Not even the introduction of the new high-speed jet fighter (Messerschmitt 262) could stem the tide. Hopelessly outnumbered by the combined forces of the USAAF and RAF, and undergoing unceasing attack by day and night, the GAF had lost the battle. The GAF, already so weakened by June 1944 that it could not oppose the landings at Normandy, fell into disarray. In late 1944, the USAAF bomber forces concentrated on Germany's synthetic oil plants and transportation network. Although German aircraft production continued to increase until September 1944, the GAF could not make effective use of the growing number of aircrafts because of (1) the loss of experienced GAF pilots brought on by the attempt to halt the bombing offensive, and (2) a critical gasoline shortage beginning in May 1944, which also made it difficult to train new GAF pilots. bombers all the way to their targets and back. Between February and May 1944, long-range escort fighters began to accompany the U.S. Its effort during 1943 was disappointing, however, owing primarily to the severe losses suffered by bomber forces operating over Germany beyond the reach of escort fighters. To cripple Adolf Hitler's plane production, the USAAF focused its initial bombing efforts on German aircraft and ballbearing plants. At the Casablanca Conference in January 1943, the RAF and USAAF made Allied air superiority a top priority. Overall Allied strategy for the war in western Europe called for an assault in force launched from Britain as a base and aimed at the heart of Germany.
It was designed primarily for the direct support of ground armies, a circumstance that would cripple it in its coming battle with the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and U.S. On the eve of World War II the German Air Force (GAF) was the most powerful in the world.
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