Question on Drop Tanks

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mlshort0212

Recruit
1
1
Nov 25, 2021
Hey guys, this is my first time to post here, so be easy on me.

I am trying to find some information on how prevalent was the Luftwaffe's use of Drop-Tanks at the onset of Barbarossa thru Dec 1941).

Surprisingly, I cannot find any mention one way or another.

Any reference to this info would be greatly appreciated!
 
In the book about the Battle Of Britain, "The Narrow Margin" it is mentioned that the Luftwaffe had plywood drop tanks for the BF-109's but had stored them outside and thus they were in a too deteriorated condition for use in the BoB. I do not imagine that the tank's condition had improved by the time of Barbarossa.
 
I suspect they wouldn't have seen the need for them in this timeframe as the Luftwaffe was very much a tactical air arm in direct support of the Heer. Therefore, range beyond that required for initial air strikes and in direct support of the battlefield/advance was not needed.
 
They did use the big drop tanks on the BF-110's used for escort on the attack from Norway. The results were horrible; a number of the tanks refused to release and that strike pretty well got its arse shot off.

Without drop tanks the BF-110 was ony a little better off when it came to range than was the BF-109. P-36 and P-40 had more range even just on internal fuel. You can fit most of Western Europe inside of Texas.
 

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