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Hermann Göring, the first Supreme Commander of the Luftwaffe (in office: 1935–1945) Robert Ritter von Greim, the second and last Supreme Commander of the Luftwaffe (in office: April–May 1945) The Luftwaffe [N 2] ( German pronunciation: [ˈlʊftvafə] ⓘ) was the aerial-warfare branch of the Wehrmacht before and during World War II.
Luftwaffe, component of the German armed forces tasked with the air defense of Germany and fulfillment of the country’s airpower commitments abroad. The Luftwaffe was founded in 1935 and disbanded by the Allies in 1946. It was reconstituted in 1956 aspart of the NATO defense network in central Europe.
The German Air Force ( German: Luftwaffe, lit. 'air weapon or air arm', German pronunciation: [ˈlʊftvafə] ⓘ) is the aerial warfare branch of the Bundeswehr, the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the Bundeswehr) was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War as the aerial warfare branch of the armed forces of ...
- Invasion of Poland
- Norway and Denmark
- Invasion of France and The Low Countries
- Battle of Britain
- North Africa and The Mediterranean 1941–1944
- Soviet-German War
- The Battle of The Atlantic
- Development of Night Fighting
- Defense of The Reich, 1942–1945
- The End in The West 1944–45
On 1 September 1939 German forces invaded Poland, triggering World War II. The Luftwaffe begun the invasion by bombing the undefended town of Wieluń. The Luftwaffe was an instrumental component of the Blitzkrieg battle plan. The Luftwaffe assigned two airfleets to the campaign. Albert Kesselring's Luftflotte 1 was equipped with 807 aircraft, which ...
Operation Weserübung(9 April–10 June 1940) The Luftwaffe had assembled 527 aircraft for the campaign in Scandinavia, including 300 medium bombers and 50 Stuka dive-bombers. The Germans had also deployed over 40 seaplane reconnaissance aircraft and 200 Junkers Ju 52 transports to carry occupying forces and Fallschirmjäger paratroops. The opposing ai...
On 10 May 1940, the Wehrmacht launched the invasion of France and the Low Countries. The first phase of the invasion Fall Gelb called for an invasion of the Netherlands and Belgium in which the Germans correctly predicted the French and British Forces would then push into Belgium to stop advances into France. Gelbwould then deliver the main blow, a...
Following the successful campaign in France, and as a prerequisite for Operation Sea Lion, the invasion of Britain, the Royal Air Force(RAF) had to be defeated. The earlier successes had caused Göring to become overly confident in its abilities and made him boast that the RAF would be defeated in a matter of days. The Luftwaffe had been designed as...
In North Africa and the Mediterranean, the Luftwaffe mainly saw action in support of the ground operations conducted by General Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps. The Afrika Korps fought in North Africa from February 1941 to May 1943. Before Rommel's arrival, Mussolini's invasion of Greece, in October 1940 and the Italian offensive against the British in...
Following some early experience in support of the war at sea during the Norwegian Campaign, the Luftwaffe contributed small amounts of forces to the Battle of the Atlantic from 1940 to 1944. These were primarily long-range reconnaissance planes, first with Focke-Wulf Fw 200 and later Junkers Ju 290 maritime patrol aircraft. The initial Focke-Wulf a...
Although night fighting had been undertaken in embryonic form in World War I, the German night fighter force, the Nachtjagd, had to virtually start from scratch when British bombers began to attack targets in Germany in strength from 1940 as far as tactics were concerned. A chain of radar stations was established all across the Reich territory from...
The Luftwaffe on top
Between 1942 and 1945 the Luftwaffe had to continually expend its resources to counter the Allied strategic bombing campaign against targets deep inside Germany itself. RAF Bomber Command under Sir Arthur Harris had begun bombing German targets in early 1942, but after heavy losses switched to night bombing. The U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF)'s Eighth Air Force eventually joined in the autumn of 1942 flying daylight missions. This campaign became known as The Defense of the Reich. In 1941 the F...
The turn of the tide
While the Battle of Britain was described as a "turning point" and caused losses that "could never be made good throughout the course of the war" the Luftwaffe was still able to combat bombing raids by the Allies. Until the development of Allied long-range fighters the Luftwaffe remained capable of inflicting serious losses by the day fighter and night fighter units (Nachtgeschwader), as well as the anti-aircraft guns under its command. The Luftwaffe employed twin-engined Ju 88 and Bf 110 Zer...
Between January and May 1944 the Luftwaffe undertook Operation Steinbock, the so-called Baby Blitz, assembling 474 bombers for a campaign against London. Steinbock was called off when V-1 flying bombs became available for the retribution attacks and after the loss of 329 bombers. The lack of night flying experience of the crew contributed to the lo...
Learn about the creation, achievements, and challenges of the Luftwaffe, the German air force during World War II. See images of the aircraft, battles, and events that shaped the Luftwaffe's role in the war.
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Learn about the rise and fall of the Luftwaffe, the German air force, during World War II. Explore the technological achievements, strategic failures, and consequences of the German belief in airpower.
Dec 8, 2021 · Learn how the Luftwaffe was created, shaped and destroyed by the Nazis during WW2. Explore its origins, achievements, challenges and legacy in this comprehensive article.
