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@Military Aviation Dear Bismarck ! As an expatriate Englishman living and working in Hamburg since 1970, whose father was in the RAF from 1943 to 1965, I have always been extremely interested in the aviation history of WWII of both sides. I also worked in the 1970's with several veterans of the Luftwaffe, from a former bomber pilot to ground crew senior NCO's. They sometimes told stories from the war and your video confirms the complaints they often had pertaining to the inability of the Luftwaffe High Command to comprehend the enormous difficulties they had during a Russian winter. But my real question is, whether you have contemplated making a follow up video regarding the logistical supply problems the Luftwaffe had in the winter of 1942-43 and with its impossible task of supplying the German troops cut off in the Stalingrad pocket ? I would have some interesting information for you and your viewers from the "horse's mouth", so to say, regarding this issue. Thanks for your extremely interesting and informative video(s) and keep up the excellent work ! All the best, from Steve. 🌟🌟🌟
No worries, Biz. More Patreon money = loss of revenue for YT. Give it time and shareholders will notice. Your channel provides valuable, historical history and critique of WWII in an interesting and engaging format. We've got your six, buddy.
I grew up in Swedish Lappland (80's). Most people do not understand the problem of serious cold. You have to actually try to work outside in -25 or worse to understand how hard it is. And that is when you are properly prepared with good clothing etcetera. Another prolbem every side in the war would have had: the metal gets brittle when temperature gest down to -30 celsius or more. As in really brittle. You would have metal fatigue problem like nothing seen if they flew when it was to cold.
I can personally attest to this - I was a maintenance technician on fighters and then a maintenance officer on C-130s in Canada. At your home base you could put the aircraft in a hanger if need be but I spent a month above the arctic circle with two C-130s parked outside. The temperatures were lows of -43 Celsius and highs of -38 Celsius and we had to maintain a 30 minute alert status, that is the aircraft had to be in the air within 30 mins of the bells going off at 3 AM and all personnel are in bed asleep. This seems like a long time when compared to fighters but it is quick for a four engine, multi-crew aircraft. Everything becomes difficult and prolonged at these temperatures, whether it be aircraft maintenance or simply getting through all those layers when nature calls. :) This is assuming that everything is serviceable - but the real headaches start when something breaks. It was exciting for sure but I don't miss it!
I fly civil aircraft in Canada. We try not to fly unless we absolutely have to when it’s below -20*C because it is really hard on the engine cylinders and it only gets colder as you increase in altitude. Carb and airframe icing become problematic. Cabin heat becomes pretty ineffective as well. Light alloys and plastics get super brittle too.
I grew up in Edmonton Alberta Canada now in Texas. At -10c a .22 rim fire would fail. We would hunt rabbits and keep the rifles clip in a inside pocket until we needed to shoot. 5 mins in the rifle at -10c and the bullets would become too cold to fire. lower than -20 it's all about survival. Go outside too long and you won't survive. To fight in that type of cold would be hell on earth.
@ Richard Travers - 35 downed German planes in ww2? Good work! One hopes and wishes that there were many more Luftwaffe mechanics with skills, dedication and ingenuity that were equal to or even lower than that of your grandad! :) :)
ahaha Most of what you describe for preparing the plane and starting is every day winter life for bush pilots in the Canadian north ( and Alaska) . One days with a temp below -55 C the trottles was frozen solid even if the engines was plugged and heated . I all so have my wheels stuck due to my brakes beeing frozen . Désoler pour mon Anglais ;)
In very cold (-40C) weather, the grease in the wheel axle gets too stiff, combined with the pressure of the tires having gone down a bit, and on landing, the tire starts spinning on the rim, breaking off the valve stem. Tire or tires go flat on landing.
Minus 25C is tolerable but minus 40C gets really nasty (especially if it's windy) and in Canada we pretty much have that every winter for several weeks.
I also looked into the DB601 a little bit, it has a fluid coupling drive for the supercharger. Definatly seems theres alot of reason to pre heat the engine before starting.
