All language subtitles for m.m.n.g.i.w.s01e03.1080p.web.h264-cbfm_track3_[eng]

[THEME MUSIC]

[SORROWFUL MUSIC]

[EXPLOSIONS]

NARRATOR: The roots of the
mighty German Luftwaffe of World

War II can be traced to
the bloody battlefield

of the Great War.

At the outbreak of the war
in Europe in August 1914,

aircraft did not enter into
the plans of the belligerents.

While the front-line troops of
all the nations slaughtering

each other on the
far-flung battlefields

counted in the
millions, the number

of total aircraft
deployed by the combatants

amounted to a little over 500
fragile, unarmed monoplanes

and biplanes.

Military pilots were
essentially aerial chauffeurs.

Their job was to ferry an
observer over the countryside

to report on troop movements.

In the first months of the war,
there was plenty to observe,

with the Germans overrunning
Belgium and advancing on Paris.

In the east, German aviators
located the advancing

Russian army, allowing
commanders to move troops

and gave the outnumbered Germans
an epic victory at Tannenberg.

In the west, French aircraft
returned to their base

to report that the enemy's
armies had made a fatal mistake

and exposed their flank.

This allowed the
French to turn the tide

and doomed Europe to four
long years of trench warfare.

From 1915, photography
replaced sketches and notes

as a technique for
aerial reconnaissance.

Aircraft with
unwieldy box cameras

were sent out day after
day over the front

to take photographs of the
endless trenches and gun

emplacements.

With freezing fingers,
observers hung over the sides

of their ship in
gale-like slipstreams

to get a shot at
the enemy below.

The job was unglamorous
and dangerous.

The aircraft had to fly
straight and steady,

making it an inviting target
from ground fire and eventually,

other armed aircraft.

[GUNFIRE]

In addition to observation,
early warbirds began

to drop bombs on the enemy.

At first, the bombs were
nothing more than hand grenades

and converted artillery shells.

But soon, this was
refined to projectiles

capable of destroying
factories and railroads.

By 1917, sturdier
specialized bombers

began to appear with bomb
racks and bomb sights.

Raids were carried
out in daylight

when air superiority allowed it
and at night when it did not.

By the end of the war, aircraft
roamed the front, bombing

bridges and airfields
and strafing troops,

proving that the airplane
had made the battlefield

three-dimensional.

[GUNFIRE]

The third use of the plane in
war was as an attack aircraft.

For the generals,
the only reason

to place guns on an
airplane was to protect

the reconnaissance aircraft.

But for the pilots
and observers,

it was a means to have a
go at the other fellow.

The first recorded
aerial victory

occurred on October 5, 1914,
when a French pusher aircraft

downed a German Aviatik.

For the most part,
firing pistols and flares

had limited effect on a foe
traveling at 90 miles an hour.

Mounting machine guns on their
aircraft would change all that.

[GUNFIRE]

Dutch designer Anthony Fokker
created a propeller interrupter

that allowed a
forward-mounted machine

gun to be placed on a
German Eindecker monoplane,

thus creating the first
true fighter plane.

[CLASSICAL MUSIC]

It was so effective and
took such a horrific toll

on Allied aircraft
that the British

called it the Fokker Scourge.

By 1916, fighter
planes were being

grouped in squadrons as
tactics were developed

for fighting formations.

And a new breed of warrior
was born, the fighter pilot.

[CLASSICAL MUSIC]

As members of Flight Section 62,
Max Immelmann and Oswald Boelcke

were among the first pilots to
receive the Fokker Eindecker.

Immelmann's exploits in the
skies over the Western Front

made him a national hero.

His dominance over Allied
airmen was cut short

when he was killed
in June 1916, when

a faulty interrupter
gear caused him

to blow off his own propeller.

Max's greatest legacy
was a tricky maneuver

called the Immelmann Turn,
a move that is still a crowd

thriller at modern air shows.

Immelmann's student
and replacement

was Oswald Boelcke,
who is considered to be

the father of the dogfight.

Boelcke argued for the
grouping of hand-picked pilots

in fighter squadrons
or Jagdstaffel.

As the leader of Jasta 2,
he passed his knowledge

on too many of Germany's
greatest fliers,

including Manfred
von Richthofen.

