THE KEY BOMBER USE BY THE LUFWAFFE IN OPERATION BARBAROSSA

Luftwaffe Medium Bombers used in Operation Barbarossa

The Luftwaffe used various types of fully ground support aircraft and are namely medium bombers

in the opening of Operation Barbarossa and in the continuing of its deployment. these were the key bombers in destroying Soviet Airfields crippling the Soviet's power to provide air support, and effectively bombing strategic bases and land forces.

DORNIER Do-17

The Dornier Do-17 first flew in 1934 for a competition to Lufthansa to provide some commercial plane that could fly people across Europe, However the fuselage was so small and thin for the passengers, but it's military potential was soon spotted, In a military air show at Zurich in the year 1937, here it proved to be agile and manoeuvrable driven so it was later designed as a medium bomber. The Do-17 first saw action in the Spanish Civil war in 1937.

It made it's mark in the operations in Poland and it's versatility was greatly exploit as a bomber, reconnaissance and pathfinder for German planes in some operations, It's vulnerability was it's greatest weakness especially against RAF fighters during the Battle of Britain, but later proved its worth and effectiveness in Operation Barbarossa at the Eastern Front against the Russians, 

it has a maximum speed of 255 mph at 4000 feet and approximately rang of 721 miles.

The Do-17 was designed with two engines in it's shoulder wing and has a twin tail fin configuration,

it was powered by a BMW Bramo 323 Fafnir 985HP 9-cylinder radial engines , although it was not modern and saw limited use ,It was popular among crew because of its handling especially at low altitude , which made it harder harder to hit than other German bombers at ground Ant-air defense.

Junkers Ju-88 A-4

As the production of the Do-17 were stopped at the Summer of 1940, it was until the production of the more versatile and has more outstanding performance , the Junkers Ju-88 it was the Do-17's successor , it is said to be comparable to the British Mosquito and the US B-25 , It is the most produced German bomber in numbers and prototypes, it was said to be easy to fly, highly maneuverable and responsive to flight controls, it is what they say the finest German bomber in service throughout the war. it was also use in various roles in the Luftwaffe as Night-fighter, Heavy-fighter, Attack aircraft, Torpedo bomber,                                                                                     Dive-bomber, Mine layer and reconnaissance.

It was run by two junkers Jumo 211 series engines including six variants, although some variants of the bomber or types use different engines in adapting it's role.




Heinkel He-111

From commercial plane it was successfully converted into a bomber, It was the most important of the German medium bombers , The He-111 appeared in the interwar years of world war 2 and enjoyed a long service to the luftwaffe with final versions, for transport, glider towing and torpedo bomber,
It first flew in 1936 as an airlinerfor Lufthansa.
It has maximum speed of 227 mph, a range of 1,212 miles and armed with 5 machine guns and 2000 kg of bombs,

It was the best recognized German bomber because of the distinctive glazed nose of later versions,
The He-111 was the most numerous and primary Luftwaffe bomber during  the early stages of the war, although constantly upgraded, the He-111 became obsolete during the latter part of the war.
It was effectively the German bomber with bigger payload than other medium bomber the Luftwaffe has, it was use numerously as transport and bomber at the Eastern front and brought about crippling power to the Soviet air force in the opening of the Operation Barbarossa as devastatingly destroying Soviet aircrafts in the airfields.