This silent German educational film shows the roles played by pilots, radiomen and gunners in the service of the German Luftwaffe. Although banned from producing aircraft and training pilots in large numbers by the Treaty of Versailles, Hitler's Germany quickly began to assemble an air force and made great strides in aviation technology. This film uniquely shows some of the training of the men recruited for the Luftwaffe, and was doubtless used in German schools to foster an interest in the service. Adolf Hitler himself is seen reviewing assembled air troops along with Hermann Goring. Some of the aircraft seen in the film include trainers and the hulking Dornier Do 23. This airplane saw a limited service life, being phased out of front-line service by the late 1930s. It was replaced by aircraft such as the Heinkel He 111, but it did go on to serve and see action in World War II in the Czech branch of the Luftwaffe.
If you can identify some of the other aircraft shown in this reel, please add them to the comments. For instance what is the plane resembling a Fairey Battle around the 5:30 mark?
This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com