Eagles of the Third Reich: Men of the Luftwaffe in WWII (Stackpole Military History Series) (62 page)

APPENDIX 4

Glossary of Luftwaffe Terms

Erganzungsgruppen:
training groups.

Fernaufklaerungsgruppe:
a long-range reconnaissance squadron; abbreviated (F) or FAG. The 1 (F) 123 would be the 3rd Squadron, 123rd Long-Range Reconnaissance Group.

Fliegerdivision:
an air division. Gradually replaced by the air corps in operational situations, but never entirely so.

Fliegerfuehrer:
special air command, usually under air fleet command. Although primarily concerned with antishipping or weather reconnaissance operations, they sometimes controlled fighter, bomber, and dive-bomber units. For purposes of this book, the term is used to designate the commanders or their commands (i.e., Fliegerfuehrer Afrika is translated as Air Commander Africa or Air Command Africa).

Fliegerkorps:
an air corps.

Fliegerverbindungsoffiziere (“Flivos”):
air force liaison officers attached to army units; responsible for coordinating reconnaissance, close air support, and other missions.

Flugwetterdienst:
the Air Force Meteorological Service.

Geschwader:
an air wing, the largest mobile, homogenous formation in the Luftwaffe.

Gruppe:
a group; the basic combat and administrative aviation unit of the Luftwaffe. Largely self-contained, the entire gruppe was usually based at a single airfield. It could be detached from its parent wing (geschwader). Gruppen were abbreviated II/KG 77 (II Group, 77th Bomber Wing), I/JG 3 (I Group, 3rd [Single-Engine] Fighter Wing), etc.

Jagdfuehrer:
“Fighter Commander.” Abbreviated “Jafu,” this division-level headquarters controlled fighter units in its area (Jafu Ostmark, for example, controlled fighter units in Austria and is translated “Fighter Commander Austria” or “Fighter Command Austria”).

Jagdgeschwader:
a single-engine fighter wing, abbreviated JG 1, JG 2, etc.

Jagdkorps:
an air corps consisting entirely or almost entirely of fighter units.

Kampfgeschwader:
a bomber wing, abbreviated KG 1, KG 2, etc. Lehrdivision: a testing division, responsible for testing the latest types of aircraft, antiaircraft defenses, and air signal units.

Luftgau:
corps-level air administrative districts responsible for administration and supply organizations, as well as recruiting, mobilization, and training; they had specific territorial responsibilities over set geographical areas. Luftgau functioned under the Air Ministry (Goering) and were designated by Roman numerals (Luftgau III) or locations (Luftgau Norwegen, or Air Administrative District Norway).

Luftwaffe Command:
a headquarters intermediate in status between air fleet and air corps; included downgraded air fleets (3d Air Fleet became Luftwaffe Command West in 1944, 2nd Air Fleet became Luftwaffe Command South in late 1944, and 4th Air Fleet became Luftwaffe Command 4 in 1945, for example).

Nachtjagdgeschwader:
a night fighter wing, abbreviated NJG 1, NJG 2, etc.

Nachtschlachtgruppe:
a night harassment wing. Established in 1944, they consisted of obsolete aircraft (Ar-65s, He-50s, etc.). Abbreviated NS 1, NS 2, etc.

Nahaufklaerungsgruppe:
a short-range reconnaissance unit, abbreviated NAGr, or (H). 1 (H) 32 would be 1st Squadron, 32d Reconnaissance Group (Short-Range).

OKL (Oberkommando der Luftwaffe):
The High Command of the German Air Force. The command organ of the Luftwaffe. Directed by Goering, the day-to-day operations of O.K.L. were supervised by the chief of the General Staff of the Luftwaffe.

OKW (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht):
The High Command of the Armed Forces. Directed by Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, this organization was nominally the immediate superior of OKL. Goering, however, refused to cooperate with Keitel, making the OKL, in fact, an independent body.

RDL (Reichsministerium der Luftfahrt):
The Ministry of Aviation. Controlled civil aviation and supply, administration, and technical matters for the Luftwaffe.

