Érdekes embereket ígértem, akik valamiben maradandót alkottak, mégis csak kevesen ismerik őket. Kezdjük mindjárt is egy hölggyel, aki sajnos már húsz éve nem jár köztünk. Ám nem emiatt ismeretlen, az ok ennél jóval problematikusabb. Hanna ugyanis náci volt, méghozzá a legfanatikusabb fajtából: egyszerűen bálványozta Adolf Hitlert. Ez mai szemmel nézve nem egy előnyös tulajdonság (már akinek), ám ez mit sem von le abból amit élete során elért.

1912-ben született Sziléziában, Hirschberg városában, értelmiségi családban. Édesapja doktori pályára szánta, ami nem is volt teljesen Hanna ellenére ám már fiatalon is a repülés szerelmese volt. Természetesen először siklórepülőket vezetett, amiken hamar bizonyította kivételes tehetségét. Nem is meglepő, hogy 1937-ben már Luftwaffe tesztpilótájaként tevékenykedett. Részt vett a Junkers Ju 87 (aka Stuka) és a Dornier Do 17 projektekben. Ő volt a világon a legelső nő aki helikoptert vezetett, ugyanis az akkor még igencsak gyerekcipőben járó technológia tesztelésében is részt vett. Hanna mindig is szimpatizált a náci eszmékkel, agilis és karizmatikus nő volt, ezért Göbbels-ék hamar meglátták benne a fantáziát, tehát villámgyorsan ünnepelt sztár lett Németországban, mint a nácizmus női élharcosa. 1943-ban a Messerschmitt Me 163 (aka Komet) tesztelése közben súlyos balesetet szenvedett, hónapokig kórházban feküdt. A háború évei alatt Hanna még tovább növelte az őt körülvevő kultuszt, hiszen nőként kiérdemelte a Vaskereszt első osztályát (ez rajta kívül csak egyetlen másik nőnek sikerült), valamint számos egyéb magas rangú kitüntetést. A háború nem csak elismerést, hanem egy életre szóló szerelmet is hozott Hanna számára Robert Ritter von Greim személyében, bár sosem házasodtak össze. Hanna részt vett a hírhedt Leonídász Egység projektben (ennek lényege egy öngyilkos repülőosztag megszervezése lett volna a japán kamikazék módjára, ám a Luftwaffe elvetette az ötletet – szerencsére), valamint a V1-es megtorlófegyver kísérleteiben.
A háború során, főleg ahogy egyre inkább hanyatlott a német hadigépezet, úgy egyre többen elfordultak a náci eszméktől és Adolf Hitlertől. Hanna Reitsch viszont nem tartozott ezen emberek közé, mindvégig szilárdan hitt az árja fehér faj felsőbbrendűségében és harcuk nemességében. A bukás napjaiban, április 26.-án, miután Göring helyére von Geim-et nevezték ki a Luftwaffe élére Hanna berepült párjával az agyonbombázott, szovjet csapatoktól hemzsegő Berlinbe, eljutottak egészen a Führerbunkerig. Hitler mindkettejüknek adott ciánkapszulát, és Hanna kész volt szeretett Führerje oldalán meghalni, ám 28.-án azt az utasítást kapta, hogy hagyja el Berlint, találkozzon Karl Dönitz-el, akinek az ellen-offenzívát kellett volna előkészítenie. Hanna ugyan sírva könyörgött, hogy a Führer is tartson velük, ám Adolf Hitler ezt megtagadta. Hannáék a csodával határos módon sikeresen kijutottak Berlinből, minden bizonnyal az ő gépük volt az utolsó aminek ez sikerült az iszonyatos szovjet légvédelmi zárótűz miatt. Eme emberfeletti teljesítmény valószínűleg nem sikerült volna ha Hanna nem rendelkezik kivételes rutinnal az alacsony magasságú repülésben. Sorsát persze nem kerülhette el, hamarosan elkapták az amerikaiak, akik 18 hónapon keresztül tartották fogva. Sajnálatos módon párja, von Greim, május 24.-én öngyilkosságot követett el. Nem ez volt az egyetlen tragédia, ugyanis apja végzett anyjával és családja összes többi tagjával, végül magával is. Szörnyű ilyet mondani, de valószínűleg így jobban jártak, mintha a feldühödött fosztogató lengyel hordák kapták volna el őket…
A számtalan tragédia és a háború befejezte után, miután kiengedték fogvatartói (annak ellenére, hogy köze volt a megtorlófegyver programhoz viszonylag “olcsón” meguszta, talán azért voltak vele kevésbé szigorúak, mert nő volt), Frankfurtban telepedett le. A háború után tilos volt a repülés minden formája a németek számára, ám a siklórepülést hamarosan engedélyezték. Ezt ő azonnal kihasználta, és 1952-ben, a spanyol Siklórepülős Világbajnokságon harmadik helyezést ért el. Természetesen ő volt az egyetlen nő a mezőnyben. 1955-ben német bajnok lett. Az ’50-es években eredményeinek köszönhetően újra felfigyelt rá a közvélemény, számos interjút készítettek vele. 1959-ben Indiába hívták, hogy segédkezzen egy siklórepülős központ megszervezésében, 1961-ben Kennedy-vel találkozott. A sors furcsa fintora, hogy 1962 és 1966 között Ghánában élt és dolgozott, megalapította az első afrikai néger siklórepülős iskolát. A ’70-es években is aktív volt, sorra döntögette meg a siklórepülés világrekordjait, de női helikopteres versenyekben is sikert sikerre halmozott.
Idős korára egyre kevésbé rejtette véka alá a véleményét, elégedetlen volt azzal amivé Németország vált. Talán egy 1970-es interjúrészlet mutatja meg a legjobban, hogy Hanna egész életében hű maradt a Horogkereszthez.

„Mi az ami Németországból maradt? A bankárok és autógyárak országa. Még a mi dicső hadseregünk is elpuhult. A katonák bajuszt növesztenek és megkérdőjelezik a parancsukat. Nem szégyellem, hogy hittem a Nemzeti Szocializmusban. Még mindig hordom a Vaskeresztet amit Hitler adott… A legtöbb német szégyelli magát a háború miatt. De a magyarázat a valódi szégyenre, amin osztozunk, az az, hogy vesztettünk.”

1979. augusztus 24.-én hunyt el szívrohamban.

Nevéhez fűződő rekordok, eredmények:
1932: leghosszabb idejű női siklás (5,5 óra)
1936: leghosszabb távú női siklás (305 km)
1937: első nő aki átrepülte az Alpokat siklóval
1937: a Luftwaffe első női kapitánya
1937: helikopteres távrepülés világrekordja (109 km)
1938: az első ember aki zárt térben repül helikopterrel
1938: német nemzeti siklórepülős bajnokság győztese
1939: női siklás világcsúcs
1943: az első női pilóta aki rakétahajtású vadászgépet vezet (Messerschmitt Me 163)
1944: az első női pilóta aki sugárhajtású vadászgépet vezet (Messerschmitt Me 262)
1955: német siklórepülés bajnoka
1956: német siklórepülés csúcs (370 km)
1957: német magassági rekord (6848 méter)

forrás: wiki

Goering-a biography

Alas Horten

Walter Horten y sus hermanos Reimar y Wolfram, construyeron, volaron y diseñaron planeadores en configuraciones de alas puras o ¨alas volantes´ desde adolescentes,a  comienzos de los años ´30. Ellos ganaron mucha experiencia en Wasserkruppe, situado a 100km al noreste de Frankfurt, la Mecca del vuelo en planeo de Alemania. Allí muchos alemanes aprendieron a volar, después de la  Primera Guerra Mundial, pero únicamente en planeadores, debido a que el Tratado de Versalles prohibía a Alemania, cualquier tipo de vuelo motorizado. En Wasserkruppe cada verano existían concursos en donde se premiaban a los pilotos que volarán más alto, durante más tiempo y que cubriesen las distancias más grandes. También existían concursos para modelos a escalas, competencias similares a la de los adultos, pero para jóvenes. Allí Reimar y Walter Horten compitieron y ganaron tres años consecutivos, durante 1931, 1932, 1933; con sus planeadores ¨alas volantes¨.

Allí los Horten habían adquirido mucha experiencias y sus modelos diseños de ala pura, volaban más lejos y más recto que los modelos convencionales con cola.

Durante la primavera de 1936 los tres hermanos fueron llamados a cumplir con el Servicio Militar, en el nuevo Ejercito alemán (Wehrmatch).

