Units equipped with the new Lioré et Olivier LeO.451 still had problems with its overly complex hydraulic, electrical and pneumatic systems, exacerbated by a shortage of spares. French bombardment groups were even more behind in introducing new types than were the fighter groups. The Luftwaffe did have an overwhelming superiority in bombers: nearly 1,200 Heinkel He-111, Dornier Do-17 and Do-215 and Junkers Ju-88 twin-engine bombers and 340 Ju-87 Stukas against about 400 Allied bombers, including 38 Vought V-156F and Loire-Nieuport LN.411 dive bombers of the French navy. Robert Williame of GC I/2 was flying one when he shot down three Me-109Es on the morning of June 8 and followed up by shooting down three Junkers Ju-87B dive bombers that afternoon. Nevertheless, the MS.406 was by no means ineffective in combat. It was regarded as obsolescent and three groupes de chasse (fighter groups) were in the process of changing over to newer types during the May-June campaign. The most numerous fighter type on the French side was the Morane-Saulnier MS.406. (Mary Evans Picture Library)Īll the Allied fighters were slower than the Me-109E, but they were also more maneuverable. The most numerous French fighter of the short war, the MS.406 was by then regarded as obsolescent. These MS.406s sport the national emblem of their Polish refugee pilots in March 1940. With reinforcements of British Hawker Hurricanes arriving within hours of the opening of the German offensive and the Me-110 proving less effective than expected, the Germans had almost no numerical advantage in fighters on the French and Belgian fronts. During the first few days, in the expectation of a very rapid conquest of the Netherlands, the Luftwaffe concentrated 180 Me-109Es and 62 Me-110Cs against 29 Fokker D.XXIs and 23 Fokker G.Is of the Dutch army aviation brigade.
Was it as bad as we’ve been led to believe?įor their western campaign the Germans had available about 1,000 Messerschmitt Me-109E single-engine and 250 Me-110C twin-engine fighters, compared to a total of fewer than 800 modern French, British, Belgian and Dutch single-engine and 120 Dutch and (mainly) French twin-engine fighters. Yet many histories cite the poor performance of the French air force, the Armée de l’air, as a major reason for France’s defeat. Where the French were weak was in combat aircraft, though the deficiency in numbers was perhaps less significant than sometimes claimed. The ignominious collapse of the French army in June occurred despite the fact that it possessed more tanks and better anti-tank guns than the Wehrmacht. The German attack on France, Belgium and the Netherlands in May 1940 has gone down as the classic example of Blitzkrieg (lightning war). Why Did the French Air Force Fail in 1940? Close
0 kommentar(er)
