German Pilots Flew A Captured P-51 - Their Assessment Shocked Luftwaffe Command скачать в хорошем качестве

German Pilots Flew A Captured P-51 - Their Assessment Shocked Luftwaffe Command

In nineteen forty four, German test pilots at a secret Luftwaffe facility climbed into the cockpit of a captured American P-51 Mustang. What they discovered confirmed their worst fears about the fighter that was systematically destroying the German air force. This documentary explores the remarkable story of how the Luftwaffe acquired and evaluated captured Mustangs through specialized units like Zirkus Rosarius and the Rechlin test facility. Skilled evaluation pilots including Hans Werner Lerche flew the American fighter and documented its extraordinary combination of speed, range, and high altitude performance. Their professional assessments revealed why no German piston engine fighter could match the aircraft that now escorted American bombers all the way to Berlin and back. German aces like Kurt Buhligen who faced the Mustang in combat confirmed what the test pilots found. The P-51 was faster, and its range had nullified the entire Luftwaffe defensive strategy. Yet despite gathering accurate intelligence about the threat, German command could not respond effectively. This is the story of how the Luftwaffe came to understand exactly why it was losing the air war over Europe, and why that understanding changed nothing. Featuring verified accounts from German test pilots, detailed technical analysis, and the strategic context of the nineteen forty four air campaign that broke the back of German fighter forces. A complete documentary examining one of the most significant aircraft evaluations of World War Two and its implications for the air war over the Reich. PRIMARY SOURCES & AUTHORITATIVE REFERENCES: Air & Space Forces Magazine (Official USAF Publication) Mustang article with Göring interrogation details https://www.airandspaceforces.com/art... National Museum of the United States Air Force Big Week (Operation Argument) February 20-25, 1944 https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Vis... American Air Museum in Britain (Imperial War Museums) Big Week operations and 8th Air Force records https://www.americanairmuseum.com/sto... This Day in Aviation Packard V-1650-7 Merlin engine specifications https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/tag... The National WWII Museum (New Orleans) P-51 Mustang historical overview https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war... WWII Aircraft Performance (Technical Flight Test Data) P-51D performance specifications from wartime testing https://www.wwiiaircraftperformance.o... 4th Fighter Group Association (Official Veterans Organization) First Berlin escort mission March 4, 1944 and unit history http://www.4thfightergroupassociation... HistoryNet (Military History Publications) Operation Bodenplatte January 1, 1945 https://www.historynet.com/luftwaffes... HistoryNet - Kurt Tank Profile Ta 152H development and Tank's escape from P-51s https://www.historynet.com/designer-p... Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) - US Military Luftwaffe pilot attrition statistics 1944 https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/AD10... The Aviation Geek Club Adolf Galland on Operation Bodenplatte https://theaviationgeekclub.com/legen... BOOK SOURCES (for credibility listing): Hans-Werner Lerche, "Luftwaffe Test Pilot: Flying Captured Allied Aircraft of World War 2" (Jane's Publishing, 1980) ISBN 978-0710600318 Adolf Galland, "The First and the Last" (1954) Albert Speer, "Inside the Third Reich" (Nuremberg testimony June 21, 1946)