eArticle available: 'The Life of Günter Schultze-Quentell - A Reluctant Airman'

[leonventer]

Hi Ed,

Originally Posted by edwest2

I do not agree with the statement "increasing inferiority in aircraft performance."

I was referring to the fact that, at war's end, the types making up the bulk of the Tagjagd (i.e. the Bf 109 G/K and Fw 190 A) were at a disadvantage compared to their top Allied counterparts (e.g. the P-51, P-47, Yak-9, etc.)

The Fw 190 A is my favorite aircraft, but it suffered at altitude. The 109 was showing its age and was technically outclassed by then. Both types were hampered by increasingly poor production quality, leading to a performance loss of 5 to 10%, according to the US Strategic Bombing Survey's Aircraft Division Industry Report.

Of course, fighters like the Me 262, Me 163 and the Ta 152 were clearly superior, but there were too few of them to make a difference.

Originally Posted by edwest2

If anything, it was greater numbers of Allied aircraft and thousand bomber raids that kept most of the Luftwaffe on the ground in such heavily outnumbered engagements.

No disagreement there. That's why I listed the effect of disproportionate forces before aircraft performance.

Thanks as always for your contributions,
Leon Venter