June 1943: the flags of Kingom of Italy and of IIIrd Reich waving on the roof of German Embassy in Rome. But the alliance between the two countries, because the adverse war developments, is near the crisis. (Bundesarchiv No 1603 Bild-282) Victor Sierra

A tottering alliance

Heinkel He 162 "Volksjager" inceptor/fighters in production in a facility of the Junkers firm in a facility tunneled out of salt in the vicinity of Tarthun, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany, April, 1945.  A substantial number of "Volksjager" aircraft were in production in the dying days of the Reich; more than ever took to the air.

The He 162 was conceived as an aircraft capable of being flown by Hitlerjugend trained on gliders.  This never happened and, in any case, while the He 162 was a surprisingly capable jet aircraft, developed in a very short time, it required well-trained, experienced pilots to crew it competently.  Another case of misdirected German energy, arriving much too late to make a difference.

Sachsen-Anhalt was a location of the "Second Ruhr", a concept that vital war industries could be moved into the interior of Germany, beyond the effective range of Allied bombers.  A substantial number of such industries was, in fact, so located.  Aircraft production and synthetic oil plants featured prominently.  Unfortunately for the Germans, technological advances allowed the Allies to bomb this area effectively by mid-1943.  This probably explains why many of the later production facilities in the notably salty Sachsen-Anhalt region were located in artificial  underground salt caves - in many cases carved out by forced labourers enjoying less-than-optimum conditions of work ... Best regards, JR.  

Salamander tadpoles.

Naples, piazza del Plebiscito, may 1938. A huge crowd want to see the Duce, the Fuherer and the king directed to the harbor at the naval review. DVX