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Luftwaffe

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: World War II

   The Deutsche Luftwaffe or Luftwaffe  (German: air force, literally "Air
   Weapon", IPA: ['luftvafə]) is the commonly used term for the German air
   force. Generally, the word Luftwaffe is not restricted to any
   particular country, so "die Britische Luftwaffe" would mean "the
   British Air Force".

   Unlike other air forces, the German Air Force not only operates
   aircraft, but comprises also the services of the
   "Einsatzführungsdienst" (Tactical Air Control Service) and Ground Based
   Air Defense named "FlaRak-Dienst" (Flugabwehr-Raketen-Dienst, commonly
   known as SAM).

   The history of the German military aviation forces began in 1910 with
   the founding of the Imperial German Army Air Service, yet it has not
   been continuous because Germany lost both World Wars (1914-1918 and
   1939-1945). As a result, Germany had no military air force between 1918
   and 1935 and again between 1945 and 1956.

   Beside the well known military aviation part of the Luftwaffe, a very
   large ground based organization belongs to the Luftwaffe as of 1935 and
   throughout the entire phase of World War II. The Luftnachrichtentruppe
   as well as ground based air defense forces, better known as Flak
   actually comprised of the biggest part of the Luftwaffe in terms of
   personnel and material. During wartime, new capabilities like radar
   assisted air surveillance and use of radar in support of the Flak as
   well as first attempts of what later became Ground Controlled
   Intercepts (GCI) were developed and successfully executed.

   In 1939-1940, the Luftwaffe helped the German army to astonishingly
   rapid success in both Eastern and Western Europe, but failed to win
   control of the skies over Great Britain. Later, despite its best
   efforts, it could not prevent the defeat of Germany either by day, or
   by night, owing to constant Allied bombing of Germany's factories and
   cities by a numerically overwhelming force of bombers based in England.
   This was coupled with the advances of the Soviet armies from the East,
   as numbers of available German aircraft dwindled in the face of
   ever-growing numbers of Soviet aircraft. The Luftwaffe was, however,
   notable in putting the world's first jet fighter and the world's only
   rocket-powered fighter into action during the war.

                  Bundeswehr
   Teilstreitkräfte or TSK (Branches)
   Heer
   Luftwaffe
   Marine
   Organisationsbereiche (Organisation areas)
                Sanitätsdienst
               Streitkräftebasis

   Following the division of Germany after the World War II both West
   Germany and The German Democratic Republic established their own air
   forces; West Germany's Luftwaffe was founded in 1956 and the GDR's
   Luftstreitkräfte der NVA was established in 1955. The Luftstreitkräfte
   was subsumed into the Luftwaffe following German reunification in 1990.
   Only in Kosovo in 1999 has the Luftwaffe ever seen war action since the
   end of World War II.

   Continuing the same composition of forces and weapon system categories,
   the new Luftwaffe as of 1956 included the successor of the
   Luftnachrichtentruppe, now called Radarführunsgdienst as well as the
   successor of the Flak air defense organisation, again as integral part
   of the new Luftwaffe. With the help of NATO, radar heads and bunker
   installations were erected in West-Germany as part of the NATO
   Integrated Air Defense System (NATINADS), basicly a mixed chain of
   radar stations, command and control facilities, airbases for air
   defense jet fighters and SAM-sites. This chain extended from
   North-Norway all the way through Europe along the Iron Curtain ending
   in East-Turkey.

   The use of radar for air surveillance and SAM continued under the
   auspices of the new Luftwaffe which was not always the case in other
   NATO member states. In the USA for example, SAM was and still is
   integral part of the US Army.

History

World War I

   The forerunner of the Luftwaffe, the Imperial German Army Air Service
   (Luftstreitkräfte), was founded in 1910 before the outbreak of World
   War I (1914–1918) with the emergence of military aircraft, although
   they were intended to be used primarily for reconnaissance in support
   of armies on the ground, just as balloons had been used in the same
   fashion during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871 and even as far
   back as the Napoleonic Wars. It was not the world's first air force,
   however, because France's embryonic army air service, which eventually
   became the Armée de l'Air, had also been founded in 1910, and Britain's
   Royal Flying Corps (which merged in 1918 with the Royal Naval Air
   Service to form the Royal Air Force), was founded in 1912.