Walter ingresó como aspirante a oficial en 1934 y sirvió temporariamente en el ejercito hasta ser transferido en agosto de 1935 a la recientemente creada Fuerza Aérea Alemana ( Luftwaffe ), y se entrenó como piloto de bombardero, y luego como piloto de caza, fue testigo de varios combates aéreos durante La Batalla de Inglaterra, con el 1º JG 26.

 Su hermano Wolfram ingresó a la Luftwaffe y sirvió como piloto torpedero con hidroaviones. Wolfram moría mas tarde en mayo de 1940 cuando su Heinkel 111 explotó repentinamente, durante una noche, en que lanzaba minas marinas en el puerto de Boulogne, Francia.

Reimar también ingresó a la Luftwaffe, y fue asignado como instructor de vuelo. Eso fue una bendición para él, ya que su comandante Oskar Dinort fue un ávido piloto de planeadores y un entusiasta de los proyectos de los hermanos Horten, en Wasserkruppe, y deseoso de tener un Ho 2, un planeador del tipo Horten para uso personal. Dinort le facilitó a Reimar espacio de trabajo, material y ayudantes para reañizar el trabajo. Reimar le dio el visto bueno a esta excelente oportunidad de volver a trabajar con sus diseños de alas volantes y aceptó la propuesta.

Una vez el primer ala volante Horten había comenzado a construirse, otro oficial quiso uno, también, en poco tiempo el Comando de Entrenamiento de Vuelo, tenía suficientes Horten Ho 2 para ingresar al vuelo de competición en Wasserkruppe, que nunca había rendido satisfactoriamente, por falta de pilotos instructores. Entre 1936 y 1938 Reimar y Walter fueron capaces de diseñar y construir varios Ho 2, Ho 3, Ho 4 y el Ho 5 un bimotor ala volante. Tan ocupado estaba Reimar en la construcción de planeadores alas volantes que no hacia otra cosa que trabajar tiempo completo en esa tarea.

Walter se dedicó al entrenamiento de pilotos en el JG 26, tiempo completo, pero no obstante fue capaz de ayudar a Reimar en su trabajo. 

Al comenzar la Segunda Guerra Mundial, Reimar fue llamado al servicio activo y retornó a su anterior ocupación como instructor de vuelo y Walter  fue asignado como Oficial Técnico del ala de caza JG 26 del  Adolf Galland. Walter había visto muchos combates sobre Francia y partcipó en algunos en La Batalla de Inglaterra. Y observó con mucho enojo y frustración como sus pilotos perdían sus vidas en combates aéreos contra los británicos llegando a pensar  que estas perdidas de la Luftwaffe continuarían hasta la perdida total de todos los buenos pilotos alemanes. Walter Horten volaba un Messerschmitt Me 109, durante la Batalla de Inglaterra. Y al día siguiente de sobrevolar el Canal de la Mancha, reflexionó, que el Me 109, que había volado como Oficial Técnico de la JG26 del Mayor Adolf Galland,  era inferior, en performance y maniobrabilidad a los Spitfire británicos, que estuvo intentando derribar. Aunque, tuvo éxito en derribar 7 aviones británicos, (1 Defiant, 3 Hurricanes y 3 Spitfires). Walter se dio cuenta de que una mejor máquina voladora tendría que ser repartida, lo más pronto posible, a la Luftwaffe.

 FOTO, El As Alemán Mayor Adolf Galland jefe del JG 26

Si  Alemania quería dominar los cielos sobre Inglaterra, como antes lo había hecho sobre España, Polonia y Francia.Walter se convenció que los Messerschmitt Bf 109, no eran rival para los Spitfire británicos, y eso lo comprobó al pilotar un Spitfire abandonado intacto en una pista de aterrizaje de Francia. Adolf Galland, también se dio cuenta de ello. Mas tarde se le ordenó a Walter no realizar vuelos de combate, comprometidos, esa suspensión fue confirmada cuando él se convirtió en el primer piloto alemán en volar un Spitfire capturado.

 IMAGEN, Messerschmitt Bf-109

FOTO , Caza británico Spitfire

Fue así que Walter se convenció de que solo un avión podría vencer a los Spitfire británicos y era un avión de diseño en forma de ala volante, un caza con aquella configuración de avanzada. De allí en adelante comenzaría la carrera para el desarrollo del Horten 9 el ala volante a reacción de los hermanos Horten.

Walter Horten ( 1913 – 1998 )

Luego de la Guerra Walter permaneció en Alemania y se convirtió en un oficial de la Luftwaffe de pos-guerra. Falleció en Baden-Baden en Alemania en diciembre de 1998.

Reimar Horten (1915-1994)

Reimar emigró a la Argentina, y se instaló en Villa General Belgrano en la Provincia Argentina de Córdoba, donde continuó diseñado y construyendo planeadores y  una cuatrimotor de transporte de configuración ala volante. También colaboró, viajando desde Argentina, en el desarrollo del proyecto estadounidense  B-2, en un viaje absolutamente confidencial.

Reimar Horten falleció en 1994 en Villa General Belgrano.

Estos son los diseños y proyectos que Reimar Horten realizó en Argentina.

Naranjero I.Ae 38

I.Ae 37

HORTEN Ho 9

En Alemania, los hermanos Horten, Reimar y Walter, tenían en mente un avión en forma de ala pura, sin superficies de controles verticales de ningún tipo. Inspirados por los modelos Stork y Delta de Alexander Lippisch, ellos comenzaron sus trabajos hacia fines de los años ´20. Realizando un exitoso vuelo de prueba, con su primer planeador sin cola, durante julio de 1933 en el campo de avización de  Bonn-Hangelar. Durante 1934 los hermanos Horten estaban trabajando en Wasserkuppe, la Mecca de los planeadores en Alemania. De esta manera el concepto del ala volante había conseguido su primer éxito práctico.

Horten H IX V1

Walter Horten estaba enterado de las performances logradas por los cohetes DFS 194 y conocía los métodos de construcción, en madera, para el desarrollo de aviones de alto desempeño. Pero luego de ver al Me 262 , en marzo de 1943, abandonó todo por adquirir más información sobre los motores turbojet Jumo 004. Fue, entonces que los trabajos realizados sobre el Ho VII fueron abandonados y todos los esfuerzos fueron concentrados en el Ho IX que a solicitud de la demanda 1000×1000x1000 hecha por el Reichsmarschall Göering, el nuevo proyecto debía desarrollar una velocidad no menor a 1000 Km/h, debía tener una capacidad de carga bélica de 1000 kg de bombas, y poder ingresar 1000km dentro de territorio enemigo. Las desviaciones justificables de estas cifras serían aceptadas. En ese momento.

La aeronave era una construcción mixta de tubos de acero soldados y madera, cubiertos de varias capas de madera contrachapada de diferentes calidades, la capa exterior era la de mejor calidad. Este método de construcción hacía que la detección del avión, por parte del radar, sea extremadamente dificultosa.

EL piloto se ubicaba en un asiento de posición convencional. El primer vuelo del V1, tubo lugar el 1 de marzo de 1944 en Gottingen con Heinz Scheidhauser en los controles. Se realizaron varios despegues remolcados, luego, el avión fue enviado a Oranienburg cerca de Berlin para el vuelo de prueba con Scheidhauer como piloto.

Un breve informe presentado por el DVL, del 7 abril de 1944,  indicaba que la aeronave era una excelente plataforma de tiro.

Para simular el efecto estabilizador de los motores, que en principio estaban ausentes en el prototipo remolcado, se estableció que el tren principal fuera expuesto y el de nariz, retraíble. El 5 de marzo el tren de nariz falló durante un tambaleo sobre la pista de concreto de Oranienburg.

Se optó por un traje de vuelo  presurizado para reemplazar a la ausente cabina presurizada, pero nunca fue usado en la práctica. La nave fue enviada a Brandis, donde fue probada por militares y usada para fines de entrenamiento.

Hallada por los estadounidenses al capturar el lugar de su ubicación la aeronave fue destruida, por los mismos, en una ¨acción de limpieza¨.

Horten H IX V2

El Horten IX V2 estaba motorizado por dos Jumo 004 turbojets . Y fue el primer avión de configuración ala-volante en ser propulsado por turborreactores. El V2 poseía un tren de aterrizaje retraíble y no tenía armamento. El piloto se acomodaba en una asiento convencional.

