http://www.centennialofflight.gov/es...ettner/HE6.htm
Flettner received a small production contract from the German Navy in 1938, and the aircraft made its first flight in May 1939. The aircraft proved impressively controllable in flight and was a major improvement over the Focke-Achgelis designs.
In 1941, the Navy conducted an evaluation using two fighter planes to stage a mock attack on a Fl 265. The fighters could not hold the agile craft in their gunsights.
Six of his Fl 265’s were evaluated by the Navy, spotting from warships and submarines. They proved to be remarkably successful in all conditions.
A FW 190 and Me 109 tried for twenty minutes to shoot down one…. with camera guns but not one hit was recorded! http://www.fortunecity.com/meltingpo...ers/fl-282.htm
In 1941/1942 the Kriegsmarine used a Fl 282 for tests on board of the CL Köln . With a landing platform mounted on turret Bruno, several operational patterns were successfully tested. The Kolibri proved to be very maneuverable, reliable and a stable platform even at bad weather conditions.
http://www.german-navy.de/kriegsmari...ipbased/fl282/
In 1940, Flettner debuted an improved version designated the Fl 282 Kolibri (hummingbird). The Kolibri could fly at almost 90 miles per hour (145 kilometers per hour), could reach 13,000 feet (3,962 meters), and could carry an 800-pound (383-kilogram) load.
A Siemens-Halske Sh14A engine providing 150 to 160 horsepower (112 to 119 kilowatts) powered the Kolibri Fl 282.
Flettner designed his craft to carry two people, a pilot and an observer.
Imagine if a 1,175 hp DB601 engine had been fitted. It could probably carry 8 people (or 16 with two engines).
There could have been transport versions for troops and tanks, and armoured attack versions armed with cannons, machine guns and rockets.
These could have been produced in the 100s in 1940 and used to land invasion forces of 1000s of troops in some remote area in the USSR to prepare and defend airfields to fly in more troops and tanks with the Me 323 Gigant
http://www.fortunecity.com/meltingpo...m/me-323-i.htm
This force could be armed with these
http://www.achtungpanzer.com/ir.htm
This would lead to ownage during night battles.
When this force was big enough it could have attacked Moscow from another direction simultaneously with the main German army (if Hitler had launched Operation Barbarossa in April as originally planned).
This could have led to the fall of Moscow.
(However, thankfully Hitler was an idiot and invaded Yugoslavia, delaying Barbarossa by 2 crucial months. The prescence of Axis troops in Yugoslavia also made Soviet military leaders nervous, but it seems Stalin would not believe that Hitler would attack the huge USSR.)
Eventually the whole Soviet Union is defeated and its factories and minerals are used to makes 10s of 1000s of Panthers, Tigers and aircraft, including jet aircraft.
The UK is easily defeated, and Australia is invaded and captured.
This leads to a cold war type stalemate between the Axis powers and the US.
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