   During the war, the Imperial Army Air Service utilised a wide variety
   of aircraft, ranging from fighters (such as those manufactured by
   Albatros-Flugzeugwerke and Fokker), reconnaissance aircraft (Aviatik
   and DFW) and heavy bombers ( Gothaer Waggonfabrik, better known simply
   as Gotha, and Zeppelin-Staaken).
   Portrait of Manfred von Richthofen, the "Red Baron", who brought down
   80 Allied aircraft before being shot down and killed on April 21, 1918.
   The Pour le Mérite medal is clearly in view here.
   Enlarge
   Portrait of Manfred von Richthofen, the "Red Baron", who brought down
   80 Allied aircraft before being shot down and killed on April 21, 1918.
   The Pour le Mérite medal is clearly in view here.

   However, the fighters received the most attention in the annals of
   military aviation, since it produced "aces" such as Manfred von
   Richthofen, popularly known in English as "The Red Baron" (in Germany,
   he was known as "der rote Baron"), Ernst Udet, Hermann Göring, Oswald
   Boelcke (considered the first master tactician of "dogfighting"), Max
   Immelmann (the first airman to win the Pour le Mérite, Imperial
   Germany's highest decoration for gallantry, as a result of which the
   decoration became popularly known as the "Blue Max"), and Werner Voss.
   As well as the German Navy, the German Army also used Zeppelins as
   airships for bombing military and civilian targets in France and
   Belgium as well as the United Kingdom.

   All German and Austro-Hungarian military aircraft in service used the
   Iron Cross insignia until early 1918. Afterwards, the Balkenkreuz, a
   black Greek cross on white, was introduced.

   After the war ended in German defeat, the service was dissolved
   completely under the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles, which
   demanded that its aeroplanes be completely destroyed. As a result of
   this disbanding, the present-day Luftwaffe (which dates from 1956) is
   not the oldest independent air force in the world, since the Royal Air
   Force of the United Kingdom is older, having been founded on 1 April
   1918.

Inter-war period

   Since Germany had been banned by the Treaty of Versailles from having
   an air force, there existed the need to train its pilots for a future
   war in secret. Initially, civil aviation schools within Germany were
   used, yet only light training planes could be used in order to maintain
   the facade that the trainees were going to fly with civil airlines such
   as Lufthansa. In order to train its pilots on the latest combat
   aircraft, Germany ironically solicited the help of its future enemy,
   the USSR, 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 Russian, 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.
   Collar tabs of a major in the Luftwaffe (1935–1945). The background
   colour denotes officers were in the flying divisions of the Luftwaffe.
   Other divisions, such as anti-aircraft artillery (Flak) had patches
   with different coloured backgrounds.
   Enlarge
   Collar tabs of a major in the Luftwaffe (1935–1945). The background
   colour denotes officers were in the flying divisions of the Luftwaffe.
   Other divisions, such as anti-aircraft artillery (Flak) had patches
   with different coloured backgrounds.

   On February 26, 1935, Adolf Hitler ordered Hermann Göring to reinstate
   the Luftwaffe, breaking the Treaty of Versailles signed in 1919.
   Germany broke it without sanction from Britain and France or the League
   of Nations, yet neither the two nations nor the League did anything to
   oppose either this or any other action which broke the provisions of
   the Treaty. Although the new air force was to be run totally separately
   from the army, it retained the tradition of according army ranks to its
   officers and airmen, a tradition retained today by the Bundesluftwaffe
   of the unified Germany and by many air forces throughout the world.
   However, it is worth noting that, before the official promulgation of
   the Luftwaffe, what was a paramilitary air force was known as the
   Deutscher Luftverband ("German Air Union"; DLV for short), with Ernst
   Udet as its head, and the DLV uniform insignia became those of the new
   Luftwaffe, although the DLV "ranks" were actually given special names
   that made them sound more civilian than military.