Surgieron serias dificultades y demoras en su construcción cuando los motores que se habían planeado para su propulsión, dos BMW003, fueron obviados por unos Jumo 004, mucho más potentes. Esto tenía por inconveniente, que los motores Jumo004 tenían un diámetro más grandes que los producidos por BMW, y requirió que se rediseñara el compartimiento de motores para poder ser colocados. Al igual que los diseños que lo antecedieron, el V2 fue construído con una mezcla de partes de otros aviones. El tren de aterrizaje del V2 estaba construido con una rueda de cola proveniente de los restos de un bombardero He 177, que hacía de rueda de naríz y el tren principal sacado de un caza Bf 109.

El primer vuelo de prueba fue realizado el 2 de febrero de 1945 en Oranienburg, con el teniente Erwin Ziller en los controles, Ziller era un viejo conocido de los hermanos Horten y estaba familiarizado con sus avanzados diseños de alas volantes. El vuelo tuvo una duración aproximada de 30 minutos. Ziller, permaneció los últimos tres días de diciembre de 1944 en Erprobungsstelle Rechlin, donde realizó un total de cinco vuelos en los Me 262. Esos vuelos proveyeron a Ziller, de una oportunidad para familiarizarse con la operación y características de los motores turbojet Jumo 004. Al final de un exitoso segundo vuelo de prueba, el 3 de febrero de 1945, Ziller desplegó durante el aterrizaje, el paracaídas de frenado antes de tiempo. El resultado fue un duro aterrizaje con un daño en el tren principal del Horten H IX.Consecuentemente , el tercer vuelo de prueba no fue realizado hasta el 18 de febrero de 1945. Retornando después de un vuelo de 45 minutos, a una altitud de 800 metros, Ziller fue visto picar y elevar el avión varias veces, aparentemente en un esfuerzo de reencender un motor. El tren de aterrizaje fue bajado, en una altitud inusualmente temprana, unos 400 metros. La velocidad del Ho 9 V2 decreció acompañada de un ruido del motor, una vez que el ruido cesó,la aeronave entró en un giro tirabuzón, con su piloto sin intentar siquiera un escape del avión, expulsando la cúpula y eyectarse de la aeronave. Eso fue señal de que Ziller intentaba salvar el valioso avión del desastre. Desafortunadamente el Teniente Ziller no pudo sobrevivir al accidente.

¿Pero qué había ocurrido ?  Analizados los restos del accidente, se descubrió que el depósito de aire comprimido había sido usado para bajar el tren de aterrizaje debido a una falla en la presión hidráulica que siguió con una falla del motor. ¿Pero la perdida de la estabilidad habría empezado por un giro hacia la derecha respecto a la punta de ala derecha?. ¿El piloto de puebas , habría quedado inconciente e imposibilitado de reaccionar por los gases remanentes de la carbonización provenientes del motor que se había sobrecalentado?. Ya que no existía una lámina separadora entre el compartimiento de los motores y la cabina. Preguntas que quedaron sin respuesta. Los investigadores tampoco pudieron descartar el sabotaje.

Horten H IX V3

El Horten IX V3, era un monoplaza, sin armamento, propulsados por un dos motores turbojet. La producción de este nuevo cazabombardero fue otorgada a la empresa Gothaer Waggonfabrik (GWF). Empresa bien conocida por la fabricación el planeador de carga Go 241 y la compania más adecuada para producción de la aeronave Horten.

Los motores fueron instalados 15 º a la derecha e izquierda de la línea central de la aeronave y 4 º por debajo de la naríz, configuración que había sido probada en un modelo de pruebas. La construcción del Horten IX V3, estaba próxima a ser terminada, cuando la fabrica Gotha en Friederichsroda fue capturada por tropas estadounidenses el 14 de abril de 1945. El avión fue designado con el código T2- 420, por los estadounidenses, pero la designación oficial adoptada por ellos, fue Ho 229 o Go 229. Los yanquis, recorriendo la fabrica Gotha hallaron varios trabajos y proyectos destruidos y abandonados, como también prototipos que se hallaban en diferentes etapas de construcción, incluído una versión biplaza.

NADA NUEVO BAJO EL SOL

Finalmente cuando el más moderno superbombardero B-2, fue revelado al público en Palmdale, California  el 22 de Noviembre de 1988, pocos entusiastas de la historia de la aviación habían notado que la configuración elegida  por los diseñadores de la aeronave, de nombre ¨ala volante¨ había resucitado de sus cenizas.

Από τις 7 Σεπτεμβρίου 1940 και επί 57 συναπτές νύχτες η γερμανική Luftwaffe βομβάρδιζε ανελέητα το Λονδίνο. Παρ’ όλα αυτά ο κόσμος αντιμετώπιζε με στωικότητα την κατάσταση, το μετρό είχε μετατραπεί σε καταφύγιο, τα μνημεία προστατεύθηκαν – όσο ήταν δυνατόν – με σακιά άμμου και τα παιδιά (πολλά από τα οποία είχαν μείνει ορφανά) με πολλές μητέρες φυγαδεύτηκαν στην επαρχία, προκειμένου να διαφύγουν τον κίνδυνο. Η Αγγλία για ένα μεγάλο διάστημα είχε ολομόναχη φορτωθεί στους ώμους της όλο το βάρος του πολέμου.

Ο βομβαρδισμός συνεχίστηκε και σε άλλες πόλεις της Αγγλίας μέχρι τις 10 Μαΐου 1941, ενώ ο αριθμός των αμάχων νεκρών ανέβηκε στις 43.000 και οι πόλεις, συμπεριλαμβανομένης και της πρωτεύουσας, σωριάστηκαν σε ερείπια.Ο βομβαρδισμός αυτός ονομάστηκε από τους Γερμανούς “Πόλεμος Αστραπή” (Blitzkrieg). To 1944 θα υπάρξει δεύτερος γύρος βομβαρδισμών του Λονδίνου, με τις φοβερές βόμβες V-1 και V-2, που θα κοστίσουν τη ζωή σε 8.938 αμάχους.

Παρ’ όλα αυτά, το όνειρο του Χίτλερ να βάλει πόδι στη Γηραιά Αλβυώνα παρέμεινε απραγματοποίητο.

Ακολουθoύν δύο πολύ ενδιαφέροντα video με την εκκένωση του Λονδίνου από τα παιδιά κι ένα τρίτο με σκηνές από τους βομβαρδισμούς με τη μουσική υπόκρουση των Pink Floyd.

In den letzten Tagen ist ja die F-35 immer wieder mal Gesprächsthema und als früherer Jet-Pilot und heute in der L&R tätiger Ingenieur, habe ich natürlich auch eine Meinung dazu.

Für den Jet, den die US-Militärs inzwischen jahrzehntelang als den “Joint Strike Fighter” entwickeln ließen, liegt jetzt die Rechnung vor. Sie ist so gewaltig, dass sie und die Probleme des Projektes  eine Debatte um die Zukunft moderner Luftstreitkräfte neu anheizen dürfte und vor allem sollten.

Neben 300 Mrd. für Entwicklung und Anschaffung der geplanten 2458 Jets kommen noch ca. 650 Mrd. an Unterhaltskosten für die Betriebszeit hinzu und diese Kosten steigen immer noch! Allein im vergangenen Jahr ist der Betrag bei den Anschaffungskosten um 23 Milliarden Dollar gewachsen.
Das sind in Zeiten der Wirtschaftskrise allerhand Mäuse und auch für die USA nicht so einfach zu schlucken, zumal immer noch kein Ende der Preisspirale, des einst für 40 Mio Dollar pro Stück, angepriesenen Wunderjets abzusehen ist und sich der Auslieferungsbeginn, wie auch die jährliche produzierte Stückzahl durch technische Probleme und Entwicklungshindernisse immer weiter verschiebt.

Statt in der 2. Hälfte des ersten Jahrzehnts des neuen Jahrtausends, orientiert man inzwischen frühstens auf 2012 als Beginn der Einführung der ersten Maschinen bei der Truppe, der dann bis 2030 abgeschlossen sein soll.

Weiterhin sind die enorme Lärmentwicklung des verwendeten Triebwerkes, technische Probleme im Bordstromnetz durch Fehlkonstruktionen der Stromgeneratoren und seine inzwischen durch veränderte Einsatzdoktrin überholte Konzeption, wie auch die technische Limitierung, geplant als Kostenbremse, ein Problem.

