
24:06Powered by BMW radials or YUMO inlines,
24:10the distinguishing features of this aircraft
24:12were its bulbous all-glass nose and the pointed outer wing panels.
24:17Apart from conventional bombing,
24:19the JU-188 also saw service as a torpedo bomber in northern Norway,
24:24attacking allied convoys sailing to Murmansk.
24:27It also served, as seen here, as a long-range reconnaissance type.
24:33The particular mission being flown is a photographic sortie over Bucharest
24:37after the Romanian government had changed sides
24:40and allied themselves to the Russians.
24:43Just over 1,000 JU-188s were built before production ended.
24:53Although German forces had been defeated in their attempt to capture the Caucasus oil fields
24:58during their summer offensive in 1942,
25:01Hitler had insisted that a bridgehead be retained in the Cuban.
25:06His intention was that once the military situation elsewhere in Russia
25:10had been satisfactorily resolved,
25:12German forces would employ this bridgehead, called the Goth's Head,
25:17to launch a further offensive to secure the oil fields.
25:20By mid-1943, the area was the scene of very fierce fighting on the ground and in the air.
25:27Heavy air battles saw the commitment of substantial German bomber forces.
25:34The yellow paint applied to the edge of the engine cowling on this JU-88A4
25:39and the Eidelweiss emblem on the nose
25:42marks these aircraft out as belonging to the third staffel of KG-51.
25:47The A4 was the most produced of all the variants of the JU-88 series.
25:53Indeed, so numerous was the A4 that by the end of 1942,
25:58the 520 in service constituted nearly half of all the bombers on strength
26:04with the bombing arm of the Luftwaffe.
26:06While weapons or fuel tanks could be carried on four external racks,
26:10mounted on the wing between the fuselage and engine nacelles,
26:14those in this film are carrying their bomb load in the internal bay.
26:20On July 5, 1943, the Germans launched their offensive
26:24to destroy the Kursk salient in Russia.
26:27Although primarily known for being the arena for the greatest tank battle in history,
26:32the air war over the Kursk salient was every bit as vicious and extensive as the ground combat.
26:39For Operation Zittertel, the Luftwaffe had made great efforts
26:42to concentrate as many formations as could be spared.
26:47Indeed, the Eastern Front was stripped to provide the fighter and bomber units necessary
26:51to give the army the very comprehensive air support it would need
26:55to defeat the most powerful defences the Red Army had ever created.
27:01In total, some 1,200 medium bombers were concentrated under the 4th and 6th air fleets.
27:07Supporting 4th Panzer Army in the south of the salient were the 1st and 3rd Gruppen of KG-3 flying
27:14Ju-88s,
27:16and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Gruppen of KGs 27 and 55 flying He-111s.
27:22To the north of the salient, tasked with supporting Modell's 9th Army were the 2nd and 3rd Gruppen of KG
27:30-51 employing Ju-88s,
27:33and 4 Gruppen of KGs 4 and 53 operating He-111s.
27:38In the weeks prior to July 5th, these bomber formations had been extensively employed in attacking Soviet airfields,
27:47both real and false, bombing railway lines and supply routes.
27:51They also undertook long-range attacks on Soviet armament works at Gorky and Yaroslav.
27:58Once the offensive had begun, however, most of the Ju-88 and He-111 formations
28:03found themselves employed as flying artillery to help demolish the vast fortifications of bunkers and deep trench lines
28:11that formed the basis of the Soviet defence system.
28:15Given the close proximity of many of the airfields to the actual battlefield,
28:19the bomber Gruppen found themselves flying many sorties per day in support of the ground forces.
28:25Despite the massive sortie rate and numbers of aircraft employed by the Luftwaffe,
28:30Soviet defences did not cave in,
28:33and as the battle lengthened the strength of the Soviet air force became more and more apparent.
28:39German estimates of the strength of the Soviet air power were as much in error as their estimates of their
28:45tank strength.
28:45With a total of nearly 3,000 combat types deployed for the battle,
28:50the Soviets were able to wrest control of the air from the Luftwaffe in a number of sectors.
28:55The deployment of a new generation of Soviet fighters over the salient
29:00also made the operations of the bomber units increasingly difficult.
29:05The Yak-9 and LA-5FN were more than a match for the German fighters,
29:10and numbers of Ju-88s and He-111s were lost to these types.
29:15Although the Germans threw extremely powerful forces against the Soviet defences, they did not crack.
29:21By the 13th of July, the chances of the Germans breaking through to Kursk from either the north or south
29:28was no longer possible.