   Dr. Fritz Todt, the engineer who founded the forced labour Organisation
   Todt, was appointed to the rank of Generalmajor in the Luftwaffe. He
   was not, strictly speaking, an airman, although he had served in an
   observation squadron during World War I, winning the Iron Cross. He
   died in an air crash in February 1942.

   It is said that Hermann Göring has personally chosen an emblem for the
   Luftwaffe that differed from that of the other armed branches. The
   eagle, an old symbol of the German Empire remained, but in another
   posture. Since 1933, when Hitler's National Socialist Party came to
   power, the eagle held between his claws the symbol of the party - the
   swastika (an old symbol of sunrise), which usually was enveloped by an
   oak wreath. Göring refused for the Luftwaffe the old heraldic eagle
   that appeared too stylized, too static and too massive, and he chose a
   younger, more natural and lighter eagle with wings spread in flying
   position that was more suitable for an air force. While the Wehrmacht
   eagle held firmly with his both claws the symbol of the Nazi Party, the
   Luftwaffe eagle held the swastika only with one claw while the other
   was bent in a threatening gesture.

   The Luftwaffe had the ideal opportunity to test its pilots, aircraft
   and tactics in the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939, when the Condor
   Legion was sent to Spain in support of the anti-Republican government
   revolt led by Francisco Franco. Modern machines included names which
   would become world famous: the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive-bomber and the
   Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter plane. However, as aircraft seconded to
   Franco's Nationalist air force, Luftwaffe markings were replaced so as
   not to make the world believe that Germany was actively supporting the
   revolt. Instead of the Nazi Party's swastika on the tailplane, the
   German planes used the Nationalist air force aircraft markings (a Saint
   Andrew's cross over a white background, painted on the rudder of the
   aircraft and a black disc on fuselage and wings). All aircraft in the
   Legion were affiliated to units given a designation ending in the
   number 88. For example, bombers were in Kampfgruppe ("Combat Group")
   88, abbreviated to K/88, and fighters in Jagdgruppe ("Pursuit Group")
   88, J/88.
   An aerial view of the devastation to the Basque city of Guernica after
   the attack by Condor Legion bombers on April 26, 1937, during the
   Spanish Civil War.
   Enlarge
   An aerial view of the devastation to the Basque city of Guernica after
   the attack by Condor Legion bombers on April 26, 1937, during the
   Spanish Civil War.

   A grim foretaste of the systematic bombing of cities during World War
   II came in April 1937 when a combined force of German and Italian
   bombers under National Spanish command destroyed most of the Basque
   city of Gernika in north-east Spain. This bombing received worldwide
   condemnation, and the collective memory of the horror of the bombing of
   civilians has ever since become most acute via the famous painting,
   named after the town, by the Cubist artist, Pablo Picasso. Many feared
   that this would be the way that future air wars would be conducted,
   since the Italian strategist, General Giulio Douhet (who had died in
   1930), had formulated theories regarding what would be dubbed
   "strategic bombing", the idea that wars would be won by striking from
   the air at the heart of the industrial muscle of a warring nation, and
   thus demoralising the civilian population to the point where the
   government of that nation would be driven to sue for peace—a portent of
   things to come, certainly, and not just during the war which would
   break out in Europe only months after the end of the civil war in
   Spain.

World War II

   At the outset of the war, the Luftwaffe was one of the most modern,
   powerful, and experienced air forces in the world, dominating the skies
   over Europe with aircraft that were much more advanced than their
   initial counterparts. The Luftwaffe was central to the German
   Blitzkrieg doctrine, as the close air support provided by Stuka dive
   bombers and an overwhelming force of tactical fighters were key to
   several early successes. Following the Battle of Britain, however, the
   Luftwaffe went into a steady, gradual decline that saw it both
   outclassed and outgunned by the sheer number of Allied aircraft being
   deployed against it. Towards the end of the war the Luftwaffe was no
   longer a major factor, and despite fielding advanced aircraft like the
   Me262, was crippled by fuel shortages, insufficient production
   capacity, and a lack of trained pilots.