Boelcke also set down
the principles of combat

known as Boelcke's Dicta.

Some of these rules stated
that pilots should attack from

behind and out of the sun,
fire only at close range,

and when attacked from above,
turn and face the enemy.

These tactics are
still used today.

In the fall of
1916, he shot down

21 Allied aircraft
in two months,

increasing his total to 40.

As with most of the great aces
of the war, his luck ran out.

On October 28, 1916,
during a fierce dogfight,

he collided with
another German aircraft

and spiraled to
Earth and his death.

[SORROWFUL MUSIC]

In a world of great aviators,
the greatest hunter of the skies

was a charming and
humorous Prussian

known to his admiring foes
simply as the Red Baron.

ACTOR AS MANFRED: "Fight on
and fly on to the last drop

of blood and the
last drop of fuel,

to the last beat of the heart."

Manfred von Richthofen.

NARRATOR: Baron
Manfred von Richthofen

transferred from
the Prussian cavalry

to the air service in 1915.

Having flown as an observer
and a bomber pilot in the East,

he was chosen by Boelcke to
join his Jasta in France.

Eventually, he was given
command of Jasta 11.

Because of its garishly
colored machines,

the British soon christened the
unit Richthofen's Flying Circus.

Having survived a head wound
during a dogfight in July 1917,

Richthofen was pressured
by his superiors

to withdraw from combat.

[CLASSICAL MUSIC]

He was so beloved
by the German people

that it was felt by the
Kaiser that his death would

be a crushing blow
to German morale.

In spite of this concern, during
the 1918 spring offensive,

he climbed back
into the cockpit.

On April 21, the Red Baron's
reign of terror came to an end

when he was shot
through the heart

while pursuing a
British Sopwith.

Whether he was shot by
an Australian machine

gun or Canadian pilot Roy
Brown is still debated.

He came down behind
Allied lines and was

buried with full military honors
by the enemy he terrorized.

His final victory total was
80 Allied aircraft destroyed.

No other pilot would reach
that total until World War II.

These men were part of a rare
breed, soldiers who fought

one-on-one far above
the stench and carnage

in the trenches below.

No matter how they
died, to a generation,

they were the equivalent of
the Knights of the Round Table.

Their exploits and lessons set
the stage for a new generation

of German Knights.

[CLASSICAL MUSIC]

On 11 November 1918, after four
years of costly and fruitless

war, imperial Germany
had little choice

but to accept an armistice.

The Allies were determined to
prevent a German resurgence.

The armistice proposals
were harsh, not least

in terms of German air power.

According to clause four,
Germany was to surrender in good

condition 1,700 fighting
and bombing airplanes,

including all Fokker D.VII
fighters and the entire

night-bombing fleet.

By 12 December 1918, the new
Republican government in Berlin

announced that it had complied.

But according to Allied records,
only 516 land planes and 58

seaplanes had been surrendered.

It was a pattern of duplicity
that was soon to become

the norm for nearly 15 years.

Despite the official disbandment
of the Luftstreitkrafte

in January 1919, the German
forces still had over 9,000

aircraft in their inventories
and had no intention

of sacrificing its air assets.

The situation changed
on 28 June 1919,

when the German delegation
at the peace talks in Paris

was presented with terms
of the Versailles Treaty

and forced to sign.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

The victorious Allies were
now much more insistent.

They prohibited all military
aircraft manufacture in Germany

and gave the fledgling
government three months in which

to hand over all
Air Force equipment.

As a result, the air
industry in Germany

virtually ceased to exist, but
the Germans did not give up.

By 1924, General
Hans von Seeckt,

chief of the army
general staff, had

ensured that a number
of air officers

were retained in the Reichswehr.

In addition, official
support was given

to the new sport of gliding.

Many future Luftwaffe aces gain
their first experience of flight

through the government-backed
Deutsche Luftfahrt.

Of even more significance
was the development

of military links with Russia.

Both Germany and Russia were
worried about the Polls,

and both were
pariah states which

were forced together in
response to widespread hatred

and distrust.

On 16 April 1924,
Berlin and Moscow

created the framework for a
secret air and military alliance

based on a Russian need
for German technology

and a German need for
training facilities

beyond the gaze of the Allies.

