# Luftwaffe´s early aircrafts



## gekho (Jun 9, 2010)

Since the Treaty of Versailles forbade Germany from having an air force, German pilots had to be trained in secret from the Treaty of Versailles. Initially, civil aviation schools within Germany were used, yet only light training planes could be used in order to maintain the facade that the trainees were going to fly with civil airlines such as Lufthansa. To train its pilots on the latest combat aircraft, Germany solicited the help of its future enemy, the USSR, which was also isolated in Europe. A secret training airfield was established at Lipetsk in 1924 and operated for approximately nine years using mostly Dutch and Russian, but also some German, training aircraft before being closed in 1933. This base was officially known as 4th squadron of the 40th wing of the Red Army.

On 26 February 1935, Adolf Hitler ordered Hermann Göring to establish the Luftwaffe, breaking the Treaty of Versailles's ban on German military aviation. Germany violated the treaty without sanction from Britain, France, or the League of Nations, and neither they nor the league did anything to oppose this. Although the new air force was to be run totally separately from the army, it retained the tradition of according army ranks for its officers and airmen, a tradition retained today by united Germany's Luftwaffe and by many air forces throughout the world. It is worth noting, however, that before the official promulgation of Göring's new Luftwaffe in 1935, Germany had a paramilitary air force known as the Deutscher Luftsportverband (DLV: German air sports union). The DLV was headed by Ernst Udet and its insignia were taken over by the new Luftwaffe, although the DLV "ranks" had special names that made them sound more civilian than military. Dr. Fritz Todt, the engineer who founded the forced labor Organisation Todt, was appointed to the rank of Generalmajor in the Luftwaffe. He was not, strictly speaking, an airman, although he had served in an observation squadron during World War I and had been awarded the Iron Cross. He died in a plane crash in February 1942.

The eagle, an old symbol of the German Empire, was used as an insignia for the Luftwaffe, but in a different posture. Since 1933, when Hitler's National Socialist Party came to power, the eagle held between his claws the symbol of the party—the swastika (an old symbol of sunrise)—which was usually enveloped by an oak wreath. Göring rejected the old heraldic eagle because he felt it was too stylized, too static, and too massive; instead he chose a younger, more natural and lighter eagle with wings spread as if in flight, as he considered this a more suitable symbol for an air force. While the Wehrmacht eagle held the symbol of the National Socialist Party firmly in its claws, the Luftwaffe eagle held the swastika with only one claw while the other was bent in a threatening gesture. The Luftwaffe attempted to incorporate all military units that had anything to do with air warfare. Given the strong nazi origin and influence in the Luftwaffe, this was seen as a way to increase nazi influence in the army (alongside the other project in this respect, the formation of SS divisions), as well as boosting the personal prestige of Göring. Thus the anti-aircraft (Flak) and airborne troops (Fallschirmjäger) fell under direct Luftwaffe command, and the navy (Kriegsmarine) never established its own air branch; naval aviation was executed by the Luftwaffe. Even the aircraft flown from the (never finished) aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin were intended to be operated by the Luftwaffe. By the middle of the war, when personnel assignments for the Luftwaffe were disproportionate to a shrinking amount of planes, the excess personnel was not transferred to the army (Heer), but instead organized into Luftwaffe Field Divisions in 1942. However, their performance as ground units was so poor that command was transferred to Heer in 1943, although they retained their name.

Spanish Civil War

The Luftwaffe had the ideal opportunity to test its pilots, aircraft and tactics in the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939, when the Condor Legion was sent to Spain in support of the anti-Republican government revolt led by Francisco Franco. Modern machines included names which became world famous: the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive-bomber, Dornier Do 17 "Schnell" (fast) bomber, and the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter. Since the aircraft were seconded to Franco's Nationalist air force, Luftwaffe markings were replaced to avoid giving the world the impression that Germany was actively supporting the revolt. Instead of the Nazi Party's swastika on the tail, the German planes used the nationalist air force aircraft markings (a Saint Andrew's cross over a white background, painted on the rudder of the aircraft and a black disc on fuselage and wings). All aircraft in the Legion were affiliated to units given a designation ending in the number 88. For example, bombers were in Kampfgruppe 88 (combat group 88, K/88); and fighters, in Jagdgruppe 88 (fighter group 88, J/88. Following the Munich crisis, Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe be expanded by five times.

A grim foretaste of the systematic bombing of cities during World War II came in April 1937 when a combined force of German and Italian bombers under Spanish-Nationalist command destroyed most of the Basque city of Guernica in north-east Spain. This bombing received worldwide condemnation, and the collective memory of the horror of the bombing of civilians became more acute via a famous painting, named after the town, by the Cubist artist Pablo Picasso. Many feared that this would be the way that future air wars would be conducted; the Italian strategist General Giulio Douhet (who had died in 1930) had formulated theories regarding what would be dubbed "strategic bombing", the idea that wars would be won by striking from the air at the heart of the industrial muscle of a warring nation, thus demoralizing the civilian population to the point where the government of that nation would be driven to sue for peace. This was a portent of things to come, certainly, and not just during the war which would break out in Europe only months after the end of the civil war in Spain.

In fairness to the aircrews of VB/88, K/88, A/88 and J/88 who were involved, it should be noted that the destruction of the town was not the aim of the mission and that the actual targets were the roads and the Rentaria bridge. The devastation was primarily caused by the inaccuracy of bombing techniques of the day and the fact that the mass of refugees moving through the town was mis-identified as "Troop Movements". It should also be remembered that the Basque Government had previously desided to fortify the town and that there were some 2000 of their troops present. The propaganda claims that it was intended a "terror attack" are demonstrably untrue as Wolfram von Richthofen "had no time for this tactic and was at first as bewhildered about the town's destruction as everyone else".


