On September 17, 1935, the first flight of the German dive bomber Junkers Ju.87 "Stuka" took place. He got his nickname from the German word Sturzkampfflugzeug, which meant "dive bomber". For convenience, German pilots used the abbreviationStuKa, which then took root in the Soviet troops.

Yu-87 is a single-engine two-seat dive bomber and attack aircraft of the Second World War. It was designed by the designer Herman Polman. The Stuka made its first sortie in 1936 as part of the Condor Legion in Spain. In total, during the period from 1936 to August 1944, approximately 6,500 winged vehicles were built.

The stop is part of a tour of 110 cities. But the systematic targeting of German transport, industrial and fuel supplies fizzled out. This is due to the rapid demobilization and destruction of the German Air Force, eliminating traces of their aircraft where they were.

Army and army air forces deployed in France and Germany combined tons of German air force and aircraft. For humanitarian purposes, general military supplies were released for use that could help Germany rebuild its bombed-out cities and infrastructure and provide some assistance to its citizens.

Despite its low speed and mediocre aerodynamics (the landing gear was non-retractable), it was one of the most effective combat aircraft of the Luftwaffe due to its ability to bomb from a steep dive. Yu-87 became one of the most famous symbols blitzkrieg.

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Technical data Heinkel He.111

But the combat aircraft of the Luftwaffe were eradicated. In the city of Brunswick, Germany, the American Colonel Putt revered technical German aviation materials, even when the British, who were supposed to take over the occupation of the area, did the same. Henry "Hap" Arnold, about Putt's calm but audacious removal from Braunschweig and he was reappointed. France, devastated by many years of war and German occupation, quickly restored their air Force in the early postwar years.

The French completed the construction and used these military prizes for research at heights, and later, as motherships, carried dorsally mounted elevated gliders. It remains to cancel. German prisoners were sometimes assigned to help break up their once huge air force.

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Yu-87 "Thing"

In the Soviet troops, he had the nicknames "lappetzhnik" (for a non-retractable specific type of chassis) and "pevun" or "organ grinder" (for the howl of a siren, "Jericho trumpet" or "hurdy-gurdy" during a dive).

On this occasion, SmartNews decided to compile a list of the best Luftwaffe aircraft.

Technical data "Junkers" Ju.88

Army Air Force leaders painfully understood how surplus aircraft left over from World War I had stifled Congressional interest in budgeting for new developments. A historian for the 10th Disarmament Group at the time wrote, "Disarmament stopped being an adventure and started to work as people made waste out of German planes with axes and sledgehammers."

For all sides of the war, the technological clock was ticking, and aircrafts, which had been viable a year earlier, were largely obsolete in the coming post-war age. The aircraft carrier brought a boat of German aircraft to the United States for evaluation and flight testing in the summer. The planes quickly gave up their secrets. Freeman Field in Indiana became the nucleus for evaluating foreign aircraft.

Junkers JU 88

It was a multi-purpose aircraft of the Luftwaffe during the Second World War. It became one of the most versatile aircraft of the war: it was used as a bomber, fast bomber, reconnaissance aircraft, torpedo bomber and night fighter.

As a bomber, the Ju 88 had the ability to deliver targeted bombs, but despite all the modifications, dive bombing put a lot of stress on the aircraft's frame. In 1943 tactics were changed and bombs could be dropped from a 45° dive. The aircraft and sight have been modified accordingly. With the improved bombsight, accuracy remained at a very good level. The maximum bomb load for the aircraft was 2800 kg, but in practice the standard load was 1500-2000 kg.

When Charlie woke up, he managed to stabilize the plane and ordered that the wounded should listen to them. Everyone thought that the time had come, but instead of firing, the fighter was parallel to the bomber. Charlie turned his head and saw the German pilot make a gesture with his hands.

He placed an ad in a Combat Pilots publication. It was like meeting a brother you haven't seen in 40 years. After a few hugs and some tears, Charlie asked Franz: Why didn't you knock us down? Franz served in Africa under Lieutenant Gustav Rodel, a knight in the air, who instilled in them the idea that in order to morally survive war, one must fight with honor and humanity; otherwise they will not be able to live with themselves until the end of their days. This unwritten code saved their lives.

HEINKEL HE 111

This is a medium bomber, which has become one of the main Luftwaffe in this class (there were also modifications of torpedo bombers and attack aircraft). In total, more than 7,600 He 111s of various modifications were built, which makes this aircraft the second largest German bomber in World War II. The first flight took place on February 25, 1935.