What were the particulars of the English mixing ( injecting) gas into the oil for the different temps. Has been too many years since I have read that information.
Excellent video. I loved the details. Too often people forget that the logistics are so critical. As a former combat engineer, and later a cavalry and armor officer, I know all too well how conditions, supplies, the ability to adapt, and other similar items affect performance. I particularly liked the discussion of theory versus reality! I ran across that all too often.
PanzerDave you probably already know the logistics nightmare that the Russian plain caused the Wehrmacht. The had oil shortages for sure and relied on rail to bring supplies to the battle. Get too far from your train depot and you were in deep doodoo.
@@insideoutsideupsidedown2218 Indeed I do. I used to study this and it was quite interesting. As Bismark pointed out in this video, the conditions and solutions that were amazing for the Luftwaffe were similarly difficult for the army. Often they would drain the oil at night, then they would heat it and pour it back into the engines so they would be easier to start. They also had a hot water exchange system where a running tank could plug into a non running tank and heat the engine for easier starting. Other interesting solutions included parking on straw or other material so the tanks wouldn't freeze and stick to the ground. I recall reading of some crews who started small fires under the tanks to warm the engines. Specialty vehicles were used to serious field repairs and often there was a lot of improvisation being done. The basic act of survival was difficult enough but working on top of this was even more difficult. One advantage of the Panzer Mark IV was that like the Sherman, it had externally mounted road wheel assemblies, thus simplifying replacement. Tanks like the Panzer III, Panther, and others (Today's tanks too) have torsion bars or other interior mounted suspensions which can be difficult to replace. I have had a few of those break and even in cantonment are usually a pain to replace. Thankfully I never had to replace on on the Eastern Front! You mentioned earlier about getting too far from the rail depot. What a lot of people don't realize is that the rail gauges were different so the Germans had to change the gauge as the advanced.
@@PanzerDave Tracks are very susceptible to freezing to the ground. And when you put a vehicle into gear and let out the clutch, you can kiss that gear goodbye. The teeth just snap off. I've done some heavy equipment operating in Winter. Nothing is fun about it, lol.
This was a great video on an important but usually completely overlooked topic. Keeping piston engine airplanes operating in extreme cold is tough even in peacetime. I'm really glad you made this video, I know it's not a glamorous topic that will attract huge numbers of views, but it's important information that is really hard to find. Typically this topic is only covered with a sentence or two in book, you went into more detail on this than I have ever seen before.
Great video👍🏻. Winter flying even for civilian peacetime operations can be a massive challenge. All the points you made....but other factors weigh in as well. For example, even a fine coating of ice crystals the texture of sandpaper on the wings can cause a surprising loss of lift which can cause significant takeoff issues. Always a problem, but more so when an airplane is “combat” loaded . Heating the engine with external gas heaters helps limber things up, but the heating is uneven and you still end up with cold starts in many internal areas (and associated wear) which greatly reduces the service life of an engine. Plus, the heaters can actually melt rubber hoses, baffles, etc., due to localized hot spots. I never let anyone use a “dragon” on my airplane. If it is cold soaked from being outside I just won’t fly....obviously not an option in a combat situation. Most aircraft are air cooled. When flying, super cold air will shock cool the front cylinders (or all cylinders if it’s a radial) especially if you have to “chop and drop” to get at a target in a combat situation. Plus, the cold air is much denser and the resultant mixture of air and fuel in a carbureted engine will be much leaner than operations at normal temperatures. This too can cause premature wear in an aircraft engine. Abrupt power changes, and steep dives in super cold temperatures, can flat out cause seizing of the supercooled cylinders. Hell...even looking out the windscreen on initial start/taxi/takeoff when it is cold can be a problem. The warm air you exhale condenses on the windows and you can’t see anything until you are moving fast enough to get enough air moving in the cockpit for the water to vaporize again. None of this takes into account the massive difficulty of actually working on an airplane outdoors (read stuck fingers). Forget the effect of these temperatures on flight instruments and hydraulic systems, I don’t know how these guys did it. It must have been hell.