----------



## gekho (Jun 9, 2010)

The earlier Do 11 had exhibited several problems, so two initiatives were launched to address those shortcomings. The first resulted in the Do-13. The second effort was a more extensive rework which resulted in the Do-23. Several of the handling problems were thus corrected, but performance of the Do 23 was still considered mediocre, and it saw a limited service life, being phased out of front-line service by the late 1930s. It was replaced by aircraft such as the Heinkel He-111, but it did go on to serve and see action in World War II in the Czech branch of the Luftwaffe.


----------



## gekho (Jun 9, 2010)

The Focke-Wulf Fw 56 Stosser was a German single-seat advanced trainer aircraft of the Second World War first flown in 1936. The Fw-56 was powered by a 240 hp Argus As 10C 8-cylinder inverted-Vee piston engine providing a top speed of 278 kmh and a range of 400 km. Armaments consisted of two 7.92 mm MG 17 machine-guns. the Fw 56 was used by both fighter and dive bombing training schools of the Luftwaffe.The first prototype flew for the first time in November 1933. A second prototype had some modifications made to the fuselage, and metal rather than wooden wings for flight testing. The third prototype, which flew in February 1934, reverted to the wooden wing and satisfied the technical designers.

After comparison flights in 1935 against its two competitors - the Arado Ar 76 and the Heinkel He 74 - the Air Ministry ordered production to begin. About 1,000 aircraft where built, mostly used by Germany, though numbers were used by Austria and Hungary. A few were sold for private use, for instance to Gerd Achgelis, who later founded the helicopter company Focke-Achgelis with Henrich Focke.


----------



## gekho (Jun 9, 2010)

The Heinkel He 51 was a German single-seat biplane which was produced in a number of different versions. Initially developed as a fighter, a seaplane variant and a ground-attack version were also developed. It was a development of the earlier Heinkel He-49. In 1931, Heinkel recruited the talented aircraft designers, Walter and Siegfried Günter, and their first major design for Heinkel was the Heinkel He 49. While this was officially an advanced trainer, in fact it was a fighter. The first prototype, the He 49a, flew in November 1932, and was followed by two further prototypes, the He 49b, with a longer fuselage, and the He 49c, with a revised engine. The type was ordered into production for the still secret Luftwaffe as the Heinkel He 51, the first pre-production aircraft flying in May 1933. Deliveries started in July of the next year.

The He-51 was a conventional single bay biplane fighter, with all-metal construction and fabric covering. It was powered by a glycol-cooled BMW VI engine, with an armament of two 7.92 mm machine guns mounted above the engine.The He 51 was intended to replace the earlier Arado Ar 65, but served side-by-side with the slightly later Arado Ar 68. The He 51 was outdated the day it entered service, and after an initial run of 150 production fighters, the design was switched into the modified He 51B, with approximately 450 built, including about 46 He 51B-2 floatplanes, and then finally a further 100 He 51C light ground attack plane.

The experiences in Spain would prove once and for all that the days of the biplane fighter were over. Although the later model Fiat biplanes were superior to the He 51 and continued to soldier on in Nationalist service, the I-16 monoplanes were basically untouchable because of their speed. If the conditions were right they could use their heavy armament in a quick pass and then leave, if things weren't so favorable they simply flew away. The lesson learned by all of the participants was that speed was far more important in combat than maneuverability. The He-51 continued in front line service with the Luftwaffe until 1938, with it remaining in service as an advanced trainer for the first few years of World War II.

The last picture represents some Bulgarian He-51.


----------



## gekho (Jun 9, 2010)

The Heinkel He 60 was a sturdy single-engined twin-float biplane that was used as coastal and marine reconnaissance aircraft, as well as operating from German battleships and cruisers. It was designed in 1931-32 by Reinhold Mewes in response to a Ministry of Transportation and Navy request for a seaworthy marine reconnaissance and shipboard aircraft capable of being launched by catapult. The first prototype, He 60a/ V1, made its maiden flight early in 1933. Flight tests proved that it was as robust as hoped, and was capable of operating from rough seas, but its 660hp BMW VI inline engine meant that is was underpowered. The second prototype, He 60b, was given a 750hp BMW engine, but without any marked improvement in performance, and so the third prototype, He 60c, reverted to the original engine. This third prototype was used for catapult trials during 1933, and the type was then ordered into production.

The He 60 was a single-engined twin-float biplane. It had a welded steel tube fuselage, with a wooden frame that gave it an oval cross-section, and that was covered with fabric from the firewall aft. The single-bay unstressed wings were in a staggered configuration. The upper wings had a slightly wide span than the lower wings. The floats were single-step models, built from light metal with vee-shaped bottoms, and attached to the fuselage and lower wings by network of struts. 

Operational Service

The He-60 made its combat debut during the Spanish Civil War, when the six He-60Es were used for coastal reconnaissance. In Luftwaffe service the He 60 was used by the coastal reconnaissance units (Küstenaufklärungsgruppen, abbreviated to Kü.Fl.Grps or KAGr), the marine reconnaissance units (Seeaufklärungsgruppen or SAGr) and the shipboard units (Bordfleigerstaffel). In the years between its introduction and the outbreak of the Second World War the He 60 equipped the first Staffeln of a large number of the marine reconnaissance units. It had been used by 1./ and 5./ Bordfliegerstaffel 196, and served onboard most German battleships and cruisers, including the Admiral Scheer, the Admiral Graf Spee and the cruisers Königsberg, Leipzig and Nürnberg, although by the start of the war it had been replaced in this role by the He 114 and the more successful Arado Ar 196. The coastal reconnaissance groups also phased the type out early in the war.

