Amerika Programme

The Amerika Programme was the name given to the armaments policy of the Imperial German Air Service during World War I, which was started in June 1917.

When the United States entered the war against Germany on 4 April 1917, German armaments planning to the end of September 1917 had already been completed and arranged.

Although the United States was known to have only 55 military aircraft at that time and its aircraft industry was insignificant, the German military leadership held in high regard the efficiency, motivation and determination of the political leadership to mobilize the US industry.

At the beginning of June 1917, the Oberste Heeresleitung (OHL; Supreme Army Command) approved the memorandum by Ernst von Hoeppner, the commanding general of the Air Force (Kogenluft), which demanded the following programme: Points 11 to 16 were only added to the program later, when the Amerika programme was already running.

Despite the material shortages the German Empire was experiencing at that time, the Amerika programme was implemented with some success after delays.