I can only imagine the hell that these men faced on the ground. I am a heavy equipment mechanic that works in -30 to -50 C in the winter and even with modern technology, life can be hell. Try putting a nut on a bolt wearing winter gloves...it doesn't work. Then you take your gloves off and you have about 10 minutes before frostbite sets in. After 10 minutes without gloves you have to go warm up for 20 minutes (and warming up is very painful...). There have been times where I spent 48 hours working, sleeping for an hour or two after every repair...
I probably dont have to tell you this, but please be careful when working that hard in -50C conditions. That huge amount of work in those conditions can be downright deadly. Its fricken hell on your body. Stay safe bro
What abaut the Russian, have they not the same problems?? Not only in air force, but in generel. I also thinking that the Wehrmagt have work with Russian up in the late therties, they must have some expirian of that
In "Red star vs swastika" by Vasily Yemalyanenko,he described similar problems from the Soviet side.He mentions whole squadrons of aircraft that they waited for snow to melt so they could recover them.
Thank you for a very thorough review of maintenance and it’s problems. Having been involved in industrial maintenance for 45 years I can say that when management never goes out and observers the working conditions they KNOW that everything is easy. Also if you spend hour after hour working in extreme cold, the moment you walk into a warm area you fall asleep as soon as you stop moving, at least that was my experience.
Same here. I worked winter construction in Ontario, Canada batching concrete in -20C until 2:00 am after the forms were prepared. Most times when I got home (across the street - lucky) I don't even remember going to bed. Just up the stairs to the apartment, taking off winter clothes and out like a light in just about the amount of time it took to get out of my clothes. After 8 hours at those temps going from cold to warm is like being hit by an anesthetic. Also you need to up your calorie intake radically to compensate for the extra amount you go through exerting yourself in winter conditions.
@@deltavee2 When I worked with a great crew we were working on the roof of a building next to the river during the winter. No one would leave the roof till the job was done. At the end of the day eight of us walked into the stairwell. When I woke up the steps looked like a sci-fi movie , bodies everywhere on the steps. All of us fell asleep before we got to the first landing. Funny but a lesson. Thanks for your reply.
Very informative and interesting video ! It comes as no real surprise that operating in extreme cold temperatures makes literally EVERYTHING much, much more difficult to put it mildly.
Mr Bismark, another excellent video, thanks. As the saying goes, arm chair generals talk about tactics, professionals talk about logistics and moving the tonnages needed to support the main effort. I've spent several winters in Norway during my military service so I have a good insight into operational issues, not least of which, fingers sticking to cold metal. Cheers.
I once read reports of a unofficial group of ragtag pilots fighting on the Eastern Front, around 41/42 too, from a variety of countries, they called themselves "The Luftwaffe Pirates" Know anything about it?
the further into the video the more i can hear the disgruntled noises from the technicians and the logistics staff. i dont envy those poor sods who have to work in the winter.
Kind of ironic that the German inability to recover aircraft actually helped preserve some of them to be recovered decades later. The cold also seemed to help preserve them.
As a Quality Control practitioner I just loved you comparison to what should happen to what really happens. Good to see nothing has changed over the years.. Love your work. Cheers.
I served in the Canadian army and we did winter exercises in the north in 20 and 30 below. We had to keep our diesel trucks idling at night because if we parked them they would not start in the morning. One morning after fueling my truck I turned on the fuel pre heater and then got in to press the starter button with out my glove. What I got felt like a severe burning feeling. My skin within the space of an hour went from red to a waxy white after a few days my skin that was exposed dried and fell off . All the time it hurt like hell the skin eventually grew back. Winter warfare is no joke even with winter footwear we sometimes stood in line to let vehicle exhausts play against our boots for added warmth.