So ist der JSF das erste US-Kampfflugzeugprogramm, bei dem die Kosten als unabhängige Variable angesehen werden. In früheren Programmen waren die Flugzeugkosten stets eine abhängige Variable – zusätzliche Fähigkeiten und Technologien die während der Entwicklungszeit auf kamen haben immer die Stückkosten erhöht. Solche Design-Änderungen werden während der JSF-Entwicklung nicht erlaubt, das bedeutet, dass der Budgetrahmen begrenzt bleibt – trotzdem kam es bereits zu immensen Kostensteigerungen und es ist durch die Entwicklungszeitverlängerung damit zu rechnen, das etliche der Technologien fast völlig veraltet sind, eh im Jahr 2030 alle geplanten Maschinen geliefert sind und ihre Vorgänger abgelöst haben.

Daran ändert auch eine modulare Bauweise nichts, mit der man Logistikkosten sparen möchte.

Und sollten sich gravierende Konstruktionsmängel zeigen, ist davon fast die gesamte Luftwaffe und nicht nur ein einzelner Flugzeug-Typ betroffen , da die F-35 ja als Ersatz für etliche Modellvarianten geplant ist, soll er doch nicht nur die F-16 sondern auch die meisten F-15, A-10 und AV-8 Harrier ersetzen und in allen erdenkbaren Einsatzszenarien, vom Jäger, über Jagdbomber, trägergestützte Flugzeuge zur Flottenverteidigung bis hin zum Erdkampfflugzeug eingesetzt werden.

Dieser Aufgabenkatalog führte dazu, das grundsätzlich 3 Varianten der F-35 gefertigt werden, damit diese die Aufgabenbereiche überhaupt abdecken können.

Dabei versuchte man eine widerlegende Wollmilchsau zu kreieren und ob dies letztlich wirklich erfolgreich gelingt, ist sehr zu bezweifeln!

Die Leistungsdaten der Modelle reichen auf keinem Gebiet an die von etablierten Systemen heran und stellen so oft gar einen Rückschritt dar, oder es werden gar Eigenschaften toleriert, die jedem Piloten die Nackenhaare stehen lassen.

So wird beispielsweise selbst die Marine-Version des Flugzeuges nur über ein Triebwerk verfügen! Eine Tatsache die gegen über 70 Jahre Marinefliegererfahrungen spricht, ist doch der Ausfall oder Probleme mit diesem einem Triebwerkes über dem Ozean ein wirklich kritisches, ja oft tödliches Problem, da Notlandeplätze dort, anders als an Land, nicht existieren!

Diese Konfiguration benötigt auch ein enorm starkes, großes und lautes Triebwerk, das somit extrem hohe Anforderungen an die Ingenieure stellt und außerdem auch Probleme bei der Anordnung der Waffensysteme an diesem Stealth-Flugzeug mit sich bringt.

Weiterhin hat die Gewichtszunahme über die Entwicklung inzwischen dazu geführt, das die Manövrierbarkeit und Maximalgeschwindigkeit abgenommen und die maximal zulässige Tankkapazität oder nutzbare Waffenlast reduziert werden mußte und etwaige Leistungssteigerungsreserven des F135 Triebwerkes bereits ausgeschöpft wurden.

Somit erhält man dabei wohl ein immer noch im Einsatz unerprobtes Flugzeug zum Stückpreis von derzeit etwa 130 Mio $, dessen Tarnkappeneigenschaften, u.a. aus ehemals Kostengründen nicht mehr  Stand der Technik sind, dessen Maximal- und Steiggeschwindigkeit weit unter dem früherer Modelle, selbst aus den 60er Jahren, liegen, dessen Manövriereigenschaften von allen halbwegs aktuellen Systemen potentieller Gegner übertroffen werden und dessen Waffenlast im Stealth-Modus arg reduziert sein muss, damit dieser Vorteil zumindest irgendwie wirksam werden kann.

Ach und dann gab es 2008 einen Hackerangriff, bei dem mehrer TERABYTE Daten über das Projekt, wahrscheinlich durch chineische Cyber-Soldaten, entwendet wurden, was die Entwicklung von effektiven Gegenmaßnahmen mehr als nur wahrscheinlich macht.

Alls diese Dinge dürften die Akzeptanz, der mit über 3 Mrd an den Entwickungskosten beteiligten Partnerländer an diesem Projet, nicht unbedingt erhöhen und sie kaum dazu verleiten all die vorreservierten Jets letztlich auch zu kaufen, was wiederum zu einer weiteren Preissteigerung führen würde.

Immerhin gibt die, immer wieder mal gestopte und dann doch wieder weitergeführte Entwicklung des leistungsstärkeren F136 Triebwerkesein wenig Hoffnung das Entwicklungsrisiko zu reduzieren und einige der Probleme mit diesem Leistungswunder zu entschärfen.

War years…

Army…

A Heeresadler (“Army Eagle”) decal for the helmets of the Wehrmacht Heer (model 1942).

The German Army furthered concepts pioneered during World War I, combining ground (Heer) and Air Force (Luftwaffe) assets into combined arms teams. Coupled with traditional war fighting methods such as encirclements and the “battle of annihilation”, the German military managed many lightning quick victories in the first year of World War II, prompting foreign journalists to create a new word for what they witnessed: Blitzkrieg.

The Heer entered the war with a minority of its formations motorized; infantry remained approximately 90% foot-borne throughout the war, and artillery primarily horse-drawn. The motorized formations received much attention in the world press in the opening years of the war, and were cited as the reason for the success of the German invasions of Poland (September 1939), Norway and Denmark (April 1940), Belgium, France and Netherlands (May 1940), Yugoslavia (April 1941) and the early campaigns in the Soviet Union (June 1941).

With the entry of the United States in December 1941, Germany and other Axis powers found themselves engaged in campaigns against three major industrial powers. At this critical juncture, Hitler assumed personal control of the Wehrmacht high command, and his personal failings as a military commander arguably contributed to major defeats in early 1943, at Stalingrad and Tunis in North Africa.

The Panzerjäger-Abteilung 39 (‘Tank-hunter battalion 39′, part of “Kampfgruppe Gräf“, part of the 21. Panzer Division) of the Afrika Korps on the move.

The Germans’ military strength was managed through mission-based tactics (rather than order-based tactics) and an almost proverbial discipline. In public opinion, the German Army was, and sometimes still is, seen as a high-tech army. However, such advanced equipment, while featured much in propaganda, was often only available in small numbers or late in the war, as overall supplies of raw materials and armaments ran low. For example, only 40% of all units were motorized, baggage trains often relied on horse-drawn trailers and many soldiers went by foot or used bicycles (Radfahrtruppen).

Some historians, such as British author and ex-newspaper editor Max Hastings, consider that ” … there’s no doubt that man for man, the German army was the greatest fighting force of the second world war”. Similar views were also explained in his book “Overlord: D-Day and the battle for Normandy”, while in the book World War II : An Illustrated Miscellany, Anthony Evans writes: ‘The German soldier was very professional and well trained, aggressive in attack and stubborn in defence. He was always adaptable, particularly in the later years when shortages of equipment were being felt’. However, their integrity was compromised by war crimes, especially those committed on the eastern front. They were over-extended and out-maneuvered before Moscow in 1941, and in North Africa and Stalingrad in 1942, and from 1942/3 onwards, were in constant retreat. Other Axis powers fought with them, especially Hungary and Romania, as well as many volunteers from other nations.

Among the foreign volunteers who served in the Heer during World War II were ethnic Germans, Dutch, and Scandinavians along with people from the Baltic states and the Balkans. Russians fought in the Russian Liberation Army or as Hilfswilliger. Non-Russians from the Soviet Union formed the Ostlegionen. These units were all commanded by General Ernst August Köstring and represented about five percent of the forces under the OKH.

Air Force…

Separate from the elite Fallschirmjäger, the Luftwaffe also fielded regular infantry in the Luftwaffe Field Divisions. These units were basic infantry formations formed from Luftwaffe personnel. Lacking competent officers and composed in the main of recruits for the air-force unhappy with their unexpected use as infantry, they understandably lacked in morale. By Göring’s personal order they were intended to be restricted to defensive duties in quieter sectors to free up front line troops for combat. The Luftwaffe, being in charge of Germany’s anti-aircraft warfare, also used thousands of teenage Luftwaffenhelfer to support the Flak units.