29:30Losses were increasing, and just a few days before, the Allies had landed in Sicily.
29:35In the north, the Soviets had already gone over to the counteroffensive,
29:39and Luftwaffe units now found themselves being employed to attack advancing Soviet tank formations in the Orel salient.
29:47Although Manstein's forces in the south continued to make progress,
29:51the possibility of a major breakthrough had now totally receded.
29:56Hitler decided to cut his losses and call off Zittertau,
29:59for he was concerned to see ground and air assets transferred forthwith to Italy and Germany.
30:05Within a fortnight, the Soviets had launched a long-planned-for counteroffensive in the south,
30:10and within days, the Germans had to relinquish all territory captured since July 5th.
30:23Many bombers were used by high-ranking Army and Air Force officers as personal transports.
30:28Field Marshal Erwin Rommel is seen here arriving in his HE-111 at Salonica in Greece on July 25th 1943,
30:38where he was due to make an inspection tour, as it was believed at the time that the Allies would
30:43attempt a landing there.
30:44Field Marshal Albert Kesselring employed a DO-217M.
30:50Long-range reconnaissance over the Med was carried out by JU-88Ds of the Aufklärungsgruppen.
30:57Having returned from a sortie, the photographs of an Allied convoy have been quickly developed
31:02and are studied by the pilots in preparation for an anti-shipping sortie.
31:07Details of ship types are studied so as to work out the appropriate tactics to assault the convoy.
31:13Naval vessels are of particular concern because of anti-aircraft fire.
31:26From November 1942, with the launch of Operation Torch,
31:30through to July 1943 and the invasion of Sicily,
31:34followed by the Salerno landings in September,
31:37Luftwaffe anti-shipping units were heavily involved in strikes on Allied convoys.
31:42Their difficulties were compounded by the loss of most of the Italian torpedo squadrons
31:47following Italy's withdrawal from the war.
31:50The Allies landed on the mainland of Italy at Salerno, where very fierce fighting took place.
31:56However, a number of pro-fascist units continued to operate their aircraft alongside the German formations.
32:03The heavy fighting at Salerno was to be a foretaste of the bitter warfare
32:07that would be waged in the peninsula as the Germans made a slow fighting retreat to the north.
32:16Seen being briefed by their commander, Major Klumper, are pilots of KG-26,
32:21one of the Luftwaffe bomber formations specialising in anti-shipping strikes.
32:25By August 1943, aircraft from his formation had sunk 32 vessels in the Mediterranean.
32:33Equipped mainly with HE-111s, wearing the vel and muster camouflage scheme,
32:39the aircrew make ready for their sortie, assisted by their canine companions.
32:43This operation involves a mixed force of German aircraft,
32:47an Italian SM-79 Sileranti tri-motor bombers,
32:52a number of which have been crewed by German pilots.
32:57While shown to German cinema audiences after the Allied landings at Salerno
33:02and the Italian armistice with the Allies,
33:05the actual film of the attack on the Allied convoy predates these events.
33:26German and Italian aircraft were able to operate in mixed formation
33:30because of the similarity in operational procedures.
33:33Most, if not all of the German pilots,
33:36having been trained in the art of aerial torpedo dropping
33:39at the Italian Air Force School at Grossetto.
33:42The SM-79 Sparveros had acquired a formidable reputation in this role,
33:48as was attested by the Royal Navy,
33:50who had often been on the receiving end of their expertise.
33:54Whereas the HE-111 could lift two torpedoes for a sortie,
33:58the SM-79 normally carried just one.
34:01The period after the Salerno landings also marks attacks on Allied convoys
34:06by Dorniers carrying anti-ship missiles.
34:10Once Allied fighters became based on the Italian mainland
34:13and were able to offer air cover to shipping off the Italian coast,
34:17it became much more difficult for the Germans
34:20to mount the sort of operations seen here.
34:29What little film was taken of Luftwaffe bombers in action on the Eastern Front
34:33after the Battle of Kursk, more often than not,
34:36shows Heinkel-111s being employed more and more frequently in the transport role.
34:41On this occasion, towards the end of the winter of 1943-44,
34:45late-model HE-111s have been loaded with under-fuselage air droppable containers
34:51to fly a supply mission to the encircled German garrison at Covell in western Bielorussia.
34:58These HE-111s carry the powered gun turret on the upper fuselage
35:02and a cannon in the nose cone.
35:05The supply containers are para-dropped over Covell,
35:08which was under heavy fire from Soviet artillery.
35:11The lack of Soviet fighters to contest this power drop is remarkable,
35:16given that the HE-111s are without escort protection
35:19and would be extremely vulnerable to enemy fighter attack.
