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The Luftwaffe
Source: http://www.ww2.dk/
When the Nazis came to power in 1933, the Air Ministry was established with Hermann Goering as its head and two years later the German air force or Luftwaffe was unveiled. By the start of World War II, the Luftwaffe Goering and his colleague Erhard Milch created was undoubtedly the greatest air force in Europe. The vision for the Luftwaffe was both grand and ultimately flawed. From the start of production, the air ministry decided to focus on producing high quality fighter planes and the Messerchmit Bf 109 was their crowing achievement. Production of bombers was also pursued so that by 1939 Germany had 3,750 air craft at its disposal. Yet the flaw behind the imposing German air force was its principle design as a short-range tactical air force meant to work in concert with advancing armies. This design foundation was not conducive for long range strategic bombing missions which the Germans embarked upon during the Battle of Britain. Also, although it had an impressive front line of offensive air craft there was an inadequate number of reserves and replacement production was kept dangerously low. In fact, by 1940 Britain was manufacturing more planes than Germany. In addition, little consideration was made for the advancement of future airplane designs, which became a disadvantage when Germany was unable to compete with the new designs introduced by the allies during the war. Nevertheless, at the start of the war the Luftwaffe was a formidable force with highly trained and experienced pilots flying the most advanced combat airplanes of the time.
Because of its superiority in numbers and technology over the RAF, the Luftwaffe commanders believed they could gain air superiority over Britain in a very short amount of time. Goering believed the Luftwaffe could easily destroy British radar installations, which would make it simple to bomb RAF fighter squadrons and air command centers on the ground. But German intelligence underestimated the advancements in radar technology that the British developed and its vital importance to the coordination of their air defense. Thus, the same early warning radar installments the Germans were hoping to destroy were precisely what allowed the RAF fighters to anticipate the German attack and deflect it. The RAF fighters were able to withstand the German attack mainly because of strategic weaknesses in the Luftwaffe such as the failure to develop ground to air communication and the inability of German planes to plot the positions of RAF fighters. The disadvantage of Luftwaffe pilots in fighting over enemy territory was also evident by the loss of qualified pilots who subsequently became POW’s. In contrast, downed British pilots were able to rejoin their squadrons with relative ease. These factors along with disastrous changes in German strategy during the Battle of Britain exacerbated the Luftwaffe position and by September of 1940 it became apparent that the RAF could not be defeated.
Source: http://www.aviationartprints.com/me109.htm