There for 11 years, the old
Eagles, World War I officers,

and young eagles, new recruits,
were trained to be the spearhead

of the new Luftwaffe.

As wounds healed
from the Great War,

the victorious
Allies began to lift

some of the restrictions imposed
by the Treaty of Versailles.

This was most apparent in
terms of Civil Aviation.

On 6 January 1926, Lufthansa,
the German national airline,

emerged under the
directorship of Erhard Milch.

Many Lufthansa pilots would
later join the Luftwaffe.

The existence of
commercial aviation

allowed Milch to place
orders with German aircraft

manufacturers for
more modern airplanes,

including what would become
the workhorse of the Luftwaffe,

the trimotor Junkers Ju-52.

Nicknamed Tante
Ju, or Auntie Ju,

and Iron Annie by Axis
and Allied troops,

the Junkers Ju-52
was one of the most

successful designs
of Hugo Junkers

and Junkers Flugzeugwerke.

The Ju-52 was originally
designed as a cargo aircraft.

The initial Ju-52 was a
single-engine aircraft.

But since it lacked the overall
performance Milch was looking

for, Junkers decided to add
two additional engines, which

were both mounted on the wings.

Performance improved
tremendously,

and production of the new
model began immediately.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

In November 1930, the
aircraft was first

presented to the German forces.

And in December
1930, the aircraft

was certified by the DVL.

In February of
1931, the aircraft

was presented to the
public for the first time

at Tempelhof Airport.

The production for the first
12 aircraft of the Ju-52/1M

series was started that spring.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

But Junkers failed
in his forecast

for the demand of
larger cargo aircraft.

Just one Ju-52/1m
was sold to Canada.

When the first seven
aircraft were finished,

Junkers decided to stop further
production of this type.

Annie was down but not out.

When Junkers came
out with the Ju-52/3,

they found their market.

The Ju-52 served as an
airliner for many nations.

Finland, Spain, Sweden, and
Germany were just a few.

It served as a mail
carrier in China

and fitted with floats,
hauled lumber in remote places

in Canada.

Its most common
work, however, was

done with the German Lufthansa.

Equipped with luxuries, like
typewriters and oxygen masks,

the Ju-52 could fly
from Berlin to Rome

in eight hours over the
Alps, an impressive feat

for contemporary aircraft.

A total of 400
passenger airliners

were sold until the
breakout of World War II.

[PATRIOTIC MUSIC]

Plans for the recreation
of a Military Air Force,

a Luftwaffe, were already well
advanced by the late 1920s.

The economic crisis
of 1929 to 1930

put on hold many of
the initial ideas,

but the basic plan remained.

The plans received official
approval on 10 August 1932,

five months before Adolf Hitler
was appointed Reich Chancellor.

Hitler, therefore, inherited
an embryonic Air Force.

But the new Nazi government
gave the Luftwaffe

a much-needed financial boost.

Within hours of
becoming chancellor,

the Nazi leader
appointed World War I

ace and right-hand
man, Hermann Goering,

as head of the Luftwaffe.

However, much of the work of
actually creating the Luftwaffe

fell to Erhard
Milch, who had come

over from Lufthansa in 1933.

One of his first acts
as [SPEAKING GERMAN]

was to order fighter and bomber
aircraft to be produced to boost

the ailing aircraft industry.

These early designs
were only interim fixes.

They included the Heinkel He-51
biplane fighter and the Ju-52

bomber conversion.

But other brand-new designs
were soon on the way.

It is ironic to think that
the Messerschmitt Bf-109,

World War II's
best-known fighter,

was almost discarded
out of hand.

First flown in September
1935, the Bf-109

scored more aircraft kills in
World War II than any other Axis

aircraft and at
various times, served

as an air-superiority
fighter, an escort fighter,

an interceptor, a
ground-attack aircraft,

and a reconnaissance aircraft.

The Bf-109 was also produced
in greater quantities than any

other Axis aircraft of the war
and is the most-produced fighter

aircraft in history with
over 31,000 units built.

Although the Bf-109
had some weaknesses,

including a short range and
troublesome landing gear,

it stayed competitive with
Allied fighter aircraft

until the end of the war.