The He-60 was reintroduced to front line service with the marine reconnaissance groups during 1940. The first to get it was 1./SAGr 125, which had nine in September 1940, operating them alongside the Heinkel He 114 and Arado Ar 95 floatplanes. These aircraft were sued for coastal reconnaissance off the Baltic coast during the early stages in the invasion of the Soviet Union. SAGr 126 was the next to get the type, using it alongside the Arado Ar 95, Henschel Hs 126 and Fokker T.VIII-W from bases in Crete and Greece, flying reconnaissance missions over the Mediterranean and Aegean. The obsolete aircraft were replaced by the Arado Ar 196 during 1942. The last unit to operate the He 60 was SAGr 127, which used the type in the Baltic until the late summer of 1943.


----------



## gekho (Jun 9, 2010)

The Henschel Hs 123 was a single-seat biplane dive bomber and close-support attack aircraft flown by the German Luftwaffe during the Spanish Civil War and the early to mid-point of World War II. Although an obsolete design, it continued to see front-line service until 1944, and was only withdrawn due a dearth of serviceable airframes and spare parts.

Henschel was a German locomotive manufacturer. Soon after Hitler's rise to power, Henschel decided to start designing aircraft, one of the first being the Hs 123. The aircraft was designed to meet the 1933 dive bomber requirements for the reborn Luftwaffe. Both Henschel and rival Fieseler (with the Fi 98) competed for the production contract requirement, which specified a single-seat biplane dive-bomber. General Ernst Udet, a World War I ace, flew the first Hs 123V1 prototype on its first public demonstration fight on 8 May 1935. The first three Henschel prototypes, powered by 650 hp (485 kW) BMW 132A-3 engines, were tested at Rechlin in August 1936. Only the first prototype had "smooth" cowlings, from that point on, all aircraft had a tightly-fitting cowling that included 18 fairings covering the engine valves. The Henschel prototypes did away with bracing wires and although they looked slightly outdated with their single faired interplane struts and cantilever main landing gears attached to smaller (stub) lower wings, the Hs 123 featured an all-metal construction, clean lines and superior maneuverability. Its biplane wings were of a "sesquiplane" configuration, whereby the lower wings were significantly smaller than the top wings.


----------



## gekho (Jun 9, 2010)

A small pre-production batch of Hs 123A-0s was completed in 1936 for service evaluation by the Luftwaffe. This initial group was followed by the slightly modified Hs 123A-1 series, the first production examples. The service aircraft flew with an armoured headrest and fairing in place (a canopy was tested in the Hs 123V6) as well as removable main wheel spats and a faired tailwheel. The main weapon load of four SC50 110 lb (50 kg) bombs could be carried in lower wing racks along with an additional SC250 550 lb (250 kg) bomb mounted on a "crutch" beneath the fuselage. The usual configuration was to install an auxiliary fuel "drop" tank at this station that was jettisoned in emergencies. Two MG 17 machine guns (7.92 mm/0.312 in) were mounted in the nose synchronized to fire through the propeller arc.

The aircraft entered service at StG 162 in autumn 1936. Its career as a dive bomber was cut short when the unit received its first Ju 87A the next year. Remaining Hs 123s were incorporated into the temporary Fliegergeschwader 100 at the time of the Munich Crisis. The Geschwader (wing) had been created as an emergency measure, equipped with obsolete aircraft and tasked with the ground attack role. With the signing of the Munich agreement, the crisis was over and the Geschwader was disbanded, the Gruppen being transferred to other established units. By 1939, despite its success in Spain, the Luftwaffe considered the Hs 123 obsolete and the Schlachtgeschwader (close-support wings) had been disbanded with only one Gruppe, II.(Schl)/LG2 still equipped with the Hs 123.


----------



## gekho (Jun 9, 2010)

The Heinkel He 70 was designed as a high-speed four seat passenger aircraft, and with its streamlined fuselage and elliptical wings was a forerunner of many later Heinkel military aircraft, not least the He 111, early versions of which used a very similar wing. The development of the Heinkel He 70 was triggered by the appearance of the Lockheed Orion, which with its top speed of 190mph (305kph) was as fast as most contemporary fighter aircraft. In the summer of 1931 Swissair placed an order for a number of Orions, forcing her European competitors to respond. Deutsche Lufthansa decided to issue specifications for an even faster aircraft, capable of cruising at at least 198mph, and of carrying six passengers on non-stop flights of 620 miles (1000km). Junkers and Heinkel were both approached to produce aircraft.

The first Heinkel design, the He 65, was submitted to Lufthansa and the Transport Ministry in January 1932. It would have been a single-engined low-wing monoplane, with streamlined fairings for the non-retractable undercarriage, and with a cruising speed of only 148mph. Work continued on the He 65 until May 1932. In that month one of Swissair's Orions made its first scheduled flight between Zurich, Munich and Vienna, at a cruising speed of 180mph. Ernst Heinkel decided to halt all work on the He 65 and move onto a new, much more advanced design. In June Heinkel submitted the first plans for the new aircraft. At the cost of reducing the number of passengers from six to four Heinkel guaranteed a cruising speed of 179mph. The new design was approved on 14 June 1932, and at the start of July Heinkel's design team began detailed work on the He 70.

