Air Warfare
Luftwaffe preparations for the Ardennes Offensive
The situation for the Luftwaffe was not encouraging. Fuel was the main concern within the Luftwaffe with aircraft availability a close second. The general policy was one of a concerted effort to conserve fuel and assets. This resulted in a stockage of reserve fuel and ammunition as well as an increase in serviceable aircraft. The past few months of near…
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Emergency War Plan 1-49
The strike force was far from combat-ready, however. The air force faced three substantial problems. First, atomic weapons were owned by the civilian AEC, not the military: ‘he military services didn’t own a single one’, General Curtis LeMay remarked years later. ‘These bombs were too horrible and too dangerous to…
No. 617 Squadron
Dam Busting Raids Ruhr industry was dependent on hydroelectric power and water, supplied by several huge dams. The destruction of the largest of these would have a devastating effect on German armaments output. But no ordinary bomb was capable of the task. In the Weybridge offices of Vickers, a quiet…
Avro Lancaster Part I
No one would dispute the statement that the Avro 683 Lancaster was the finest British heavy bomber of World War II. A few would even argue that it was the finest heavy bomber serving on any side during the conflict, and it is therefore strange to recall that it had…
Avro Lancaster Part II
Specifications (Avro 683 Lancaster B.Mk I & III) Type: Seven or Eight Seat Heavy Bomber Accommodation/Crew: A crew of seven consisting of the Pilot, Flight Engineer, Observer/Nose Gunner/Bomb-aimer, Navigator, Radio/Wireless Operator, Mid-Upper Gunner, and Tail Gunner. The Bomb-aimer was in the nose position below the front turret. Above and behind…
Luftwaffe to Russia 1941
During the early part of 1941, first in a trickle and then, in May, a flood, the bulk of the Luftwaffe – with the exception of a few combat units, notably Kampfgeschwader 40 with its Condors and two Jagdgeschwader left in France – moved east in preparation for the attack…
Red Army VVS Assault Aviation
The Red Army VVS assault aviation first saw combat near Berezin and Bobruisk. The combination of armament and armor made IL-2 a potent means of fighting enemy ground forces, especially against tanks and motorized units. First days showed German tanks and motorized units’ ability for rapid maneuver and mass strike.…