Figure 1.--
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Figure 1.-- |
After the liberation of France and the resumtion of strategic bombing, the Luftwaffe defenses began to crumble. One of the objectives of the strategic bombing campaign was the destruction of the Luftwaffe. And as the fighter escorts engaged Luftwaffe fighters there was a dramatic and unsustanable loss of German pilots. The Allies established air surperiority over Germany and bombed German cities at will. The Luftwaffe which still had planes could often not maintain an effective training program because of fuel shortages and in many cases could even muster the fuel to fly the rapidly dwindling number of remaining planes. The Luftwaffe was so desperate for pilots by the end of the War that Hitler Youth boys were being used. Most were boys fron the Flieger HJ. Some Flieger HJ boys flew the Komet ME-163, in part because it was so dangerous that it was wasteful using trained Luftwaffe pilots who were in increasingly short supply. The Luftwaffe's defensive capability was also eroded as Allied ground armies overun Luftwaffe airfields and early warning radar sites. This included fields from whic Luftwaffe night fighters had been wreking havoc on Bomber Command formations. This meant that the Allied bombers would reach the Reich with little warning and accompaied by esorts that could overpower dwindling Luftwaffe fighter forces. This left German cities virtually undefended, except by flak batteries.
After the liberation of France and the resumtion of strategic bombing, the Luftwaffe defenses began to crumble. One of the objectives of the strategic bombing campaign was the destruction of the Luftwaffe. The Allies by mid-1944 had largely avhieved this objective. Here severalfactors were involved.
After the liberation of France and the resumtion of strategic bombing, the Luftwaffe defenses began to crumble. One of the objectives of the strategic bombing campaign was the destruction of the Luftwaffe. And as the fighter escorts engaged Luftwaffe fighters there was a dramatic and unsustanable loss of German pilots. The Allies established air surperiority over Germany and bombed German cities at will.
The critical factor for the Luftwaffe was pilots. The Luftwaffe which still had planes did not have an effective training program. There was only one school to train fighter pilots. The training program was mot expanded until 1944 and by then it was to late. This failure on the part of Luftwaffe pilots seems curious. There were many factors outside the control of Luftwaffe commanders, trasining pilots was not one of them. There were plenty of bys emerging from the Hitler Youth that would have been more than willing to become pilots. The Luftwaffe was so desperate for pilots by the end of the War that Hitler Youth boys were being used. Most were boys fron the Flieger HJ. Some Flieger HJ boys flew the Komet ME-163, in part because it was so dangerous that it was wasteful using trained Luftwaffe pilots who were in increasingly short supply.
One of the most serious factors impairing Luftwaffe operations was fuel shortages because of loss of Ploesti the increasing effectiveness of Allied raids on the synthetic fuel plants. This impaired the Luftwaffe training program as ell as air opeations. Because of fuel shortages and in many cases could even muster the fuel to fly the rapidly dwindling number of remaining planes.
Bomber Command did not initially benefit from the arrival of fighter escorts. The fighters escorted Allied planes on daylight raids, but they were not useful in protecting British bombers on nightime raids. The Luftwaffe was shooting down more British bombers in nighttie raids than American bombers in day light raids. Two developments occurred in July-August 1944 which dramatically changed the night-time situation. The first was pure luck. An inexperienced Luftwaffe pilot landed his Ju-88 night fighter at an English airfield, thinking he was still over the occupied Netherlands. This gave the British the opportunity to learn just why the Luftwaffe nightfighters had been so effective. The first was SN-2 airborn radar that Window was not effectively jamming. The second was the Flensburg device which allowed the Germans to use a device called Monica in the tail of British bombers as a virtual beacon. Monica was suposed to alert British pilots of te approach of a night fighter, instead using Flensburg they were virtual beacons. These devices were simply defeated by adjusting Window and removing Monica from the British planes. The second development was the liberation of France and Belgium. The Allies veran the forward Luftwaffe bases and radar sights that were vital to the success of the night fighters.
The Luftwaffe's defensive capability was also eroded as Allied ground armies overun Luftwaffe airfields and early warning radar sites. This included fields from whic Luftwaffe night fighters had been wreking havoc on Bomber Command formations. This meant that the Allied bombers would reach the Reich with little warning and accompaied by esorts that could overpower dwindling Luftwaffe fighter forces. This left German cities virtually undefended, except by flak batteries.
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