Dornier 335447 viewsAs the Second World War in Europe drew to a close, a powerful new twin- engined fighter was preparing to enter service with the Luftwaffe. This amazing machine was the piston-engined Dornier Do 335. Fitted with Daimler-Benz DB603A-2 engines delivering 1750 hp at take-off, the first example, Do 335 V1 (CP+UA), flew for the first time on 26 October 1943 from Mengen, Wurttemburg, with Flugkapitan Hans Dieterle at the controls. When the US Army overran the Oberpfaffenhofen factory in late April 1945, only 11 Do 335A-1 single seat fighter-bombers and two Do 335A-12 conversion trainers had been completed. A further nine A-1's, four A-4's and two A- 12's were in final assembly, and components and assemblies for nearly 70 more had been completed. Heinkel at Vienna had been unable to build any Do 335A-6 night fighters.
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g50 foto2444 views
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Heinkel He 115441 viewsThe He 115, constructed as a twin engine plane was very effective in it's role as mine-layer and torpedo-bomber (first flight in 1936).
In 1940 the He 115B saw service as a mine-layer, carrying a single magnetic mine of 920 kg. Airplanes of Küstenfliegergruppe 106 und 406 flew on a regularly basis mining missions at the east and south coast of Great Britain. At the end of 1940 the He 115 C appeared with heavy armament; a subversion had improved skids for landings on ice and iced snow. The C-4 was a version specialised for torpedo-attacks, which was used several times against the north-cape convoys.
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Heinkel He 70440 viewsThe Heinkel He 70 was an aircraft designed as a fast mailplane, inspired by the Lockheed Orion. Its streamlining inspired many other designs. Although useful, it had a relatively brief commercial career, before it was replaced by types which could carry more passengers. As a combat aircraft it was a not a great success, because it rapidly became outdated.
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flettner-265437 views
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Heinkel He 177435 viewsThe He 177 was a try to devellop a real strategic bomber. The idea to combine two motors on one propeller lead to heavy problems. Due to this and other misstakes in construction, the plane became a deadly trap for many crews and got the the nick-name "Lighter of the Reich". The He 177 saw first operational service in 1942 and was mainly used for maritime warfare in the west. In the mid of 1944 87 He 177 flew an attack on Velikye Luki at the east-front. At the end of the war one machine was modified to carry a german atomic bomb.
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Heinkel He 116430 viewsThis aircraft was designed in 1936 as a high altitude aircraft for Lufthansa. The specified Hirth powerplants were not available and the V1 flew in 1937 on lower rated engines. Eight A-series mail carriers were built followed by the He 116R with rocket boost. The He 116R later flew 6,214 (10,000km) on June 30, 1938 non-stop. Six B-0 were delivered to the Luftwaffe in 1938 as long range photo recon aircraft but their low speed, lack of pressurization and lack of armament made them too vulnerable to use in enemy airspace and these airframes spent the remainder of their careers doing photographic work over Germany.
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Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe430 viewsThe Me 262A-1a "Schwalbe" ("Swallow") was the first production model of the Me 262. It was produced with four Mk 108 30mm cannon mounted in the nose, in its role as an interceptor, a role that it performed with great promise. it came into the battle far too late, when the Allied air forces had reached formidable capacity; secondly, its engines were a constant source of trouble, frequently failing after no more than 12 hours; the Me 262A-2a "Sturmvogel" ("Stormbird") was reconfigured to carry two 550lb bombs, still retaining the four cannon. A further refinement, Me 262A-2a/U1 had two of the cannon removed to provide space for a bomb-aiming device, and Me 262A-2/U2 carried a prone bombardier in the nose section. Thus, for much of the aircraft's brief combat life, it was used against the wrong type of targets, with even less effect than if it had been used as an interceptor.
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Heinkel He 100429 viewsDisappointed by the loss of the Luftwaffe's fighter orders to BFW and it's Bf 109 and the failure of the He 112, Heinkel set out to build a lighter and faster fighter that was also cheaper and easier to build. Even though the He 100 broke several world speed records, the RLM was solidly supportive of the Bf 109 and failed to order the He 100 into production. Six prototypes were eventually sold to the Soviet Union and three He 100D-0 went to Japan. The three He 100D-0's being armed with two MG 17 and a 20mm MG/FF. The remaining 12 He 100D-1 fighters were used to form a Heinkel-Rostock factory defense unit
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focke achgelis fa223428 views
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fiat g.122695L428 views
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Arado Ar 68F424 viewsInitial deliveries of the Ar 68F were made to the Luftwaffe in the late summer of 1936. commencing with I/JG 134 'Horst Wessel'. By the outbreak of World War II most surviving Ar 68s had been relegated to advanced fighter trainer status with the Jagdflieger-schulen (fighter pilot schools).
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