FW: World War II Minor Power Air Forces

This page lists the organization of various minor power air forces during World War II. This is based on information gleaned while researching WW II aircraft for Clash of Arm's Fighting Wings series of games, Over the Reich, Achtung! Spitfire, and Whistling Death. The information, of course, is applicable to any historical game for that period.

These pages will grow as I complete more research - and have the time to post it here.

Air forces covered here are divided into geographic areas:

• Western Europe (Belgium, Holland, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland)
• Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Rumania, Slovakia, Yugoslavia)
• Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland)
• East Asia (China, Dutch East Indies, Japan, Thailand, IndoChina, British Far East Air Force, US Far East)
• Middle East (Egypt, Israel, Turkey)

Western Europe

This section includes the air forces from the following countries:

• Belgium
• France (additional armament and organization data)
• Germany (additional armament data)
• Holland (Netherlands)
• Italy
• Switzerland

Belgium

The Belgian Aeronautique Militaire worked closely with the British. Its pilots were well respected even if their equipment was mostly obsolete. By the way, the "Bridges at Sedan" scenario in Achtung Spitfire actually took place in Belgium, and the valiant (but fruitless) mission was flown by the Aeronautique Militaire. In May, 1940, the BAM was organized into 3 Regiments:

In addition, a unit was forming using Belgian-built Hurricane Is armed with four wing-mounted 12.65mm Browning MGs, but these were not operational in May, 1940.

Pilot Quality: Good

A more detailed look.

Holland

The Dutch Luchtvaarafadeling (LVA) was small, but well-equipped in 1938 - and a bit obsolete by 1940 when the Germans attacked. The LVA also seem to have had some issues with maintenance. They expected their declared neutrality would keep them out of the war and out of need for a larger, more modern air force. The LVA fought valiantly but ineffectively for five days, completely overwhelmed by the number of German aircraft. Many were destroyed on the ground. After 3 days, ammunition ran out - and the remaining aircraft spent more time on the ground as targets.

Douglas DB-8A-3N is a Douglas-built A-17A light bomber. It was pressed into use as a fighter since it had 4 forward-firing MGs. The Fokker D.XXI, G.I , the DB-8A-3N, and the T.V bomber are available for download.

Pilot Quality: Average

The Netherlands East Indies Air Force (NEIAF), like the rest of the Dutch military in the East Indies, remained Allies after May, 1940. It is covered separately under Asian air forces.

France

I will not here document the entire French Air Force (you can find it here). I will discuss the French model of organization. French aircraft were generally deployed as a group, being made of two squadrons of 9 (+3 reserve) aircraft of the same type (often the same same model).

• Groupement - several groupes, usually of one type (fighter, bomber, recon)
• Escadre - 2-3 groupes

  Groupes contained about thirty pilots/crews. They were rarely split up by escadrille. Groupes were specialized by function:

  • GC - Groupe de Chasse (fighters)
  • GCN - Groupe de Chasse de Nuit (Night Fighters)
  • GB - Groupe de Bombardement (bombers)
  • GBA - Groupe de Bombardement d'Attaque (attack bombers)
  • GBN - Groupe de Bombardement de Nuit (night bombers)
  • GR - Groupe de Reconaissance (Recon)

    Groupes were made of two escadrilles (sqdn).

    • Escadrilles were made of 3 patrilles (flights) of 3 aircraft each, plus a reserve of 3 aircraft.

Pilot quality: Average

Aeronavale

The French Naval Air Force was smaller, and was organized as individal squadrons (escadrilles) of a single type of aircraft. It included:

• Fighters (originally carrier capable, but replaced in 1940 with non-carrier aircraft)
• Dive bombers (carrier capable)
• Torpedo bombers (generally float planes)
• Short range recon (generally float planes)
• Long range recon (generally flying boats)

(More detail available).

Pilot quality: Average

French Air Ordance (Circa 1940)

French Aircraft ADCs

Uncle Ted's has a number of French aircraft ADCs.

Switzerland

The Swiss Air Force is an interesting entity. They did patrol regularly to enforce Swiss neutrality, occasionally facing both German and allied aircraft.

The Swiss Fliegertruppe included both German and French equipment:

• 1938 - bought 10 Bf109Ds (Jumo 211Da engine with C-1 weapons)
• 1939/40 - bought 50 Bf109E-1s and 30 Bf109E-3s
• 1940 - bought license to build 290 MS.406 (82 designated D.3800, 207 as D.3801 with larger engine)
• 1943 - bought some Ju52s that were last retired in 1969
• 1943 - interned a few Bf109Fs that were then added to active squadrons
• 1944 - bought about a dozen Bf109G-6s

The Swiss did build some of their own designs, including the EKW C.3600 series of single engine light/recon bombers.