Bf-109 was the official German
Air Ministry designation

since the design was
sent in by the Bayerische

Flugzeugwerke company.

Because the company was
renamed to Messerschmitt,

some late-war aircraft
actually carried

the ME-109 designations stamped
onto their aircraft-type plates.

ME-109 was the name used
officially by the Luftwaffe

propaganda publications, as well
as by the Messerschmitt company

and Luftwaffe personnel.

Willy Messerschmitt
was originally not

invited to participate
in the competition

to find an all-metal,
monoplane, single-seat fighter

aircraft to replace the
Arado Ar-64 and Heinkel

He-60 biplanes then in service.

This was mainly due to personal
animosity between Messerschmitt

and Erhard Milch,
director of the RLM,

after an earlier
airliner design of his

had proved a disaster
in Lufthansa use.

Nevertheless, Messerschmitt
was on very good terms

with many high-ranking
Luftwaffe officers

based on the success
of the Messerschmitt

Bf-108 Taifun sportsplane.

After a delay of several months,
Bavarian Aircraft Manufacturers,

or BFW, for which Messerschmitt
was head designer,

was invited to take
part in early 1935,

although Milch let
it be known that they

would never win the contract.

Messerschmitt had already
designed much of the Bf-109

by this point.

Like the Bf-108,
the new design was

based on Messerschmitt's
lightweight construction, which,

essentially, aimed to
reduce the total number

of strong parts in the
aircraft as much as possible.

One of the more notable
examples of this

was the mounting of
all structural points

to a strong firewall at
the front of the cockpit,

including the wing spars,
engine mounts, and landing gear.

Another notable
advantage of this design

was that since the landing gear
was attached to the fuselage

itself, it was possible
to completely remove

the wings of the aircraft for
major servicing if necessary,

leaving the fuselage intact
sitting on the landing gear.

[PATRIOTIC MUSIC]

However, this had
one major drawback.

Such a landing-gear arrangement
ensured a very narrow track,

the distance between
the main tires,

which made the plane very
unstable, in terms of balance,

while on the ground.

In fact, the Bf-109
was notoriously

difficult to take off and land.

And many planes simply veered
off or tipped over to one side

during a seemingly perfect run.

To make things worse,
the landing gear

struts were comparatively long.

This left the nose pointing
up at quite a steep angle

with respect to the ground,
making forward visibility

during taxiing virtually zero.

These landing
gear-related problems

plagued the Bf-109
throughout its life

and accounted for a notable
proportion of losses.

The Bf-109 took its first
flight tests in September 1935.

It was then sent to the
Luftwaffe test center

at Rechlin to take
part in the contest.

It was soon a front-runner
in the contest

as the Arado and
Focke-Wulf entries

proved to be
hopelessly outdated.

[SINGING IN GERMAN]

In March, the RLM received
news that the Spitfire had

been ordered into production,
and a form of mass panic

broke out.

12 days later, the Bf-109 B-1
was ordered into production,

setting the stage
for the greatest

air confrontation of all time.

[CLASSICAL MUSIC]

Even before the Great
War, the airship

was fixed in the minds of the
public as a symbol of terror.

As early as 1908, HG Wells
had described an airship raid

on New York that left that
city in ruins and blazing

conflagrations and heaped
and scattered dead.

It was a vision that
did not go unnoticed

by some military commanders.

Capt. Peter Strasser, head of
the German Navy's airship fleet,

believed that Britain could be
overcome by means of airships.

The Germans had no
monopoly on the intent

to bomb enemy cities
and industrial centers,

but they did have the lead
in airship technology.

And in 1914, airships
were the only aircraft

capable of carrying large
bomb loads far enough

to strike strategic targets.

However, at this
stage of the war,

no nation's air service was
capable of fulfilling Wells's

vision of aerial destruction.

Traveling at under
50 miles per hour,

metal-framed Zeppelins and
plywood-framed Schutte-Lanzes

revealed serious
drawbacks in combat.

[GUNFIRE]

They presented large,
tempting targets

for gunners on the ground and
nimble fighters in the air.

The one weapon the airship
had in its favor was stealth.

On a moonless night,
despite the bulk,

Zeppelins could evade
detection and pursuit.

