2 Heinkel 200's heading toward's targets in London
1943:Projects of Terror
On the first of January, German officials met to discuss the increasingly grim outlook of the war. Hitler pointed out that Germany's situation was dire, and asked those attending for solutions to its problems. After a minute passed, Milch of the Luftwaffe announced that his men had nearly completed prototypes for a new kind of potentially revolutionary aircraft. Four months after that meeting, five prototypes for five of the designated aircraft were almost finished. One was ready for testing, and was known as the Heinkel He 220 Superfortress. This plane was deemed superior, with a range of 7,920, a strong aa defense (three double barreld heavy guns), a maximum speed of 578 mph, and a huge payload of about 40,023 pounds. A few months later, thirty of these aircraft were deemed ready and would take part of a bombing raid against London. When these bombers arrived, they shocked the RAF, as--apart from the Bristol Beaufighter--none of the British fighters could damage the new German bombers. The raid cost the British with 30 fighters being destroyed, 13 grounded bombers destroyed, 1 radar station, 6 airfields knocked out, 90 industrial targets damaged, 300 civilians dead and 23 pilots killed or wounded. The Germans only lost 1 bomber and 2 pilots killed. This was the first harbinger of Britain's ultimate defeat in its air war with Germany.