The Threat

As long as Allied bombers flew in tight formation, the protection by the gunners against Luftwaffe fighters was formidable. But stragglers were an easy mark. Flying Focke-Wulfs and Messerschmitts (such as the ME109s shown here), the Luftwaffe ruled the skies in the early stages of the European war.

The strong air offensive by the Allies forced the Germans into a largely defensive position so that German bomber production gave way to a higher percentage of fighter production.
The Allied bombing campaign could not seem to stem the manufacture of German war planes. Well into 1944 the production of German fighter planes continued to increase.

In July of 1944 the German engineers introduced the first jet powered fighter planes. Pictured here is the Messerschmitt ME262. The allies had no match for the new jet fighters.

Although German aircraft engineering and manufacture was not stifled, by 1945 the German army didn't have enough fuel to keep their planes in the air.


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