The new aircraft was given elliptical wings (similar in plan to those of the Supermarine Spitfire), but with an inverted gull-wing shape with the retractable landing gear built into the lowest point on the wing. This lifted the engine further from the ground that would otherwise have been possible, and was an approach later used on the Chance Vought Corsair. The wings smoothly merged into the fuselage, which was constructed of panels riveted edge-to-edge instead of overlapping, giving the aircraft a very smooth surface, while the engine was given a streamlined cowling. One unusual feature was the asymmetrical position of the cockpit, on the left side of the fuselage. The prototype He 70 was designed and built impressively quickly, making its maiden flight on 1 December 1932. Its performance was even more impressive than had been promised. When it was publicly unveiled at Tempelhof airport on 28 February 1933 it achieved a cruising speed of 200mph, and a few months later reached a speed of 234mph on a timed flight.

The He 70 had a relatively short civil career. Lufthansa received twenty eight aircraft, using them for airmail from March 1933 and for fast passenger flights (the Blitz-Dienst or Lightning Service routes) from June 1934. The He 70A was followed into civil service by the He 70G. On this version the cockpit was moved to the centre line, and the crew reduced from two to one. The He 70 was slowly phased out in favour of larger twin engined aircraft, in particular the civil versions of the Heinkel He 111 and Junkers Ju 86, and the last Lufthansa aircraft were withdrawn in 1938.


----------



## T Bolt (Jun 9, 2010)

Great pictures gekho


----------



## gekho (Jun 10, 2010)

The Arado Ar 66 was a German single-engined, two-seat training biplane, developed in 1933. It was also used for night ground-attack missions on the Eastern Front. It was engineer Walter Rethel's last design in collaboration with Arado.Arado's chief designer Walter Rethel started design of a new two-seat trainer in 1931, with the design being developed by Walter Blume when Rethel transferred to Messerschmitt, with the first prototype, the Ar 66a flying in 1932.

The Ar-66 had an Argus As 10 air-cooled inverted V8 engine producing about 179 kW (240 hp), which drove a 2.5 m (8.2 ft) two-blade propeller. It carried 205 L (54 US gal) of fuel, and 17 L (4 US gal) of oil. The fuselage had an oval cross-section and was made of welded steel tubes, covered with fabric. The double wings provided very high lift, even at low speeds. Both wings had the same span and an 8° sweep. Construction consisted of a double pine cross-beam structure, with lime tree ribs, and fabric covering. There were ailerons in both upper and lower wings. The tail had a conventional design, with the horizontal stabilizer mounted on the fuselage upper edge. The rudder was placed behind the elevator. Both the rudder and the elevator were of steel tube covered in fabric, and had a bigger surface than the first version to correct balance problems. The steel tube undercarriage was attached to the fuselage in a "V" shape and used a high-pressure rubber suspension. The crew consisted of two: instructor pilot and trainee, seated in open tandem cockpits equipped with dual controls. The aircraft was equipped with instrument flight systems with photographic cameras were mounted as optional equipment.


----------



## gekho (Jun 10, 2010)

The Junkers F.13 (also known as the F 13) was the world's first all-metal transport aircraft, built in Germany at the end of World War I. It was an advanced cantilever-wing monoplane, with enclosed accommodation for four passengers. Over 300 were sold. It was in production for 13 years and in commercial service almost 20.The F.13 was a very advanced aircraft when built, an aerodynamically clean all-metal low-wing cantilever (without external bracing) monoplane. Even later in the 1920s, it and other Junkers types were unusual as unbraced monoplanes in a biplane age, with only Fokker's designs of comparable modernity. It was the world's first all-metal passenger aircraft and Junkers' first commercial aircraft.

The designation letter F stood for Flugzeug, aircraft; it was the first Junkers aeroplane to use this system. Earlier Junkers notation labelled it J 13. Like all Junkers designs, from the 1918 J 7 to the 1932 Ju 46, some 35 models, it used an aluminium alloy (duralumin) structure entirely covered with Junkers' characteristic corrugated and stressed duralumin skin. Internally, the wing was built up on nine circular cross-section duralumin spars with transverse bracing. All control surfaces were horn balanced. Behind the single engine was a semi-enclosed cockpit for the crew, roofed but without side glazing. There was an enclosed and heated cabin for four passengers with windows and doors in the fuselage sides. Passenger seats were fitted with seat belts, unusual for the time. The F.13 used a fixed conventional split landing gear with a rear skid, though some variants landed on floats or on skis.

The F 13 first flew on 25 June 1919, powered by a 127 kW (170 hp) Mercedes D IIIa in-line upright water-cooled engine. The first production machines had a wing of greater span and area and had the more powerful 140 kW (185 hp) BMW IIIa upright in-line water-cooled motor. Many variants were built using Mercedes, BMW and Junkers liquid cooled inline engines, see Variants below and by Armstrong Siddeley Puma, Gnome-Rhône Jupiter and Pratt Whitney Hornet radial engines. The variants were mostly distinguished by a two letter code, the first letter signifying the airframe and the second the engine. Junkers L5 engined variants all had second letter -e, so type -fe was the long fuselage -f airframe with a L5 engine.


