I recently created a video based on the article - The Defeat of the Luftwaffe 1935-1945 by James S. Corum in Why Air Forces Fail.
Note that "Fleet Air Arm" shouldn't be interpreted too narrowly, Corum used that term, but he doesn't imply a carrier, just planes under control of the Kriegsmarine.
[Video] Why the Luftwaffe failed
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militaryhistoryvisualized
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Cantankerous
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Re: [Video] Why the Luftwaffe failed
Hi,
As you correctly point out in the video, while the Heinkel He 177A Greif (the only operational Luftwaffe strategic bomber) was plagued by engine troubles, it was originally intended from the outset as a long-range dive bomber, but did not fulfill its role as a long-range Stuka. Heinkel back in 1939 proposed an He 177 with four engines, the He 179, but this project did not progress beyond the design phase. Only when Hermann Göring recognized that the He 177A was not being used for dive bombing missions and revoking the dive bombing requirement for this aircraft did he give Heinkel the go-ahead in late 1942 for a new He 177 design with four engines, the He 177B, which was basically comparable to the Avro Lancaster in terms of dispensing with troublesome engines, and the four He 177B prototypes were converted from existing He 177A airframes (of which one, the He 177 V9, had been previously modified to use four engines).
I consider it highly probable that Göring's addiction to drugs influenced decisions made by the Luftwaffe that led to it being outwitted by the Eighth Air Force, which in turn prompted Hitler to blame people in the Luftwaffe for the failure of its airmen to repel USAAF fighters and bombers.
As you correctly point out in the video, while the Heinkel He 177A Greif (the only operational Luftwaffe strategic bomber) was plagued by engine troubles, it was originally intended from the outset as a long-range dive bomber, but did not fulfill its role as a long-range Stuka. Heinkel back in 1939 proposed an He 177 with four engines, the He 179, but this project did not progress beyond the design phase. Only when Hermann Göring recognized that the He 177A was not being used for dive bombing missions and revoking the dive bombing requirement for this aircraft did he give Heinkel the go-ahead in late 1942 for a new He 177 design with four engines, the He 177B, which was basically comparable to the Avro Lancaster in terms of dispensing with troublesome engines, and the four He 177B prototypes were converted from existing He 177A airframes (of which one, the He 177 V9, had been previously modified to use four engines).
I consider it highly probable that Göring's addiction to drugs influenced decisions made by the Luftwaffe that led to it being outwitted by the Eighth Air Force, which in turn prompted Hitler to blame people in the Luftwaffe for the failure of its airmen to repel USAAF fighters and bombers.
Re: [Video] Why the Luftwaffe failed
There is no proof for this claim : if the LW was outwitted by the 8th Air Force, this was not caused by decisions from Goering . The LW was outwitted NOT because of decisions from Goering or some other Germans, but by decisions from Allied air force leaders .Besides :8th Air Force became important only in 1944 .Cantankerous wrote: ↑12 Sep 2023, 17:43Hi,
I consider it highly probable that Göring's addiction to drugs influenced decisions made by the Luftwaffe that led to it being outwitted by the Eighth Air Force, which in turn prompted Hitler to blame people in the Luftwaffe for the failure of its airmen to repel USAAF fighters and bombers.
In 1943 there were 47,471 bomber sorties from Bomber Command over the Reich and 10,981 sorties from 8th Air Force .