The great airships
became night raiders.

The Imperial German
army and Navy

used airships to bomb a
variety of strategic targets

under the cover of
darkness, including Paris.

But the most prized
target was London.

German schoolchildren
learn to sing

"Zeppelin, fly, fly to England.

England will burn in fire."

The arrival of airships
over Britain in 1915

made a deep impression on the
helpless civilian population.

Yet, airship commanders
found mounting

a sustained campaign risky.

Flying from bases in
the north of Germany,

or occupied Belgium, to Britain
and back in pitch darkness

was a dangerous task.

Once Britain deployed night
fighters and ground batteries

armed with incendiary
ammunition,

travel to London
under the vast gasbags

seemed like a very bad idea.

From the start of
the war, the Germans

had wanted to use
heavier-than-air aircraft

for strategic bombing but
lacked a suitable machine

until the advent of the
Gotha two-engine bombers.

The Gothas began raids on
Britain in the summer of 1917

with impressive effect.

Both the air defenses and
the civilian population

were unprepared for
formations of bombers

attacking in broad daylight.

When 14 Gothas appeared over
London for the first time

on June 13, crowds of people ran
into the streets to watch them.

The bombs falling on
them killed 162 people.

The Gothas flew faster
than the Zeppelins

and were far harder
to shoot down.

When flying in formation,
they could dish out

heavy punishment to
pursuing aircraft

from their combined firepower.

Because they could be
produced much more quickly

and cheaply than airships,
they could be deployed

in far greater numbers.

The final assessment of
World War I strategic bombing

was not encouraging.

At that stage of
development, air power

could not disrupt
production, nor weaken

the population's will to fight.

Bombing was costly
and inaccurate.

[EXPLOSIONS]

[PATRIOTIC MUSIC]

[SINGING IN GERMAN]

On February 26,
1935, Adolf Hitler

ordered Hermann Goering to
reinstate the Luftwaffe,

breaking the Treaty of
Versailles signed in 1919.

[SINGING IN GERMAN]

Although the new Air Force was
to be run totally separately

from the army, it
retained the tradition

of according army ranks to
its officers and airmen.

It is said that Hermann
Goering personally

chose an emblem
for the Luftwaffe

that differed from that of
the other armed branches.

The eagle, an old symbol
of the German empire,

remained, but in
another posture.

While the Wehrmacht
eagle held firmly

with both claws, the
symbol of the Nazi party,

the Luftwaffe eagle held the
swastika only with one claw,

while the other was bent
in a threatening gesture.

Goering may have designed the
emblem of the new Luftwaffe,

but much of the work on
creating the Air Force

fell to Erhard
Milch, who had come

over from Lufthansa in 1933.

[SINGING IN GERMAN]

As bombers, most German
aircraft did not fit Milch's

demands, none except Annie.

The Ju-52/3M was to become
a temporary bomber solution

until dedicated
bomber aircraft would

become available in Germany.

[SINGING IN GERMAN]

In 1934, the Junkers
Flugzeugwerke

received an order for a total of
1,200 Ju-52/3M bomber aircraft.

The company redesigned
the Ju-52/3M and added two

machine-gun turrets in the rear
cabin, one in the roof and one

in the bottom of the aircraft.

The passenger cabin was
redesigned as the bomb

compartment, where
up to 32 50-kilogram

bombs could be placed.

As the Ju-52 bomber was
developed from the Ju-52/3M ge,

officially these bombers
were designated Ju-52/3M 3E.

In July 1936, a total of 20
Ju-52/3M ge were sent to Spain,

where civil war was on its way.

These aircraft became the first
aircraft of the newly formed

Luftwaffe to enter war action.

[EXPLOSIONS]

These early designs
were only interim fixes.

They included the Heinkel He-51
biplane fighter and the Ju-52

bomber conversion.

The next step was to find a
high-speed, medium bomber.

That was found in
another plane originally

designed as an airliner,
much like the Ju-52.

In the early 1930s, Ernst
Heinkel decided to build

the world's fastest
passenger plane,

a lofty goal met with more
than a little skepticism

by the German aircraft
industry and its newly

evolving political leadership.