----------



## gekho (Jun 10, 2010)

Any manufacturer of civil aircraft immediately after World War I was faced with competition from the very large numbers of surplus warplanes that might be cheaply converted - for example, the DH.9C. German manufacturers had further problems with the restrictions imposed by the Inter-Allied Aeronautical Commission of Control, which banned the production of warplanes and of any aircraft in the period of 1921-2. Junkers picked up orders abroad in 1919 in Austria, Poland and the USA and, in the following years with SCADTA (Colombia) and the United States Post Office Department. John Larsen Aircraft in the USA purchased a production licence, their machines being designated JL-6. In 1922 there were sales in England, France Italy and Japan.

In Bolivia, LABʼs first airplane was a Junkers F-13; first took off from Cochabamba on September 23rd 1925. Junkers set up its own airline - Junkers Luftverkehr AG in 1921 - to encourage the acquisition of the F.13 by German airlines which was flying 60 of them by 1923. They also established a branch of this airline in Iran. Other marketing techniques were used, providing F.13s on cheap leases and free loans, with such effect that some 16 operators across Europe were flying them. When Junkers-Luftverkehr merged with Lufthansa in 1926, 9.5 million miles had been flown by them. Lufthansa itself bought 55 aircraft and in 1928 were using them on 43 domestic routes. Even in 1937, their F.13s were flying over 50 flights per week on four routes. They were finally withdrawn in 1938.

Most of the F.13s produced before completion of the marque in 1932 were built at Junkers German base at Dessau. During the difficult 1921-3 period production was transferred to Junkers plants at Danzig and Reval. In 1922-3, Hugo Junkers signed a contract with the Soviet Union to produce the aircraft in a Soviet factory at Fili near Moscow which became known as "Plant no. 22". Some of these aircraft served Soviet airlines and some the Red Army. There were some other military users. The Colombian Air Force used the F.13 (and the related W.33, W.34 and K.43) as bombers[citation needed] in the Colombia-Peru War in 1932-3. The Republic of China flew F.13s converted into scout bombers until the January 28 Incident in 1932, when they were destroyed by the Japanese along with the Shanghai Aircraft Factory. The Turkish Flying Forces flew a few.


----------



## gekho (Jun 10, 2010)

The Heinkel He-50 was a biplane dive bomber developed for the Japanese Navy before being taken up by the Luftwaffe. In 1931 Heinkel received an order from the Japanese Navy to produce a two-seat dive bomber, capable of carrying a 550lb bomb load and using either wheels or a flat undercarriage. The resulting aircraft was a two-bay biplane, of mixed wood and welded steel tube construction with a fabric cover. The first prototype, He-50 aW, flew in the summer of 1931, and was powered by a 390hp Junkers L 5 liquid-cooled engine. It soon became clear that this engine wasn't powerful enough, and so the second prototype, the landplane He-50 aL, was give a 490hp Siemens Jupiter VI radial engine. The same engine was used in the third prototype, the He 50b.

A small batch of aircraft was completed for the Japanese navy as the Heinkel He-66. The second prototype, with the new designation He 50 V1, was shown to the German Defence Ministry in 1932, and impressed enough for the Ministry to place an order for three development aircraft. These were completed in the summer of 1932, and were powered by un-cowled 600hp Siemans SAM 22B radial engines. The development aircraft were followed by sixty similar He 50As, which were produced during 1933. The same year also saw twelve aircraft produced for China, as the He 66b. These used the same SAM 22 engine, but with a NACA cowl. They were taken over by the Luftwaffe in 1933 and served as the He 50B.

In1935 the He-50 was used to equip the first dive-bomber unit in the Luftwaffe, Fliegergruppe Schwerin (later I/StG 162). At its peak it equipped or partially equipped nine squadrons, but the He-50 was soon replaced by the Henschel Hs 123 and the Junkers Ju 87, and the aircraft moved to the training schools. Like many early Heinkel aircraft in the winter of 1943-44 the He 50 was brought out of retirement and used to equip night harassing group, in this case Nachtschlachtgruppe 11 (NSGr 11), a night harassment unit based in Estonia. This unit used the He 50 to fly night harassment raids on the Eastern Front, before a shortage of spares grounded the remaining aircraft in September 1944.


----------



## gekho (Jun 10, 2010)

The Dornier Do 10 was the name given by the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) of a pre-World War II German aircraft. The aircraft has a complicated history due to renaming and the use of three different engines with correspondingly different specifications. Developed in 1931, it was originally called Do C1, with one variant being the C4. It was the first aircraft of the C model line and was followed by the C2. It most likely started as the C1 and performance numbers suggest it tested BMW engines, and then Hispano-Suiza powerplants. Later that year possibly renamed C4 with the testing of the Rolls-Royce engine. The tilted engine and propeller position was one of the key features it tested along with multiple engine use. In any case, it was a two-seat parasol-wing monoplane intended to be used as a fighter. Two prototypes were made both in 1931.


----------



## gekho (Jun 10, 2010)

The Dornier Do 11 was a German medium bomber developed in secret in the early 1930s. It was originally called the Dornier F before being renamed by the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) in 1933 and was considered a heavy bomber at the time. It came into service in 1932, a continuation of a line of bomber designs going back to the P in 1930 and the Y in 1931. The line would continue to develop with the Do 13 and Do 23.