Cold War

   The Canadian version of the North American F-86 Sabre, the Canadair
   CL-13, had a long career in the Luftwaffe, with which seventy-five
   examples served. This model is in the markings of 1. Staffel of
   Waffenschule 10 (1. / WaSLw 10), based at Oldenburg in 1959. (Model by
   Peter Mojzisek Gallery/CL13Sabre/CL-13 Sabre.htm)
   Enlarge
   The Canadian version of the North American F-86 Sabre, the Canadair
   CL-13, had a long career in the Luftwaffe, with which seventy-five
   examples served. This model is in the markings of 1. Staffel of
   Waffenschule 10 (1. / WaSLw 10), based at Oldenburg in 1959.
   (Model by Peter Mojzisek Gallery/CL13Sabre/CL-13 Sabre.htm)

   Following the war, German aviation in general was severely curtailed,
   and military aviation was completely forbidden when the Luftwaffe was
   officially disbanded in August 1946 by the Allied Control Commission.
   This changed when West Germany joined NATO in 1955, as the Western
   Allies believed that Germany was needed in view of the increasing
   threat militarily from the USSR and its Warsaw Pact allies. Throughout
   the following decades, the West German Luftwaffe was equipped mostly
   with U.S.-designed aircraft manufactured locally under licence. All
   aircraft sported—and continue to sport—the Iron Cross on the fuselage,
   harking back to the days of World War I, while the national flag of
   West Germany could be seen on the tailplanes.

   Many well-known fighter pilots, who had fought with the Luftwaffe in
   World War II, joined the new post-war air force and underwent refresher
   training in the U.S. before returning to West Germany to upgrade on the
   latest U.S.-supplied hardware. These included Erich Hartmann, the
   highest-ever scoring ace (352 enemy aircraft destroyed), Gerhard
   Barkhorn (301), Günther Rall (275) and Johannes Steinhoff (176).
   Steinhoff, who suffered a crash in a Messerschmitt Me 262 shortly
   before the end of the war which resulted in lifelong scarring of his
   face and other parts of his body, would eventually become
   commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, with Rall as his immediate
   successor. Hartmann retired as an Oberst (colonel) in 1970 aged 48. The
   aforementioned Josef Kammhuber also served with the post-war Luftwaffe,
   retiring in 1962 as Inspekteur der Bundesluftwaffe.

1960's Starfighter crisis

   During the 1960's, the " Starfighter crisis" was a big problem for
   German politics, as many of these Lockheed F-104 fighters crashed after
   being modified to serve for Luftwaffe purposes - specifically for
   terrain, weather and ground troop support issues. In Luftwaffe service,
   292 of the 916 Starfighters crashed, claiming the lives of 115 pilots,
   leading to cries from the West German public that the Starfighter was
   fundamentally unsafe and earning it the Witwenmacher (English -
   Widowmaker) nickname.

   Steinhoff and his deputy Rall noted that the non-German F-104's proved
   much safer - Spain lost none in the same period. The Americans blamed
   the high loss rate of the Luftwaffe F-104s to the extreme low-level and
   aggressive flying by the German pilots, rather than any faults in the
   aircraft.. Steinhoff and Rall immediately left their daily work and
   learned to fly the aircraft in America under Lockheed instruction, and
   noted some specifics in the training (a distinct lack of mountains and
   foggy weather training), combined with handling capabilities (sharp
   start high G turns) of the aircraft that could create accidents
   situations.

   Steinhoff and Rall immediately changed the training regimen for the
   F-104 pilots, and accident ratio's quickly fell to those comparable or
   better than other airforces. They also brought about the high level of
   training and professionalism seen today throughout the Luftwaffe, and
   the start of a strategic direction for Luftwaffe pilots to tactically
   and combat train outside Germany. However, the F-104 never removed its
   Witwenmacher reputation, and was replaced much earlier by the Luftwaffe
   than other national airforces

1970's

   One of 212 Panavia Tornado IDSs delivered to the Luftwaffe.
   Enlarge
   One of 212 Panavia Tornado IDSs delivered to the Luftwaffe.