RLM (Reichsluftfahrministerium, or Reichsluftfahrt Ministerium):
The German Air Ministry. Initially in charge of all Luftwaffe functions, many of its responsibilities were later taken over by OKL.

Schlachtgeschwader:
a ground attack and antitank wing; used primarily on the eastern front.

Schnellkampfgeschwader:
a ground attack wing; used primarily on the eastern front.

Seenotdienst:
the sea rescue service. During the war it saved the lives of many pilots on both sides.

Stabs-Schwarm:
the staff section of a geschwader (wing); normally contained three to six aircraft.

Staffel:
a squadron; the smallest operational Luftwaffe unit. Normally commanded by a captain or a lieutenant. It included a full-time adjutant. The signal, technical, and navigation branches of the staffel were supervised by flying officers in their spare time. Abbreviated 1, II/JG 77 (1st Squadron, II Group, 77th Fighter Wing), 3, I/KG 100 (3rd Squadron, I Group, 100th Bomber Wing), etc.

Stukageschwader:
a Ju-87 “Stuka” wing. Abbreviated StG 1, StG 2, etc.

Zerstoerergeschwader:
(literally, “Destroyer Wing”); a twin-engine fighter wing, abbreviated ZG 1, ZG 2, etc.

APPENDIX 5

Other Leading Luftwaffe
Personalities

Aschenbrenner, Lt. Gen. Heinrich
. World War I infantry officer. Became a pilot in the 1920s and spent six weeks with the Russian 20th Air Force Brigade in 1931. Later served as air attaché at the German embassy in Moscow (1939–40) and was chief signals officer with Kesselring’s 2nd Air Fleet (1940–42). From 1942 until the end of the war he was chief signals officer at Luftwaffe Command Headquarters, except for a period of temporary duty as chief signals officer with 5th Air Fleet (1943).

Axthelm, Gen. Walter von
. Bavarian. Flak expert. Led I Flak Corps in France and Russia (1940–42). Later became inspector general of the flak branch, a post he had at the end of the war. Promoted to general of flak artillery on April 1, 1944.

Baumbach, Lt. Col. Werner
. Born in Coppenburg, Oldenburg area, 1916, Baumbach was the only bomber pilot to receive the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. He commanded KG 30 in 1942 and later worked with Dr. Speer, his close personal friend, on the remote-controlled bomber project. After the war he wrote
Zu Spaet?
(
Too Late?
), one of the best early books on the Luftwaffe. He emigrated to Argentina with his wife and son in 1948 and, became a technical adviser to industrial firms. At the age of thirty-six he crashed and drowned in the Rio de la Plata.

Below, Col. Nikolaus von
. Luftwaffe adjutant to Adolf Hitler from June 16, 1937, to April 29, 1945.

Beust, Col. Baron Hans-Henning von
. A veteran of the Condor Legion, Beust was commander of III/KG 27 from 1940 until May 29, 1942, and then led the wing in the Stalingrad campaign. Hospitalized for infantile paralysis from October 1943 until April 1944, he was chief of staff to the general of bomber forces from September 24, 1944, until January 1, 1945, and was then named general of bomber forces.

Brauchitsch, Col. Bernd von
. Son of Field Marshal Walter von Brauchitsch, the commander-in-chief of the army (1938–41). A member of the General Staff of the Luftwaffe, Bernd commanded I/StG 76 and IV (Stuka) Group, 1st Destroyer Wing, in 1940 and was Goering’s personal adjutant and a member of the “Little General Staff” for most of the war.

Buelowius, Gen. Alfred
. Joined Prussian army, 1912. Discharged as a captain in 1919. Joined Luftwaffe, 1933. Served with bomber and dive-bomber schools until 1942. Served with VIII Air Corps in Russia (1942). Named commander, Luftwaffe Command North, September 1942, and commanding general, 1st Air Division, in Russia (October 1942). Commander of various air administrative areas, December 1944, to the end of the war. Promoted to general of flyers, 1945.