One of the main features the Do 11 tested was a retractable undercarriage, but, due to problems with it, it was often left locked down. The aircraft entered service under the guise of a freight transport, and was used with the German railway in conjunction with Deutsche Lufthansa, so it could be shown publicly. What it was actually used for was as a trainer for the still secret Luftwaffe. The aircraft had a number of problems, which resulted in some crashes, and was generally unpopular with pilots. Especially problematic were wing vibrations which resulted in various precautions and modifications. Attempts were made to correct its faults, resulting in the so-called Do 11D, the last model with the Do 11 name. The Do 13 was a "simplified" Do 11 and came next, but had so many problems of its own that it did not fully enter service, with several of the first planes off the assembly line crashing. The later Do 23 corrected many faults of the design, but was still a lackluster aircraft, and was withdrawn from service by 1936 and replaced by superior aircraft that had since been developed. The Do 11 is noteworthy as having served in secret and been the main heavy bomber of the quietly-developing Luftwaffe, if only for a short while. It was also the first to have two large engines as opposed to its predecessors the Y and P, which used three and four engines respectively.


----------



## Thorlifter (Jun 10, 2010)

Lots of great images I'd never seen before. Thanks Gekho.


----------



## Gnomey (Jun 10, 2010)

Good stuff!


----------



## vikingBerserker (Jun 10, 2010)

Very nice.


----------



## gekho (Jun 12, 2010)

The Arado Ar 68 was the first Nazi fighter to be built after the Treaty of Versailles was renounced, and it was urgently ordered in large numbers. This resulted in the Ar 68V1 prototype, powered by the reliable BMW VI engine of 660 hp. The airframe was of welded tubing and wood, covered entirely of fabric except the front upper fuselage. Highly noticable about the Ar 68 was its elevators set far behind the rudder and the distinctive, slanted landing gear struts. It was a promising aircraft, especially with its excellent engine, but its performance was disappointing and before the war began, most were taken from front line status. For most of the war, the Ar 68 flew as night fighters and mostly as trainers. Those that did see action were no match for even the most obsolete of fighter aircraft used by the US and England.


----------



## gekho (Jun 12, 2010)

The Heinkel He 59 was a large twin-engined biplane floatplane that had been designed in 1930 to serve as either a bomber or reconnaissance aircraft, and that saw some limited service at the start of the Second World War. The He 59 was designed in 1930 by Reinhold Mewes. It was a large twin-engined biplane with a quite old-fashioned appearance, mostly because her twin engines were carried in nacelles mounted between the wings. Two prototypes were built, the 59a (V1), equipped with floats, and the 59b (V2), which had a fixed wheeled undercarriage. Both prototypes were powered by two 660hp BMW VI twelve-cylinder liquid cooled engines. The second prototype made the type's maiden flight, in September 1931. It was followed by the first prototype in January 1932. After undergoing a series of tests the aircraft was ordered into production in 1933, and was built by Heinkel and under licence by Arado. 

The He 59's combat debut came in Spain in 1936, where they were used on anti-shipping patrols and as bombers. At the start of the Second World War the He 59 still equipped the third Staffel of four coastal reconnaissance groups (3./ Kü.Fl.Gr.106, 3./ Kü.Fl.Gr.406, 3./ Kü.Fl.Gr.506 and 3./ Kü.Fl.Gr.706). They were used for reconnaissance, and to drop mines in the Thames estuary. The He 59s most dramatic operation came during the 1940 invasion of Holland, when twelve He 59s from Staffel Schwilben and loaded with troops took off from the Zwischenahner See (a lake in the north west of Germany), before landing on the Maas in Rotterdam, where they disembarked 120 troops who captured a key bridge over the river.

A number of He 59s were painted white and used as air-sea rescue aircraft, especially during the Battle of Britain. As active units of the Luftwaffe these aircraft were still valid targets, and the British also believed that the white painted aircraft were laying mines and landing German agents, and it seems certain that they were radioing information to German bombers to guide them to their targets. After the British shot down a number of the white painted aircraft they were repainted in their military colour schemes, and continued to rescue downed Luftwaffe aircrew, before being replaced by the Dornier Do 18 and Do 24. By 1943 all surviving He 59s had been moved to training units.


----------



## gekho (Jun 12, 2010)

The Klemm Kl 25 was a successful German light leisure and training monoplane aircraft, developed in 1928. More than 600 aircraft were built, and manufacturing licenses were sold to the United Kingdom and the United States. With low cantilever wing, fixed landing gear, and two open cockpits, the aircraft was developed by Hanns Klemm who used his previous design, the Klemm Kl 20, as a starting point. It first flew on a 20 hp (15 kW) Mercedes engine. About thirty different versions of the Kl 25 were made, and these were equipped with engines ranging from 32 to 70 kW (43 to 94 hp). The fuselage was covered with plywood. Depending on the model, the aircraft's weight was 620 to 720 kg (1,367 to 1,587 lb), and it had a 10.5 to 13 m (34 to 43 ft) wingspan. Take-off was achieved at only 50 km/h (31 mph) and the maximum speed was between 150 to 160 km/h (93 to 99 mph).

In relation to similar aircraft of the time, assembly was very easy, and this made it a very popular aircraft. According to the sales brochures, only 25% of the engine's power was needed to keep the aircraft flying, compared to biplanes of the period, which required 50% engine power. About 600 were built in Germany between 1929 and 1936, serving with various flight training organizations, on either wheels, skis, or floats. Fifteen were sold to Britain before the Second World War, being fitted with a variety of domestic engines, while twenty-eight more were built by British Klemm Aeroplane Company as the B.A. Swallow.