When one compares the professionality of the dedicated airfield construction units of both British and US Air Forces, in Italy and in North West Europe, with their implementation of prefabricated metal sheeting for the runways and so-called Nissen huts for utility buildings and barracks, the preparations of the Luftwaffe in this field was rudimentary in the extreme, making the duties of Luftwaffe personnel in already harsh environmental conditions that much more difficult. German efficiency was and is a by- word, but as far as the organization of airfield construction was concerned, the status was at times as basic as in the First World War. Nobody in the Luftwaffe high command seems to have bothered to address these downfalls, and Goering was more concerned with gathering an art collection and hunting at Carinhall to concern himself with such basic things.
The Germans were constantly gambling on being able to win a short sharp war and thus not having to worry about logistics which matters more in a long war of attrition. As opportunities came up, they kept gambling even more, raising the stakes still higher, attacking here, then there, launching campaigns they had not adequately prepared for. Eventually, inevitably, the dice came up snake-eyes. The Western Allies spent years preparing for offensive operations, including on a logistics level. They were helped by having vast amounts of fuel, much shorter supply lines on land, ocean borne transport being much cheaper, their enemy having far less strategic depth, the overall environment being far better built-up (road, rail, airfields, etc), lack of partisans in their rear, and conditions being better than the deep cold of the Russian land interior especially in winter 41-42.
It's not much different today either, the operational costs of a fighter wing can cost millions just for one sorty your flying!!!!! Don't forget logistics as well, you have to ensure they're getting supplies regularly to ensure everything runs smoothly......
@@touristguy87 Well depends what your doing in the sortie, from a bombing run to engaging enemy fighters, do you know how much an Aim-9 Sidewinder is these days? Imagine getting into a dogfight and firing a few of them off? It will cost millions.
Realy liked this one. That's the stuff no war movie shows. The day to day operations. The - in this case quite literal - nuts and bolts of modern warfare. Made worse by the local conditions, both from mother nature and man-made. Some things said here felt quite familiar - minus the cold and the whole shooting at each other thing that is... Working hard, and then having your work made harder by bone-headed descisions made by higher-ups who don't understand what you are doing. Been there, done that... The part about the 8. Flieger Korps not being issued skids because they were not meant to operate in in winter conditions when the equipment list was aproved, reminded my of the old Radio Eriwan joke: Q: "Why is the new chimp in the moscow zoo fed with fish and not bananas?" A: "because his cage was built on a spot originaly intended to house the sea lions..."
I appreciate all the research you do in order to get primary resources and therefore the most accurate to what it was like in those days to keep the planes flying in this bitter cold weather. Great job!
Thanks Bismarck, another outstanding video. I had no idea that these conditions were so bad (I live in Australia - cold means 10 deg C here!!) and it's a credit to their human spirit to continue working in such bad conditions. Apart from having to fight a war, they suffered the totally crippling situation of a management team who gave orders without knowing what was really needed; or the state of the working conditions. The war may have ended but some things never change!
I worked on a drilling rig in northern Saskatchewan during winter, and it got down to -50 degrees Celsius some nights. I can tell you that working at those temperatures is absolutely the worst experience of my entire life. This was with modern winter clothing, and being well fed and well rested in a warm house every night, talking to my wife every day, etc. We had a boiler on site which needed to be tended every few hours to ensure it worked properly, and had steam hoses throughout the rig to thaw out the ice and keep equipment running. Have you ever been so desperate that you intentionally pointed a 400 degrees steam hose at yourself just to feel something other than cold? At least most of the work and tools could be used with gloves/mitts on, but if you had to do something that required more dexterity, you had to take them off to do the job. Everything was made out of metal, everything was hard, loud, cold, and could kill you if you weren't at 100% all the time. You can get an idea of what it was like in those conditions, but like, most people don't really ~know~ what it's like. Great video! Sorry, I always find a way to complain about my time on a rig when I can haha.
you could have mentioned that the airfield was usually leveled by locals forced from the nearest village. women and children would tread the snow pressing it even with their feet. also, Luftwaffe employed the largest number of HiWis among all
Great video as always! I've never given much thought to actually how much manpower and supplies are needed in those temperatures. I can't imagine what people on both sides had to go through in the name of war
i had never considered aircraft recovery on the eastern front, and to think the bf109 rapidly gained a reputation for its ease of recovery and transport
Im surprised the Luftwaffe didnt design something like a small building about the size of a large shed that could be broken down into sections small enough to be transportable by a single horse. Something like that would be perfect for like a base HQ along with seperate ones as barracks for the crew, etc. Get a few of those and you've got the building/not freezing to death in your sleep part down
A mere fun fact: the thumbnail is inspired by a photo from a book "The Forgotten Soldier" written by Guy Sajer (Guy Mouminoux) about his fighting experience on the Eastern Front in the Wermacht.