He tried to lead them out of there, but had to give up when he approached the German control tower; if they discovered Franz, it would lead to the death penalty. The concept is more like a flying saucer than an airplane. That's why aviation experts call it a "flying wing" since it doesn't have a traditional airplane tail.

This design reduces the size of the device and makes its surface smoother. Because of this, it is less prone to rejection of the radar signals that are sent to locate it. They look futuristic as a fighter jet can become.

The aircraft was equipped with two Jumo-211 engines with a power of 1350 hp each. The bomb load of the aircraft was 2500 kg. A flaw in the design of the aircraft was that the bombs in the bomb bay were vertical, so their caliber was limited. A 20-mm cannon (on some aircraft) and six machine guns (7.92 mm) were installed as defensive weapons.

But its origins go back to the design of a truly revolutionary military aircraft that flew through the skies of Nazi Germany during World War II. But it was so advanced for its time that its aerodynamic secrets were never understood.

The "flying wing" is still not visible, because it is very difficult to make it work. Without a tail, the aircraft is less stable and therefore more difficult to control. So why did you decide to build something that you knew would be more difficult than other planes?

Because if you fly it, the "flying wing" has many advantages. Harder to identify with radar. And its smooth design makes it less stable, so it uses less fuel and flies faster than planes with the same engine.

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Video: wizzoplanes on YouTube

FOKKE-WULFF FW 189

Officially, this aircraft was called the Focke-Wulf FW 189, but in the Soviet Union it was better known by the nickname "frame" given to it at the front. This multi-purpose machine, the main place of application of which was the Soviet-German front, was highly appreciated by both German pilots and their opponents. The first flight of the FW 189 took place in July 1938.

All this seems correct and viable on paper. But making it a reality is more difficult. Until now, this has been a headache for several aircraft designers. That is why what was achieved by the German brothers Horten is so impressive. This was established by the Treaty of Versailles after the First World War.

To avoid restrictions, Horten joined a civilian air navigation club where they laid the foundations for Nazi Germany's aviation, the Luftwaffe. The brothers followed some of the esoteric ideas of aircraft designer Frederich Lippisch, a pioneer of triangular triangular aircraft.

Reviews of the flight and ground staff of the Luftwaffe about this machine were exceptionally benevolent. Reliability, maneuverability, ease of piloting and Maintenance were her hallmarks. A very valuable feature of the aircraft was its high stability, combined with good handling. The Argus engines started up perfectly and ran like clockwork. However, the failure of one engine practically did not threaten the crew of the “frame” in any way: it flew perfectly on the remaining one.

The pilot had to lie face down. But the advantage of this was that the cabin was far from the fuselage and this made the aircraft more aerodynamic. The German plan was to gain the air superiority needed to invade Britain, an operation they called Sea Lion.

"The Germans, of course, lost the Battle of Britain and Walter realized that Germany needed a new type of fighter, and one that was an entire wing seemed interesting," he says. The first of these three was an unpowered airframe built to test aerodynamic design.

The survivability of the FW 189 was very high. With its high maneuverability (provided with a low wing load), it was a rather difficult target. Aircraft withstood big number hit by bullets and shell fragments. There were even cases when the "frame" returned to base after a ram.

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In the second, engines were added and the prototype was successfully tested on February 2, although it ended up crashing due to engine failure a week later, in another test. But with that, it was found that it could at least take off, glide and land, Lee says.

The expert has good reason to know Ho's history well. It was brought to the United States after World War II, like many other pioneering German designs. Along the way, he spent time at the British test facility at Farnborough, near London.

"At the time, the Gortens were more advanced than anyone in the field." "One of the great things about this plane was its stability in flight," even though it didn't have a tail, the expert says. Horten made his prototype stable by making a long, thin wing so that the weight of the device was distributed over its entire surface.

Video: Aser Ser on YouTube

Fw-189. "Frame". Educational film.

Messerschmitt BF 109

The official name of this aircraft in Germany was Bf 109, but in the USSR it was called Me-109. The Bf 109 is a single-engine piston fighter that has been in service with the Luftwaffe and the Air Force of various countries for about 30 years. Depending on the modification, it was used as a fighter, fighter-interceptor, high-altitude fighter, fighter-bomber, reconnaissance aircraft. The first flight took place on May 28, 1935.

