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German aviation

Junkers Ju 88 crew waiting for refuel. Northern France, 1944.
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Since today is August 27th I thought I would post this.

"On 27 August 1939, the He 178 V1, the first prototype, performed its maiden flight, piloted by Erich Warsitz. This flight, which only lasted for six minutes….

The Heinkel He 178 was an experimental aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Heinkel. It was the world's first aircraft to fly using the thrust from a turbojet engine."

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en.wikipedia.org

Heinkel He 178 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
The tail of a Heinkel He 177 "Greif "Heavy Bomber (a "Enola Gay" American?) but this aircraft had no effect at all on the course of WWII. Well over 1,000 of these bombers were built, but it is doubtful whether more than 200 of them were ever used on operations. When the war ended, the 900 or so He 177s remaining—most of them brand-new and unused—were carted off to the scrapyards.
973p7dn.jpg
 
The 177 Greif was one of those things that just didn't pan out.
Nobody was really sure what to do with it since the Luftwaffe bombers up to 1942 were mainly airborne artillery for the army.
Then there were doubts about the capability of level bombing (same accuracy issues that eventually pushed the Allies to area bombing), and they tried to make it dive-bombing capable.
Then factor in that it had issues with over-heating engines, and the ever-more present issues of a finite number of aerial engines being available for all plane types.
It did have limited success on the Eastern Front, mainly as a heavy-lift supply plane, but with the odd bombing raid thrown in there.

Had it been developed faster, before the industrial crunch starting to set in, it might have been comparable to e.g. the Wellington.
But once the Luftwaffe had been reduced to either air-superiority or tactical support, there was very little interest in developing a strategic bomber.
 
Searching, searching (in short, everything is on the internet), I found this:

"…six Bücker Bü 181 Bestmann of #3 Panzerjagdstaffel (tank hunting squadron) flew their first sortie against Allied armour at 20h20 in the vicinity of Tübingen on 19 April 1945. Although the crews (pilot & navigator) failed to locate any tanks, a number of Allied trucks were destroyed. The sortie was repeated on the following day. #3 Panzerjagdstaffel flew what was probably their last sortie of the war at dawn on the 24th …"

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Which doesn't explain how it was fired...:unsure:
 
American soldiers inspecting a German Messerschmitt Me 262 A-2a/U2 variant with a glazed nose for a bombardier. One of only two built before war's end.

Me 262 A 2a U2 variant with a glazed nose for a bombardier only 2 prototypes were built Weimar...jpg
 
Louis said:
The tail of a Heinkel He 177 "Greif "Heavy Bomber (a "Enola Gay" American?) but this aircraft had no effect at all on the course of WWII. Well over 1,000 of these bombers were built, but it is doubtful whether more than 200 of them were ever used on operations. When the war ended, the 900 or so He 177s remaining—most of them brand-new and unused—were carted off to the scrapyards.
973p7dn.jpg
Click to expand...
Tricky to get into that gunner's position without stepping on the elevator surfaces.
 
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