Aircraft were an essential part of the German war victory in the first Weltkrieg, and, as we begin the 2nd Weltkrieg, their importance has grown rather than diminished. Our aircraft industry is one of the best in the world, and our Luftstreitkräfte is also the largest air force in the world. This combination of factors puts us at a distinct advantage to our syndicalist foes, who have been playing catch-up since their revolutions.

Our air force forms the long-range strike arm of our military, allowing us to destroy enemy targets far behind the front line, as well as providing immediate support to troops on the ground. As such, our air force takes a balanced integration approach, though with a slight bias towards long-range strikes after the success of German bombing in the First Weltkrieg. This thinking has influenced our decision to maximize research into bombers, though this does mean that research into fighters has somewhat suffered.

This part covers our primary combat types, including bombers, fighters and attack aircraft. Reconnaissance, patrol, transport and other types will be covered separately.

A Survey of Types, Operational Capabilities and Doctrine

Bombers

As mentioned before, the German air industry has focused towards the destruction of enemy military targets and major cities, which many in the Luftstreitkräfte believe will win the next war. As such, development of the Ju 89 has been very important to the air force, with production numbers to show for it. Besides the heavy bombers, though, the Luftstreitkräfte also employs a number of medium and light bombers for missions outside of strategic bombing, though each design is intended to supplant the haevy bombers in this role if necessary.

Strategic Bombers

Junkers Ju 89

The four-engine, five-man Ju 89 was the envy of strategic bombing advocates everywhere when it entered service in 1936. While large and impressive, the Ju 89's size hides its weaknesses of a relatively light bombload of 1600 kg. Nevertheless, with powerful Daimler-Benz engines, a service ceiling of 7,000 meters, a range of nearly 1600 km and a powerful defensive armament, the Ju 89 provides the majority of the Luftstreitkräfte's "tooth", its strategic bombing force. Several hundred are in service.

Heinkel He 177

The beginning of the next generation of German Heavy Bomber, the Heinkel He 177 improves on the Junkers Ju 89's speed, ceiling, and bombload significantly, carrying up to 7,000 kg of bombs. While initially conceived to combine several experimental systems to create a very advanced design, including coupling two engines together per nacelle, the production version of the He 177 is more orthodox, using four separate nacelles for its engines. Due to concerns about the accuracy of level bombing in some sectors of the Luftstreitkräfte, the He 177 is specially strengthened to allow it to bomb at a shallow angle, increasing its speed significantly. The production of the He 177 is of high priority; the design has just entered service in 1939, and it is expected that hundreds will be in service by 1941. Around three dozen are in service at the outbreak of the war.

Light & Medium Bombers

Junkers Ju 86

Setting an early trend for modern German bombers, the Ju 86 was, from the beginning, a dual-purpose bomber-airliner design, meant not to provoke an "air arms race" with other European powers (though the success of this attempt is questionable). Introduced in 1934, the Ju 86 is starting to show its age already. Operated in only limited capacity as a medium bomber and reconnaissance aircraft, only a few dozen Ju 86s remain in service.

Fokker T.V

A unique "air cruiser" (Luftkreuzer), the Fokker T.V is a multipurpose bomber, meant for service both as a medium bomber and as a heavy interceptor using the 20mm cannon in the nose. With a high speed, a decent range and a servicable payload of 1200 kg, the Fokker T.V sees service both in Medium Bomber and Destroyer formations, though primarily in the former; air force doctrines dictates that, should the Destroyer formations be significantly depleated, T.Vs will be re-integrated into Destroyer squadrons to make up for the losses until new iarcraft can be produced. A little under two hundred are in service.

Heinkel He 111

Originally an airliner design, the He 111 has proven apt at conversion to bomber service. Retaining its original stepped-cockpit layout, the He 111 is only in limited service with the Luftstreitkräfte in a secondary role, though there are plans to convert more Deutche Luft Hansa airliners to bombers should the need arise. A little more than a hundred are in service.