It also reduces the vortex around the wing, a kind of vortex that creates friction and causes vertical drag. Reimar Horten may not have been fully aware of the aerodynamic issues so important to his prototype. And he claims that Reimar Horten's genius lay in the use of the flared wing.

This flared wing was a direct reference to the principles of another pioneering German designer, Ludwig Prandtl. He was the first aerodynamic expert to insist that the shape of a wing could significantly affect an aircraft's flight ability.

The first German aircraft that Soviet pilots had a chance to meet in the skies of Spain was the latest fighter "Messerschmitt Bf-109".

When on July 30, 1926 the Ministry of Transport of the Bavarian government and the banking house "Merk, Fink & C °" created the company "Bauerische Flugzeugwerke" ("Bavarian aircraft factories"), abbreviated as "BFW", it was absolutely impossible to assume that this company would produce 40 000 combat aircraft - 43% of the total production of the German aviation industry.

He was also the one who invented the flare wing within a decade. But he proposed this as a solution to friction, not realizing its effect on the stability of the apparatus. After all, this wing does what a bird's wing will do. "I think one day it will be presented as the progenitor of the future of aviation."

He was paralyzed by the terrible vibrations caused by the propeller motors. This is an unmanned instrument that could be used to study Mars. For these missions, it will need to be launched from a glider to high altitude before it can land on the surface of Mars.

It soon turned out that the established company clearly lacked an experienced designer capable of leading the design bureau. Thus, in 1927, a proposal arose to merge with another Bavarian company, Messerschmitt Flugzeugbau GmbH, which in those years produced a very successful, all-metal cantilever M-18 monoplane. Its designer was Willy Messerschmitt - a graduate of the Munich Higher Technical School.

It is expected to measure only 0.6 meters and weigh just over 1.3 kilograms. We believe Prandtl's solution is the answer we've been looking for,” says Bowers. “It explains so many questions about bird flight and also minimizes friction and multiplies the efficiency of any future aircraft,” he adds.

“I think we can improve device efficiency by at least 70%,” he explains. "And my work only scratches the surface." "Perhaps not because of the pace of our progress, but because we are finally listening to him." Possibly the most famous fighter of World War II, along with others such as the Spitfire or the Mustang.

The reputation of Willy Messerschmitt after the release of the Bf-108 and Bf-109 was so high that on July 11, 1938, the BFW board of directors decided to change the name of the company to Messerschmitt AG, and Messerschmitt himself became chairman of the board and managing director .

There is an opinion that the Bf-109, with its appearance, laid down new standards for the design of fighters around the world. This is, of course, an exaggeration, but not without some meaning. Created by Willy Messerschmitt and his chief designer Walter Rethel, the aircraft really became the most advanced fighter at the time of its birth.

There he proved to be an exceptional wrestler for his time. Its main disadvantages were a small range of action, caused mainly by low autonomy, and a narrow cabin with poor visibility. Even though it was faster than the British fighters and had heavier armament: by the end of the war they had a 30mm cannon and had rockets fired to destroy the bombers.

His fame may lie in the fact that he was one of the aircraft that never retreated from the battle front and fought in large theaters of operations: in Eastern, Central and Western Europe and also in North Africa. It continued in production until the end of the conflict, although the improvements that were made were not too drastic.

The Bf-109 fighter was a true masterpiece. In its design there was no tribute to the traditional views of the fighter, but when it was created, all the most advanced developments in the field of aerodynamics and design were used, as a result of which the aircraft showed outstanding flight data for that time. The Bf-109 was the smallest aircraft possible, equipped with the most powerful engines available at the time, retractable landing gear and an enclosed cockpit. Even by the summer of 1940 - five years after its debut - the Bf-109 still outperformed almost all enemy fighters opposing it. It was a real success for the Luftwaffe to get an aircraft with similar characteristics.

In fact, due to the lack of vision and foresight, all this. Everyone thought the war would be quick; in fact it was, but when he lost the battle for Great Britain and failed to conquer this island, everything began to fall apart. The Me-109 proved that it was not an excellent opponent for Spitfire and Hurricane, but the German command relied on its numerical advantage, believing that if every three 109 years the Spitfire was lost, they would achieve victory. To achieve this, they banned the development of all types of aircraft, which took more than 6 months, and concentrated on the release of 109 without major changes.