   From 1965 through 1970, two surface to surface missile wings
   (Flugkörpergeschwader) fielded 16 of the Pershing I missile systems
   with nuclear warheads under US Army custody. In 1970, the system was
   upgraded to Pershing IA with 72 systems. Although not directly affected
   by the 1988 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, the Luftwaffe
   unilaterally agreed to the retrograde of the Pershing 1A system from
   their inventory in 1991, and the missiles were destroyed.

   Beginning in June 1979 the Luftwaffe received 212 Panavia Tornado IDSs.

   The United States provides nuclear weapons for use by Germany under a
   NATO nuclear sharing agreement. As of 2005, 60 tactical B61 nuclear
   bombs are provided, stored at Büchel and Ramstein Air Bases, which in
   time of war would be delivered by Luftwaffe Panavia Tornados.

Reunification

   GDR Air Force plane marking

   The GDR's air force, the Luftstreitkräfte der NVA, was supplied
   exclusively with Eastern Bloc-produced aircraft, such as the Sukhoi
   Su-17 "Fitter" and the more famous Mikoyan-Gurevich (MiG) family of
   aircraft, such as the MiG-21, MiG-23 and MiG-29 fighters, and served
   primarily as an extension of Red Air Force units in Eastern Germany.
   The East German air force was unique among Warsaw Pact countries in
   that it was often equipped with Soviet-standard combat aircraft,
   instead of downgraded export models. As an extension of Soviet air
   power, the "Luftstreitkräfte" enjoyed less autonomy than other Eastern
   Bloc air forces. Unlike the West German Luftwaffe, the markings sported
   on the aircraft reflected the identity of the country as belonging to
   the Communist bloc. These markings consisted of a diamond-shaped
   design, in which could be seen the vertically oriented three stripes in
   black, red and gold surmounted by the stylised hammer, compass and
   wreath-like ears-of-grain design, which was also seen on the Flag of
   East Germany, although the stripes were a 90-degree orientation from
   those to be seen on either national flag of the two German nations
   between 1959 and 1990.

   After the GDR and West Germany were reunified in October 1990, the
   aircraft of the NVA were taken over by the unified Federal Republic of
   Germany, and their GDR markings were replaced by the Iron Cross, thus
   creating the situation of Soviet-built aircraft serving in a NATO air
   force. However, most of these would eventually be taken out of service
   altogether, in many cases being sold to the new Eastern European allies
   now part of NATO, such as Poland and the Baltic states.
   Luftwaffe MiG-29UB
   Enlarge
   Luftwaffe MiG-29UB

   The exception to this was the Jagdgeschwader 73 "Steinhoff" in Laage.
   The pilots of this squadron flew MiG-29s acquired during the
   reunification and were some of the most experienced MiG-29 pilots in
   the world. One of their primary duties was to serve as aggressor
   pilots, training other pilots in dissimilar combat tactics. The United
   States sent a group of fighter pilots to Germany during the Red October
   exercise in order to practice real tactics against the aircraft they
   were most likely to meet in real combat. In 2004, however, the MiG-29s
   were sold to Poland. Since then, the JG 73 uses the Eurofighter
   Typhoon.

1990s

   In March 1999, for the first time since 1945, the Luftwaffe engaged in
   combat operations as part of the NATO-led Kosovo War. This event was
   noted as significant in the British press with The Sun running the
   headline "Luftwaffe and the RAF into battle side by side". The
   Luftwaffe flew suppression of enemy air defence ( SEAD) sorties. No
   Luftwaffe aircraft were lost during the campaign, but the force's role
   proved to be controversial in Germany because of the strong pacifist
   sentiment still present in the population that is opposed to the use of
   force by Germany in international affairs. Moreover, there were
   constitutional concerns, because Germany was not and, indeed, still is
   not allowed to participate in "wars of aggression" owing to its 1949
   Grundgesetz ("Basic Law" - constitution).

2000s

   In 2005, 4 F-4F Phantoms participated on NATO's Baltic Air Policing
   operation.