@@musicbruv It actually seems to depend entirely how one accesses RU-vid. If you do it over your internet browser, an Ad Blocker will successfully block all adverts. If you however access YT directly via your Google account, adverts will be shown regardless whether an Ad Blocker is installed or not. I use both methods, as the Google access is slightly better in quality, for some unknown reason - as least to me. Why this all should be is also beyond my computer related technical prowess, but one cannot know everything in life, I suppose. 😋
I came across a guy in an auto shop who had been at the "Chosin Reservoir" at the beginning of the Korean War. He talked about how the cold slowed everything down. When I did my piddling two years in Germany I was surprised by how cold it got, but It still didn't compare to Operation Barbarossa. When I was at Wildflecken, Germany the snow stayed on the ground for the whole winter season, but you could get used to it. I don't see how anyone could get used to -30 C weather for long periods of time.
Around 1976 I spent a few months in the winter at Eielson AFB in Alaska as an Air Force KC-135 aircraft commander. The aircraft were parked, unsheltered, in the bitter cold. Even being careful, I blew heavy ground equipment across the ice-covered ramp twice with engine exhaust as we taxied out to the runway. My crew and I didn't get warm until we leveled of 30,000 feet up north of the base. We took off once and the landing gear would not retract due frozen components. Thus, I empathize with pilots and especially ground crews doing their jobs under much worse conditions. -
Great video and well presented, Unbelievable what the Luftwaffe ground crews had to work through everyday to keep the planes in action, working in exstreme cold is a proper bugger, as a truck driver throwing chains on in minus 40 c is not pleasant or easy so could only imagine what it was like on the eastern front for both sides
So awesome Bismarck - what a brilliant Historian you are - this is so excellent I cannot praise it more than that - thank you - I am an avid Eastern Front student - thank you......
@@MilitaryAviationHistory got your channel email address - sending you an email about a project I am working on that I think you will find very interesting - enjoy.........
As usual with the Eastern Front (which I have been studying for over twenty years) it is such an enormously complex Theatre that has only in recent times received the attention it deserves. 30 years ago there was scant evidence other than a few memoirs and painfully repeated war footage that hardly helped other than to build many of the myths and misconceptions that are being revised now. It is true the air war on the Ostfront is mostly a footnote, I believe because most historians of note with a few exceptions could only publish works on Aviation history that centred around the Western Allies experiences. A friend even remarked to me once 'Did the Soviets actually have bombers?' - such is the lack of information about air operations other than the cricket scores the Luftwaffe racked up in the early days of Barbarossa. I myself cannot name any significant air battles other than the popular legends of Hans - Ulrich Rudel, and some other scant references ALWAYS associated with the respective ground wars. I often encourage gaming producers, historians and others to dig deeper when it comes to the German-Soviet war as I believe there is still much to uncover.
Having worked 2 winters on ground operations at Minneapolis airport, I get a glimpse of working with heavy loads with aircraft in cold weather. It rings familiar, just 10 times worse.
Such an enlightening video on a very tricky subject, what a good job Bis! Cannot imagine the amount of research behind it. Oh by the way your English accent is getting better and better in my French opinion :D Take care man o7
An old timer told me how in they used to squirt a pint of fuel from the gas hose into the oil, and turn the engine over to dilute the oil with gasoline to thin it out. The excess gas would safely vent off as the engine warmed.