To everyone's surprise, they
delivered on the promise,

delivering an aircraft superior
to the already-fast Lockheed

9 Orion, the He-111
Dopple-Blitz,

or Double Lightning.

The design immediately
garnered the interest

of the Luftwaffe
brass, which was

looking for any
design that could be

pressed into military service.

The He-111 V1 was completed
as a bomber prototype

and kept secret.

It first flew in February
1935 and was followed quickly

by the civilian-equipped V2.

The V2 had a smaller wing
and used the bomb bay

as a four-seat
smoking compartment

with another six seats behind
it in the rear fuselage.

The V2 entered
service with Lufthansa

in 1936, along with
five newly built

versions known as the He-111C.

The V3 was also completed
as a bomber prototype.

It supplanted the main
bomb bay with smaller bays

in the inner wings and
was armed with three

MG-15 machine guns for defense.

10 He-111 A-0 models based
on the V3 were built,

but they proved
to be underpowered

and were eventually
sold to China.

In early 1936, the V3 was fitted
with 950-horsepower Daimler-Benz

DB 600A engines, and
performance jumped

to about 225 miles per hour.

The Luftwaffe placed orders
for over 381 He-111B models.

Some of these planes
were sent to Spain

to serve with the Legion
Condor, where they proved

to be able to outfly
the majority of fighters

sent to intercept them.

It appeared that the
light three-gun armament

was more than enough
to handle fighters

that managed to catch them.

This would lead the Luftwaffe
into a false sense of security,

as the days of the bomber being
faster than the fighters would

be short lived and
the woeful armament

would soon prove to be deadly.

The fuselage bomb bay used four,
and in later versions eight,

modular standard bomb racks
designed to carry one SC-250

250-kilogram bomb or four
SC-50 50-kilogram bombs

each in nose-up orientation.

This resulted in the bombs
doing a flip as they were

dropped out of the aircraft.

These modular
standard bomb racks

were a common feature
on the first generation

of Luftwaffe bombers,
including the Junkers Ju-52.

But it turned out that they
limited the ordnance selection

to bombs of only two sizes.

The He-111 became a "jack of all
trades" as the war progressed,

carrying out missions
not even imagined

even when the war started.

In 1936, the Luftwaffe
got an ideal opportunity

to test its young
pilots, new aircraft,

and revolutionary tactics.

Germany sent a volunteer
force of aviators and aircraft

to Spain in support of the
anti-Republican government

revolt led by Gen.
Francisco Franco.

In July 1936, a total of 20
Ju-25/3M ge were sent to North

Africa to airlift
General Franco's troops

to the Spanish mainland.

These aircraft became
the first aircraft

of the newly-formed Luftwaffe
to enter war action.

While the aircraft, at first,
were used to ferry some 10,000

Moorish troops from
Morocco to Spain, they

were used as bombers, as well.

German military assistance
expanded rapidly

in the succeeding months.

At the beginning of November,
it was officially amalgamated

into the Condor Legion.

This consisted of 100
airplanes and 5,000 men under

the command of Hugo Sperlle.

By rotation of the contingents,
a total of approximately 20,000

Germans served in
Spain and received

valuable combat experience.

Adolf Hitler justified this
involvement as part of a fight

against Bolshevism.

The Spanish Civil
War also provided

the Germans with the opportunity
to test new weapons and tactics.

The Messerschmitt Bf-109
fighter, Heinkel He-111 medium

bomber, and later,
the Junkers Ju-87

Stuka dive bomber first
saw active service

in the Condor Legion.

These aircraft played a major
role during the early years

of the Second World War.

Luftwaffe markings
were replaced so

as not to make the world believe
that Germany was actively

supporting the revolt.
Instead of the Nazi party's

swastika on the tail, the German
planes used the nationalist Air

Force aircraft markings.

The Condor Legion also
included non-aircraft units.

There were Panzer crews with
Panzerkampfwagen I light tanks

commanded by Wilhelm
Ritter von Thoma, destined

to be second in command
of the Afrika Korps

and sailors who trained
Franco's Naval forces.

The Germans also tested
their 88-millimeter heavy

anti-aircraft
artillery, which they

used to destroy
Republican tanks,

fortifications, and planes.