The first "Bf-109" was ready for testing in August 1935. Just at that moment, the well-known ace pilot Ernst Udet visited the enterprise of V. Messerschmitt. After inspecting the aircraft, he turned to Messerschmitt and declared: "This aircraft will never be a fighter!" Udet, like many German pilots of the day, still considered the open cockpit, fixed landing gear, and biplane configuration to be essential attributes of a fighter. However, just a year later, the ace became the most ardent admirer of the Bf-109.

This latency was very negative for device performance. No modern or flying aircraft remain the best for a long time. Allied fighters, especially the British, got all sorts of improvements: more weapons, better engines, aerodynamic parts that were already good. Aerodynamically, the 109 was the worst fighter of the time, which made it slow, consuming a lot of fuel and with little maneuvering ability, especially at high speeds: for example, it became much better to the right than to the left, and its maximum steering speed was almost impossible, also due to the small cabin space.

The final point in the dispute, whether the Bf-109 deserves serial production or not, was delivered during the "Spanish events". In November, an alarming signal came from Spain - "Ne-51" in almost all respects is inferior to the Soviet "I-15", which the Republicans had more and more. The situation turned out to be so serious that after a short test cycle, three Bf-109s were urgently dismantled, packed and sent to Spain. In January 1937, this trio appeared in the skies of Spain. Seven weeks of fighting was enough to convince the air staff of the superiority of the Bf-109 over all the fighters used by the Republicans, and the aircraft went into serial production.

Squadrons of "Bf-109B" often encountered large formations of Republican fighters and, despite the small number of Messerschmitt fighters, emerged victorious. So, for example, Lieutenant Wilhelm Balthazar shot down four I-16s in six minutes while flying a Bf-109B fighter during one battle. (Three years later he became famous by shooting down 21 enemy aircraft in 21 days.).

The combat successes of the aircraft significantly affected its production. If in 1938 the total production of the Bf-109 fighter was a little over 400 aircraft, then already between January 1 and September 1, 1939 - the beginning of the invasion of Poland - 1091 Bf-109s were produced.

The obsolete Polish PZL R-7 and PZL R-11 fighters, which the Luftwaffe pilots encountered, could not provide any resistance to the Bf-109, and the latter, in the absence of an enemy, were soon used for assault strikes for ground targets.

The French have always been among the leaders in aeronautics and aviation, but with the onset of active hostilities, it turned out that the technical backlog of French aviation was so great that even experienced and courageous pilots could not resist the onslaught of the German Bf-109s.

The next to experience the power of the German fighter were the pilots of the Royal Air Force of England. Before that, the Germans, taking into account the experience of fighting in France, made some changes to the design of the fighter. The cockpit canopy of the new modification "Bf-109", which received the index "E", had a reinforced binding, and the pilot was protected by 8 mm armor. The pilot's armored back weighed 24 kg, and another armor plate weighing 13 kg was installed above his head in the folding part of the lantern.

Shortly after the decision was made to mass-produce the Bf-109 in Rechlin, a demonstration was held in the presence of representatives of the country's government. aviation technology. The display ended with a mock battle between the bombers and four of Heinkel's most popular Heinkel He-51 biplane fighters. Ernst Ulet, driving the Bf-109, intervened in the battle and, in front of those present, “shot down” all four Non-51s, and then attacked and shot down several bombers to make it even more impressive.

The popularity of W. Messerschmitt and his Bf-109 increased after the world speed record for land aircraft was set on November 11, 1937 - Hermann Wurster accelerated the Bf-109 to 607 km / h. The flight took place in accordance with all the rules - two approaches were made at a measured distance of 3 km and an altitude of no higher than 75 m. For a record flight, the Bf-109 was equipped with a specially forced 1650 hp engine. Wurster really succeeded in raising the prestige of German aviation - for the first time a German pilot set a speed record for land aircraft.

The battle for England began with reconnaissance in force and small raids on the British coast as early as July 1940. At the beginning of the battle, Bf-109 units very effectively used the excellent qualities of the vertical maneuver of their fighter and modern combat tactics developed in battles in Spain, while British Fighter Command used already outdated tactics. Their combat link consisted of three aircraft - in front of the leader, followed by two wingmen. Outwardly, it looked attractive, but such a formation provided freedom of action only to the leading link, forcing the followers to mainly focus on holding their place in the ranks. As a result, during the first weeks of the battle, Bf-109s quite easily defeated such triples. In addition, the British used five standard attack methods in battle, and the choice of one of them lay with the leading link. Such tactics of conducting air combat quite often turned into a disaster for British pilots. As a result, out of 1172 British aircraft shot down in July-October 1940, the majority were Bf-109s.

