German Aircrafts

he development of the Me 262 begun before the outbreak of the Second World War. Plans had been on the drawing board since April 1939; however delays in the development of the jet engine due to numerous teething troubles and lack of funding made progress slow. This was further hindered by the thinking of high ranking Luftwaffe personnel, who concluded that the requirement of an operational jet fighter unnecessary and that the war could be won with more traditional piston-driven aircraft.

The Ju-87 Stuka was introduced into service in 1936 with the A model. Various improvements to its power and weapons had by 1941 bought about the D model. Thought its design seems somewhat clunky and old fashioned the Stuka provided good service to the Luftwaffe and her allies in the ground attack role. Despite the initial perception the Stuka included some innovative features, such as an automatic pull-up system to ensure that the plane recovered from a dive even if the pilot lost consciousness from the G-forces.

The FW 190 was one of the most important aircraft in the Luftwaffe, featuring heavily as a fighter and in ground attack roles. Armed with a pair of 20mm cannons and bombs it was a significant threat to Allied armour.