Luftwaffe

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the air force of Germany before and during World War II. For
the West German and current air force of Germany, see German Air Force. For the air
force of the German Democratic Republic, see Air Forces of the National People's
Army. For the air force of the German Empire, see Luftstreitkrfte.
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe eagle (spaced).svg
Emblem of the Luftwaffe (variant)
Active 193346[N 1]
Country Germany
Type Air force
Role Aerial warfare
Size Aircraft 119,871[2] (total production)
Personnel 3,400,000 (total in service at any time for 193945)[3]
Part of Wehrmacht
Engagements Spanish Civil War
World War II
Commanders
Notable
commanders Hermann Gring (193345)
Robert Ritter von Greim (1945)
Insignia
Balkenkreuz (fuselage and wing undersurfaces) Balkenkreuz fuselage underwing.svg
Balkenkreuz (upper wing surfaces) Regulation WW II Upperwing Balkenkreuz.png
Fin flash - Hakenkreuz (swastika)(1939-1945, white border omitted late-war)
Luftwaffe swastika.svg

Luftwaffe review, 1937

The Luftwaffe[N 2] (German pronunciation ['l?ftvaf?] (About this sound listen)) was
the aerial warfare branch of the combined German Wehrmacht military forces during
World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the Luftstreitkrfte
of the Army and the Marine-Fliegerabteilung of the Navy, had been disbanded in May
1920 as a result of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles which stated that Germany
was forbidden to have any air force.

During the interwar period, German pilots were trained secretly in violation of the
treaty at Lipetsk Air Base. With the rise of the Nazi Party and the repudiation of
the Versailles Treaty, the Luftwaffe was officially established on 26 February
1935. The Condor Legion, a Luftwaffe detachment sent to aid Nationalist forces in
the Spanish Civil War, provided the force with a valuable testing ground for new
doctrines and aircraft. Partially as a result of this combat experience, the
Luftwaffe had become one of the most sophisticated, technologically advanced, and
battle-experienced air forces in the world when World War II broke out in 1939.[6]
By the summer of 1939, the Luftwaffe had twenty-eight Geschwader (wings). The
Luftwaffe also operated Fallschirmjger paratrooper units.

During World War II, German pilots claimed roughly 70,000 aerial victories, while
over 75,000 Luftwaffe aircraft were destroyed or significantly damaged. Of these,
nearly 40,000 were lost entirely.

The Luftwaffe proved instrumental in the German victories across Poland and Western
Europe in 1939 and 1940. During the Battle of Britain, however, despite inflicting
severe damage to the RAF's infrastructure and, during the subsequent Blitz,
devastating many British cities, the German air force failed to batter the
beleaguered British into submission. From 1942, Allied bombing campaigns gradually
destroyed the Luftwaffe's fighter arm. From late 1942, the Luftwaffe used its
surplus ground, support and other personnel to raise Luftwaffe Field Divisions.
In addition to its service in the West, the Luftwaffe operated over the Soviet
Union, North Africa and Southern Europe. Despite its belated use of advanced
turbojet and rocket propelled aircraft for the destruction of Allied bombers, the
Luftwaffe was overwhelmed by the Allies' superior numbers and improved tactics, and
a lack of trained pilots and aviation fuel. In January 1945, during the closing
stages of the Battle of the Bulge, the Luftwaffe made a last-ditch effort to win
air superiority, and met with failure. With rapidly dwindling supplies of
petroleum, oil, and lubricants after this campaign, and as part of the entire
combined Wehrmacht military forces as a whole, the Luftwaffe ceased to be an
effective fighting force. After the defeat of Germany, the Luftwaffe was disbanded
in 1946. The Luftwaffe had only two commanders-in-chief throughout its history
Hermann Gring and later Generalfeldmarschall Robert Ritter von Greim. The
Luftwaffe High Command was involved in Nazi medical experiments.

Contents [hide]
1 Origins
2 Preparing for war 193339
2.1 The Wever years, 193336
2.2 A change of direction, 193637
2.3 Dive-bombing
2.4 Mobilization, 193841
3 Luftwaffe organization
3.1 Luftwaffe commanders
3.2 Organization and chain of command
4 Personnel
5 Spanish Civil War
6 World War II
7 Omissions and failures
7.1 Mistakes in command the lack of aerial defence
7.2 Mistakes in development and equipment
7.3 Production failures
7.4 Critical engine development problems
7.5 Personnel and leadership
8 Luftwaffe ground forces
9 War crimes
9.1 Aerial bombing as alleged war crimes
9.2 Human experimentation in military aviation
10 See also
11 References
11.1 Notes
11.2 Citations
11.3 Bibliography
12 External links
Origins[edit]
Main articles Luftstreitkrfte and Aviation in World War I

Manfred von Richthofen with other members of Jasta 11, 1917 as part of the
Luftstreitkrfte
The Imperial German Army Air Service was founded in 1910 with the name Die
Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches, most often shortened to Fliegertruppe.
It was renamed Luftstreitkrfte on 8 October 1916.[7] The air war on the Western
Front received the most attention in the annals of the earliest accounts of
military aviation, since it produced aces such as Manfred von Richthofen and Ernst
Udet, Oswald Boelcke, and Max Immelmann. After the defeat of Germany, the service
was dissolved on 8 May 1920 under the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles, which
also mandated the destruction of all German military aircraft.

Since the Treaty of Versailles forbade Germany to have an air force, German pilots
trained in secret. Initially, civil aviation schools within Germany were used, yet
only light trainers could be used in order to maintain the faade that the trainees
were going to fly with civil airlines such as Deutsche Luft Hansa. To train its
pilots on the latest combat aircraft, Germany solicited the help of the Soviet
Union, which was also isolated in Europe. A secret training airfield was
established at Lipetsk in 1924 and operated for approximately nine years using
mostly Dutch and Soviet, but also some German, training aircraft before being
closed in 1933. This base was officially known as 4th squadron of the 40th wing of
the Red Army. Hundreds of Luftwaffe pilots and technical personnel visited, studied
and were trained at Soviet air force schools in several locations in Central
Russia.[8] Roessing, Blume, Fosse, Teetsemann, Heini, Makratzki, Blumendaat, and
many other future Luftwaffe aces were trained in Russia in joint Russian-German
schools that were set up under the patronage of Ernst-August Kstring (de).

The first steps towards the Luftwaffe's formation were undertaken just months after
Adolf Hitler came to power. Hermann Gring, a World War I ace, became National
Kommissar for aviation with former Luft Hansa director Erhard Milch as his deputy.
In April 1933 the Reich Aviation Ministry (Reichsluftfahrtministerium or RLM) was
established. The RLM was in charge of development and production of aircraft.
Gring's control over