WesWorld

Oberhessische Zeitung – Monday, 15 January 1940

There is much joy today in Kassel with the announcement by the Defence Ministry that the Hs 126 observation monoplane, manufactured by Henschel und Sohn, has been selected to replace the Fieseler 167 as the standard corps reconnaissance aircraft of the Luftwaffe. This follows on the recent confirmation by the Defence Ministry of the previous decision to proceed with the manufacture of the Hs.129 twin-engine attack aircraft.


Naval News – Sunday, 21 January 1940

The gala bunting of celebration was unfurled today in two of Germany’s largest shipbuilding yards today to celebrate the launching of the Argentine battlecruiser Constelacion at Kiel and the Brazilian battlecruiser Rio de Janiero at Cuxhaven. The festivities began in Kiel, where the Defence Minister, Herr Otto Gessler and the commander of the Kriegsmarine, Admiral Erich Raeder, were joined by Admiral Galindez of the Argentine Naval Mission and a delegation of Argentine officials. In full view of the public Admiral Galindez gave the ceremonial order to flood the dry dock containing the massive man-of-war while the placards displaying her name were revealed and balloons filled the air. Admiral Galindez pronounced himself pleased with the workmanship evident in the powerful lines of the Constelacion , and he seemed even more impressed by the progress made on the fitting out of the battlecruiser Viencente de Mayo , scheduled for completion next year. From Kiel a motorcade took the official party to Cuxhaven, where it was the turn of Admiral Boris Markenson of the Brazilian Navy to launch the Rio de Janiero on the afternoon’s tide. Following an inspection of the Brazilian battlecruiser Sao Paulo , which is also under construction at Cuxhaven, the reinforced official party motored to Bremen, where an official reception at the city’s Rathaus continued late into the evening, punctuated by many toasts to the three nations and to their continuing friendship and solidarity.


Frankfurter Zeitung – Tuesday, 23 January 1940

The Defence Ministry announced today the appointment of General Georg Thomas as Chief of the Defence Economy and Armaments Office.


Münchener Post – Wednesday, 7 February 1940

The German Association for the Support and Advancement of Scientific Research has awarded a grant in the amount of 50,000 Reichsmarks to Herr Konrad Zuse for his continuing research on electromechanical computational devices. This follows the successful demonstration by Herr Zuse of his prototype Z2 computational device at the Society’s annual meeting in late December of last year.


Berliner Tageblatt – Friday, 16 February 1940

Details have begun to emerge in the so-called Aerobank Affair. Three officials of the Bank der Deutschen Luftfahrt AG, the government’s entity for the provision of financial assistance for the expansion of the aircraft industry have pled guilty to charges that they funneled funds to favored aircraft companies in exchange for contributions by said companies to the coffers of both the German Peoples Party and the Social Democratic Party. The admission of guilt by the trio confirms what has been suspected for quite a long time – that certain companies had been favored by the former Air Ministry to the detriment of the aviation industry as a whole and perhaps even to the detriment of the national defence. It would appear as if these convictions are but the first in a wave that might engulf many significant figures in the late government of Herr Jarre.


Handelsblatt – Wednesday, 21 February 1940

The results of the first flight of the Junkers Ju152 twin-engine transport prototype were little short of disastrous as the first flight test revealed the aircraft to be seriously underpowered. Carried aloft on two Junkers Jumo diesel aero engines the aircraft performed sluggishly and failed to meet any of the parameters set for it by the Luftwaffe Technical Office. When the pilot sought to land the aircraft the failure of one of the engines nearly caused the crash of the aircraft. Junkers officials were reluctant to comment on the disappointing performance but affirmed that the Ju152 design is sound and would eventually take its rightful place in the inventory of the Luftwaffe.


Berliner Morgenpost – Thursday, 29 February 1940

The Defence Ministry and the Ministry of Transport have jointly announced the award of contracts for new aircraft designs. Among these is a design and development contract awarded to Arado Flugzeugwerke of Warnemünde for the design of a twin-engine transport aircraft for the Luftwaffe under the designation Ar232. The Blohm und Voss firm of Hamburg received funding to proceed with its own twin-engine aircraft design, the Bv144, primarily for Lufthansa but also for the Luftwaffe, should the latter’s technical specifications be met. The Siebel Flugzeugwerke of Halle was awarded production contracts for its Si204 design, which will serve with the Luftwaffe as an aircrew training aircraft and also with Lufthansa as a small regional transport to replace single-engine types.


