Aviation history series which aired on the Discovery Channel family of networks. Originally called Great Planes.
Showing Season 4 of 9
Wings of the Luftwaffe
1992
Wings of the Luftwaffe was a 1992 separately-branded program that focused on Luftwaffe aircraft of World War II. It was narrated by Helmut Bakaitis.
01. The Blitz
1992-04-08
Focuses on the Arado Ar 234 Blitz (English: lightning), the world's first operational jet-powered bomber, built by the German Arado company during World War II.
02. The Butcher Bird
1992-04-15
Focuses on the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 (nicknamed Würger; English: Shrike), a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, the Messerschmitt Bf 109, the Fw 190 became the backbone of the Jagdwaffe (Fighter Force) of the Luftwaffe. The twin-row BMW 801 radial engine that powered most operational versions enabled the Fw 190 to lift larger loads than the Bf 109, allowing its use as a day fighter, fighter-bomber, ground-attack aircraft and to a lesser degree, night fighter.
03. The Destroyer
1992-04-22
Focuses on the Messerschmitt Bf 110, often known unofficially as the Me 110; a twin-engine Zerstörer (Destroyer, heavy fighter), fighter-bomber (Jagdbomber or Jabo), and night fighter (Nachtjäger) developed in Nazi Germany in the 1930s and used by the Luftwaffe during World War II.
04. Gigant
1992-04-29
Focuses on the Messerschmitt Me 321 Gigant, a large German cargo glider developed and used during World War II. Intended to support large scale invasions, the Me 321 saw very limited use due to the low availability of suitable tug aircraft, high vulnerability whilst in flight and the difficult ground handling, both at base and at destination landing sites. The Me 321 was developed, in stages, into the six-engined Messerschmitt Me 323 Gigant, which removed some of the problems with ground handling, but vulnerability to ground fire and aerial attack remained a constant problem during operations of all variants.
05. Iron Annie
1992-05-06
Focuses on the Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed Tante Ju ("Aunt Ju") and Iron Annie), a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers.
06. The Jet
1992-05-13
Focuses on the Messerschmitt Me 262, nicknamed Schwalbe (German: "Swallow") in fighter versions, or Sturmvogel (German: "Storm Bird") in fighter-bomber versions, a German fighter aircraft and fighter-bomber that was the world's first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft. Design work started before World War II began, but problems with engines, metallurgy and top-level interference kept the aircraft from operational status with the Luftwaffe until mid-1944. The Me 262 was faster and more heavily armed than any Allied fighter, including the British jet-powered Gloster Meteor. One of the most advanced aviation designs in operational use during World War II, the Me 262's roles included light bomber, reconnaissance and experimental night fighter versions.
07. The Komet
1992-05-20
Focuses on the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet, a German interceptor aircraft designed for point-defence. It is the only operational rocket-powered fighter aircraft in history and the first piloted aircraft of any type to exceed 1,000 kilometres per hour (620 mph) in level flight. Designed by Alexander Lippisch, its performance and aspects of its design were unprecedented. In early July 1944, German test pilot Heini Dittmar reached 1,130 km/h (700 mph), an unofficial flight airspeed record unmatched by turbojet-powered aircraft until 1953.
08. The Legend
1992-05-27
Focuses on the Messerschmitt Bf 109, a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force.
09. The Schnell Bomber
1992-06-03
Focuses on the Junkers Ju 88, a German World War II Luftwaffe twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called Schnellbomber ("fast bomber") that would be too fast for fighters of its era to intercept. It suffered from technical problems during its development and early operational periods but became one of the most versatile combat aircraft of the war. Like a number of other Luftwaffe bombers, it served as a bomber, dive bomber, night fighter, torpedo bomber, reconnaissance aircraft, heavy fighter and at the end of the war, as a flying bomb.
10. Sea Wings
1992-06-10
Focuses on German Seaplanes of WWII.
11. The Secret Bomber
1992-06-17
Focuses on the Heinkel He 111, a German bomber aircraft designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development it was described as a "wolf in sheep's clothing". Due to restrictions placed on Germany after the First World War prohibiting bombers, it masqueraded as a civil airliner, although from conception the design was intended to provide the nascent Luftwaffe with a fast medium bomber.
12. The Stuka
1992-06-24
Focuses on the Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka (from Sturzkampfflugzeug, "dive bomber"), a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935. The Ju 87 made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939 and served in Axis forces in World War II (1939-1945).
13. V for Vengeance
1992-07-01
Focuses on the V-1 flying bomb (German: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1"); an early cruise missile and the only production aircraft to use a pulsejet for power.
