La revanche de la Luftwaffe

Bombardier lourd Messerschmitt Me 264/6M, illustration de Kyle Scott.

Dans cet amusant article de Jasper Copping publié ce matin dans le Daily Telegraph, les marchands de jouets anglais révèlent que les miniatures de machines de guerre allemandes de la Seconde Guerre mondiale se vendent désormais bien mieux que celles des Alliés.
Il est tout aussi intéressant de relever le ton avec lequel cet article est écrit, légèrement amusé, un peu pince-sans-rire, bien loin du catastrophisme sinistre qui aurait été celui d'un article sur ce sujet dans les colonnes, par exemple de Libération ou, pire, de Ouest-France, le champion toutes catégories de la pensée gnan-gnan et du politiquement conforme.

Dans le monde anglo-saxon, qui en raison de sa victoire sur l'Allemagne en 1945 n'arbore aucun complexe de culpabilité (comme celui des Français qui eux ont été vaincus), il existe une réelle fascination pour l'inventivité allemande. On trouve un site internet qui expose quelques créations d'artistes comme Géry Gueville ou encore Kyle Scott qui ont spéculé à partir des projets les plus fous des ingénieurs au service de la Luftwaffe. Un petit détour s'impose pour les fanas d'aviation.



Intercepteur Focke-Wulf Fw motorisé par un BMW P.8011, illustration de Géry Gueville.

Spitfire, Hurricanes and Lancasters losing out to Nazi foes in kit toy sales

For decades, toy replicas of British warplanes like the Spitfire, Hurricane and Lancaster have outsold those of their Nazi foes, but now kit sales of Second World War German aircraft have overtaken those of the Allied forces.

Un petit film des fanas d'Alternate Luftwaffe.

Sales of the popular model Supermarine Spitfire are being overtaken due to the "mystique" of enemy war planes
Sales of German tanks and ships have also outstripped those of the Allies.
Analysis by the model maker Airfix has revealed that this year, German kits have made up around 55 per cent of the sales of all kits relating to the conflict. Around 1.4 million German replicas were sold, compared to 1.1 million Allied kits.
Experts and modellers say the rise in sales of the Nazi war machines reflects an interest in the more experimental technologies developed by the Germans and the engineering superiority of many of their vehicles.
Luftwaffe planes now outnumber rival air forces in the top ten most popular aircraft from the conflict, with five models, compared to four RAF planes and one from the US.
The biggest selling German planes are the Messerschmitt Bf 109E, the Focke Wulf 190D, the Junkers Ju87 Stuka, the Dornier Do17 and the "Mistel", an experimental composite aircraft, in which a fighter was attached to a bomber.
The most popular RAF planes are the Supermarine Spitfire, the De Havilland Mosquito, the Hawker Hurricane and the Avro Lancaster. The P51 Mustang is the only US aircraft in the top ten.
In terms of tanks, sales of Nazi Panther and Tiger models far outstrip those of the most popular Allied kits, the Sherman and Churchill tanks, by a ratio of three to one.
German infantry are the most popular kits of figures, followed by British Commandos and Paratroops.
The highest selling ship is a replica of the German battleship Bismarck, with around 5,500 kits sold, compared to just 3,000 kits sold by the second most popular, HMS Hood, which was sunk in a battle between the two in 1941.
Of the smaller vessels, the German E-boat sells the same numbers as British torpedo boat and an RAF rescue launch, despite being more than twice the price.
John Tapsell, vice president of the International Plastic Modellers Society (UK), said he was surprised by the revelation: "It does seem slightly odd that the German kits outsell the Allied ones. It certainly doesn't mean that lots of modellers sympathise with the German cause.
"I think it might be something to do with the typical British fascination with the loser and also an interest in German engineering. British soldiers in the war were in awe of the Tiger tank, for instance, and that sort of interest has remained. The (German) uniforms also look very smart."
Jeremy Brook, secretary of the Airfix Collectors Club, agreed.
"One shouldn't say it but there is something about the German uniform and many of their machines, that makes them more attractive. Some of their warships like the Bismarck are quite beautiful.

Avion d'attaque au sol Hütter Hü 136 (Stubo 2), illustration de Géry Gueville

"Certainly, the German colour schemes are more exciting to paint than the British ones.
"When I was a child in the 1950s, I always wanted German aircraft, tanks and soldiers, but they were so much harder to come by then. Perhaps all the German children wanted Spitfires and Hurricanes."
Although German kits are dominant in total global sales, in the UK – which makes up more than 60 per cent of the company's market – the Allies maintain a small advantage over the Germans, because of the enduring popularity of the Spitfire.
It is the first time the company has conducted this sort of analysis. Darrell Burge, from Airfix, said the surge in popularity of German models, particularly tanks and figures, had started within the last ten years.
"Across the hobby, there is no doubt that the German models now sell more than the Allied ones. German subjects are far, far more popular and that is increasing.
"Sales of German kits have really started to grow in the last ten years. In the UK, sales of the Spitfire – with around 45,000 kits sold – only just tip the scales in the favour of the Allies.
"German tanks are much better sellers than Allied ones. They are iconic as the biggest and most brutal of the war. They were virtually unstoppable. They were much better machines than the Allied ones.
"And a lot of the German aircraft were more experimental. There is a mystique about so many of their war machines that has translated into increased sales.
"The other factor in their favour is that in terms of kits, the Germans are really the only Axis power. So if someone is building a battlefield, they need Germans, whereas the Allies can be represented by the British or Americans."
The company is now planning to bring out new German models, to meet demand, including the Messerschmitt 110 aircraft, a new version of the Me 109, the Junkers Ju88 plane, and a U-boat.
None of the Nazi models contain a swastika, because the symbol is banned in Germany.
The firm sells 3.5 million kits a year and up to 15 per cent of its sales are in Germany.
In 2006, the manufacturer was saved from going out of business by train set maker Hornby, which bought the firm for £2.6 million.
Top ten most popular aircraft:
Supermarine Spitfire 45,000 kits sold
Messerschmitt Bf 109E 25,000
De Havilland Mosquito17,000
Focke Wulf 190D15,000
Avro Lancaster
Junkers Ju87 Stuka
Hawker Hurricane
P51 Mustang
Dornier Do17
Mistel