On November 4, 1936,
Russian fighters near Madrid

shot down the first Ju-52.

A further six aircraft were shot
down during the next few weeks.

It became obvious that
the Ju-52 was too slow,

and all Ju-52
bombers were retired

in Spain until April 1937.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

Few aircraft in World
War II earned their place

in aviation history
with as much pure infamy

as the Junkers
Ju-87 dive bomber.

One of the most
important requirements

for the new Luftwaffe
was a dive bomber

to support ground operations.

This was fulfilled by the
Junkers Ju-87 heavy dive bomber,

popularly known as the Stuka.

After Hitler came
to power in 1933,

work began to convert
the theoretical concept

of the dive bomber into
a real force in Germany.

Ernst Udet, the head of the
aircraft-development program

of the Reich Luftwaffe,
was very impressed

with the demonstrations
of a Curtiss aircraft

he saw in the USA in 1933.

After he had flown
the Curtiss Hawk,

he bought two, which he
demonstrated in Germany.

These American aircraft
helped to advance the case

of the dive bomber in Germany.

The emphasis on the Stuka
indicated a growing preference

among German planners
for dive bombers

rather than level bombers.

It was felt that the former
were likely to be much more

accurate against
pinpoint targets

such as troops' concentrations.

This was true, and
the Stuka would soon

be feared throughout Europe,
but it diverted resources

from the development of
the so-called Ural bomber,

which was planned
for strategic attacks

on long-range enemy targets.

This created an unbalanced
force that the Luftwaffe

would pay dearly for over
England and in Russia.

[WHIRRING]

[EXPLOSIONS]

In late 1936, three Ju-87
A-1s were sent to Spain

for operational evaluation.

The Ju-87 B-1 followed them.

The A-models had not
been very successful

in combat, mainly because
of technical shortcomings.

But the Ju-87B proved
to be effective.

They were used to
attack bridges,

command posts, artillery
positions, and ships in harbor.

[EXPLOSION]

[GUNFIRE]

[EXPLOSIONS]

NARRATOR: In Spain, the
Stuka legend would begin,

and the Luftwaffe would finally
get a chance to show its teeth.

[PATRIOTIC MUSIC]

The bombing of the town of
Guernica on 27 April 1937

gave the Luftwaffe
an opportunity

to test its bombing
tactics and brought fierce

international condemnation.

Although not the first
town to be attacked,

the sheer scale of
the destruction,

with over 250 killed and
60% of the houses destroyed,

was a clear foretaste of what
would happen to many cities

during the Second World War.

[SINGING IN GERMAN]

Following the
experiences in Spain,

the RLM stopped the production
of the Ju-52 3M bombers,

but the Ju-52s had proved their
capabilities for transport

missions in Spain.

Therefore, the RLM declared the
Ju-52 as the standard transport

aircraft of the Luftwaffe.

Between 1935 and 1944,
Junkers Flugzeugwerke

designed a total of 14
different Ju-52 transporters.

Later, in World War II, the
Ju-52s served in every theater

in which Germany participated.

[SINGING IN GERMAN]

Both the B1 and B2
versions of Bf-109

saw combat with
the Condor Legion

during the Spanish
Civil War, where

it was soon discovered that
the armament was inadequate.

Hitler then used the war in
Spain as an opportunity to field

test the upgunned Bf-109E.

[SINGING IN GERMAN]

The production version E1 Emil
kept the four MG-17 machine

guns, but many of them
were later field-modified

to the E3,E4 weapon standard
by exchanging the wing-mounted

MG-17s with MG-FFM cannons.

This would be the version
that would do battle

with the British Spitfire.

[SINGING IN GERMAN]

In Spain, valuable
lessons were learned.

The most striking was the
superiority of German aircraft

once second-generation
designs had been developed.

[SINGING IN GERMAN]

At the same time,
tactics had been refined.

These ranged from the
plans for ground attack

to the finger-four
fighter technique,

whereby pairs of wingmen
provided flexible and mutual

support in aerial combat.

The latter was
perfected by Werner

Molders when he commanded
elements of Jagdgruppe 88

in Spain.

It was used to great effect
in the air war over Europe.

[PENSIVE MUSIC]

[THEME MUSIC]