Luftwaffe
The German Luftwaffe, or Air Force, was officially formed in 1935 although in reality the Luftwaffe had been in semi- secret development long before then. (Prior to 1935, Germany had been banned from having an air force as a result of the Treaty of Versailles).
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The Luftwaffe was the most modern and best equipped air force in Europe with 1888 aircraft and over 20,000 officers and men.
At first, the Luftwaffe dominated the skies, but fought an increasingly futile war of attrition against superior Allied numbers, especially in the bloody Air Campaign over Europe and ultimately Germany.
World War II saw massive bombing of military targets and major cities. The big, slow-moving bombers operated in formations (sometimes numbering 1,000 or more) that were intended not to evade enemy defences but to beat them back or simply swamp them with numbers.