Navy…

The German Navy (Kriegsmarine) played a major role in World War II as control over the commerce routes in the Atlantic was crucial for Germany, Britain and later the Soviet Union. In the Battle of the Atlantic, the initially successful German U-boat fleet arm was eventually defeated due to Allied technological innovations like sonar, radar, and the breaking of the Enigma code. Large surface vessels were few in number due to construction limitations by international treaties prior to 1935. The “pocket battleships” Admiral Graf Spee and Admiral Scheer were important as commerce raiders only in the opening year of the war. No aircraft carrier was operational, as German leadership lost interest in the Graf Zeppelin which had been launched in 1938. Following the loss of the Bismarck in 1941, with Allied air superiority threatening the remaining battlecruisers in French Atlantic harbours, the ships were ordered to make the Channel Dash back to German ports. Operating from fjords of Norway, which had been occupied in 1940, convoys from the USA to the Soviet port of Murmansk could be intercepted even though the Tirpitz spent most of her career as Fleet in being. After the appointment of Karl Doenitz as Grand Admiral of the Kriegsmarine, Germany stopped constructing battleships and cruisers in favour of U-boats.

Theaters and campaigns…

German cavalry and motorized units entering Poland from East Prussia during the Invasion of Poland of 1939.

The Wehrmacht directed combat operations during World War II (from 1 September 1939 to 8 May 1945) as the German Reich’s Armed Forces umbrella command organization. After 1941 the OKH became the de facto Eastern Theatre higher echelon command organization for the Wehrmacht, excluding Waffen-SS except for operational and tactical combat purposes. The OKW conducted operations in the Western Theatre.

For a time the Axis Mediterranean Theatre and the North African Campaign was conducted as a joint campaign with the Italian Army, and may be considered a separate theatre.

• North African Campaign in Libya, Tunisia and Egypt between the U.K. and Commonwealth (and later, US) forces and the Axis forces.
• The Italian “Theatre” (1943–45) was in fact a continuation of the Axis defeat in North Africa, and was a Campaign for defence of Italy.

The operations by the Kriegsmarine in the North and Mid-Atlantic can also be considered as separate Theatres considering the size of the area of operations and their remoteness from other Theatres.

Eastern theatre…

The Eastern Wehrmacht campaigns included:

• Czechoslovakian campaign
• Austrian Anschluss campaign
• Battle of Poland campaign (Fall Weiss)—a joint invasion of Germany, Soviet Union and Slovakia.
• Balkans and Greece (Operation Marita)
• Operation Barbarossa Campaign, also known as the Eastern Front, was the largest and most lethal campaign that the Wehrmacht Heer fought in during World War II. The Campaign against the Soviet Union was strategically the most crucial for Germany and its allies during World War II because of the economic and political repercussions defeat of the Soviet Union would have had on the outcome of the war, including that of the conflict with the United Kingdom and the United States in the Western Theatre. The Eastern Front was also the Theater that demanded more resources than any other Theater throughout the war. The large area covered by the Eastern Front necessitated the division of the Theatre in to four separate Strategic Directions overseen by the Army Group North, Army Group Centre, Army Group South, and the Norwegian Army. These commands would conduct their own interdependent strategic campaigns within the Theater.
• Battle of the Caucasus.
• A subset of the Eastern Front was a number of anti-partisan operations against guerrilla units and counter-insurgency operations largely by Waffen-SS units behind Axis lines.

However, Hitler demanded that the Wehrmacht had to fight on other fronts, sometimes three simultaneously, thus stretching its resources too thin. By 1944, even the defense of Germany became impossible.

Western theatre…

Soldiers of German Wehrmacht in front of the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel in the occupied Paris, 1940.

• Phony War (Sitzkrieg).
• The Denmark campaign as Operation Weserübung
• The Norwegian Campaign.
• The largest campaign in the Western Theatre involving combat was conducted against the Netherlands, Belgium, etc. and France (Fall Gelb) in 1940. This predominantly land campaign evolved into two subsequent campaigns, one by the Luftwaffe against the United Kingdom, and the other by the Kriegsmarine against the strategic supply routes linking the United Kingdom to the rest of the World.
• The Western Front resumed in 1944 against the Allied forces with the Battle of Normandy.
• The strategic air campaigns the Luftwaffe won in 1939 and 1940 in Poland and France ended with the Battle of Britain. From 1941 to the end of 1943, the Luftwaffe entered a long and bloody air battle with the Red Air Force that affected its participation in the campaign against the RAF. Allied air forces enjoyed aerial superiority on all three Theatres by the summer of 1944. In respect to the Battle of Britain, had the Luftwaffe pursued its early goal of bombing the RAF airfields and fighting a war of attrition, it is likely they would have been victorious. However, in response to a string of events beginning with a small-scale air raid on Berlin by British bombers, Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe bomber forces to attack British cities. These reprisal attacks shifted the weight of the Luftwaffe away from the RAF and onto British civilians, allowing the RAF to rebuild its fighting strength and, within a few short months, turn the tide against the Luftwaffe in the skies above England.

• The Battle of the Atlantic resulted in early Kriegsmarine successes that forced Winston Churchill to confide after the war that the only real threat he felt to Britain’s survival was the “U-Boat peril.”

Casualties…

Approximately 5,533,000 German soldiers and from other nationalities fighting for the German army are considered killed or MIA in World War II. The number of wounded surpasses 6,000,000, and the number of prisoners of war reaches 11,000,000, making a total of 22 million casualties from all causes during that conflict.

Hermann Goering, François Kersaudy, 2009

La bibliographie en français sur le IIIe Reich, pourtant imposante, comprend des lacunes. Si les structures du régime nazi sont relativement bien connues, si un effort de publication continu nourrit la connaissance du grand public pour ses aspects les plus criminels, un point fait encore défaut : les biographies des hiérarques nazis. La biographie, longtemps tenu pour un domaine intellectuellement mineur de l’histoire, considéré comme un résidu des origines littéraires de la discipline,  est pourtant un excellent moyen d’approcher le premier cercle nazi, et, au-delà des structures de pouvoir, d’essayer d’appréhender les mentalités de ces criminels. La nature très particulière de la dictature exercée par Hitler, avec une mise en concurrence permanente de ses lieutenants, dont les compétences s’enchevêtraient de manière inextricable, rend utile l’examen des parcours individuels. Il ne retranche rien à l’étude des structures de pouvoir, mais la complète utilement. Des dirigeants importants, seuls Hitler et Speer ont suscité la traduction de travaux biographiques sérieux. Hitler, parce qu’il était la clé de voûte du régime, Speer parce que son parcours singulier et les nombreux écrits repentants qu’il a publiés après-guerre donnent plus de prise à l’historien. Les autres n’ont guère suscité de travaux en français. Goebbels le propagandiste en chef, dont une partie du journal a été récemment imprimée dans notre langue, compte une biographie épuisée et un opuscule mal ficelé ; Himmler n’a intéressé que le très partial Jean Mabire, récemment disparu après avoir écrit des dizaines de livres sur le destin tragique des SS (sic) – et cela même si Edouard Husson a étudié récemment le rôle du chef SS dans la mise en place de la solution finale ; Heydrich n’est pas beaucoup mieux servi ; quant aux autres, ils sont généralement considérés comme des exécutants et ils n’ont jamais attiré le regard de l’historien – à tort à mon sens -.

Hermann Goering, dauphin du régime et Maréchal de l’air, n’avait suscité qu’une publication en français, la traduction, voilà près de vingt ans, des deux volumes écrits par David Irving à son sujet. Malheureusement pour les lecteurs intéressés par un tel sujet, cet historien anglais est réputé pour avoir trop cotoyé les nazis survivants durant ses recherches et, in fine, pour avoir adopté en grande partie leurs vues sur le monde. Cette biographie, malgré sa richesse documentaire, ne répondait pas aux codes historiques en vigueur : l’auteur flirtant avec le négationnisme, son Goering faisait étrangement silence sur le Procès de Nuremberg, où pourtant son sujet eut tout loisir de s’illustrer. Kersaudy, professeur à la Sorbonne et spécialiste de Churchill et de De Gaulle, a donc repris le sujet et produit un vaste travail de synthèse – près de 800 pages -. Autant évacuer les défauts mineurs de l’ensemble dès maintenant : le style de l’auteur est parfois un peu familier, ses longues énumérations de qualités et de défauts un peu répétitives, et l’étude de la jeunesse de Goering manque d’épaisseur. Il est d’ailleurs regrettable que Kersaudy cite autant, dans cette première partie, le travail biographique de commande d’un des collaborateurs de Goering, paru en 1938.