Christ, Col. Torsten
. Operations officer of the Condor Legion for much of the Spanish civil war, Christ would have made general officer rank except for an aversion to flying, which resulted from an air accident which disfigured his face. He held a variety of General Staff posts during World War II and was chief of supply at OKL at the end of the war.

Deichmann, Gen. Paul
. Infantry officer and aerial observer in World War I. Served as chief of staff, II Air Corps, in the French campaign (1940), Battle of Britain (1940-41), Russia (1941), and the Mediterranean (1941–42). Chief of staff of OB South (Kesselring), August 1942 to June 1943. Briefly commander of IV Air Administrative Command in Austria (1943). Later chief of staff, 3d Air Fleet (Sperrle), 1943–44. Ended the war as general of flyers and commander, I Air Corps, on the eastern front (1945).

Dessloch, Col. Gen. Otto
. Pilot and observer in German air service, World War I. Commander, 6th Air Division (1939). Commander, II Flak Corps (1940–41) and I Flak Corps (1942). Commander, 4th Air Fleet, Russian front, 1943–44. Replaced Sperrle as commander, 3d Air Fleet in France, August, 1944. Returned to command of the 4th Air Fleet on the eastern front in late 1944. Replaced Field Marshal Ritter von Greim as commander, 6th Air Fleet, on April 29, 1945, and held this command at the end of the war. Promoted to colonel general on March 1, 1944.

Doerstling, General of Flyers Egon
. Chief of the Office of Procurement under Udet and later chief of supply for the Luftwaffe, he was in charge of administrative area commands in Holland and Austria from August 1943 until the end of the war.

Drum, Gen. Karl
. Entered service, 1913. Served as an infantry officer and flight observer in World War I. Entered the clandestine General Staff after the war. Rose to chief of the inspectorate of aerial reconnaissance forces and operations, Reich Air Ministry. Named chief of staff to Luftwaffe General with the commander-in-chief of the army, 1939. Chief, Air Support Command, Army Group South (1941–42). Later commander-in-chief, OKW Force in Holland, commander of the 11th Luftwaffe Field Division, and commander, Luftwaffe Administrative Area Western France. Ended the war as a general of flyers. Worked for the United States Air Force Historical Branch after the war.

Fiebig, Gen. Martin
. Specialist in close air support operations who rose to the rank of general of flyers. Trained in Russia, late 1920s, as a close support ex pert. Commander, 1st Air Division, Russia (1941–42). Succeeded Richthofen as commander, VIII Air Corps (1942). Played prominent role in the Stalingrad relief operation (1942–43). Named commander, II Air Corps (1943). This headquarters was upgraded to Luftwaffe Command Northeast in April, 1945, and was operating on the eastern front at the end of the war. He was executed by the Yugoslavians after the war.

Foerster, General of Flyers Helmuth
. Highly decorated flying officer, World War I. Reentered service as a lieutenant colonel in the Luftwaffe, March 1, 1934. Named commander, Bomber Wing “General Wever,” 1936. Commanded an air division in Poland (1939). Chief of staff, 5th Air Fleet in Norway, 1940. Member, French-German Peace Commission, 1940. Later OKW commander in Serbia (1941) and commander, I Air Corps, eastern front (1941–October, 1942). Chief of administration, Reich Air Ministry (1942–45). Pensioned as a lieutenant colonel in 1952.

Hartmann, Maj. Erich
. The leading ace of World War II, Hartmann shot down 352 aircraft—348 on the eastern front. He was commander of the 52d Fighter Group when he was captured by the Russians in 1945 after his airfield was overrun. He remained in Russian captivity until the mid-1950s. Hartmann held the Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds to the Knights Cross.

Heidrich, General of Paratroopers Richard
. An infantry officer in World War I and during the Reichswehr period, Heidrich was commander of the 514th Infantry Regiment when he transferred to the Luftwaffe in 1939. He distinguished himself as a paratrooper commander, leading the 3rd Parachute Regiment (1940–42), 7th Air Division (1942–43), 1st Parachute Division (1943–44), and I Parachute Corps (1944–45). Heidrich is especially famous for his defense of Monte Cassino in Italy in 1944.