Berliner Tageblatt – Monday, 4 March 1940

It was announced today that Major General Wolfgang Martini has been promoted to the rank of General der Luftnachrichtentruppe and appointed as the Luftwaffe’s Special-Agent for Radio-Ranging Technology. In this capacity he will oversee the reorganisation of the national air defences to assure the safety of Germany from any potential external threats. It was also announced that Oberst Josef Kammhuber will serve as General Martini’s principal deputy for night flying affairs.


Die Rheinpfalz – Wednesday, 6 March 1940

The Heer maneuvers carried out this week in the Grafenwöhr training area saw the unveiling of the Luftwaffe’s newest aircraft, the Gotha Go242 transport glider. Under the watchful eye of both the exercise’s umpires and the numerous senior officers assembled eight of the huge gliders were released from their Junkers towplanes to silently spiral Earthward to land within a designated zone some five hundred meters in length and two hundred meters in width. They disgorged a company of glider assault troops – accompanied by a light infantry gun and tow vehicle – who proceeded to accomplish their assigned mission as part of the exercise. Officials of the Luftwaffe Technical Office pronounced their satisfaction with the design and its performance. It is expected that the Go242 will be procured in large numbers by the Luftwaffe over the coming years.


Oberhessische Zeitung – Tuesday, 12 March 1940

Following a thorough review of development contracts let in the waning days of 1939 the Defence Ministry has confirmed that Ruhrstahl AG will continue to receive funding for development of wireless-controlled bombs under the guidance of Doctor Max Kramer. It also confirmed funding for parallel developments to be undertaken by the Henschel Flugzeugwerke under the direction of Doctor Herbert Wagner.


Frankfurter Zeitung – Thursday, 21 March 1940

Among other announcements from the Defence Ministry it was noted that the Luftwaffe has established Air Signals Detachment 100 to carry out extended service trials of air navigation aids developed by the Lorenz firm under the leadership of Doctor Hans Pleindl.


Berliner Morgenpost – Monday, 25 March 1940

The Office of the Public Prosecutor announced the arrest yesterday of Herr Hermann Göring, former minister of aviation and long-time fixture of the political scene. Herr Göring was taken into custody at his country estate Carinhall in the Schorfheide forest. He is charged in connection with the diversion of funds appropriated for Luftwaffe procurement for political purposes and, allegedly, for the construction of the Carinhall estate itself. His arrest stems from the ongoing investigation into the activities of the scandal-ridden Aerobank and is said to also be related to the death in questionable circumstances of the late General Ernst Udet.

Transradio Press Service, Berlin – Thursday, 22 February 1940

Speaking to reporters today at a Berlin news conference the German Minister of Economics, Herr Ludwig Erhard, was questioned regarding Germany’s response to the Mexican oil crisis. After addressing questions regarding Germany’s decision to defer the purchase of Mexican-sourced petroleum products at this time Herr Erhard was asked how this might impact the German economy.

“I do not see the Government’s decision in this matter as having any significant detriment to the national economy. Petroleum supplies, particularly in Germany, are not dependent upon one single nation. Successive governments have pursued a consistent policy of cultivating a variety of sources – in Romania, in the Russian Federation, in the United States. Germany has also pursued the utilisation of its domestic coal resources in the production of synthetic petroleum products. I therefore do not see the Mexican matter as an obstacle to further economic growth.”

When asked about the rising tensions in Asia and how these might impact the German economy, coupled with the Mexican oil dispute, Herr Erhard continued.

“Gentlemen, I can assure you that Germany has prepared for the potential disruption of supplies of petroleum or other strategic materials from foreign sources. To its credit the government of former Chancellor Jarre had begun the stockpiling of materials needed in time of crisis when normal imports might be disrupted. In view of the uncertain situation in Asia, I have recommended to Chancellor Adenauer that a formal Strategic Materials Reserve Administration be established within the Ministry of Economics to oversee our current stockpile program and to expand it as necessary. I expect that this recommendation will be acted upon favorably by the Reichstag before the end of its current session.”

The news budget for the first quarter has been updated through March.

