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The Luftwaffe (German for Air Weapon) was Nazi Germany's airforce that was unveiled in 1935 and later demilitarized in 1945.

Contents 1 Overview 2 History 2.1 Before the War 2.2 The Phoney War 2.3 Blitzkrieg 2.4 The Battle of Britain 2.5 The Blitz 2.6 North Africa and The Mediterranean 2.7 The Russian Front 2.8 D-Day and afterwards 3 Codewords 4 References 4.1 Notes 4.2 Sources

OverviewEdit

At the beginning of the war, the Luftwaffe was one of the most powerful, advanced, and experienced airforces on the planet. The main fighter aircraft of the Luftwaffe was the Messerschmitt Bf 109. The Luftwaffe also included planes such as the Ju 87 Dive Bomber, Heinkel He 111, Dornier Do 335, Focke Wulf Fw 190, Dornier Do 17, Junkers JU-88, Henschel Hs 129, Heinkel He 177 and the Junkers JU 52. The Luftwaffe became very effective when used in German tactics such as Blitzkrieg. This is why for the beginning of World War II the Luftwaffe ruled the skies. However the Luftwaffe later lost The Battle of Britain which then marked a steady decline of effectiveness by the Luftwaffe, especially after waves of bombers surrounding by support fighters flew over Nazi Germany towards the end of the war. Even so, the Luftwaffe was used throughout World War II in campaigns such as the Eastern Front.

HistoryEdit

Before the WarEdit

Operational units of the Luftwaffe were initially shared out between four Luftflotten (Air fleets):

• Luftflotte 1, headquartered in Berlin under the command of General de Fliger Albert Kesselring, responsible for units in North East Germany,
• Luftflotte 2, headquartered in Brunswick under the command of General de Fliger Helmut Felmy, responsible for units in North West Germany,
• Luftflotte 3, headquartered in Munich under the command of General de Fliger Hugo Sperrle, responsible for units in South West Germany, and
• Luftflotte 4, headquartered in Vienna under the command of General de Fliger Alexander Lohr, responsible for units in South East Germany, Austria and Czechoslovskia.^[2]

The Phoney WarEdit

On 2 September, 1939, the Luftwaffe's front line units possessed 3,659 serviceable aircraft. These were assigned to the four Luftflotten (Air fleets) and the Lehrdivision. ^[3]

BlitzkriegEdit

The Battle of BritainEdit

The Luftwaffe Quartermaster report for 17 August 1940 stated that front line units possessed 3,157 front line aircraft

The BlitzEdit

North Africa and The MediterraneanEdit

Following the Italian Armistice with the Allies in September 1943, the Luftwaffe seized hundreds of Italian aircraft. By March 1944, many of these had been passed to the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana. ^[4]

The Russian FrontEdit

D-Day and afterwardsEdit

The Luftwaffe Quartermaster report for 31 May 1944, the last before the D-Day landings, showed that front line units possessed 4,928 serviceable aircraft. ^[5]

CodewordsEdit

The Luftwaffe used a number of standard codewords in their radio transmissions.

Codeword	Translation	Actual meaning
Kirchturm	Church tower	Own height in hundreds of metres
Hanny	Jhonny or 'Bloke'	Enemy height
Caruso	-	Course
Zirkus uber	Circus over	Assemble at...
Gartenraum	Garden room	Airfield
Horrido	-	I have shot down enemy aircraft
Ente	Duck	Range from enemy aircraft
Bodo	-	Unit headquarters or own base
Orkan	-	Enemy speed
Tuba	-	Bearing
Pauke-Pauke	-	Attack!
Viktor	-	Understood
Ich beruhre	I touch	I have seen the target
Otto-Otto	-	Target in searchlight
Normaluhr in	Normal time	Wait at...
Ich habe Durst	I am thirsty	I am short of petrol
Radfahrer	Cyclist	Own single engine aircraft
Mobelwagen	Furniture Van	Own twin engine aircraft
Dicke Mobelwagen	Bulky Furniture van	Own three engine aircraft
Feindlich Jager	-	Enemy fighters
Autos	Cars	Enemy twin engine aircraft
Dicke Autos	Bulky Cars	Enemy three engine aircraft
Freie Bahn	Free road	Enemy fighters breaking formation
Donnerkeil	Thunderbolt	Night attack
Stacheldraht	Barbed wire	Flying within certain heights forbidden
Objekt	Object	Designated object being defended
Mauerblume	Wallflower	Contact with the enemy
Spielbeginn	Start of the game	Enemy formation recognised at (followed by place name)
Halbzeit	Half time	Abandoning engagement
Ich suche	I am looking	I haven't seen, or have lost, the target
Gehen Sie ins Vorzimmer	Go into the anteroom	...Wait
Konkurrenz	Competition	Danger warning
Weiss	White	Fighter operating with searchlights
Schwartz	Black	Fighter operating without searchlights

^[6]

ReferencesEdit

NotesEdit

SourcesEdit

1. ↑ Nostalgic Aviation
2. ↑ Price, Alfred. The Luftwaffe Data Book. Greenhill Books. 1997. ISBN 1 85367 293 9 Page 14
3. ↑ Price, Alfred. 1997. Page 20
4. ↑ Neulen, Hans Werner. In the Skies of Europe - Air Forces allied to the Luftwaffe 1939-1945. The Crowood Press. 2000. ISBN 1-86126-326-0 Page 75
5. ↑ Price, Alfred. 1997. Page 92
6. ↑ Townsend Bickers, Richard. The Battle of Britain - 50th Anniversary. Salamander Books. 1990. CN 1338 Page 60.