Under the Treaty of Versailles, a number of severe restrictions were imposed on the German aircraft industry. However, after his seizure of power, Hitler secretly started massive Air Force construction and only after two years did he openly declare the construction, immediately showing off the air power at home and abroad.
Three companies of the German aircraft industry, Junkers, Heinkel and Dornier, played a central role in the secret Milch plan of 1934–35 for the construction of the Luftwaffe (Air Force). Junkers produced the supplementary Bomber, Dornier produced the Bomber and Reconnaissance (long- and short-range) and Heinkel produced fighters, the Reconnaissance and the Dive bomber. At the time, under severe restrictions, how and why was it possible?
1. At the end of the First World War, there were 77 aircraft companies with 65,000 employees. The demobilisation severely limited the possibility of survival for the German aircraft industry, and the Treaty of Versailles imposed a ban on production and exports. Still, under the severe conditions of 1919–33, about 15 companies produced approximately 3,000 planes. Most of them were civilian aircraft, because military aircraft had been strictly prohibited. But in practice, 365 military planes were produced.
2. The German aircraft industry was highly developed during the First World War. Junkers F-13, which was developed in 1919, was all-metal and the most advanced airplane in the world. Many neutral countries and developing countries focused on obtaining German planes.focused on German planes. Immediately after the end of the war, Sweden, the Soviet Union, Japan, Poland and even the United States tried to get German airplanes.
3. Heinkel was able to continue producing military aircraft in secret with the cooperation of Japanese friends who were on the control commission. Junkers established a factory in Fili near Moscow through secret German–Soviet military cooperation, and by 1925, had produced approximately 100 military planes. But no sufficient support from the Reichswehr could be obtained. Junkers invested in the A. B. Flygindustri in Limhamn (Schweden) and withdrew from Fili in heavy debt. Meanwhile, Dornier established factories for military planes in Italy and Switzerland.
4. These companies were fiercely competitive at home and abroad and established many world records. Their planes made many expeditions around the world and contributed to airline expansion. They achieved a high level of technical complexity and set the standards for mass production.
5. Hugo Junkers was a genuine, reliable Democrat. He was a member of the Deutsche Demokratische Partei and had Anti-Nazi ideology. He was expelled from his company, which had been completely nationalised during the secret rearmament.
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