Tag: Luftwaffe

The Survivors: Heinkel He 162 Volksjäger – Germany’s “Peoples Fighter”

Heinkel He 162A-2 Volksjäger ("People's Fighter" - Werk Nummer 120086) "Yellow 2" of JG 1 is on display at the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa, Ontario (2013)

The Reichsluftfahrtministerium Volksjäger (“People’s Fighter”) design competition was issued on September 10th, 1944 by the German Ministry of Aviation (Reichsluftfahrtministerium – RLM) to develop an inexpensive, mass produced emergency light jet fighter that was fast but easy to fly, to combat the Allied bomber offensive that was devastating Germany. Designs were to be returned by… Read More The Survivors: Heinkel He 162 Volksjäger – Germany’s “Peoples Fighter”

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Polish Aviation Museum: The German Aviation Collection – Part III

Curtiss Hawk II, H-81, designated D-IRIK flown by Ernst Udet 1936 Berlin Olympics - Polish Aviation Museum, Krakow 2017 German Aviation Collection

Continuing on from my previous post on the German Aviation Collection at the Polish Aviation Museum in Krakow (Muzeum Lotnictwa Polskiego w Krakowie), the following are the rare experimental, military and research aircraft flown in Germany in the 1920’s and 1930’s that were once on display in Berlin at the Deutsche Luftfahrt Sammlung (German Aviation… Read More Polish Aviation Museum: The German Aviation Collection – Part III

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Rockwell OV-10 Bronco: The Observation and Counter Insurgency Specialist

West German Rockwell OV-10B Bronco (158309/99+33) target tug at the Luftwaffe Museum at Berlin-Gatow

Any (North American) Rockwell OV-10 Bronco fans out there? It is one of my favourite aircraft. I like the styling of the Bronco and it was a great success story for Rockwell as a light attack and observation aircraft. 360 OV-10 aircraft were produced between 1965 and 1986. OV-10 US Military Service The OV-10 first… Read More Rockwell OV-10 Bronco: The Observation and Counter Insurgency Specialist

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The Survivors: Czechoslovakia’s Avia S-92 Turbina (Me 262)

Avia S-92 Turbina - The Czechoslovakian Me 262 - Prague Aviation Museum Kbely, Czech Republic (September 2017)

By 1945 a number of German Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe (“Swallow“) jet fighters were located in Czechoslovakia. During the German occupation period Me 262 airframe components were produced by Avia and other Czechoslovakian factories produced jet engine parts and even final assembly of the jet fighter. As a result blueprints, technical manuals, production facilities,… Read More The Survivors: Czechoslovakia’s Avia S-92 Turbina (Me 262)

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The Survivors: Czechoslovakia’s Messerschmitt Bf 109 Hybrids

What does a nation do to rebuild an air force following German annexation, war and Soviet occupation in just a few short years (1938-1945)? Well in Czechoslovakia’s case, by 1945 they had aircraft production facilities, numerous German Luftwaffe aircraft and technical plans laying about, such as Messerschmitt Bf 109G/K fighters and immediately after the end… Read More The Survivors: Czechoslovakia’s Messerschmitt Bf 109 Hybrids

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The Survivors: Sweden’s & the World’s Last Junkers Ju 86

Junkers Ju 86K-4 (Werk Nr. 0860412) Swedish Air Force Museum (Flygvapenmuseum)

Developed in Germany in the early 1930’s as both a twin-engine medium bomber and civilian airliner, the Junkers Ju 86 first entered service in 1936 and approximately 470 examples would be produced by 1938. The Ju 86A/D/E/G/K bomber (the G model had a round glass nose and the K model was the export version –… Read More The Survivors: Sweden’s & the World’s Last Junkers Ju 86

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The Survivors: Fiat CR.42 Falco – Maneuverable But Outgunned!

Swedish Air Force Fiat CR.42/J 11 Falco (Fv 2543) at the Swedish Air Force Museum (Flygvapenmuseum) near Linköping

The Fiat CR.42 Falco (“Falcon”) fighter aircraft was an Italian sesquiplane variant of  the biplane design, where the lower wing was not more than half the surface of the upper wing. Introduced into Italian Regia Aeronautica service in 1939, the fighter was already obsolete in the World War Two era of modern, faster monoplane aircraft such as the French Dewoitine… Read More The Survivors: Fiat CR.42 Falco – Maneuverable But Outgunned!

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Technik Museum Speyer – Messerschmitt Bf 109G-4 a JG 52 Eagle

1942 JG 52 Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 109G-4 (Werk Nummer 19310) at the Technik Museum Speyer in December 2015

A highlight of the Technik Museum Speyer is to be able to see their original Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 109G-4 (Werk Nummer 19310) fighter in wartime livery and markings with its powerful Daimler-Benz DB 605A engine exposed too. It’s a beauty! According to the museum 1,242 Bf 109G-4 variants were produced and this is the only remaining… Read More Technik Museum Speyer – Messerschmitt Bf 109G-4 a JG 52 Eagle

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