Ces défauts n’enlèvent que peu de chose au travail de Kersaudy. Il analyse le rôle de Goering dans le NSDAP avant 1933, dans l’Etat nazi par la suite, ne laissant rien de côté : fonctions militaires, administratives, économiques, mais aussi vie privée et train de vie  - le thème n’est pas neutre vu l’incroyable enrichissement de l’aviateur pendant la seconde guerre mondiale. Goering, né dans une famille relativement aisée, s’est très vite tourné vers une formation militaire. Officier d’infanterie en 1914, une sensibilité physiologique à l’humidité des tranchées réoriente rapidement sa carrière militaire vers une aviation encore balbutiante. As allemand de la Première guerre, décoré par le Kronprinz lui-même, successeur du Baron Rouge à la tête de son escadrille, Goering sort du conflit paré du costume du héros. Les lendemains difficiles de l’Allemagne de Weimar démilitarisée n’en sont que plus pénibles pour cet officier de carrière désormais au chômage. Il adhère dès 1920 au parti nazi où il devient un élément indispensable, moins pour ses capacités personnelles que pour la propagande que permet son aura de héros de guerre. Blessé gravement lors du putsch raté de 1923, il s’enfuit d’Allemagne, où il est recherché, et se réfugie successivement en Autriche, en Italie et en Suède. Les douleurs consécutives à sa blessure l’ayant rendu dépendant à la morphine, il sombre dans la toxicomanie et, d’hôpital en cure de désintoxication, il finit par être admis dans un asile d’aliénés, où il passe quelques semaines.

L’analyse des psychiatres suédois, faite en 1925, à son propos éclaire le parcours ultérieur : il est décrit comme un être dénué de courage moral, vaniteux, égocentrique, sensible à lui-même, mais insensible aux autres. Ce diagnostic sera confirmé, bien des années après, par Leon Goldensohn, le psychiatre des accusés de Nuremberg. Sorti d’internement, Goering devient le représentant commercial de firmes aéronautiques. Revenu en Allemagne en 1927, il ne retrouve que difficilement une place au sein du NSDAP : il faudra son succès d’homme d’affaires, l’argent qu’il amène au parti et sa respectabilité d’aviateur pour qu’il retrouve une position dirigeante. Elu député, il prend la tête du groupe nazi au Reichstag, et, succès électoraux aidants, devient le Président du Parlement. Lorsque Hitler est appelé à la Chancellerie en janvier 1933, Goering est le nazi le plus populaire. Pour les douze années suivantes, il sera le dauphin du Reich, et accumulera de manière invraisemblable les fonctions sérieuses (Ministre de l’Intérieur de Prusse, Général puis Maréchal d’Aviation, Ministre de l’Air, Commissaire au Plan) et honorifiques (Grand-Veneur du Reich,…). Poussé par sa vanité à accumuler les titres, les richesses et les uniformes, il se désintéresse peu à peu du contenu de ses fonctions. Goering a toujours préféré l’apparat à l’exercice technique du pouvoir. Cela ne l’empêche pas de jouer un rôle majeur lors de l’établissement de la dictature en 1933, de l’élimination des S.A. en 1934 et de l’Anschluss en 1938. Néanmoins, au quotidien, il se décharge des aspects techniques de ses missions sur ses subordonnées, parfois compétents – Milch à l’aviation -, parfois aussi inconstants et médiocres que lui.

Lorsque la guerre se déclare, malgré quelques efforts pour obtenir la neutralité britannique, il suit les tocades du Führer. Quoi qu’il arrivât durant ce conflit, Goering n’a jamais montré la moindre prétention d’autonomie par rapport à son chef. Toujours à la remorque des prétentions stratégiques grotesques d’Hitler – notamment en matière d’aviation – il n’a fait que transmettre des ordres. Enrichi en des proportions inimaginables, obèse, morphinomane, toujours en train de piller les musées français et hollandais, d’agrandir son palais de Carinhall, Goering se décrédibilise lentement. Sa luftwaffe, d’abord conquérante, finit submergée par les effectifs sans cesse grandissants des aviations alliées. Les bombardements sur le territoire allemand, qu’il ne peut empêcher, la planification défaillante – avant que Speer ne reprenne la production en main -, les projets techniques farfelus ruinent sa crédibilité au sein des plus hautes sphères nazies. Alors que la guerre s’achève sur la défaite totale de l’Allemagne et du nazisme, il est destitué de ses fonctions pour avoir annoncé maladroitement son désir d’ouvrir des négociations avec les Alliés.

Arrêté en mai 1945, seul rescapé des figures de premier plan (Hitler, Goebbels, Himmler), il est l’accusé numéro un du tribunal international de Nuremberg. Au début de son procès, bénéficiant de sa position prééminente dans le régime déchu, Goering tente d’organiser la défense collective des accusés et du bilan hitlérien. Les révélations qui se succèdent affaiblissent peu à peu cette façade. Plusieurs accusés, dont Speer, se désolidarisent des atrocités commises par les nazis. Goering continue à défendre sa place dans l’histoire, et, fanfaron, à espérer une reconnaissance de ses compatriotes. Sa défense ne peut évidemment le sauver : en n’ayant jamais fait preuve du moindre courage moral, en ayant fondé et la Gestapo et les premiers camps d’internement – l’ensemble lui échappe cependant dès 1934 -, en ayant toujours soutenu le régime et ses méthodes, Goering ne peut bénéficier d’aucune forme de clémence. Condamné à la pendaison, il échappe à son jugement en se suicidant la veille de son exécution.

De ce portrait de Goering, potentat corrompu, vantard et vélléitaire, d’un régime criminel, aucune circonstance atténuante ne se dégage. Les spécialistes du nazisme n’apprendront certes pas grand chose de neuf sur le rôle de Goering dans ce travail. Kersaudy permet néanmoins au public cultivé et intéressé par le sujet de disposer d’une solide biographie qui supplantera, sans contestation possible, le travail biaisé de David Irving.

]]> http://stahlhelm1939.wordpress.com/2009/11/08/northern-lands/ Sun, 08 Nov 2009 05:43:01 +0000 stahlhelm1939 http://stahlhelm1939.wordpress.com/2009/11/08/northern-lands/

Stahlhelm…

 

 

German Stahlhelme from the Second World War

Stahlhelm (plural, Stahlhelme) is German for “steel helmet”. The Imperial German Army began to replace the traditional boiled-leather Pickelhaube (spiked combat helmet) with the Stahlhelm during the First World War in 1916. The term Stahlhelm refers both to a generic steel helmet, and more specifically to the distinctive (and symbolic) German design.

The Stahlhelm, with its distinctive “coal scuttle” shape, was an instantly recognizable icon for military imagery and became a common element of military propaganda on both sides, just like the Pickelhaube before it.

Its name was also used by the Stahlhelm, a paramilitary nationalist organization established at the end of 1918.

Background…

At the beginning of World War I, none of the combatants were issued with any form of protection for the head other than cloth and leather caps. As the war entered the trench warfare phase, the number of casualties on all sides suffering from severe head wounds (more often caused by shrapnel than by gunfire) increased dramatically. The French were the first to see a real need for more effective protection—in late 1915 they began to issue Adrian helmets to their troops. The British and Commonwealth troops followed with the Brodie helmet, which was also later worn by US forces, and the Germans with the Stahlhelm.

Origin…

The design of the Stahlhelm was carried out by Dr. Friedrich Schwerd of the Technical Institute of Hanover. In early 1915, Schwerd had carried out a study of head wounds suffered during trench warfare and submitted a recommendation for steel helmets, shortly after which he was ordered to Berlin. Schwerd then undertook the task of designing and producing a suitable helmet.

After lengthy development work, which included testing a selection of German and Allied headgear, the first Stahlhelms were tested in November 1915 at the Kummersdorf Proving Ground and then trialled by the 1st Assault Battalion. Thirty thousand examples were ordered, but it was not approved for general issue until New Year 1916, hence it is most usually referred to as the “Model 1916″. In February 1916 it was distributed to troops at Verdun, following which the incidence of serious head injuries fell dramatically.

The model for the Stahlhelm’s design is said to be the 15th century sallet, which was worn by both knights and commoners, and which provided good protection for the head and neck.

In contrast to the Hadfield steel used in the British Brodie helmet, the Germans used a harder martensitic silicon/nickel steel. As a result, and also due to the helmet’s form, the Stahlhelm had to be formed in heated dies at a greater unit cost than the British helmet, which could be formed in one piece.

Models…

The different Stahlhelm designs are named for their year of introduction. For example, the Modell 1942 which was introduced in 1942 is commonly known as M1942 or simply M42. Here, they are referred to by their M19XX names.

M1916 and M1917…

 

1916 Stahlhelm with 1918 camouflage pattern applied in the field.

The Stahlhelm was introduced into regular service during the Verdun campaign in early 1916.