Organization

In September, 1939, the Fliegertruppe consisted of 7 109 squadrons: 1 with Bf109Ds and 6 with EKW biplanes. These were replaced by 1940 with 109Es.

By 1946, this had shifted to 6 squadrons of Bf109Es and 1 squadron of Bf109G-6s.

They also included about 20 squadrons of D.3800s and about 10 squadrons of C.3601

Uncle Ted's early Bf109 ADC file includes the Swiss D and the E-1. The other Bf109s are available through OTR, ASp, and in back issues of Air Power magazine. The Ju52 is available with the German bomber ADCs. The D.3800's original is available with the French fighter ADCs.

Luftwaffe

The Luftwaffe's organization is well described in a number of places on the net and in Air Power #33. Luftwaffe TO&Es for various campaigns are included for each campaign. To go over it briefly:

Luftflotte: A large air unit covering an area, Similar to a USAAF numbered air force. There were originally three Luftflotte, which increased to six during the war. A Luftflotte had operational units and units that administered airfields within the reagion. The number of operational units fluctuated depending on what operations were going on in the area.

• Fliegerkorps: a numbered unit made of a variety of aircraft units (Geschwaderen and Gruppen) assigned for a specific operation or purpose.
  • FleigerDivision: sometimes used to organize within a Fliegerkorps. Usually all of one aircraft type.
    • Geschwader: The largest unit of a fixed number of aircraft, usually all of the same function. Made of 4 Gruppen plus a Stab (staff) flight of 4 aircraft. Referred to by type:

      KG - KampfGescwader (bombers)
      JG - JaegerGeschwader (fighters)
      StG - StukaGeschwader (Stuka dive bombers) and so on

      • Gruppe: made of (generally) 3 staffeln all of the same type plus a Stab (staff) flight of 4 aircraft.
        • Staffel: Smallest standing unit, generally of one type:

          6 recon aircraft
          9 bombers
          12 fighters

          Actual flight elements (flight of two pairs, three, or each pair) would be drawn from those aircraft going on the mission.

Additional Luftwaffe Air Ordance

Italy

I will not describe the entire Italian Air Force - the Regia Aeronautica, since it was a major air force (if only by size) from 1940-43. I will discribe the organization of its air units, and describe the units used in individual campaigns elsewhere. Each unit was made of the same type of aircraft; a Gruppo or a Stormo would be all fighters or all bombers. A Gruppo of fighters and one of bombers would be two Gruppi, and not be combined into a mixed Stormo.

Air Brigade

• 2-3 Stormo (Wing)
  • 2+ Gruppi (Group)
    • 2-3 Squadraglia (Squadron):
      • fighter sqdn - 9 a/c +3 reserve
      • bomber sqdn - 6 a/c +3 reserve

Italian pilots were well-trained in navigation. Italian fighter pilots were well-trained in aerobatics, but had very little training or practice in air-to-air gunnery.

After the Italian surrender, some Italian aircraft flew for the Allies and some for the Axis (for the RSIAF, the rump state in northern Italy the Germans set up under Mussolini).

TO&E

Italian Air Ordance (1938-43)

The original theory behind Italian aerial weapons was that more small weapons would be more effective due to a larger number of hits. By mid war, this ha dchanged a bit to a mix of lighter (2-100 kg) weapons with a few medium (250 and 500 Kg) weapons.

Italian ADCs

Uncle Ted's has a collection of Italian aircraft designed by John Carr.

Scandinavia

This section includes air forces of the following countries:

• Denmark
• Finland
• Norway
• Sweden

Denmark

The Danes had a very small air force attached to the Army. They had no military effect on the German invasion of Denmark; most aircraft were destroyed or captured on the ground. They were organized as follows:

ADCs for the Fokker D.XXI and G.Ia fighters are available for download.

Pilot Quality: Limited

Finland

In November, 1939, the tiny Ilmavoimat defended brave little Finland against invasion by the Soviet Union, consisting of the following:

Additional aircraft used for training. The Junkers K.43 was a smaller, older sister to the Ju52; it was a bomber/transport. The Luftwaffe used non-bomber versions as W.43.

