Air war (Morgen die ganze Welt)

December,11 1944 Hamburg

The perfidious British reject the German armistice demands one day before Hitler's ultimatum expires by bombing Hamburg. The bombers have no losses as the raid was unexpected. Hitler couldn't believe that the British would expose their population to nerve gas counterattacks after 16 months of peace.

December,12 1944 Italy

The British 8th army invades Salerno in Italy to help the Americans. It is obvious this invasion has been planned for a long time. The British never intended to stay out of the war.

December,13 1944 London

During the night London is the target of a nerve gas bombing raid. Inhabitants without nerve gas protection have been evacuated. The raid causes discomfort but no casualties. German bomber losses are light. The bombers were the new Ar-234 jets and they were escorted by Me-262 night fighters.

December,14 1944 France

Germans launch the first V1 unguided missiles from France. The missiles are very inaccurate but also very cheap. The British have to use enormous resources to try and counter the V1s, as a single missile with a nerve gas payload could kill thousands. For the moment only explosive payloads are used.

December,16 1944 Frankfurt

A British bombing raid on Frankfurt suffers heavy losses. Of 540 bombers taking off 185 are shot down. The British are now suspending heavy bomber raids far into Germany. In the future Mosquitos will be used.

December,18 1944 Salerno

German forces In Italy hastily retreat towards Naples to avoid being cut off by The Salerno invasion.

December,20 1944 Hamburg

A nuissance raid by 120 Mosquitos on Berlin is intercepted by Me-262 jets. Within minutes 22 Mosquitos are shot down. The survivors jetisson their bombs and escape by flying low.

December,30 1944 London

London is now regularly bombed day and night by Ar-234 jets. The jets are too fast to intercept and fly to high for AA guns. Fortunately bad weather gives the British a respite.

January,3 1945 Napels

The German defensive line in front of Napels is holding for the moment.

February,9 1945 Birmingham

The Spitfire factories in Birmingham are bomber by jet bombers in broad daylight. German bombing accuracy is increasing and the factory is damaged.

March,1 1945 Great Britain

The American 8th Air Force starts bombing Germany again. This time the bombers are escorted by Mustangs.

March,15 1945 Great Britain

American bombers raid the synthetic oil factory at Leuna. The facilities are damaged but there are disturbing reports of attacks by rocket-firing Me-262 jets. The jets attack in formation, launch hundreds of unguided rockets and sometimes shoot an entire box of bombers out of the sky. Mustangs are always trailing a few kilometers behind the jets. Of 630 bombers taking off, 140 fail to return.

March,21 1945 Atlantic

U-2501 and U2502, the first type 21 U-boats are heading for the Atlantic.

March,23 1945 Great Britain

The RAF and the USAAF shift their bombing operations to France in preparation of an invasion. The aim is too wear out the Luftwaffe using overwhelming numbers.

March,27 1945 Atlantic

U-2501 and U2502 attack a convoy spotted by Ju-390 patrol aircraft. The submarines dive deep to evade the escorts and surface in the middle of the convoy. Using the fast torpedo reload mechanism they fire all their torpedoes in minutes, sinking 21 cargo ships. The submarines dive deep again and return to port, undetected by the frenzied escorts. This is he shortest and most successful submarine attack ever.

April,2 1945 Junkers

Junkers improves its Jumo 004 jet engines now providing 17 kN thrust, 70% more, and 15% better fuel efficiency. The Jumo 012 with 27 kN of thrust is under development. BMW and Heinkel are developing jet engines too.

April,12 1945 Atlantic

Four more type 21 submarines enter the Atlantic.

April,16 1945 Atlantic

A convoy spotted by a Ju-390 is attacked by submarines and scatters. This time 16 ships and an auxiliary aircraft carrier are sunk. One destroyer makes sonar contact with a U-boat going at incredible speed. It tries to keep contact but the submarine attacks from great depth with a homing torpedo and the destroyer has its stern blown off.

April,18 1945 Atlantic

After the latest attack the Allies decide to retire slow cargo ships to the Pacific. Convoys in the Atlantic will now be faster and have more escorts.

April,20 1945 France

The USAAF sends 4 P-80 Shooting Star jets to England for evaluation. The P-80 is faster than the Me-262 at sea level but its engine is not reliable at this stage. The RAF has Meteor jets in service but they are slower than some piston fighters.

April,28 1945 Atlantic

Some convoys slip accross the Atlantic without being attacked. It is feared however that there will be problems when numbers of type 21 submarines increase.

May,8 1945 Ta-183

A new modern-looking Ta-183 jet takes off for the first time at the Focke-Wulf facilities. The test pilot is very enthusiastic about the agility and responsiveness of the fighter. Based on the first flight, a  batch of 2000 fighters is ordered.

May,12 1945 Atlantic

The battle of the Atlantic is starting in earnest. Germans are using Ju-390 patrol aircraft to spot convoys and type 21 submarines to attack. The Allies counter by using more auxiliary aircraft carriers and patrolling a wide area around convoys, causing submarines to submerge and fall behind. The subs are difficult to find though because they stay at periscope depth. Any slip-up in aircraft patrols and they get through. In one encounter a U-boat sinks battleship Ramillies and several cargo ships while staying submerged at 50 meters. A barrage of depth charges is futile. The U-boat uses the standard getaway of a high-speed dash followed by silent escape at maximum depth.

May,13 1945 France

Germans are now launching 100 V1 missiles per day at England. The accuracy is bad but the disruption great when civilians have to seek shelter. V1 launching sites are attacked regularly but flak and Luftwaffe combined cause great losses. The US can make up the losses but the British are struggling. Something has to be done because attrition is now in favor of the Germans.

May,20 1945 Ural

German forces consolidate the Ural-Volga line. Major airfield at Perm, Jekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk and Orenburg will be developed. Sixty highly mobile divisions will secure the front. There will be no static lines but any Soviet aggression will be met with long range bombing followed by combined attacks, a colonial type of warfare. In the next few months 140 division will become available for fighting the Allies. Even an invasion of Great Britain now becomes possible.

May,27 1945 Atlantic

The Allies have great difficulties getting convoys through the Atlantic. If this continues the Italian front will be affected and Great Britain is in danger of being starved like in the first world war.

June,6 1945 France

More than 100 V1 launching sites have been bombed out but the cost was great in lost aircraft. Meanwhile the Luftwaffe has started to use the strange looking Ju-287 jet bomber with forward swept wings. The bomber is too fast to intercept except by P-80s.