The M1916 design had side-mounted horn-like ventilator lugs which were intended to be support for an additional steel brow plate or Stirnpanzer, which only ever saw limited use by snipers and trench raiding parties, as it was too heavy for general use.

The shell came in different sizes, from 60 to 68, with some size 70s reported. The suspension, or liner, consisted of a headband with three segmented leather pouches, each holding padding materials, and leather or fabric cords could be adjusted to provide a comfortable fit. The one-piece leather chin strap was attached to the shell by M1891 chinstrap lugs, the same kind used in the Pickelhaube helmet.

The M1916 design provided excellent protection: Reserve Lieutenant Walter Schulze of 8th Company Reserve Infantry Regiment 76 described his combat introduction to the helmet on the Somme, 29 July 1916:

“… suddenly, with a great clanging thud, I was hit on the forehead and knocked flying onto the floor of the trench… a shrapnel bullet had hit my helmet with great violence, without piercing it, but sufficiently hard to dent it. If I had, as had been usual up until a few days previously, been wearing a cap, then the Regiment would have had one more man killed.”

But the helmet was not without its flaws. The ventilator horns often let cold air in during the winter, requiring the wearer to block the vents with mud or fabric. The large, flared skirt tended to make it difficult for soldiers to hear, distorting surrounding sounds and creating an echo when the wearer spoke.

Originally painted Feldgrau (field grey), the Stahlhelm was often camouflaged by troops in the field using mud, foliage, cloth covers, and paint. Official issue cloth covers in white and grey appeared in late 1916 and early 1917. Camouflage paint was not formally introduced until July 1918, when German Army Order II, No 91 366, signed by General Erich Ludendorff on 7 July 1918, outlined official standards for helmet camouflage. The order stipulated that helmets should be painted in several colors, separated by a finger-wide black line. The colors should be relevant to the season, such as using green, brown and ochre in summer.

After the effectiveness of the M1916 design was validated during the 1916 campaigns, incremental improvements were subsequently made. The M1917 version saw improvements to the liner, but was otherwise identical to the original design.

M1918…

 

WWI Stahlhelm and anti-shrapnel body armour.

Extensive redesigns were made for the M1918 model. A new two-piece chin strap was introduced, and was attached directly to the helmet liner rather than the shell. Certain examples of the M1918 had cutouts in the rim along the sides of the helmet. It has incorrectly been said that these cutouts were to accommodate using headphones while wearing the helmet. These cutouts were actually done to improve hearing and to reduce echo created by the large, flared skirt.

The M1918 Stahlhelm can be distinguished from the M1916, as the M1918 shell lacks the chinstrap rivet on the lower side of the helmet skirt found on earlier models.

Central Power variants…

Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire used, or had commissioned, variations of the Stahlhelm design. The Austrians’ M1917 helmet was similar to the German M1916, but had a cloth webbing chinstrap and had the chinstrap rivet located higher up on the steel shell. The Hungarians produced their own M1917 version that was similar to the Austrian design, but the chinstrap rivet was smaller in size and located even higher up than the Austrian version. The Austro-Hungarian helmets were manufactured by Krupp Berndorfer Metallwarenfabriken, and were brown in color.

Germany delivered 5,400 visorless versions of the M1918 helmet for Turkey. The missing front visor was thought by the Germans to be for religious reasons, and it was claimed that it was to allow Turkish soldiers to touch their foreheads to the ground during prayer, without removing their helmets. However, this story has been disputed. The Turks rejected any more than the 5,400 delivered and an unknown number from the overrun were issued to German armed forces and were used by German Freikorps units after the war.

M1933…

In 1932 the Army High Command ordered the testing of a new prototype helmet intended to replace the older models. It was made entirely from a composite plastic material called “Vulkanfiber”. The Model 1933 Vulkanfiber helmet kept the basic form of previous helmets but was much lighter. It was put into limited production following favourable field tests in early 1933 and small numbers were issued to Reichswehr infantry, artillery and communications units. It was removed from service following the introduction of the M1935 helmet and most of the remaining stock were reissued to civil organizations such as fire brigades and police forces. Some examples were also retained for parade use by senior officers, who were not generally issued with the Stahlhelm.

M1935…

 

Chinese soldiers wearing the M1935.

In 1934 tests began on an improved Stahlhelm, whose design was a development of the World War I models. The Eisenhüttenwerke company of Thale carried out prototype design and testing, with Dr. Friedrich Schwerd once again taking a hand.

The new helmet was pressed from sheets of molybdenum steel in several stages. The size of the flared visor and skirt was reduced, and the large projecting lugs for the obsolete armour shield were eliminated. The ventilator holes were retained, but were set in smaller hollow rivets mounted to the helmet’s shell. The edges of the shell were rolled over, creating a smooth edge along the helmet. Finally, a completely new leather suspension, or liner, was incorporated that greatly improved the helmet’s safety, adjustability, and comfort for each wearer. These improvements made the new M1935 helmet lighter, more compact, and more comfortable to wear than the previous designs.

The Army’s Supreme Command officially accepted the new helmet on June 25 1935 and it was intended to replace all other helmets in service.

Over 1 million M1935 helmets were manufactured in the first two years after its introduction, and millions more were produced until 1940 when the basic design and production methods were changed.

M1940…

The M1935 design was slightly modified in 1940 to simplify its construction, the manufacturing process now incorporating more automated stamping methods. The principal change was to stamp the ventilator hole mounts directly onto the shell, rather than utilizing separate fittings. In other respects, the M1940 helmet was identical to the M1935.

Fallschirmjäger version…

 

Fallschirmjäger

A variant of the M1935 helmet with a shell lacking the projecting visor and deep, flared rim was issued to Fallschirmjäger (German paratrooper) units. It was so designed in order to lessen the risk of head injury on landing after a parachute jump; also to reduce the significant wind resistance and resulting neck trauma. Early Fallschirmjäger helmets were manufactured from existing M1935 helmets by removing the undesirable projections, which were omitted when the new design entered full production.  The modified shell also incorporated a completely different and more substantial liner and chinstrap design that provided far more protection for German airborne troops.

M1942…

The M1942 design was a result of wartime demands. The rolled edge on the shell was eliminated, creating an unfinished edge along the rim. This edge slightly flared out, along the base of the skirt. The elimination of the rolled edge expedited the manufacturing process and reduced the amount of metal used in each helmet. Shell paint colors towards the end of the war typically ran to matte gray-green, and the decals were gradually eliminated to speed up production and reduce the helmet’s combat visibility. Greater manufacturing flaws were also observed in M42 helmets made late in the war.

[edit] M1944

A simpler variant, designed in 1944 by the Army Ordnance Office, was also stamped out of one piece of metal but with sloped sides. Similar in appearance to the British 1944 Type Mk III helmet. Allegedly personally rejected by Hitler as being too foreign.

M1945…

There have been reports of a variant manufactured in the last months of the war. The M1945 was reported to have been similar to the M1942 design, but did away completely with the ventilator. These helmets are reported to be extremely rare. Many collectors and historians are of the opinion that the M1945 helmet is more likely to be just a regular M1942 helmet that lacked the vents simply because of machine malfunctions in the factory.

M1954…

A variant of the M1944 with a modified suspension system, developed further into the M1956.

M1956…

 

M1956 East German Stahlhelm

The East German M-56 helmet was originally designed in 1942 as a replacement for the M1935/M1940 model Stahlhelms. The design was never progressed and was unused until the requirement for a new German helmet for the Volkspolizei and the National People’s Army arose, it being realized that the reintroduction of the Stahlhelm would not have been tolerated by the Soviet Union. It came in three basic versions, Mod 1 or I/56, Mod 2 or I/57 and Mod 3 or I/71, and was widely sold (or given) to Third World armies.

Decals & insignia…

After Stahlhelm shells were painted, the colours of which varied by organization, small identification or insignia decals usually were affixed to one or both sides of the helmet. Almost every military, naval, and political organization had its own distinctive insignia, which was applied as decals to the sides of helmets. [2] The right side of early M35 helmets bore the tricolored shield of black, white, and red stripes, the traditional national colors of Imperial Germany (cf. the black, red, and gold of today’s Germany, harking back to the 1848 Revolt). The left side of the shell often received decal insignia denoting the branch of the armed forces, or Wehrmacht, or an organization within the Nazi Party.