The Ilmavoimat was sent (as gifts and as sales) reinforcements from many nations during the Winter War of 1939/40 (30-Nov-39 to 4-Mar-40), including:

• 7 (of 50 shipped; others lost in transit) Caudron C-714 fighters from France
• 40 Morane-Soulanier MS.406 fighters from France
• 24 Gloster Gauntlet II biplane fighters gifted by South Africa
• 15 Gloster Gladiators (mix of I & II) lent by Sweden
• 30 Gloster Gladiator IIs bought from Britain
• 10 Hawker Hart biplane bombers lent by Sweden
• 12 Hawker Hurricane IAs from Britain
• 12 Bristol Blenheim Is from Britain (45 more built on license 1941-44 + 21 Bristol Blenheim IVs assembled from kits 1941-44)

Some equipment was sent or promised during the Winter War, but did not arrive in time:

• 40 Brewster F2A-1 Buffaloes bought from USA
  (more maneuverable than later models; the Finns thought these excellent aircraft and used them throughout WW2; arrived too late for fighting.)
• 35 Fiat Cr.50 Freccia, a not-as-good cousin of the MC200. Held up by Germany until after the truce, these were put to use during the Continuation War with Russia (1941-44).

After the fall of France and the Low Countries, Finland's ally Germany offered several aircraft for sale or as gifts, including 44 Hawk 75As from Norway and France and additional MS-406s. and MS-410s from France. These were used against Russia in 1941.

Continuation War

They also captured a good deal of Russian equipment (and got some after Barbarossa from Germany) that they then used:

• 6 Pe-2 light bombers
• 24 Tu-2 light bombers
• 11 DB-3B medium bombers

In Jan 1943, Germany sold Finland 30 Bf109G-2s in order to upgrade their effectiveness. In the summer of 1944, Germany sold/gave an additional 36 Bf109G6s and just under 100 Bf109G-14s. These soldiered on into the early 1950s.

Organization

The Ilmavoimat was organized into 4 Flight Regiments, each with a special purpose. (fighter, bomber, etc.). The Regiments were composed of Wings of 2-4 squadrons each. Each squadron had (ideally) 8 aircraft (plus a reserve). They fought as two finger-four flights -

• One flight would engage from nearly head-on
• The other flight would engage from a flank

For more information about Finnish aerial tactics for the Winter War and Continuation War, see the direct source: The Finn Fighter Tactics Academy's history page.

Pilot Quality: Excellent

Many of aircraft used by the Finns are available from Uncle Ted's, including the F2A-1 Buffalo, Fokker D.XXI, Maarko Morane, Myrsky II, and various captured Russian aircraft.

Norway

The Norwegian Air Force was quite small. Its most modern fighter aircraft were Gloster Gladiators (6 Is and 6 IIs). All were used to defend Oslo - and all were destroyed or captured on the first day of the German invasion in April, 1940. Norway also had older biplane fighters and light bombers. 24 Hawk 75A-6s were captured still in their crates (later sold to Finland).

The Norwegians also had a number of Heinkel He-115A-2 seaplanes, an early version of the He-115B naval torpedo bomber that Germany used in the North Sea and the Med. A few of these escaped to Britain, and were later used to infiltrate agents into Norway.

See Weserübung: The Norwegian Campaign.

Pilot Quality: Limited

Sweden

As the 30s drew to a close, Sweden wanted to upgrade its indigenous J-5 and J-6 Jaktfalk biplanes. Swedish neutrality has been guarded by military might. The Swedes realized that this meant that they needed their own aircraft manufacturing capability. Before that was fully developed, the Flygvapnet bought aircraft from other nations, including Britain, Italy, and the USA. These include:

During the Russo-Finnish War, Sweden gave (lent) a number of Gladiators and Harts to Finland, flown by volunteer pilots released from military service.

As the war progressed, the Swedes developed their own aircraft designs:

• Fighters:

  SAAB J-21A (Pusher fighter - available 1945; later changed to J-21R jet.)

  FFVS J-22 monoplane fighter (available 1943)

• Bombers:

  B-17A/B/C single-engine light level, recon, and dive bomber (available 1941)

  B-18 twin-engine medium bomber

The Gladiator and CR.42 have been published in Air Power. The Re.2000, Vultee P-48C (US P-66), Seversky EP-106 (P-35), and the Northrop A-17A (Douglas DB-8) are all available on Uncle Ted's ADC collection.

More information about the aircraft used by the Swedish Air Force.

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