Unfortunately for the Luftwaffe fighter groups, starting in September 1940, they lost their freedom of action and found themselves bound by the task of covering their bombers, which immediately affected the tactics of the Bf-109. When escorted by bombers, the fighters lost their main advantage - speed, while inferior in horizontal maneuverability to British aircraft. Air battles continued until October 31, after which the Luftwaffe, not having reached their goals, began to withdraw fighter aircraft from the battle. In fact, neither side was defeated, but both were badly battered and exhausted.

As a result, by the beginning of the war with the USSR fighter aviation on the Eastern Front had only 440 combat-ready Bf-109s, but this did not stop them from shooting down most of the 322 Soviet aircraft on the very first day. However, despite the lower flight characteristics of the Soviet I-153 and I-16, they were a big problem for the Bf-109. Luftwaffe pilots even had to change their tactics of warfare. With more maneuverable vehicles at their disposal, experienced Soviet pilots used a technique that allowed them to suddenly leave the firing zone and, turning around, throw their aircraft into a frontal attack. Very often it ended badly for the German pilots.

January 1, 1945 t. The elite units of the Luftwaffe undertook their last major air operation "Bodenplatte" - 700-800 fighters were put on the Allied airfields in France, Belgium and Holland. The operation temporarily reduced the pressure of the Allied aviation on the German ground forces. At 27 bases that were put on, 250-300 Allied aircraft were destroyed. But the damage was quickly repaired, which cannot be said of the Luftwaffe, which used up almost all of its reserves and lost 150 experienced pilots.

No less noteworthy is another aircraft created by Willy Messerschmitt during the Second World War - the Me-163 missile interceptor fighter, known as the Comet. The Me 163 was to be an almost irresistible interceptor for Allied daytime bombers, terrifying the British and Americans. But the planes were produced so little, and the shortcomings of the machines were such that the Allies did not even pay serious attention to the appearance of the Comet in the air. Nevertheless, the Me-163, which entered service with the Luftwaffe in May 1944, was one of the most unusual and most promising fighters in the world. Experts believe that in the next four decades of aviation development, not a single serial aircraft was created that could be compared with this fighter. It can be said that the participants anti-Hitler coalition lucky that the technical difficulties that arose during the development of the aircraft, as well as the lack of time to eliminate them, made it difficult for the Comet to enter service with the Luftwaffe.

By design, "Me-163" was "tailless" (only the keel was placed behind). The wings of the aircraft were made of wood, and the fuselage; was all metal. The designers solved the problem of the retractable landing gear in a very original way - they abandoned it altogether. The plane took off from a detachable two-wheeled cart, and landing was carried out on a single ski, similar to the landing gear of gliders.

All free space in the fuselage was occupied by fuel tanks for the aircraft's jet engine. The fuel components of the Me-163 fighter were a mixture of methyl alcohol, hydrazine and water (fuel) and hydrogen peroxide (oxidizer).

A serious problem in the design of "Me-163" was its liquid jet engine. There have been several fighter jet crashes due to propellant components coming into contact outside the engine's combustion chamber. And sometimes the engine exploded even with a rough landing.

Despite the fact that the fuel reserves were 2000 kg, the efficiency of the engine was very low, so that it could only work for 12 minutes. This meant that the interceptor had to be based directly under the air corridors followed by enemy bombers. And by the time the Me-163 reached an altitude of 9,700 m, it had only 6.5 minutes of fuel left. In some cases, fully fueled Comets were towed to a height behind heavy German aircraft, after which the engine was started, and the fighter-interceptor began to attack the bomber. The first independent flight of the Me-163 with a working power plant was carried out in July 1941. And already 2 On October 1941, a record speed was reached on the Me.163-4 modification aircraft - almost 1,000 km / h. This aircraft was also the first aircraft in the history of aviation to encounter problems with the compressibility of the air flow at high speeds in level flight. Therefore, when developing the machine, a number of new aerodynamic problems had to be solved. The scheme chosen for the "Comet" - "tailless" with a swept wing - facilitated their decision. Since that time, the use of swept wings has become one of the traditional solutions to the problems of high-speed flight.

