Editing Luftwaffe (section)

====Dive-bombing====
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-646-5188-17, Flugzeuge Junkers Ju 87.jpg|thumb|right|[[Junkers Ju 87]]Ds over the Eastern Front, winter 1943–44]]
Poor accuracy from level bombers in 1937 led the Luftwaffe to grasp the benefits of dive-bombing. The latter could achieve far better accuracy against tactical ground targets than heavier conventional bombers. Range was not a key criterion for this mission. It was not always feasible for the army to move heavy artillery over recently captured territory to bombard fortifications or support ground forces, and dive bombers could do the job faster. Dive bombers, often single-engine two-man machines, could achieve better results than larger six or seven-man aircraft, at a tenth of the cost and four times the accuracy. This led to Udet championing the dive bomber, particularly the [[Junkers Ju 87]].<ref>{{harvnb|Hooton|2007a|p=38}}</ref>

Udet's "love affair" with dive-bombing seriously affected the long-term development of the Luftwaffe, especially after Wever's death. The tactical strike aircraft programmes were meant to serve as interim solutions until the next generation of aircraft arrived. In 1936 the [[Junkers Ju 52]] was the backbone of the German bomber fleet. This led to a rush on the part of the RLM to produce the [[Junkers Ju 86]], the Heinkel He 111, and the Dornier Do 17 before a proper evaluation was made. The Ju 86 was poor while the He 111 showed the most promise. The Spanish Civil War convinced Udet (along with limited output from the German munitions industry) that wastage was not acceptable in munition terms. Udet sought to build dive-bombing into the [[Junkers Ju 88]] and conveyed the same idea, initiated specifically by the OKL for the [[Heinkel He 177 Greif|Heinkel He 177]], approved in early November 1937. In the case of the Ju 88, 50,000 modifications had to be made. The weight was increased from seven to twelve tons. This resulted in a speed loss of 200 km/h. Udet merely conveyed the OKL's own dive-bombing capability request to [[Ernst Heinkel]] concerning the He 177, who vehemently opposed such an idea, which ruined its development as a heavy bomber.<ref>{{harvnb|Murray|1983|p=14}}</ref> Göring was not able to rescind the dive-bombing requirement for the He 177A until September 1942.{{sfn|Griehl|Dressel|1998|p= 53}}