35:24In 1944, the United States and the Soviet Union came to an agreement
35:28whereby US heavy bombers and escort fighters of the 15th Air Force
35:33operating out of bases in Italy
35:35would be able to fly on through to bases in Russia
35:38after bombing targets in eastern Germany.
35:41The Soviet Air Force made air bases of Pultava,
35:45Mirgorod and Piriotin
35:46available for the B-17s and their Mustang escorts.
35:50In June 1944,
35:52bombers and fighters of the 8th Air Force operating out of England
35:55took their place.
35:57Until the night of June 21st,
36:00the Luftwaffe had done little to impede the progress
36:02of the US bomber stream as it flew eastward over Poland.
36:06But on that occasion, a Ju-88 trailed the US formation of 163 B-17s
36:13and photographed them as they landed at Pultava and Mirgorod.
36:17The decision was taken by the Luftwaffe to mount a night attack on the US bombers.
36:23Led by the pathfinders from KG-4,
36:26200 111s from KGs 4, 53 and 55, drawn from Fliegerkor 4,
36:33took off from airfields in Poland to attack the two bases.
36:37Heavy cloud over Mirgorod saw all bombers concentrate on Pultava,
36:42dropping flares and high explosives.
36:46This is the only picture taken of the Pultava raid in progress.
36:50Of the 72 forts on the airfield,
36:5344 were destroyed and 26 damaged.
36:56A dump of 400,000 gallons of aviation fuel was also destroyed.
37:02Although no bomber units attempted to launch raids
37:05on the Allied landing beaches in daylight on D-Day itself,
37:08in the days following,
37:10sorties were flown by Ju-88s and DO-217s of Fliegerkor 9.
37:16Targets were initially vessels lying off the coast,
37:19but as the Normandy campaign progressed,
37:21many harassing night raids were launched on the Allied bridgehead,
37:25but with little impact on the outcome of the battle.
37:28HS-293 missiles were also launched against ships by DO-217s,
37:34but to no avail.
37:35By the end of the campaign in Normandy,
37:38Luftwaffe bomber losses were catastrophic.
37:54One of the more bizarre roles for which the Heinkel 111 was employed
37:58was that of a launcher for the V-1 missile.
38:01The 20 modified bombers served with the third staffel of KG-3 flying out of Holland.
38:07No fewer than 410 V-1s were launched in this fashion,
38:11and these were directed mainly at London, Southampton and Gloucester
38:15from July 1944 onwards.
38:21In the very last film taken for the newsreel showing Luftwaffe bombers in action,
38:27Heinkel 111s are seen acting once more in the transport role.
38:31Their task was to supply the many encircled German formations bypassed in Poland
38:36as the Red Army advanced to the River Oda in January and February 1945.
38:42A number are used as tugs to pull DFS-230 gliders,
38:46whose pilots have clearly accepted that they are making a one-way trip
38:50into the beleaguered garrisons.
38:53Such was the end game played by a bomber arm
38:56that had terrorised Europe for the previous five years.
39:09In the absence of a large surface fleet denied to Germany under the terms of the Versailles Treaty,
39:14there was little need for the small navy Germany was permitted after 1919
39:19to acquire or even develop specialised float planes and flying boats.
39:24When the navy needed aircraft, they simply hired them.
39:28However, the Nazis' commitment in 1933 to build a new Kriegsmarine
39:33saw contracts placed for aircraft to service such a fleet.
39:37This survey covers the float planes and flying boats
39:41that were used by the navy and Luftwaffe between 1933 and 1945.
39:50The Heinkel HE-60 was the first single engine float plane to see service with the resurrected Kriegsmarine.
39:58Seen here being catapulted from the light cruiser Leipzig,
40:02the HE-60 was employed as a fleet spotter.
40:05Although it was well regarded for its handling on water,
40:08its slow speed saw its early withdrawal.
40:12Only 38 HE-51 float plane fighters were built,
40:16their service life being as limited as film of the type.
40:21Designed by Arado to replace the HE-60,
40:25the AR-196 was to emerge as one of the best single engine float planes of the Second World War.
40:33First flying in 1936,
40:35trials aircraft tested alternative float arrangements
40:38before the twin float design was accepted.
40:41The first production variant entered service in 1939,
40:45where its fine all-round performance in flight and on the water,
40:50allied to a powerful armament, made it very popular with its crews.
40:55As with the HE-60,
40:57the type was stressed for operation from catapults on the Kriegsmarine's larger warships.