----------



## gekho (Jun 13, 2010)

The Junkers G 23 and G 24 was a German three-engine, low-wing monoplane nine-passenger aircraft manufactured by Junkers from 1925. The increased German air traffic in the 1920s led to a requirement for a larger passenger transport aircraft. The G 23 was an enlarged further development of the F 13. It was originally designed by Ernst Zindel as a single-engine aircraft, but due to the requirement for more power, two more engines were added to provide the needed power for the aircraft. The aircraft was manufactured in three main batches, with different engine alternatives. Between 1925 and 1929, at least 72 aircraft were manufactured, with 26 for Lufthansa This aircraft managed to set a number of aviation records involving pay loads. Fritz Horn flew 2,020 km (1,560 mi) with a payload of 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) on 14 h 23 min, having an average speed of 140 km/h (90 mph), setting a new world record.

On 24 July 1926, two G 24s became famous after having flown the 20,000 km (12,400 mi) route between Berlin and Peking in just 10 stops. This flight ended on 8 September. It was initially meant that they would fly all the way to Shanghai, but they were prevented by military conflicts. On 26 September 1926, the two aircraft landed again in Berlin. Later during the year, a trans-Euro-Asiatic line is created.Lufthansa, who operated the largest G 24 fleet in the world, decided to modify their G 24s to a single engine standard. The first modifications were done in March 1928. The wing was shortened and the center engine was replaced with a BMW VIU engine. Junkers called this aircraft F 24ko. A total of 11 G 24s were modified to F 24 standard between 1928 and 1930. By July 1933, most of these BMW-equipped F 24s were again modified with the new Jumo 4 and designated as F 24kay. Most of these F 24s remained in service at the beginning of World War II in 1939. Most of them were used as freighter transport aircraft by Lufthansa. The Soviet-German aircraft cooperation in the 1920s let to a Soviet request for a new bomber aircraft.

Junkers then designed the Junkers Ju 25 as a twin-engine bomber. But the development of this aircraft was too expensive for Junkers, especially since there were some difficulties with his Russian partners. Junkers then advised his lead designers - Ernst Zindel and Hermann Pohlmann - to design a military derivate of the G 24. By November 1924, the new aircraft was ready, and given the designation G3S1 24 and it was a direct modification of the G 24ba. The aircraft was said to be an air ambulance. Junkers followed up this design with several reconnaissance designs e.g. the G1Sa 24 which was a modified G 24 with only a single engine. The next design, the G2sB 24 was also a bomber, directly derivated from the G 24he. This aircraft had a new center wing section and a new nose section, to allow an open shooting area to the forward areas. Junkers decided to produce this design as the general military version of the G 24 and gave it the designation K 30 in 1926. In 1926, the Finnish airlines Aero O/Y acquired a Junkers G 24, which went into service on the Stockholm route. The aircraft was equipped with floats, but not skis, and so could be used in summer only. It remained in service until 1935. A Swedish G 24 also participated in the rescue of the unfortunate Italian Umberto Nobile expedition to the North pole. This was the first time an aircraft had flown over the Arctic Sea without stops.

Junkers offered the K-30 design to the Soviet forces, which ordered a total of 23 K 30s in 1925 and 1926. A production line for the military version K 30 was set up at A.B. Flygindustri at Limhamn in Sweden as the German aviation industry was prevented from building military aircraft in 1926. The parts for the K 30 aircraft were built at Dessau and then shipped to Limhamn, where A.B. Flygindustri built the K 30 under the designation R 42. Some of the R 42s were equipped with machine gun towers and bomb mountings. But several of the R 42s were also shipped without military equipment to Russia. These were later fitted with military equipment at Junkers' factory in Fili, Moscow. The R 42/K 30 was designated JuG-1 in the Soviet Union. They received five 7.62 mm (.30 in) machine guns and could carry a bomb load of 500 kg (1,100 lb). This version was used to rescue the expedition of downed balloonist General Umberto Nobile in 1928.

Six more R 42s were delivered to Chile during 1926 plus three K 30s to Spain and two K 30s to Yugoslavia until 1931. The Spanish and Yugoslavian aircraft were produced at Dessau. The K 30 was equipped with either wheels, skis or floats. With the successful conversion of the G 24 into the single-engine aircraft F 24, Junkers was also thinking about a single-engine K 30 in 1931. Like the F 24, this K30do was to be equipped with the Jumo 4 engine and was similar to the initial G1Sa 24. However, no single-engine K 30s were built.


----------



## gekho (Jun 13, 2010)

The Junkers G 31 was an airliner produced in small numbers in Germany in the early 1920s. It was an all-metal, low-wing cantilever monoplane of conventional design, based on the G 24 but somewhat larger. Originally, the G 31 had been intended to equip Junkers' own airline, Junkers Luftverkehr, but this venture was merged into Lufthansa in 1926, and the new airline purchased only eight G 31s. Because their spacious cabins lent themselves to the incorporation of reclining chairs for sleeping passengers, these aircraft were used on Lufthansa's long-range routes, particularly to Scandinavia. The G 31s continued in this role until 1935, when replaced by the Junkers Ju 52.

Four other G 31s were sold for freighting cargo in New Guinea. Operated by Guinea Airways, one was owned by the airline itself, while the other three were owned by the Bulolo Gold Dredging Company. These differed from the G 31 airliners in having open cockpits, and a large hatch in the fuselage roof to accommodate the loading of bulky cargo via crane. In one particular operation, the G 31s were used to airlift eight 3,000 tonne (3,310 ton) dredges (in parts) from Lae to Bulolo. Three of the aircraft were destroyed in a Japanese air-raid on Bulolo on 21 January 1942, and the remaining aircraft was pressed into RAAF service 10 days later. This machine (construction number 3010, registration VH-UOW) was seriously damaged in an accident at Laverton, Victoria on 31 October that year after it careened off the runway and collided with and destroyed the Minister for Air's car. Although judged beyond repair by the Air Force, it eventually returned to freighter use in New Guinea for some time after the war.


