For its campaign against Norway and Denmark during World War II, the German Luftwaffe had the following Order of Battle on 9 April 1940. [1]
The Luftwaffe 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 Luftstreitkräfte 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.
Commanded by Generalleutnant Hans Geisler
Parent unit | Geschwader Base | Unit (Gruppe/Staffel) | Aircraft Type | Commanding Officer |
---|---|---|---|---|
Jagdgeschwader 77 | Husum | II. Gruppe | Messerschmitt Bf 109E | Hauptmann Karl Hentschel |
Zerstörergeschwader 26 | Barth | I, II. Gruppe | Messerschmitt Bf 110C | Hauptmann Karl Kaschka/ Wilhelm Makrocki |
Zerstörergeschwader 76 | Westerland | I. Gruppe | Messerschmitt Bf 110C | |
Zerstörergeschwader 1 | Westerland | III. Gruppe | Messerschmitt Bf 110C | |
Kampfgeschwader 4 | Fassberg | Stab, and II. Gruppe | Heinkel He 111 | |
Kampfgeschwader 4 | Perleberg | I. Gruppe | Heinkel He 111 | |
Kampfgeschwader 4 | Lüneburg | III. Gruppe | Heinkel He 111 | |
Kampfgeschwader 26 | Varel | Stab, and I. Gruppe | Heinkel He 111 | |
Kampfgeschwader 26 | Marx | II. Gruppe | Heinkel He 111 | |
KGr100 | Nordholz | Heinkel He 111 | ||
Kampfgeschwader 30 | Westerland | Stab, I., II., III., and Z. Gruppe | Heinkel He 111 | |
Sturzkampfgeschwader 1 | Kiel-Holtena | I. Gruppe | Junkers Ju 87B and R | Major Paul-Werner Hozzel |
1.(F)/Aufklärungs-Gruppe 122 | Hamburg – Fuhlsbüttel | I. Gruppe | Heinkel He 111 | |
Wetterkette | Hamburg-Fuhlsbüttel | Heinkel He 111 | ||
Korpstransportstaffel | Hamburg-Fuhlsbüttel | Junkers Ju 52 | ||
1.(F)/Aufklärungs-Gruppe 120 | Lübeck/Kiel | Dornier Do 17 and Heinkel He 111 | ||
A list of Luftwaffe "Luftflotten" and their locations between 1939 and 1945.
The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against Britain in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and is the German word for 'lightning'.
The Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries during the Second World War. In the six weeks from 10 May 1940, German forces defeated Allied forces by mobile operations and conquered France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, bringing land operations on the Western Front to an end until 6 June 1944. Italy entered the war on 10 June 1940 and invaded France over the Alps.
The Heinkel He 51 was a German single-seat biplane which was produced in a number of different versions. It was initially developed as a fighter, a seaplane variant and a ground-attack version were also developed. It was a development of the earlier He 49.
Wolfram "Ulf" Karl Ludwig Moritz Hermann Freiherr von Richthofen was a German field marshal of the Luftwaffe during World War II. Born in 1895 into a family of the Prussian nobility, Richthofen grew up in prosperous surroundings. At the age of eighteen, after leaving school, he opted to join the German Army rather than choose an academic career, and joined the army's cavalry arm in 1913.
Strategic bombing during World War II was the sustained aerial attack on railways, harbours, cities, workers' and civilian housing, and industrial districts in enemy territory during World War II. Strategic bombing is a military strategy which is distinct from both close air support of ground forces and tactical air power.
Adlertag was the first day of Unternehmen Adlerangriff, which was the codename of a military operation by Nazi Germany's Luftwaffe to destroy the British Royal Air Force (RAF). By June 1940, the Allies had been defeated in Western Europe and Scandinavia. Rather than come to terms with Germany, Britain rejected all overtures for a negotiated peace.
Sturzkampfgeschwader 2 Immelmann was a Luftwaffe Dive bomber-wing of World War II. It was named after Max Immelmann in 1939. The unit was originally formed as Fliegergruppe Schwerin in 1934; the first Stuka wing of its type, attaining the sobriquet 'Immelmann' in 1935. The wing was raised to gruppe status in 1939.
The Defence of the Reich is the name given to the strategic defensive aerial campaign fought by the Luftwaffe over German-occupied Europe and Nazi Germany during World War II. Its aim was to prevent the destruction of German civilians, military and civil industries by the Western Allies. The day and night air battles over Germany during the war involved thousands of aircraft, units and aerial engagements to counter the Allied strategic bombing campaign. The campaign was one of the longest in the history of aerial warfare and with the Battle of the Atlantic and the Allied Blockade of Germany was the longest of the war. The Luftwaffe fighter force defended the airspace of German-occupied territory against attack, first by RAF Bomber Command and then against the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF).
Kampfgeschwader 3 "Blitz" was a Luftwaffe bomber wing during World War II.
The Battle for The Hague was a battle fought on 10 May 1940 during the German invasion of the Netherlands. German Fallschirmjäger units were dropped in and around The Hague in order to capture Dutch airfields and the city itself.
Martin Harlinghausen was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany.
Kampfgeschwader 77 was a Luftwaffe bomber wing during World War II. Its units participated on all of the major fronts in the European Theatre until its dissolution in 1944. It operated all three of the major German bomber types; the Dornier Do 17, Heinkel He 111 and the Junkers Ju 88.
During the Second World War the German Luftwaffe was the main support weapon of the German Army (Heer). It fought and supported the Wehrmacht's war effort throughout the six years of conflict and contributed to much of Nazi Germany's early successes in 1939–1942. After the turn in Germany's fortunes, it continued to support the German ground forces until the German surrender in May 1945.
Unternehmen Paula is the German codename given for the Second World War Luftwaffe offensive operation to destroy the remaining units of the Armée de l'Air (ALA), or French Air Force during the Battle of France in 1940. On 10 May the German armed forces (Wehrmacht) began their invasion of Western Europe. By 3 June, the British Army had withdrawn from Dunkirk and the continent in Operation Dynamo, the Netherlands and Belgium had surrendered and most of the formations of the French Army were disbanded or destroyed. To complete the defeat of France, the Germans undertook a second phase operation, Fall Rot, to conquer the remaining regions. In order to do this, air supremacy was required. The Luftwaffe was ordered to destroy the French Air Forces, while still providing support to the German Army.
Fliegerführer Atlantik was a World War II Luftwaffe naval command dedicated to maritime patrol.
Hans-Georg von Seidel was a German military leader who served in the German Army during World War I and in the Luftwaffe during World War II. Seidel was promoted to the rank of General der Flieger.
Kampfgeschwader 30 was a Luftwaffe bomber wing during World War II.
Sturzkampfgeschwader 1 was a Luftwaffe Dive bomber wing during World War II.
'Kampfgeschwader' 27 Boelcke was a Luftwaffe medium bomber wing of World War II.
The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.