Fokker T.IX

A significant improvement over all previous German medium bombers, the Fokker T.IX provides an aircraft almost unsurpassed in comparable performance. With a high speed of 440 km/h, a range of 2700 km, a payload of 2000 kg and retaining the 20mm nose cannon of the Fokker T.V, the Fokker T.IX is slated to become the primary German twin-engined bomber within the next few years. Only just entering service in 1939, the Fokker T.IX is nevertheless expected to equip half of all German twin-engine bomber formations by 1942. Squadrons of this type are being rotated to the front as quickly as possible, intended for high-speed infiltration attacks and interdiction missions. Around 60 are in service at the start of the Second Weltkrieg.

Torpedo Bombers

Fokker T.VIII

A floatplane twin-engine naval bomber, the Fokker T.VIII has become the most numerous German twin-engined floatplane bomber in the Baltic and in deployments overseas. The Fokker T.VIII is able to carry a single torpedo or 600 kg of bombs, though as with most aircraft of this type, it is only useful against naval and ground targets and is vulnerable to fighter attack. Around one hundred are in service, mainly for coastal defense and aerial reconaissance.

Heinkel He 115

An improved seaplane, capable of minelaying as well as use as a torpedo bomber as well as having an improved range, the Heinkel He 115 has begun to supplant and is planned to eventually replace the Fokker T.VIII, though the projecte is of low priority. Planned to be used primarily in the German colonial empire, the outbreak of war means that the majority of He 115s in service are confined to the Baltic. Around 40 exist at the start of the Second Weltkrieg.

Fiesler Fi 167

A biplane torpedo bomber develoepd expressly for use on the German carrier fleet, the Fiesler Fi 167 is also used as a land-based torpedo and reconaissance bomber. However, the type is still relatively rare due to the limited coastline of the German navy, though it is somewhat more common in the German colonial empire. Able to carry up to a 1,000 lb bomb and with a reasonable speed for an aircraft of this type, the Fi 167 is potentially useful but is seen as a low priority by the German air force. Less than a hundred are in service.

Fighters

With Richtofen, the famous Red Baron, still a major figure in the public life of the German Empire, the fighter has received a prestigious place in the thinking of the Luftstreitkräfte. While a significant amount of resources is dedicated to "defensive" strategic bombing, the Luftstreitkräfte also has expended considerable energy in producing some of the most advanced fighter aircraft in service, after seeing how horrendously outdated the biplane designs of the late 1920s and early 1930s were. The new fighter designs are fast, maneuverable and well-armed. To enhance the defensive posture of the Luftstreitkräfte, heavy fighters are employed, able to destroy enemy bomber formations with their cannons. Single-engine fighters are supplants to the interceptor force as well as being intended for offensive operations into enemy airspace.

Fokker D.XVII

Reflecting the rather casual attitude of the Luftstreitkräfte in the early 1930s, the Fokker D.XVII can barely be considered an improvement over the fighters of the late Weltkrieg. Conceived as a dual fighter / advanced trainer, the D.XVII was produced in large numbers and became the standard fighter of the Luftstreitkräfte before it began to rapidly expand in the prelude to war. While this means there are hundreds of this type in Germany and overseas, their combat value in 1939 is very questionable. It seems likely they will be relegated exclusively to training or special missions. 265 are in service at the start of the war, but that number rapidly dwindles due to losses.

Fokker D.XXI

The original German concern for its aerial defense was in East Asia, and, as a result, Fokker's next fighter design, the D.XXI, was meant primarily for service in that theatre. A relatively 'safe' design, the Fokker D.XXI is rugged, inexpensive, and compact, suiting it well for service overseas in the German colonial empire. This is almost exclusively where it remains, with only a handful being present in Germany proper at the start of the war, serving as trainers. Many were present for the fall of German East Asia, falling into Japanese hands or being destroyed in combat, while around 160 are spread throughout German Mittelafrika, forming the backbone of the fighter force there.