----------



## gekho (Jun 13, 2010)

The Gotha Go 145 was a German World War II-era biplane of wood and fabric construction used by Luftwaffe training units. Although obsolete by the start of World War II, the Go 145 remained in operational service until the end of the War in Europe as a night harassment bomber. In 1935, the Go 145 started service with Luftwaffe training units. The aircraft proved a successful design and production of the Go 145 was taken up by other companies, including AGO, Focke-Wulf and BFW. Licensed versions were also manufactured in Spain and Turkey. The Spanish version, called the CASA 1145-L actually remained in service until long after World War II. Without prototypes 1,182 Go 145 were built in Germany for Luftwaffe service and an unknown number of license-produced Go 145. Further development of the aircraft continued, the Gotha Go 145B was fitted with an enclosed cockpit and wheel spats (an aerodynamic wheel housing on fixed-gear). The Go 145C was developed for gunnery training and was fitted with a single 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 15 machine gun for the rear seat, after removal of flight controls for the rear seat.

By 1942, the Russians began using obsolete aircraft such as the Polikarpov Po-2 to conduct night harassment missions against the Germans. Noting the success of the raids, the Germans began conducting their own night harassment missions with obsolete aircraft on the Eastern Front. In December 1942, the first Störkampfstaffeln (harassment squadron) was established and equipped with Gotha Go 145 and Arado Ar 66. The night harassment units were successful and by October 1943 there were six night harassment squadrons equipped with Gotha Go 145. Also in October 1943, the Störkampfstaffeln were redesignated Nachtschlachtgruppe (NSGr) (night ground attack group, literally night battle group). In March 1945 Nachtschlachtgruppe 5 had 69 Gotha Go 145’s on strength of which 52 were serviceable while Nachtschlachtgruppe 3 in the Courland Pocket had 18 Gotha Go 145’s on strength of which 16 were serviceable. When the war in Europe ended on 8 May 1945 the Gotha Go 145 equipped the majority of the Nachtschlachtgruppe.


----------



## Aaron Brooks Wolters (Jun 13, 2010)

Very interesting material Gekho, thank you for sharing.


----------



## Gnomey (Jun 13, 2010)

Good stuff!


----------



## gekho (Jun 14, 2010)

The Dornier Do 15 Wal was a German reconnaissance flying boat of the Second World War in service from 1933 to the early 1940s. The Dornier Do 15 Wal was manned by a crew of four comprising a pilot and co-pilot/gunner sitting beside each other and a navigator/gunner and radio operator/gunner. It was powered by two BMW VI Vee piston engines providing a top speed of 220 kmh and a range of 2200 km. Armaments consisted of 200 kg of disposable stores carried on four under-wing hard points, each rated at 50 kg and generally comprising four 50 kg SC-50 bombs; one 7.92 mm MG15 rearward-firing trainable machine-gun on a ring mounting in each of the two staggered side-by-side dorsal positions.


----------



## gekho (Jun 14, 2010)

More pics


----------



## gekho (Jun 14, 2010)

The Heinkel He 45 was a biplane developed as a bomber in the period before Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, but that entered service as a reconnaissance aircraft in the newly public Luftwaffe. Work on the He 45 began in 1930. Heinkel produced a conventional single bay biplane, with a welded tubular steel frame for the fuselage and all-wooden wings. Metal panels covered the upper fuselage decking and the engine, and everything else was fabric covered. Three prototypes were produced during 1932. The He 45a was an unarmed two-seater, powered by a 750hp BMW VI 7-3Z twelve-cylinder vee liquid cooled engine. The He 45b was given a four bladed propeller. The He 45c was the first to be armed, carrying a fixed forward firing MG 17 and a movable MG 15. A production order was placed for 418 unarmed He 45As and 90 He 45Bs, carrying the same machine guns as the He 45c, but most (if not all) of the production aircraft were built as the He 45C, which was similar to the He 45c. A shortage of capacity at Heinkel's own factories meant that the aircraft were built under licence by Focke-Wulf, BFW and Gotha.

By the time the He 45C entered service in 1934 better bombers were available, and so it was instead used as a reconnaissance aircraft, with each Staffel in the reconnaissance units receiving three. By 1936 the He 45 was probably the most numerous aircraft in the Luftwaffe, equipping long range reconnaissance units, serving as an advanced pilot trainer, and at gunnery and photographic schools. It was also used as a flying test bed for the Daimler-Benz DB600 engine, and for the BMW 116. The He 45 had a short front-line career. In November 1936 six were sent to Spain, where they equipped a Kette of A/88, operating alongside A/88's Heinkel He 70s. They remained in use in Spain until late 1938, when they were replaced by the Henschel Hs 126.

By the start of the Second World War only 21 He 45s remained with operational units, and they were soon moved to training units. The aircraft saw a short return to the front line between late 1942 and late 1943, flying night harassment raids on the Eastern Front, an early sign of the increasing weakness of the Luftwaffe.


----------



## johnbr (Jun 14, 2010)

Great photos


----------



## vesthepes (Jun 24, 2010)

excellent photos ,tnx very much


----------

