World War Two Vehicles has posted some production figures for German aircraft. Though well known, in perusing through them once more one of the items that stands out is, of course, the sheer size of the JU-88 production program - with roughly 15,000-16,000 such aircraft produced by the Third Reich.
Lying underwater in the English Channel off the coast of Kent, United Kingdom is the world's last known surviving Do-17 bomber. In a joint attempt the Royal Air Force Museum and Imperial College of London are attempting to salvage the well preserved Do-17 - found in 2010 after sands shifted that had previously hidden the bomber, and have now left it exposed to seawater that can corrode the aircraft very quickly. Shot down during the height of the Battle of Britain this aircraft, as the last of its kind, is of considerable historical importance.
Brigadier General Tadeusz Sawicz died on 19 October at a nursing home in Toronto, Canada - he was 97 years old and was the last surviving Polish pilot to have fought with the RAF during the 1940 Battle of Britain. Sawicz was one of 145 Polish pilots who fought with the RAF during the Battle of Britain and was credited with three kills during his service with the RAF.
Overall, The Battle of Britain represented a disaster for the Luftwaffe and a blow to the prestige of the Wehrmacht as a whole.
The German assault on Poland began at 4:45 am on September 1, 1939. The Polish air force, dispersed prior to the invasion, instead of rising en masse to challenge the Luftwaffe, saw its numbers quickly whittled down in a misguided hope to preserve its striking power. The Polish army fought mostly alone, while German planes pounded the Polish capital. Within just two weeks, German artillery and airpower had killed over 60,000 of Warsaw's citizens.
The wisdom of the two-week German campaign in Crete remains heavily debated to this day. On the one hand, there is no doubt the loss of Crete weakened Britain's position in the Eastern Mediterranean at a crucial point in the war. On the other hand, some have argued the Germans lost an opportunity to seal off the Central Mediterranean via attacking Malta, astride Axis supply lines to North Africa.
On March 24, 1945 USAAF (United States Army Air Force) Staff Sgt. Marvin Steinford's B-17 Bomber was hit by anti-aircraft fire over Hungary. As the plane fell to the earth Steinford bailed out - never to be seen again. Until now. After 66 years his remains have been found and he will finally be coming home to be put to rest near his home town of Keystone Iowa.