What does the Junkers 152 look like? I'm imagining a Ju 52 without the fuselage mounted engine and two Jumo 205s in the wing nacelles. I wouldn't be too surprised if it was underpowered in that case.

I was thinking of maybe it looking like the Ju 252/ 352 with two engines.

Interesting news items, the Luftwaffe is certainly modernising itself from the ground-up. I'd be interested to learn more about Germany's aerial defences and where they will be located. A Kammhuber Line in WW would need to be pretty big, along the French border, perhaps the North Sea and Baltic coasts, although allies in GB and Nordmark might reduce the density of radar sites needed, Eastern Baltic and then down the Polish border and Czech borders. All told a much larger job than in WW2 and much more expensive although density of searchlights and radars might be lower (although to get adeqaute overlap of coverage that will be hard to acheive) your going to need many more.

Quoted

Originally posted by Red Admiral
What does the Junkers 152 look like? I'm imagining a Ju 52 without the fuselage mounted engine and two Jumo 205s in the wing nacelles. I wouldn't be too surprised if it was underpowered in that case.

Alas, I don't know what the Ju152 was supposed to look like. I have a set of what I presume are Planebuilder stats, generated by Hrolf, that I find quite suspect.

Given tht the aircraft had a gross weight more than a C-46 on three-quarters of the power I could but presume tests went poorly. It remains to be seen if Junkers can work out the problem or whether the WW-Ar232 will render it overcome by events.

Transradio Press Service, Berlin – Friday, 29 March 1940

The Foreign Minister, Herr Heinrich Bruning, announced today that Germany was suspending all trade with Mexico pending the resolution of the Mexican seizure of the assets of foreign oil companies operating in Mexico.

“We recognize,” he stated, “that none of the companies involved are registered in Germany. However, German citizens own shares in these firms and they have been harmed by the reckless action of the Cardenas government. We are actively consulting with other nations to achieve a peaceful resolution of the crisis that has arisen. Toward that end, we are suspending all trade with Mexico, particularly the trade in aircraft and defence materials. Deliveries of such will be frozen pending a review and settlement of all outstanding claims. German banks have been instructed to refuse all Mexican official and commercial requests for credits, and they have been instructed to identify and monitor all Mexican accounts in their respective institutions in the event a complete sequestration of Mexican assets in Germany is required.”

“The German Government hopes that its Mexican counterpart will see reason and move swiftly to reach an agreement with the companies involved to indemnify them for their loss.”

Chile supports these unfortunate but necessary German actions.

The Latvian Ambassador to Germany is heard by other Latvian officials, none of whom would leak anything, to state "What's a Mexico?"

April 3rd 1940

Mexico denounces the actions of the German Government and hopes that Germany will fulfill the terms of all deals signed before March 29th. Otherwise Mexico will be forced to seek legal action against against Germany for breach of contract.

Also Mexico is confused as to the meaning of "achieve a peaceful resolution of the crisis", what crisis does Germany speak of that requires a peaceful resolution?

Transradio Press Service, Berlin – Saturday, 30 March 1940

The Defence Ministry announced today that it had awarded a contract to the Fieseler Company to develop a high-speed antiaircraft target drone under the designation Fieseler Fi103.

Quoted

Originally posted by Desertfox
April 3rd 1940

Mexico denounces the actions of the German Government and hopes that Germany will fulfill the terms of all deals signed before March 29th. Otherwise Mexico will be forced to seek legal action against against Germany for breach of contract.

Also Mexico is confused as to the meaning of "achieve a peaceful resolution of the crisis", what crisis does Germany speak of that requires a peaceful resolution?

A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice, when asked about the Mexican assertion, replied,

"Should the Mexican Government produce a valid, signed contract, the German Government will happily meet them before the International Court of Arbitration in the Hague. No such contract exists - if so, let the Mexican Government produce it. As to the Memorandum of Understanding reached by the former Air Ministry, Germany considers it null and void and without standing at law."

When asked about the Mexican incredulity about the crisis surrounding the Mexican oil expropriation the same spokeman for the Foreign Ministry replied,

"In June of 1938 the personnel of the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company and its affiliates operating in Mexico were ejected from their facilities at gunpoint. An ultimatum was issued to the American firms at the same time. Since that time there has been no resolution. And the Mexicans suggest that this is not a crisis? If this is not a crisis, I should not wish to see what the Mexicans consider a crisis."