41:02In the following sequence, an AR-196 is launched from the battlecruiser Scharnhorst,
41:08which, along with its consort, the Gneisenau,
41:11is seen operating in the North Sea in early 1939.
41:16One of its least publicised activities was its employment in the spotting role
41:21by a number of the armed raiders used by the German Navy in the Second World War.
41:25Its identity was disguised by its colour scheme and by its lack of national markings.
41:31First flying in 1931,
41:34the biplane HE-50 was the largest aircraft yet constructed by the firm of Heinkel.
41:39Conceived as a multi-role type,
41:42the HE-59 was employed for torpedo bombing,
41:45naval cooperation and maritime patrol,
41:48and could be fitted with either floats or a wheeled undercarriage.
41:52When first delivered,
41:53the HE-59 was flown in the commercial colours,
41:56employed by all aircraft serving in the clandestine Luftwaffe until March 1935.
42:03Passing through a number of variants,
42:05the HE-59 was nevertheless recognised as approaching obsolescence by 1938.
42:11With its primary roles due to be transferred to its replacement,
42:15the large biplanes received a new lease of life
42:18when they were converted into air-sea rescue types.
42:22Although designed from the outset to inherit the mantle of its predecessor,
42:27the HE-59, Heinkel's new HE-115,
42:30was nevertheless obsolescent almost as soon as it took to the air for the first time in August 1937.
42:37While undoubtedly elegant, structurally very strong and pleasant to fly,
42:42it was nevertheless hampered by its slow speed.
42:45In the first production variant, the maximum speed was less than 200 miles an hour.
42:51Nevertheless, interest in type from abroad and Germany's need for foreign currency
42:55saw the first deliveries going overseas.
42:58The HE-115 entered service with the air arms of Denmark, Sweden and Norway in 1939.
43:05The first Luftwaffe unit to equip with type was still working up even as war began in September.
43:12In German service, the float plane was first employed in the coastal patrol role
43:16operating over the Baltic and North Sea,
43:19and received its baptism of fire during the Norwegian campaign in April 1940.
43:25A number of the Norwegian HE-115s escaped destruction by making their way to the UK,
43:32where they were later used in secret operations by the SOE,
43:36landing agents on the coast of occupied Europe.
43:39From May 1940 onwards, Luftwaffe HE-115s, now based in Norway,
43:45saw combat over the North Sea, dropping mines and attacking shipping off the coast of northern England.
43:52Mines were also dropped in the Thames estuary and the Bristol Channel by other HE-115s,
43:58operating out of bases on the coast of France.
44:00However, the increasing vulnerability of the type to RAF aircraft like the Bowfighter,
44:06operating long-range fighter patrols over the Bay of Biscay,
44:10saw the surviving HE-115s transferred from France to northern Norway in late 1941.
44:18In this theatre of operations, the HE-115s found themselves serving alongside BV-138s and DO-24s,
44:27spotting and attacking British convoys travelling through the Arctic Ocean to Murmansk in Russia,
44:32and their operations were attended with greater success.
44:35The most eventful of all its sorties was when a number of HE-115s assisted in the destruction of convoy
44:42PQ-17 in 1942.
44:50Captured on this rare colour film taken in late 1942 are the anti-aircraft defences of a seaplane base near
44:58Tromsø in northern Norway.
44:59The protected borings are home to a number of types, including HE-115s of Kusten Fliegergrupper 906.
45:08Pilots and navigators go over their flight plans before climbing into their aircraft for the latest mission.
45:14Also seen is a BV-138 passing a moored DO-24.
45:19Against the backdrop provided by the local mountains,
45:22an HE-115C1, mounting an undernose 20mm cannon, accelerates across the waters of the fjord and takes off to begin
45:31its mission.
45:32The BV-138 seen earlier passes overhead, as does the HE-115, which heads seaward to begin its mission.
45:43Derived from the earlier DO-15 WAL and designed as its replacement,
45:48the Dornier DO-18 saw service with the Luftwaffe between 1936 and August 1941.
45:55Although serving in both the short- and long-range reconnaissance roles,
45:59the slow speed of the type and its poor defensive armament made it extremely vulnerable.
46:05Its replacement by the BV-138 saw it transferred to the air-sea rescue role,
46:11where it made way in due course for its successor, the DO-24.
46:16Seen in a classic sequence of the type, in its specialized role of air-sea rescue, is the Dornier DO
46:22-24.
46:23Regarded by those who operated it as a very fine flying boat,
46:27it was employed in its allotted role around the seaboard periphery of German-occupied Europe,
46:33from northern Norway to the North Sea, from the Bay of Biscay and Atlantic,
46:38to the Mediterranean and Aegean and Black Sea.