No less famous during the Second World War were aircraft manufactured by Focke-Wulf.

Until the end of the 30s. Focke-Wulf was completely unknown outside of Germany - its unpretentious aircraft were often confused with those of a Dutch company named after the famous aircraft designer Anthony Fokker. This confusion ended shortly after the release of the Fw-56 and Fw-200 aircraft. The aircraft, created under the direction of Kurt Voldemar Tank, whose design and engineering talent was fully manifested after taking the post of technical director of the company, won world fame. Thanks to Tank, the small, unknown Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG has become one of the world's leading aviation companies.

In 1937, one of the founders of the company, Professor Heinrich Focke, left it. Especially for the production of helicopters, he founded the Focke-Achgelis Flugzeugbau in Heuenkamp (near Delmenhorst), and Focke-Wulf focused on work on aircraft. In 1938, the famous Fw-189 reconnaissance aircraft took to the skies, and the following year, the Fw-190, an aircraft that combines the characteristics of a fighter and a bomber. We will dwell on these two Focke-Wulf models in more detail.

When in 1941 the press service of the Ministry of Aviation announced the existence of the Fw-189 tactical reconnaissance aircraft, she gave it a rather characteristic name - the Wehrmacht's "air eyes". The aircraft proved to be versatile in use, popular with pilots and one of the most reliable aircraft of the Luftwaffe.

It was impossible to achieve high speed on the Me-163 aircraft, the fuel supply was only enough for a few minutes of a motor flight. Initially, this allowed the aircraft to accelerate only up to 900 km / h. To save fuel on takeoff, on October 2, 1941, the Me-163 was lifted into the air in tow behind the Bf-110C fighter. At an altitude of 4000 m, the tug was uncoupled, and the aircraft showed a speed of 998.2 km/h. At this speed, the effect of air compressibility affected - the plane went into a dive. The pilot immediately turned off the engine, the plane quickly slowed down and became controllable again. The details of this flight were immediately sent to the German Air Ministry, but most officials refused to believe in such an unrealistically high flight speed.

Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AC was founded on 1 January 1924 by Heinrich Focke, Georg Wulf and Werner Naumann. A merger with Albatros Flugzeug-werke GmbH in 1931 stimulated the company's further growth, but the most important event of the same goal was the arrival of Kurt Tank on 1 November to head aircraft design and testing. Despite his youth - K. Tank was 33 goals - he had enough experience.

The merits of Kurt Tank were noted as the propaganda campaign around his aircraft intensified. In 1942, K. Tank became vice-president of the Academy of Aviation Sciences, received a professorship from the Braunschweig Technical School. But apart from the Fw-190, not a single Focke-Wulf aircraft developed during the war ended up in large-scale production. Nevertheless, the design bureau of K. Tank worked to the end, having prepared a number of unusual and promising projects.

Back in February 1937, the first experimental reconnaissance aircraft "Hs-126" began flight tests, the results of which completely satisfied the Luftwaffe command. However, at the same time, the German technical department issued a task for a promising reconnaissance aircraft. It was supposed to carry a crew of three, have a circular fire and have higher performance than existing aircraft of this class.

Kurt Tank joined the development and soon presented a project for a twin-engine twin-body aircraft with a central crew gondola. The originality of the design was complemented by the fact that K. Tank proposed to use interchangeable central nacelles on the aircraft while maintaining the engines, wings and plumage. This made it possible to solve the tasks of direct support, reconnaissance or crew training.

The development of an experimental aircraft began immediately, and already in July 1938 the first Fw-189 flew into the sky under the control of its designer Kurt Tank. The aircraft was equipped with two pre-production Argus As-410 engines with an HP 430 power. From the very first flights, the aircraft fully justified the most daring expectations of the designers. The tank dubbed the plane "Eule" ("Owl"), although it was better known to the troops under the name "Uhu" ("Owl").

In the spring of 1940, the Focke-Wulf company received an order for the production of the Fw-189 reconnaissance aircraft with the “A” index. Until the end of the year, 20 vehicles were produced, and at the same time military tests were carried out in close reconnaissance squadrons. Good feedback from the pilots, together with the conclusion of the Luftwaffe that the Hs-126 was obsolete, led to a change in attitude towards the Fw-189. The program of its production was recognized as a priority. However, in the summer of 1941, the production of the Fw-189 began to decline, as the production of the Fw-190 began. Thus, during 1941, the company managed to produce only about 250 Fw-189A at different factories. At the end of the year, all equipment for the production of the Fw-189 was sent to Bordeaux to begin production of the aircraft in France.

