WesWorld

July 2, 1938 - Meppen

The turreted versions of the Henschel VK4502 and Porsche VK4501 prototype heavy panzers continues. So far, off-the-record comments by the observers and testers suggests that the Henschel vehicle is preferred, at least in part because it's transmission is more reliable.


August 1, 1938 - Berlin

A development contract has been signed with Heinkel to continue development of the He-177. The Luftwaffe's current desire is for a better layout of the defensive armament, particularly the ventral armament, and the reduction or elimination of the ventral gondola and general clean-up of the airframe.

I'm not sold to the heavy tank idea. I rather have a tank company that a Heavy tank Platoon, the price is basically same but usefulness of the former is greater. Then again if the French are building heavy tanks then this is a good counter.


It looks like You will get one of the best Heavy Bombers in WW.
He-177 was one of the best designs of its era, the execution left something to be desired. With cleaner airframe this plane that is already in the same league as B-29 will be a marvel of technology.

I'm only wondering were are You taking Your Luftwaffe?
You have a wider range of aircrafts in service that OTL.

Quoted

Originally posted by Marek Gutkowski
I'm not sold to the heavy tank idea. I rather have a tank company that a Heavy tank Platoon, the price is basically same but usefulness of the former is greater. Then again if the French are building heavy tanks then this is a good counter.

Heavies are expensive, and can be limited, agreed. Sometimes they're useful, though.

Quoted

It looks like You will get one of the best Heavy Bombers in WW.
He-177 was one of the best designs of its era, the execution left something to be desired. With cleaner airframe this plane that is already in the same league as B-29 will be a marvel of technology.

I'm only wondering were are You taking Your Luftwaffe?
You have a wider range of aircrafts in service that OTL.

Right now, the only completely a-historical planes in the Luftwaffe are the He-100 (replacing the later versions of the Bf-109), the Fw-187 (replacing the Bf-110 in it's heavy fighter role), and the Ju-152 (supplementing the Ju-52). The rest of the Luftwaffe is the pretty much historical crew: the He-111, the Ju-88, the Do-17, the Ju-87, the Fw-190, Bf-109 & -110, etc.

Doctrinally, the Luftwaffe has a larger interest in anti-shipping strike (currently handled by Bf-110 torpedo bombers and Ju-88 dive bombers) than historical (fitting, given the stronger KM) and over land is starting to explore the areas beyond it's historical focus on tactical air support of the Heer (the He-177 is the purest example of this, close support of ground troops doesn't need a payload of 5000 kg over 2000 nm).

Quoted

Originally posted by Marek Gutkowski I'm only wondering were are You taking Your Luftwaffe?

We're taking this Luftwaffe to... Warsaw

Sorry couldn't resist it...


The Ju-90 and He-177 are certainly big types but given developments in Britain and Italy and Russia regarding big four-engined bombers the Luftwaffe is following the trend. Really with Europe so peaceful it could be wondered why we bother with heavy types.

Quoted

Originally posted by Hood

Quoted

Originally posted by Marek Gutkowski I'm only wondering were are You taking Your Luftwaffe?

We're taking this Luftwaffe to... Warsaw

Sorry couldn't resist it...


The Ju-90 and He-177 are certainly big types but given developments in Britain and Italy and Russia regarding big four-engined bombers the Luftwaffe is following the trend. Really with Europe so peaceful it could be wondered why we bother with heavy types.

Germany's following it's historical interest in heavy bombers that was aborted when Wever died and the Luftwaffe needed tactical aircraft NOW to support the Heer in planned blitzkrieg operations. The WW Luftwaffe has had more time to grow, giving it a smoother path of increasing size, meaning it has more research money available to it for things like heavy bombers, radar, etc. I'm not yet decided on whether the Luftwaffe will buy the He-177 in large quantity or not, depends on the perceived situation. The He-177 may be a design that remains a small-scale production unit, supplanted by the Do-217 and the Ju-288.