46:41For an aircraft that stood so high in Luftwaffe estimation,
46:45it is remarkable that the DO-24 was not originally destined for operation by the German service,
46:51being designed for and serving in the colours of the Royal Dutch Navy.
46:55Only a number of the 60 destined for the Dutch had actually entered service when Holland was overrun in 1940.
47:03But it was only when the failings of the HE-59 and DO-18 in the air-sea rescue role
47:10became apparent,
47:10that the Luftwaffe turned to the DO-24 as a readily available substitute.
47:17Finding the DO-24 far superior after tests,
47:21the type was ordered back into production using the Dutch assembly line.
47:25Modified by the inclusion of German instrumentation and the heavy cannon armament,
47:30deliveries to the Luftwaffe began in 1941 and continued to 1944.
47:37Others were produced in France.
47:39Once in service, the DO-24 acquired a reputation as a very rugged type,
47:45able to cope with virtually any sea state.
47:47Indeed, one account tells of how a Norwegian-based DO-24,
47:52having alighted to pick up a downed pilot,
47:55lost its complete tail,
47:57but managing to stay afloat, used its engines to drive back to base.
48:07The most distinctive of all German flying boats was the Blom & Vos BV-138,
48:13better known by its nickname of the Flying Clog,
48:16awarded to it by virtue of the similarity of its unusual hull form to that of the Dutch shoe.
48:22The type was also unusual in employing twin booms for the tail planes.
48:27Although first flown in July 1937,
48:30a long gestation period saw its final arrival into service over three years later at the end of 1940.
48:38The BV-138 was designed from the outset to be able to be launched from catapults,
48:43as well as taking off in conventional fashion from the sea.
48:47Although operated in the Biscay area, the Mediterranean and Black Sea,
48:52the primary theatre of operations for the type was Northern Norway,
48:56where it served alongside the HE-115 and DO-24.
49:00With a range exceeding 3,000 miles,
49:04the BV-138 flew far out over the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans,
49:08where it was extensively employed to spot and shadow convoys
49:12travelling from Britain to Murmansk in northern Russia,
49:15carrying lend-lease supplies for the Soviet armed forces.
49:20One of the more spectacular operations undertaken by the type
49:24was in conjunction with U-boats.
49:26German High Command, desiring intelligence of the traffic employing the Siberian sea lanes in the summer months,
49:33arranged for a number of submarines to be employed as tankers
49:37to carry fuel for a few BV-138s.
49:40These then operated clandestinely out of the Soviet island of Novaya Zemla,
49:45flying many hundreds of miles along the northern coast of the Soviet Union,
49:50returning to the island to refuel.
49:53Possessing a heavy armament of cannon and machine guns,
49:56the flying clog was able to defend itself relatively well in the face of limited opposition,
50:03shooting down a long-range Blenheim fighter and a Catalina flying boat
50:07shortly after beginning service in Norway.
50:10Seen in this sequence is one of the rarer operations of convoy protection
50:14undertaken by BV-138s in conjunction with HE-115s,
50:20the latter of which are laying a smoke to shield the ships from an incoming strike
50:24by RAF bow fighters and mosquitos off the coast of Norway.
50:29By 1944, the BV-138's slow speed of under 200 miles an hour
50:34had led to steep increases in losses.
50:36Although originally designed to service a Lufthansa requirement,
50:41the military potential of the Blom & Vos BV-222 became readily apparent
50:46when it flew for the first time in September 1940.
50:50Converted into a transport,
50:52the prototype and the other 12 aircraft of the type that were built
50:56had the distinction of being the largest flying boats
50:59to achieve operational status during the conflict.
51:04It was also used on maritime patrol and supporting U-boat operations in the Atlantic.
51:11The design of the even larger BV-238 was initiated in 1940
51:17and was from the outset a military aircraft designed to replace the BV-222
51:22in both the transport and maritime patrol roles.
51:26The novel, albeit abortive, feature of the design
51:29was the attempt to produce a wheeled version of the type for bomber operations.
51:34When the prototype of the new flying boat seen here
51:37finally took to the air in April 1944,
51:40it may not have been the largest aircraft ever flown,
51:44but it was certainly the heaviest.
51:47This aircraft was to be destroyed at its moorings by strafing Mustangs later in the year.
51:52Although other prototypes were building, the program was scrapped.
51:56Nevertheless, the BV-238 stands as the foremost example of the varied float and seaplanes
52:03to serve with the Luftwaffe under the Third Reich.
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