The Luftwaffe: A Study in Air Power, 1933-1945.

While Allied Air Forces were tied to the support of the Army, the Luftwaffe deployed its resources in a more general, operational way.

The Luftwaffe: Creating the Operational Air War, 1918 – 1940.

This was just the opportunity the German Luftwaffe, Italian Regia Aeronautica, and the Soviet Union's Red Air Force needed to test their latest aircraft.

The Soviets increasingly were able to challenge the Luftwaffe, and while the Luftwaffe maintained a qualitative edge over the Red Air Force for much of the war, the increasing numbers and efficacy of the Soviet Air Force were critical to the Red Army's efforts at turning back and eventually annihilating the Wehrmacht.

With Hitler preoccupied with the war, Himmler focusing on the " final solution to the Jewish question " in eastern Europe, and with Hermann Göring ’ s position declining with the failure of the German Air Force ( Luftwaffe ), Goebbels sensed a power vacuum in domestic policy and moved to fill it.

Luftwaffe is also the generic term in German speaking countries for any national military aviation service, and the names of air forces in other countries are usually translated into German as " Luftwaffe " ( e. g. Royal Air Force is often translated as britische Luftwaffe ).

And because Luft means " air " and Waffe may be translated into English as either " weapon " or " arm ", " Air Arm " may be considered the most literal English translation of Luftwaffe ( cf.

The forerunner of the Luftwaffe, the Imperial German Army Air Service, was founded in 1910 with the name Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches.

In 1935, " Luftwaffe Regulation 16: The Conduct of the Air War " was drawn up.

When the Second World War began, the Luftwaffe was one of most technologically advanced Air Forces in the world.

Meanwhile, the Luftwaffe continued to defend German – occupied Europe against the growing offensive power of RAF Bomber Command and the United States Army Air Forces.

Inevitably, both the Bomber B and Amerika Bomber programs were victims of the continued emphasis of the Wehrmacht's insistence for the Luftwaffe to support the Army as its primary mission, as well as the increasingly devastating results of the RAF Bomber Command at night, and by 1943 the USAAF's Eighth and Fifteenth Air Forces ' heavy bomber raids by daylight on the German aviation industry, which catastrophically diminished the Third Reich's overall aviation production capacity later in World War II.

The Luftwaffe: Creating the Operational Air War, 1918 – 1940.

The Luftwaffe and the Battle for Air Superiority PDF-File

* 1945 – World War II: Ratification in Berlin-Karlshorst of the German unconditional surrender of May 8 in Rheims, France, with the signatures of Marshal Georgy Zhukov for the Soviet Union, and for the Western Headquarters Sir Arthur Tedder, British Air Marshal and Eisenhower's deputy, and for the German side of Colonel-General Hans-Jürgen Stumpff as the representative of the Luftwaffe, Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel as the Chief of Staff of OKW, and Admiral Hans-Georg von Friedeburg as Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine.

* 1940 – World War II: in response to the leveling of Coventry, England by Nazi Germany's Luftwaffe two days before, the Royal Air Force bombs Hamburg.

In December 1939, the German Army issued its own study paper ( designated Nordwest ) and solicited opinions and input from both the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe ( German Air Force ).

Beginning in August 1940, the German Luftwaffe began a series of concentrated aerial attacks ( designated Unternehmen Adlerangriff or Operation Eagle Attack ) on targets throughout the United Kingdom in an attempt to destroy the RAF ( Royal Air Force ) and establish air superiority over Great Britain.

The Luftwaffe: Creating the Operational Air War, 1918-1940.

Göring had played a leading role in the build up of the Luftwaffe in 1933 – 1936, but played little further part in the development of the Luftwaffe until 1936, and Milch became the de facto minister until 1937.

Walther Wever ( general ) | Walther Wever, Chief of the Luftwaffe General Staff, 1933 – 1936.

For these reasons, between 1933 and 1934, the Luftwaffe leadership was primarily concerned with tactical and operational methods.

* The Luftwaffe 1933 – 1945

* Book – Strategy for defeat: the Luftwaffe 1933 – 1945

In December 1933 Galland was recalled to the ZVS headquarters and offered the chance to join the new Luftwaffe.

Nevertheless, the French aeronautical industry proved itself incapable of delivering enough aircraft that the annual fiscal budgets had called for, in spite of the fact that Hitler had come to power in January 1933 and, by March 1935, was defying the Allies ( and the Treaty of Versailles ) openly by announcing the existence of the Luftwaffe.

In 1933 von Richthofen joined the Luftwaffe, commanded by his former commanding officer at JG 1, in 1918, Hermann Göring.

During the Nazi regime ( 1933 – 1945 ) new combinations were issued: DR, Deutsche Reichsbahn ( German state railway ); OT, Organisation Todt ( civil and military engineering ); Pol, Deutsche Polizei ( police ); RAD, Reichsarbeitsdienst ( state labour service ); RK, Deutsches Rotes Kreuz ( Red Cross ); SS, Schutzstaffel (" protection squadron "); WH, Wehrmacht Heer ( army ); WL, Wehrmacht Luftwaffe ( air force ); WM, Wehrmacht Kriegsmarine ( navy ); WT, Wehrmacht Straßentransportdienst ( army transport service ).

During this time evolved the system of organisation and unit designations that would form the basis of those used in the Luftwaffe in 1933.

It traverses the period 1924 until 1940 with emphasis on Pre-World War II production and plans, aircraft production from 1933 to 1939, and Luftwaffe expansion from 1935 to 1938.

* 1937 – Spanish Civil War: Guernica ( or Gernika in Basque ), Spain is bombed by German Luftwaffe.

* 1943 – A Luftwaffe bombing raid on the harbour of Bari, Italy, sinks numerous cargo and transport ships, including an American Liberty ship, the John Harvey, with a stockpile of World War I-era mustard gas.

* 1940 – World War II: In The Second Great Fire of London, the Luftwaffe fire-bombs London, killing almost 200 civilians.

* 1935 – Adolf Hitler orders the Luftwaffe to be re-formed, violating the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles.

His proposal had a certain logic, as Göring – despite the failures of the Luftwaffe and his own corruption – was still very popular among the German people, whose morale was waning since Hitler barely appeared in public since the defeat at Stalingrad.

* 1940 – World War II: sinking of the by the Luftwaffe near Saint-Nazaire, France.

* 1940 – World War II: Battle of Britain – The German Luftwaffe begins attacking British convoys in the English Channel thus starting the battle ( this start date is contested, though ).

* 1940 – World War II: The Luftwaffe bombs Paris.

* 1994 – Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte, German Luftwaffe officer ( b. 1907 )

Many members of the Nationalsozialistisches Fliegerkorps ( National Socialist Flyers Corps – NSFK ) transferred to the Luftwaffe.

During Kesselring's time as CS, 1936 – 1937, a power struggle developed between the two as Udet attempted to extend his own power within the Luftwaffe.

The " peripheral " strategy of the Luftwaffe between 1939 – 1940 had been to deploy its fighter defences at the edges of Axis occupied territory, with little protecting the inner depths.

* Luftwaffe serviceable aircraft strengths ( 1940 – 1945 )

Luftwaffe Fledglings 1935 – 1945: Luftwaffe Training Units and their Aircraft.

* Book Review of American Raiders – discusses some of the Luftwaffe secrets captured at the end of the war.