Future

   A Luftwaffe Eurofighter Typhoon (2-seated trainer version).
   Enlarge
   A Luftwaffe Eurofighter Typhoon (2-seated trainer version).

   Since the 1970s, the Luftwaffe of West Germany and later the reunited
   Germany (as well as many other European air forces) has actively
   pursued the construction of European combat aircraft such as the
   Panavia Tornado and more recently the Eurofighter Typhoon, which has
   been introduced in 2006.

   On January 13 2004 the then German Defence Minister Peter Struck
   announced major changes to the German armed forces. A major part of
   this announcement is the plan to cut the German fighter fleet from 426
   in early 2004 to 265 by 2015. Assuming the full German order for 180
   Eurofighter Typhoons is fulfilled, this will see the Tornado force
   reduced to 85. The German Navy's air wing (Marineflieger) received 112
   Tornado IDSs. In late 2004 the last Tornado unit was disbanded. The
   maritime combat role has been assumed by the Luftwaffe a unit of which
   has had its Tornados upgraded to carry the Kormoran II and AGM-88 HARM
   missiles.

Tactical Training Centers

   Luftwaffe Panavia Tornado at CFB Goose Bay
   Enlarge
   Luftwaffe Panavia Tornado at CFB Goose Bay

   In light of the destroyed infrastructure of West Germany post World War
   2, the restrictions on aircraft production placed on Germany and the
   later restrictive flying zones available for training pilots, the
   reconstructed Luftwaffe trained most of its pilots tactically away from
   Germany, mainly in the United States where most of its aircraft were
   sourced from.

   During the 1960's and 1970's, when large numbers of Luftwaffe jets
   began to crash - the Luftwaffe suffered a 36 percent crash rate for
   F-84F Thunderstreak, and almost 30 percent loss of the F-104
   Starfighter - created demands from Germany's citizens that the
   Luftwaffe move most combat training away from Germany.

   Resultantly, the Luftwaffe set up two Tactical Training centres: one,
   like many of the NATO forces at the Canadian Forces Air Command base at
   Goose Bay; and a second one in a unique partnership with the United
   States Airforce at Holloman AFB in New Mexico. Both of these facilities
   provide access to large unpopulated areas, where tactical and combat
   training can take place without danger to large populations.

   In September 2004, Luftwaffe chief of staff, Klaus-Peter Stieglitz
   announced a reduction in its training program of roughly 20%.

Holloman AFB

   On 1 May 1996, the Luftwaffe established the German Air Force Tactical
   Training Centre in concept with the United States Air Force 20th
   Fighter Squadron which provides aircrew training in the F-4F Phantom
   II. The TTC serves as the parent command for two German air crew
   training squadrons. The F-4 Training Squadron oversees all German F-4
   student personal affairs, and provides German instructor pilots to
   cooperate in the contracted F-4 training program provided by the U.S.
   Air Force (20th Fighter Squadron). A second TTC unit, the Tornado
   Training Squadron, provides academic and tactical flying training, by
   German Air Force instructors, for German Tornado aircrews.

   The first contingent of Tornado aircraft arrived at Holloman in March
   1996. More than 300 German Air Force members are permanently assigned
   at Holloman to the TTC - the only unit of its kind in the United
   States. The German Air Force Flying Training Centre activated 31 March
   with German Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Portz and U.S. Air Force
   Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Ryan present. The Luftwaffe has since kept
   up to 800 personnel at Holloman for training exercises, due to limited
   training space in Europe.

   On 29 September 1999 two Luftwaffe Tornado's crashed near Marathon
   Indian Basin, about 15 miles northwest of Carlsbad, New Mexico. The
   crash details were kept quiet from the American public, as the crash
   was investigated under Luftwaffe jurisdiction.. Subsequent questioning
   of the authorities revealed that a training agreement existed between
   the United States and various foreign national governments post World
   War II.

Organisation

     * Jagdgeschwader 73 - Eurofighter Typhoon
     * Jagdgeschwader 74 - Eurofighter Typhoon - Neuburg an der Donau

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