By the time of the invasion Soviet Union all German short-range reconnaissance combat squadrons were armed with only the Hs-126. By the end of 1941, these units began to withdraw from the front for re-equipment on the Fw-189, and in the spring of 1942, almost all reconnaissance squadrons received the Focke-Wulf aircraft. The Eastern Front became in fact the main region for the use of this aircraft.

It should be said that the combat effectiveness of the Fw-189A exceeded all expectations. The aircraft could perform tasks in the most adverse combat conditions and returned to base even with severe damage. It proved maneuverable enough to evade virtually all fighter attacks, especially with good crew coordination, and its defensive armament was sufficient to keep the enemy at bay. There are cases when the Fw-189A returned to base even after a ramming attack, having lost part of the vertical tail.

At the end of the 30s. in almost all countries with their own aircraft manufacturing, there was a strict trend - the new aircraft had not yet had time to pass the tests, and the designers had already begun to develop its improved modification, or even a completely new model of the same class.

Kurt Tank put forward a number of alternative proposals for the creation of a new fighter. Most of his projects involved the use of a liquid-cooled engine, which at that time was considered mandatory for fighters due to its small size and, as a result, due to less aerodynamic drag. But Tank also offered a fighter under a powerful air-cooled engine. The argument in favor of this project, in addition to the greater survivability of the air-cooled engine, was its greater power. Unable to resist these arguments, the technical department signed a contract for three experimental fighters with this engine, giving the aircraft the designation "Fw-190".

When creating the Fw-190 fighter, this story repeated itself. In the early autumn of 1937, just a few months after the Luftwaffe received the Bf-109B fighter, the German technical department issued an order to develop another aircraft of this class.

The design of the new Fw-190 fighter was entrusted to the senior engineer of the company, R. Blazer. The result was an extremely compact, well-lined aircraft, which hid a "lobed" engine in the smooth contours of the fuselage - an excellent example of design art.

In May 1939, the Fw-190 passed airfield tests, and already on June 1, 1939, it made its first flight. From the outset, it demonstrated excellent lateral handling and high roll rates. However, the close location of the engine led to the fact that the cabin was very hot from the rear row of its cylinders. Since the cockpit canopy could not be moved either in flight or even taxiing, the pilot was forced to constantly sit in an oxygen mask. During the first flights, the temperature in the cockpit rose to 55 degrees. Another cause of discomfort was the ingress of exhaust gases into the cabin.

The Focke-Wulf designers managed to fix these and other problems only by the beginning of 1942, after which the production of the Fw-190 began to increase steadily. If by the end of 1941 the Luftwaffe received only 224 such aircraft, then already in 1942 1,878 aircraft of this type were delivered - more than 40% of the total production of single-engine fighters in Germany.

The peak of the military glory of the fighters was the battle with American bombers on October 14, 1943. On this day, about a hundred Fw-190s, using the fire of experimental cannons installed under their wings, successfully mixed the formation of 228 American bombers. As a result, 62 enemy bombers were shot down in the battle, 17 crashed already over England, 121 vehicles were badly damaged (about 30% had to be written off later). Thus, the losses of the Americans amounted to 50% of total number bombers. The Luftwaffe also lost 38 fighters, another 51 were seriously damaged.

On April 25, 1945, Soviet and American troops united near Torgau on the Elbe, dividing the German armed forces into two parts. By this time, fuel supplies at the airfields were practically over. Most of the combat-ready Fw-190s could not take to the air, the victory found them on the ground.

Another company that produced military products was Junkers Flugzeugund Motorenwerke AG, created by Professor Hugo Junkers, the undisputed pioneer of all-metal aircraft construction. During the Second World War, he mainly created aircraft that corresponded in their characteristics to bombers. However, aircraft were also created at the factories, the appearance of which caused an ambiguous attitude. In parts of the Luftwaffe, they were called "hunters", the enemy called them nothing more than "vultures". We are talking about the Ju-88 bomber.

It is generally accepted that the Ju-88 was a model for using the aircraft to solve a wide range of tasks. However, the flexibility of combat use that was characteristic of this model and which allowed it to become the main aircraft of the Luftwaffe was a matter of chance, and not the result of a good choice of its design.