This vid reminds me of when I had to get my C-5 warmed up after crew-resting in Fairbanks, Alaska, in -60°F. I can appreciate the type of weather those Luftwaffe boys were dealing with, trying to get an aircraft launched.
I fixed B-1 bombers in Grand Forks ND. The flight line shut down routinely at -40F with wind chill during the winters there. Saying that it sucked is an understatement... This brought back some memories.
I like your style, Menshen. I just read a long book about Stalingrad and I really feel for those boys out there outside the history books. The Russians also suffered appalling losses but not so much is said about this in the West. Hitler and Stalin's ultimate pissing contest. It's terrible to think about. I'd like to see more about how the soviets came back in '42 from your POV ...
As usual great review, I always knew it was really bad on the eastern front but these things that you pointed out just goes to show that it was worse than really bad
Fascinating subject. Must have been very tough for the ground crew and pilots. Any information on the Soviet’s and how they survived similar conditions? Great work btw, .
Many years ago I read in a book about the luftwaffe how Germans learned how to start an aircraft engine by opening up the cowlings, placing a retainer on the ground, filling it up with an oil and gas mixture and lighting it. The temperature rise would be enough to lower the engine oils thickness but not enough to damage parts like fuel lines, electric connectors and such. They had learned this trick from apprehended Russian personnel who shared this tip without them being forced to.
You did a wonderful job explaining how Winter effects outdoor work. I live in Northern Iowa, and the struggle is real! lol -- The world now has modern fuels, oils, and greases. Minus 4 F. / 20 C. isnt that big of a problem for us today. But you can only imagine what a problem a crankcase full of frozen oil was back then. Especially on aircraft, whose parts may not be as robust as regular vehicles. I should think that trying to start a frozen engine could cause breakage to the starter or other parts.
Love the videos! Can you make a video or 2 making some model planes, like the Ju-87G Tankbuster, or P-51D-Mustang? Also, I doubt you haven't yet, but if ever possible will you/have you toured the B17 or Ju-87? Keep up the great work!
Bismark, please: Do you have access to information on the specific tricks that the German and/or Soviet flyers used to get their equipment to work in such extreme environment? For example I've read that the Soviets used to mix fuel in their engines' oil to liquefy it in ass-freezing weather (Erich Hartmann memoirs) and that a Soviet prisoner showed them how it was done. Another story suggests the Soviets did not use oil but Diesel fuel to oil their weapons (no source here). How much truth is there and do you know any others? Keep up the great work! Cheers!
I know that Fighter Wing 21(Swedish fighter wing during the winter war) did have smale mobile "divide house" they encapsulated the front of the airplane to give the mecanics some protection agenst the weather.
As a retired Power Lineman who has spent many days working to restore power during and after Ice Storms here in North America, I can only imagine the hardships the Eastern Front soldier had to endure to keep the War machine running. For me working outside on poles for 7 days in freezing cold temps made the stories in history books I read come alive. Hat's off to the Northern American Linemen who are still keeping the lights on through their winters.
I grew up in Northern Alberta, Canada where the temperature could go to -30/-40 C for days on end. I know that operating and maintaining any type of machinery is a pain in the ass. With numb, bare fingers, the simple act of threading a nut onto a stud requires time, care, and concentration, all while you struggle think straight....and don't drop it!
Love your use of primary sources. As a history buff I see that most content is just some aspect of commonly known events. However details on the very long war that occurred on the eastern front are rare. Hopefully you'll be able to afford a studio grade microphone soon. Keep up the good work!
When the pilots talked about lighting fires under their planes just to heat them up enough to get them started you know that winter in Russia doesnt fuck around
It is nearly imposible for people who have not experienced it to understand how tired one gets from just the cold alone and when also working hard its easily more than double as bad as usual...
Strikes me a the whole scenario of trying to operate under those conditions was something that both sides had a learning curve to overcome. A lot of previously unknown issues reared their ugly heads when least needed. Definitely a lot of food for thought that likely got studied & discussed pretty hard thru the rest of 42 to try to prepare for 42/43. Be interesting to compare the supply req's issued to prepare for 42/43 vs the ones in the winter of 41/42, likely a lot different from one year to the next. Nice vid.