The Wehrmacht consisted of the Heer (army), the Kriegsmarine (navy), and the Luftwaffe (air force). While not technically part of the Wehrmacht, the Waffen-SS (“Armed-SS”) tactically operated as such and was considered part of Germany’s armed forces during the war. The same was true of some Sturmabteilung (SA) units, along with other subsidiary organizations, which functioned as part of the armed forces particularly towards the end of the war. Wehrmacht branches typically displayed distinctive emblems in the form of decals on their helmets. The Heer, or army, displayed a black shield bearing the frontal view of a silver-colored German eagle holding a swastika in its talons (known as the Reichsadler), while the navy used the same eagle emblem in gold. Luftwaffe decals displayed the side view of an eagle in flight, also holding a swastika. The SS was both a paramilitary and a political organization, and its black runic initials on a silver-colored shield (normally applied to the right side of the shell) looked like twin lightning bolts. Other military, political, and civil or defense organizations used similar decal insignia to distinguish their helmets. Such visible identification devices were gradually abandoned as the war progressed, however, so that by war’s end most Wehrmacht helmet insignia had been eliminated to reduce the wearer’s visibility in combat.

Stahlhelm use in other countries…

 

wz. 36 AT gun crew of the Polish 10th Brigade

Germany exported versions of the M1935 helmet to various countries. Versions of the M1935 Stahlhelm were sent to Nationalist China in 1935 and 1936. Spain also received shipments of the helmet. During the inter-war years several military missions were sent to South America under the command of Hans Kundt and the Bolivian army used to wear the helmet up until recently. The exported M1935 helmets were similar to the German issue, except for a different liner. Hungary produced own 35M helmet, it was a modified German M1935 helmet. Hungary used a variation of the M1942 helmet, that had a metal belt loop on the back of the shell. Some countries manufactured their own helmets using the M1935 design, and this basic design was in use in various nations as late as the 1970s.

After the end of World War I Poland seized large quantities of M1918 helmets. Most of those were later sold to various countries, including Spain. However, at the end of the 1930s it was discovered that the standard Polish wz. 31 helmet was unsuitable for tank troops and motorized units; while offering decent protection, it was too large and heavy. As a stop-gap measure before a new helmet was developed, the General Staff decided to issue M1918 helmets to the 10th Motorized Cavalry Brigade, which used them during the Polish Defensive War.

During the inter-war years, the Republic of Ireland equipped their Army with a British-made copy of the M1918 helmet manufactured by Vickers, and a German-type tunic. At the outbreak of World War Two, Ireland remained neutral, but in 1940 accepted the British offer to replace the German-style uniforms with British-style battle dress and Brodie pattern helmets.

Other countries that used Stahlhelm-type helmets included…

• Argentina
• Afghanistan
• Austria
• Bolivia
• Brazil: Firefighters Corps of Paraná State
• Bulgaria
• Chile
• Colombia
• Croatia
• Czechoslovakia
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• Guatemala
• Hungary
• Iran
• Republic of Ireland: Irish Army post World War I to 1940
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Mexico
• Norway
• Poland
• Republic of China: M1935 Republic of China Army 1935–1950s?
• Romania
• Spain
• Turkey
• Venezuela
• Yugoslavia

Switzerland used a helmet that was roughly similar to the M1916, but had a shallower, more rounded crown and skirt.

Postwar…

 

East German troops wearing the M1956

After the Second World War, West Germany abandoned the distinctive Stahlhelm, which had become a symbol of German military aggression, for a variant of the more “harmless-looking” United States Army “GI pot” helmet. The Bundesgrenzschutz border guards and some West German police units kept the Stahlhelm in their inventories, though it was seldom worn (although police units can be seen wearing them during footage of the Black September hostage crisis in 1972), and the Fallschirmjäger variant was used for some time by the GSG 9. German firefighters today still use Stahlhelm-shaped helmets in a fluorescent color. In the 1990s, a Kevlar helmet was adopted by the Army which sported the distinct form once more.

East Germany’s M-56 helmet was modelled on an unused 1942 German design with a more conical shape. The Chilean Army still uses the Stahlhelm design for ceremonial purposes. There are also some Japanese bicycle helmets (with accompanying goggles) that resemble the Stahlhelm.

Popular culture…

• During the 1960s and 1970s, the Stahlhelm became available on the surplus market in the United States and was soon picked up by outlaw bikers, and has since, through various books and films, also become associated with biker gangs such as the Hells Angels. Known as the “German style”, fiberglass replicas have since been manufactured both for novelty purposes and Department of Transportation-approved head protection.

• Due to its association with ideas of power, aggressiveness and domination the Stahlhelm also became popular with extreme metal fans, especially in the subgenres of thrash and black metal which often adopt military garments and paraphernalia such as bullet belts, gasmasks and so on.

• In the graphic novel Tintin and the Picaros, the San Theodorian troops wore white Stahlhelms (mostly as the helmet was used by authoritarian governmental armies throughout South America).

• Starting in the mid 1970s, original Stahlhelms also began to be used in World War II reenactments.

• The Stahlhelm influenced the design of RoboCaine in Robocop 2.

• The Stahlhelm, with the Japanese kabuto, inspired the helmet of Darth Vader and Stormtroopers in Star Wars, as were some of the helmet’s used by the imperial army in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi (For example, General Veers and other AT-ST pilots).

• In a more peaceful setting, in the late 1990s, moulded fibreglass copies of the classic WW2 German Stahlhelm were seen in the streets of Indonesia. Available in gaudy colours, such as “sparkly” red, green or purple, they became popular with the country’s numerous moped riders. Inexpensively made, they had a simple nylon-strap liner and foam headband, with nylon Y-chinstrap and black rubber or nylon rim-edging. While possibly better than no headgear at all, it is doubtful whether this headgear would protect its wearer in an accident.

• The character Adrian Dangerous (played by Adrian Edmonson) of The Dangerous Brothers wore a Stahlhelm at some points. The Stahlhelm would also be seen in some of Edmonson’s subsequent characters.

• The helmet, both its WWI and WWII incarnations, is used in Warhammer 40,000 as well, particularly by the two sub-armies of the Imperial Guard, the Armageddon Steel Legion and Death Korps of Krieg, both of which being inspired by the German Army in both World Wars. Aside from the Imperial Guard, the Orks are also occasionally known to sport their own version of the Stahlhelm, more inspired by the outlaw cultures that have adopted it than the military institutions on which the guard is modeled.

• A Dutch company created a parody of the German helmet to be worn at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany, in Orange, the national colour of the Netherlands. The Royal Netherlands Football Association said they found it in rather bad taste and discouraged the helmet to be worn at the event. Nevertheless, the helmet was a common sight among Dutch supporters in Germany. This helmet is called “Helmpje“, which is Dutch for little helmet, and has a number of versions with different texts written on the helmet itself: Jetzt Geht Losssss (“here we gooooo” (misspelled) in German), Aanvalluh! (“charrrge!” in Dutch), Hup Holland Hup! (“Go Holland Go!”). The German responce to this parody was a Pickelhaube in the national colours black-red-gold.

• At the same time, a White version featuring the Red Cross of St George was made available in the UK to English supporters through a popular tabloid newspaper. Once again, the practice was decried as being in poor taste, especially as it was combined in some instances with arguably xenophobic “anti-German” coverage of the run up to the World Cup.

• In New Zealand the Mongrel Mob gang use the Stahlhelm on their patches, and sometimes wear them at gatherings.

• In the animated series Transformers: Animated the Decepticon Blitzwing wears a helmet similar to the Stalhelm.

• The helmet worn by the Decepticon leader Megatron also resembles the German Stahlhelm. In addition he transformed into a Walther P38, the standard-issue Wehrmacht pistol.

• Stahlhelms (and real DOT-approved motorcycle helmets made to resemble them) have been popular helmets in the motorcycle world, as a symbol of rebellion and defiance of the status quo.

• the Stahlhelm is sometimes conflated with the Pickelhaube and erroneously depicted with a metal spike on top, particularly in cartoons.

Dem Luftwaffenportal zufolge hat Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg heute in Nörvenich das Kommando über die Luftwaffe von Generalleutnant Klaus-Peter Stieglitz an Generalleutnant Aarne Kreuzinger-Janik übergeben. Damit ist es für ihn der zweite Zapfenstreich innerhalb der ersten beiden Tage seiner Amtszeit, denn gestern erst hat er seinen Vorgänger Franz-Josef Jung mit einem großen Zapfenstreich verabschiedet.

Nachtrag 31. Oktober 2009:

Auf der Facebook-Fanseite befinden sich auch ein paar Fotos von der Amtsübergabe.

Von links nach rechts: Generalleutnant Klaus-Peter Stieglitz, Dr. Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, Generalleutnant Aarne Kreuzinger-Janik.