Back in 1934, the German technical department issued specifications for the "hunter" - a multi-purpose aircraft capable of performing the tasks of a bomber, fighter, reconnaissance and attack aircraft. On this assignment, "Focke-Wulf" and "Henschel" created their own aircraft "Fw-57" and "Hs-124". However, by the beginning of 1935, the theory of multi-purpose aircraft was revised, resulting in new specifications for a more specialized "hunter" and the so-called "high-speed bomber". The new requirements called for the creation of a three-seat aircraft, armed with one machine gun, with a bomb load of 500 kg. The aircraft was supposed to develop a speed of 500 km / h and maintain it for 30 minutes.

In September 1941, the first combat collision of the Fw-190 with British fighters took place. Patrolling over Dunkirk, four Luftwaffe pilots at an altitude of 4000 m met with a numerically superior enemy. Using their height advantage, the Germans attacked the British from the direction of the sun and shot down three of them. These were the first official victories of the Fw-190.

The first real baptism of the Focke-Wulf fighter occurred during Operation Donner-KIL - a breakthrough across the English Channel from the French port of Brest of German ships T on February 2, 1942. It was 16 Fw-190s that then repelled the first attacks of torpedo bombers English.

Work on the new aircraft began at Junkers on January 15, 1936, and already on December 21, 1936, the first experimental aircraft took off. The aircraft, called the Ju-88, was an all-metal monoplane with two Daimler-Benz DB-600 engines with a power of 1,000 hp each.

No sooner had the new aircraft entered mass production than in early 1938 the technical department changed its requirements, emphasizing the possibility of dive bombing. It was decided to strengthen the defensive armament, and increase the crew to four people. All these changes were taken into account on the new "Ju-88", which made its first flight on February 2, 1938. The aircraft received "beetle eyes" - glazing of the bow. Under the cab in the lower gondola was equipped with an installation for one machine gun, firing backwards - down.

Ju-88 production volumes quickly reached a significant value. If in 1939 the Luftwaffe received only 110 aircraft of this type, then already in 1940 about 2,200 were produced, of which 60 were night fighters, 330 were reconnaissance aircraft, and the rest were bombers. In 1942, despite the cessation of aircraft production at some factories, the total production of Ju-88s was 3,094 aircraft, of which 2,270 were bombers. By this time, the Ju-88 had become the main vehicle of the Luftwaffe bomber groups.

The combat career of the Ju-88 began on September 26, 1939. On this day, four aircraft launched from the airfield in Westerland bombed British ships detected by patrol aircraft. The most striking combat episodes for the Ju-88 during the "Battle of England" were put on 63 aircraft at Portsmouth on August 12, 1940, when 15 aircraft bombed radars at Ventnor, and put on 50 Ju-88s without fighter escort at Dryfield - airfield of the 4th bomber group. At the same time, four hangars and many buildings were destroyed, 10 British bombers were burned. However, seven Ju-88s were shot down by British fighters.

The largest operation in the air war with the USSR after the first battles in the border battle was the deployment of 130 Ju-88 bombers to Moscow on July 22, 1941. But the most famous Ju-88 operations on the Eastern Front were actions against the polar convoys of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition . The first to be attacked was convoy number PQ-13, which lost two ships in March 1942. But convoy number PQ-17 suffered the most - 23 ships were sunk, of which about half were from air attacks.

On the Western Front, the most successful was the use of "Ju-88" as a night fighter-interceptor to fight British bombers. On January 21, 1944, during the attack on Magdeburg, the British lost 55 aircraft out of 648 (8.5%). A week later, 43 out of 683 vehicles (6.3%) were shot down during the attack on Berlin. On February 19, during the attack on Leipzig, out of 823 aircraft, 78 aircraft (9.4%) were shot down. On March 24, out of 810 bombers bombing Berlin, 72 (8.9%) were shot down. And finally, on March 30, out of 795 planes that bombed Nuremberg, 94 (11.82%) were shot down.

For British Bomber Command, this level of casualties was catastrophic. The bombers were subjected to incessant attacks by Luftwaffe night fighters, many of them strayed off course or, when damaged, dropped their bombs short of the target. The bombing of Germany was considered unpromising, and the British Bomber Command switched to putting on German communications located in France and Belgium. Thus, the German night fighters won their last and most significant victory.