Messerschmitt Bf 109

Resulting from a 1935 competition to modernize the Luftstreitkräfte's soon-to-be-obsolescent biplane fighters, the Bf 109 nevertheless has experienced trouble supplanting the various fighters in service before it, and as the war begins the Bf 109 still only represents 60% of the overall fighter force. Nevertheless, as fighting in France quickly clears the old Fokker biplanes from the sky, the Bf 109 is slated to become the main fighter of the Luftstreitkräfte. Originally an interceptor design, the Bf 109 is agile, fast, and well-armed. However, challenges from the newer Heinkel He 100 design, which is even faster than the Bf 109, mean that its future is not certain. Somewhat more than 400 are in service, with production taking high priority.

Heinkel He 100

Probably the fastest combat aircraft in the world, the He 100 program is just beginning to gain steam at the start of the war. Stung by its failure to capture the Luftstreitkräfte contract with its He 112 design, Heinkel re-designed the aircraft and fixed most of its problems to create an aircraft 30 km/h faster than even the Bf 109, and massively quicker than any comparable type in service. Provided with a good armament of a cannon and machine guns, the He 100 has sparked a debate within air force command about which fighter to focus on. One camp favors the cheap and already plentiful Bf 109, while another prefers the high-performance He 100. Even new designs by Focke-Wulf are in the offing as being the type to replace the Bf 109. While one side will have to eventually get its way, He 100s are currently trickling into service, with around 60 being in service at the start of the war.

Heavy Fighters

Messerschmitt Bf 110

The ubiqutous Zerstörer, as the type is known among its crews, the Bf 110 forms an important component of the Luftstreitkräfte's defensive policy. Intended to fill the dual roles of defensive bomber destroyer and heavy fighter as well as a fighter-bomber for ground support, the Bf 110's production is of medium-high priority to the air force, fearful of retaliation with the same kinds of strategic strikes it uses on its enemies. Boasting a speed fast enough to outrun most single-engined fighters, the Bf 110 is nevertheless intended primarily as a defensive weapon. 250 of the type are in service.

Focke-Wulf Fw 187

A unique, twin-engined, single-seat design meant as a long-range fighter, the Fw 187 is only in limited service with the Luftstreitkräfte. Intended as an intermediary between multi-seat heavy fighters and single-seat, single-engine fighters, the Fw 187 features a heavy armament and a high speed of nearly 525 km/h. The intended use for the Fw 187 is something of a debate among air force theorists; some intend for the Fw 187 to supplant the Bf 110 in all respects, while others contend it should only be used for escorting heavy bombers into heavily defended territory. A little more than 70 are in service, but production is not of a high priority.

Attack Aircraft

The Luftstreitkräfte is intended as a defensive force, but even the most defensively-minded of the high command concede that some capability to support offensive operations is required. As such, a couple of types of ground-attack aircraft are in service, though these are less important, in high command's eyes, compared to bombers. It is also felt that medium bombers can fulfill most of the perceived role of the attack aircraft, limiting the attack planes to direct battlefield support, while missions like air interdiction and intrusion are left to bombers.

Henschel Hs 123

Designed to meet Luftstreitkräfte calls for a dive-bomber in the mid 1930s, the Hs 123 is one of the first designed by the locomotive manufacturer Henschel. Constructed of all metal unlike most fabric biplanes before it, the Hs 123 is uniquely capable and strong in its role as a dive-bomber and close support aircraft. However, development of the Junkers Ju 87 a couple of years after the Hs 123 program began, as well as general German disregard of the need for a close-support aircraft, mean that only 128 were built. A couple of dozen were sent to Mittelafrika due to their ruggedness.

Junkers Ju 87

Highly recognizable thanks to its unique gull-wing, the Ju 87 is the primary dive bomber and close support aircraft of the Luftstreitkräfte. Despite this, though, the inherently defensive nature of the Luftstreitkräfte (Air Defense Force) means that the Ju 87 project is somewhat shunned. Sold notably to Turkey, the Ju 87 still has its supporters in Germany, though priority is given to the production of heavy bombers which are thought to guarantee victory in the next war. The Ju 87 is uniquely advanced in a number of features, including its automatic dive pull-out system, but German doctrine means that it is unlikely its full potential will be realized. About 200 are in service, some in Mittelafrika.