GERMAN AIR FORCE AND THE LUFTWAFFE DOCTRINE BY THE BEGINNING OF SECOND WORLD WAR
The article discusses the state of the German air force in the period preceding Second World war, and the content of the German doctrine of the use of military aviation. The author analyzes the objective and subjective factors behind the main trends in the development of German military aircraft; the state of the German aviation industry; the organisation of military aviation, and ways of complectation of air force Germany various categories of personnel; the specific training of flight personnel and its military and non-components; features of material and technical support of military aviation; organization of interaction between the air force and other types and branches of the armed forces. Efforts to establish and improve the air force in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s brought German military aircraft to the forefront in the world. The German air force on the eve of the Second World war, according to the author, was a well-established mechanism, distinguished by modern, at the time, the material part and a high level of training of flight personnel. In the doctrine of the Luftwaffe reflected the desire of Hitler’s top to “lightning” solutions to military problems, the so-called blitzkrieg. Along with the advanced provisions for its time, the German aviation doctrine carried serious drawbacks: designed for short-term combat operations in the conditions of compact theaters of military operations, it was completely unsuitable for a long war in large geographical areas. Thus, the Soviet air force in 1941-1945 had in the person of the Luftwaffe a serious enemy, perfectly prepared for the conduct of modern war.