Most of their arms were designed with really cold winters in mind. Even Hitler was aware of this after the first winter on the Eastern Front when he told Finland's marshall Mannerheim on a surpris visit his 75th birthday this (he was secretly recorded by the Finns). Hitler:"Our whole armament - you know, was - is a pure good weather armament. It is very capable, very good, but it is unfortunately just a good-weather armament. We have seen this in the war. Our weapons naturally were made for the west, and we all thought, and this was true 'till that time, uh, it was the opinion from the earliest times: you cannot wage war in winter. And we too, have, the German tanks, they weren't tested, for example, to prepare them for winter war. Instead we conducted trials to prove it was impossible to wage war in winter. That is a different starting point [than the Soviet's]." Hitler realizes that while the German armed forces conducted trials that it was impossible to wage war in winter the Soviets designed their very arms for this in mind.
Could you do a video looking over the different sizes (and original German names) of different squadrons and air groups and how they all combine together to make up the whole Luftwaffe
And yet the Luftwaffe was very effective in the Eastern Front. This of course brings me to consider the hardship would have been somewhat similar for the Soviet Air Force.
jjeherrera the Luftwaffe was not effective in getting supplies delivered on the Eastern front. It came no where close to providing to what the sixth army needed to survive much less maintain a cohesive fighting force at Stalingrad
@@insideoutsideupsidedown2218 I think that he is talking about effectiveness in general and that is correct all up to mid 1943. Regarding Stalingrad, that was simply not realistic. Just look how much losses the Luftwaffe had suffered there.
@@insideoutsideupsidedown2218 They were very effective in destroying more Soviet planes than they lost. The problem of logistics for the Sixth Army is a different subject altogether, since they were surrounded by several Soviet divisions. They couldn't have a chance. The airlift was sustained as long as possible.
jjeherrera i jumped out of the arena of the video on this...check out TIK on the resupply efforts of the Luftwaffe during the battle of Stalingrad. During the first battle of Smolensk the Luftwaffe encountered the same issues of resupplying the battle group, even though the Germans won the battle
simplicius i should quantify my statement that the Luftwaffe indeed had tactical victories in battle performance, but lacked the ability to be a reliable source for logistical resupply.
Interesting. I didn't realize that the Ju-87 had a little window between the pilot's legs - probably for sighting the target before beginning the dive.
Interesting… Also, Russians endure the same conditions of weather, access to airfields, etc. The adaptation to the environment with what was provided in place always has been mention as the advantage of the Red Army over the German Army. I guess here we can see another example of no adaptation by Germans. However, military activity was significantly reduced during winter. I was looking forward to hearing how during those years (and during other seasons than winter) elements like production, innovation technics, logistics, etc. were evolving on both sides and the ultimate reasons for how they lost control of the air. However it was interesting to hear the mechanical difficulties in detail during winter, I wonder what their excuses were during the rest of the year.
I'd still take that over the plight of Soviet air crews in the same period (or indeed most of the war). Sent up in inferior planes, sometimes ludicrously so. After the catastrophic losses of the first 9 months, units started to get better aircraft yet the pilots had absurdly short fight times as experience. 20 hours then put in a LaGG-3 or Yak-1 and fly against the Luftwaffe on the Stalingrad front, for example. The surprise is not that so many of them died, but that some of them survived.
It does seem at times that the people at home in Germany - neither those in the aircraft factories, nor those in the Luftfahrtministerium - were really aware that there was a war going on. At the very least they obviously hadn't a clue as to the conditions in which the Luftwaffe was being forced to operate in Russia and North Africa, which were often slightly different to those in central Europe. An inefficient and disinterested high command didn't help in any way and the bitterness and frustration of the Luftwaffe personnel in those extremely difficult theatres of operation must at times have reached boiling point. It is in fact not merely a minor wonder that the Luftwaffe was able to function at all, and that it did shows how tenacious and professional the ground and air crews of the German Air Force were. 🌟🌟🌟
A most informative look at the work that has to be done to make an air force work. This is detail that is never talked about when it comes to those years on the Eastern Front. Theory and operation are vastly different and in trying conditions, more so.
