Luftwaffe Combat Reports (Hitler's War Machine) by

Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Interrogation, fighters and bombers, World War II, Luftwaffe, Stukas
ISBN: 9781908538116
Publisher: Coda Books Ltd
Published: 2011-09-08T04:00:00+00:00

B. Planned Organizational Developments

(1) Conventional Fighters.

With the fighter force fully on the defensive, Gruppen would have been held at a strength of about 70 aircraft, of which about 50 would be serviceable at anyone time. This was the maximum number which could start and assemble in a reasonable length of time. Big groups were also necessary so that the large fighter force could be fitted onto the small number of German operational air fields.

Operations would have been flown in Gruppe strength getting away from the big Gefechtsverbands of Geschwader size. Later, the Gruppen would fly in sight of each other. Eventually it was hoped to use R/T in the air for mutual support work between Gruppen. For once and for all, the old type of strict Division fighter control was to be done away with. Each Gruppe

CO was to have tactical freedom about how and when he attacked the bombers. Mobility of fighter units would have been no longer necessary if the fronts had remained stable.

Fighters were to be specialized further into light and heavy Gruppen with appropriate armament for their respective duties of attacking the fighters and bombers. Since it was expected to use all units from time to time over the front in support of the Army, the heavy Gruppen were also to be trained to shoot rockets and drop bombs while the light Gruppen could strafe and fight off enemy fighters over the battle area.

The fear was that the Allied high altitude heavy bombers might begin to come in at a bombing altitude about 5000 feet higher than usual, which would have made all the German fighters very ineffective. This forced the introduction of the Tank Ta-152. It was planned to convert almost the whole conventional fighter force to this aircraft or the Me.1 09H for high altitude work. A small force of single engine night-fighters would have been kept in case German AI radar was completely jammed, in which case the SE fighters could have kept up some kind of a defense. Almost all twin-engine day fighter units had been dissolved and converted to SE fighters in early 1944, and it was planned to re-equip them with the Do.335s. Twin-engine fighters would still be used. They would be needed to satisfy the Navy’s demand for cover for their U -Boats when approaching the continent.

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