Une source étonnante

Récemment, nous avons publié différents commentaires concernant de près ou de la loin la guerre aérienne en Europe durant la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Il est difficile de trouver des ouvrages de référence en dehors des excellents titres publiés par Patrick Facon. Toutefois, un visiteur nous a suggéré de faire appel aux services de Google books et parmi les ouvrages offerts à la curiosité des lecteurs se trouve : Strategy for defeat de Williamson Murray que l'on peut lire intégralement ici.

C'est l'opportunité pour nos visiteurs d'explorer les possibilités offertes par ce service lequel, dit-on, ajoute près de trois mille titres par jour à une bibliothèque numérique qui l'ambition de mettre en ligne quinze millions de titres en dix ans.

Au championnat des faux-culs…

Willi Schludecker, un idiot utile.

Dans le Guardian, Stephen Bates nous raconte, en trempant sa plume dans des larmes, qu'un ancien pilote de la Luftwaffe vient régulièrement en Angleterre pour s'excuser d'avoir largué des bombes sur Bath en 1942.

Il faut avoir bien du culot pour ne pas relever le paradoxe de cette visite pour expier devant les caméras de télévision une poignée de victimes anglaises d'un raid de représailles qui en a fait un total d'environ quatre cents alors que les Allemands, en dépit de tous leurs défauts, n'ont jamais pratiqué le bombardement stratégique de terreur comme les Anglais.

Cela peut étonner les jeunes lecteurs, mais ce sont les Anglais qui ont fait le choix de viser les civils allemands dans le but de briser le moral de la population allemande. Les Français, les Allemands et les Soviétiques ont utilisé l'arme aérienne à des fins tactiques.

Cela correspondait aussi, rappelons-le, à des conceptions précédant la guerre. Ces trois puissances continentales n'avaient pas les moyens de développer en sus une aviation de bombardement lourd, alors que les Britanniques, bien à l'abri dans leur île, avaient au contraire privilégié cette hypothèse. Il faut lire à ce sujet les ouvrages de Patrick Facon, le meilleur spécialiste français de ces questions.

Le livre à lire pour oublier les radotages séniles de Willi Schludecker.

Pour l'acheter, cliquer ici.

Durant la « bataille d'Angleterre », la Luftwaffe avait des consignes très strictes pour éviter les cibles civiles. Ce sont les bombardements répétés de villes allemandes par la RAF qui ont fait changer d'avis Hitler, sauvant ainsi la mise de la RAF dont les installations au sol étaient mises à mal.

Les raids allemands de 1942 étaient une bien inutile et bien futile et bien dérisoire réponse de la Luftwaffe aux bombardements anglais qui visaient le centre des villes dans le but de maximiser le nombre de victimes civiles. A l'époque, les Anglais ne disposaient pas des moyens pour viser une cible spécifique. Ils devaient se contenter de bombarder une zone déterminée. Faute de détruire les usines, ils ont estimé que de tuer les ouvriers et leurs familles faisait tout autant l'affaire.

Cette pratique sera perfectionnée, si l'on peut dire, jusqu'au raid de Dresde en 1945 qui fera un nombre de victimes indéterminée, quelque part entre 35 000 et 200 000.

On attend les excuses d'un pilote anglais.

Luftwaffe pilot apologises for 1942 bombing
A second world war Luftwaffe pilot will tonight stand in a memorial garden in Bath, on the site where 30 people were killed in an air raid shelter during a bombing raid in April 1942, and apologise in German for his part in the attack.

Or Willi Schludecker, 87, a retired electrician and widower from Cologne, his solitary acts of expiation in a Britain he last saw from several thousand feet while flying his Dornier 217E-4 are becoming an annual event. They have become moving visits, much appreciated by the relatives of those who died in what were known as the Baedecker raids, when the German high command targeted English cities, allegedly chosen from guidebooks, in retaliation for RAF attacks on Germany.

Bath's annual remembrance service usually attracts only a few participants, but the German veteran's attendance tonight is thought likely to bring many more, with television crews also present.

Chris Kilminster, one of the service's organisers, whose grandparents died in the raid, said: "This has taken honour and courage on Willi's part. I hope he goes back remembering we are friends now."

Schludecker, who won the Iron Cross twice and completed 120 sorties over Britain, told the Bath Chronicle: "I had to come. The past is coming back to me and we should never forget all that. We did not realise what we had done at the time."

Visiting York last year, also damaged in raids, he said: "When we were dropping bombs we didn't think of people we might hit. The war was madness. I realise now what I did and will come back to say sorry. I was afraid the British would be very angry but I find now they are very gentle."