Just another vast logistical and operational dimension to fighting a long war against the Soviet Union. You just realise that beating the Soviet Union was going to be well nigh impossible. Far better to have negotiated a peace settlement from a position of strength rather than to try to swallow the lot and end up choking on the vast meal you will have to devour.
I believe one of the major changes in the rules for Gary Grigsby's "War In The East 2" will be a more effective modeling of the airfield situation for both sides. When it comes out, I'll have to see if the problems and shortcomings you mention for the Luftwaffe come close to being modeled in the game.
One of your best videos and excellent at explaining the real life difficulties of those other than the pilots in real combat conditions. One wonders how the Russians had adapted to the same working conditions and if the Germans could not have learned from them or maybe culturally and politically that might have been expecting too much.....
Great piece Bis. A book I urge everyone to ready is Blood red snow by Günter K. Koschorrek. He was an ordinary German infantryman (but an exceptional solider) on the eastern front and gives an amazing insight into how horrific the conditions we're for all the parties involved!
One of the predominant theories explaining seasonal flu dispersion is that it's people grouped indoors together keeping warm that causes the Winter season spike in cases. But modeling explanations for seasonal spread of flu has proved elusive. No model really holds up well consistently under close examination.
I am an American, hence speak only American English. But one thing I like about the German language is that a German could be reading the menu of an ice cream shop and make it sound like he was dictating surrender terms to Ghengis Kahn. So cool.
Reality and theory, is something I have experience, not as a soldier, but working in a commercial kitchen! The owner believe a DIY fryer solution would work just as well as a proper fryer, which meant a 8 x 8 inch square pan placed on a small burner, behind two large, one foot high flame spitting burners. To use this small fryer for frying food, you have to squeeze behind the two cooks during cooking, trying your best to avoid the high temperatures and shooting flames and not to be hit by the pans the cooks were using. The owner would not hear any criticism, would treat anything I say as some stupid excuse, so one Saturday he decided to show me how it was done! After a very busy period of cooking, he explain to me that it was very hot and the one foot high flames had burnt off all the hairs on both his arms and singed his eye brows. I said to him, I told you so, his reply was to tell me shut up and get back to work. So those people with the theory really do need to get their fingers burnt, before they will listen to people with the experience of reality!
Hey there Bismarck, I don't know if you will be able to read this, but I would just like to say thank you for the info you are giving in aircraft especially the WW1 era planes as I would be using them for my upcoming fan fiction, anyways if you are able to read this I would like to ask some technical questions in regards to aircraft in general; - Why did the Germans not develop or put V type engines with turbo chargers as the technology was available at the time? - And if possible can the Albatross Mercedes D3 engine be converted to V with the turbo charger type setting to increase horsepower output? - Was there any development or testing with aircraft during WW1 that was capable of using cannons ( 20mm )? Will leave this question here, again thank you for the videos you make, and hope you have a wonderful day
When Your strategy is capturing the enemy's facilities while advancing, and then You realize that the enemy's notion of 'facilities' strangely resembles Yours of 'flat ground'... and, incidentally, they have spades of it!
I have seen a photo in a book called 'bf 109 at War' of a 109 with a shed built (looked like wriggly tin on a frame) around the front, with only the outer wings and rea fuselage out in the open, I assume it had a door and inside ladders, benches and lighting or a window on one side I could not see, thus the ground crew could service the engine, armament, cockpit and systems without being exposed to a wind chill that at times must have been simply fatal!!
learning about just how awful it is to maintain and operate planes in winter from the video and the comments' section I almost - but not quite - feel sorry for the luftwaffe personnel. my gawd it must have been hell. have lived in southern labrador, northern alberta, quebec, manitoba (ugh!) and I can tell you the germans really did not know what they were getting themselves into... They should have stayed home.
