what if FW190 had been available at the start of the war (1 Viewer)

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I find this topic very interesting part of the history of the time,if you look at the big picture the fact that Germany and its allies swept through Europe so rapidly and yet their development programs for new advanced weapons did not match their ambitions,they clearly had the ideas people,slave labour from the country's they had invaded to build more resources,it seams to me the weak link was the very people controlling the country ,what do you think chaps
 
I think Dave's comment on inexperience is fair comment. Up untill the late 20's the treatly of Versailes had restricted the Germany Airpower to less than 50 aircraft.
This was at a time the French Army marched into the Rhineland and Saar regions of Germany to take controll of the coal desposites there, the German resistance involved sabotaging bulk coal trains taking the coal to France, a few of the rail track sabateurs wer execectuted by the French and thereby created the first Nazi martyrs.

The restrictions meant Poland, France or Britain could easily have defeated germany in a week or two on their own. The nightmare scenario was a simultaneous invasion by Poland, France and Lithuania. In Czechoslakia Eduard Bennes threatened to expell every single one of the ethnic Germans that lived in the Suddenland (part of Austria prior to the war). The country was
anxious, vulnerable. Immediatly after WW2 the "allied commision" roamed Germany and shut down production of aircraft with engines over 100hp. When this was lifted they
banned production of multi-engine aircraft that might be turned into a bomber. Junkers's airline buisiness was particularly effected. One reason the first all metal airliner the Junkers F1
was a single engined aircraft was due to this 'interference' by the allied commision. Hugo Junkers's solution incidently was to set up a subsidiary in Sweden to
complete aircraft away from the problems that the allied commision caused: basically destroying the hope of a profitable airliner manufacturing buisiness for the country.

The restrictions were somewhat lifted however they were still tight. An agreement with the Soviets allowed a "Luftwaffe" training base to be established in Russia up to about 1932 in which the best pilots could be trained in the art of air to air combat, reconaisance and simply the art of flying. About 100 officers passed through and they formed the core of the real Luftwaffe after Hitler repudiated the treaty of Versailes. Relations between German and Russian peoples had generally been very good up untill Hitler incidently. The Russians got technology in exchange.

Without an airforce to waste money on the aviation industry was kept alive by generous subsidies to the airlines and airmail industry (though everyone was doing it at the time).
This was all before Hitler and the efforts was not agressive but a matter of pride, to keep ones technical abillities there and to be ready should it became needed.

However the aircraft you refer to were very simple aircraft, mostly trainers or light reconaisance bombers. The Do 11 may have been a bomber but it was used as a 'railway transport' They were not a technical success or overly complex but derived from sea plane or airliner know how. Moreover they often relied on fereign engines. When the Arado 68 went into service it was outclassed by Poporkative I-16 and the Hawker Hurricane. These were very naive designs with flaws that come out of a lack of facilities and experience personel. Certainly the nascent Luftwaffe was trying to keep its technical abillities alive but low on experienced carear personel within established departments.

Certainly it was well behined the RAF and Airministry with their smoothly functioning department, The RAF with its clean command structures (coastal, bomber, fighter etc) and with an abillity to test and evaluate aircraft as well as to kill of dodgy types that didn't meet standards.

The result was that the Germans could design and build small number of world class airliners, seaplanes and airplanes but that anthying else eg involving high powered engines was 'risky'.

That's why aircraft such as the He 177 got the go ahead even while some personel were warning of the risks.
 
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I agree.

1930s Germany had a lot of smart people and President Hindenburg had immense political clout. Why didn't he appoint someone else as Chancellor?

Lettow-Vorbeck is one such possibility. An outstanding leader, German national hero and former Reichstag deputy. Even Hitler liked him. There's no reason to think he couldn't have formed a successful government.
 
".... the weak link was the very people controlling the country "

This is absolutely the long and short of it ..... the people and the system that brought them to power ..... Phony-baloney economics brought to you by phony-baloney 'leaders'. Never a good combination ... IMHO :)

However .. the Germans were able to co-operate with 'others' for tank development (Russia - until 1933) and Holland and/or Denmark (IIFC) for U-Boats.

The aircraft industry in Germany was clearly not on the same footing as the 'older' steel-based industries. And that fits with Germany in WW1 does it not ..? - when Folkers (non German) played such a critical role in German fighter aircraft development.

After the Nazis had the throttle in 1933 - huge sums were thrown at the aircraft industry - that is the one sector of rearmament that got a huge kick-start -- (also autobahns) but, that sudden in-rush of money may have been the cause of much of the later problems ---- i.e. jealousy, politics and intrigue. With much money at stake much nastiness crawls out of the woodwork ... :).

Compare with the building of the aircraft industry in the U.S. of A. in the '20's - '30's. Everybody is struggling. Constant innovations but also mergers, bankruptcies, executive mobility and even geographic migration .... from the centre to California and Texas.

Nazis Germany and its economic and social policies was a lab experiment that went very, very wrong ...:). To be studied and learned from.

MM
 
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