Russian
| Deutsche Luftwaffe | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Period | In 1910 - 1918 ; in 1935 - 1 945 , 1956 -Present |
| Country |  Germany |
| Allegiance | Bundeswehr |
| Type | Air Force |
| Staff | 60,300 (including 15,300 reservists ) people |
| Commander | Lieutenant General Klaus-Peter Stieglitz |
change  | |
The term Luftwaffe (literally, refers to the various air forces of Germany during its history. Air component of the Bundeswehr , her name is now officially Deutsche Luftwaffe to differentiate themselves from the air forces of other German-speaking countries like Austria and Switzerland. It was also the official name of the German air force in the Third Reich from 1935 to 1945, and the name of that of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) during the period of the Cold War between 1955 1990. This is also the name commonly used for the air force of Germany resulting from the reunification of the two Germanys in 1990. The name Luftstreitkrfte (literally, air forces) also appears in the history of the German Air Force, since it was the official name in effect between 1910 and 1918 as well as that in force for the Air Force of the Republic Democratic German (GDR), a component of the National Volksarmee ) between 1955 and 1990.
Summary |
The forerunner of the Luftwaffe, the air service of the imperial German army, the Luftstreitkrfte , was established in 1910 , four years before the outbreak of the First World War ( 1914 - 1918 ) with the advent of military aviation. Originally, we intended to use aircraft primarily for aerial reconnaissance of enemy lines, the same way that they used balloons during the Franco-Prussian War in one thousand eight hundred seventy - 1,871 and even during the wars Napoleonic. This is not the first air force in history: the Aerospace Military of France was founded in 1909. The founding of the United Kingdom, the Royal Flying Corps , took place three years later, in 1912.
During the war, the German Air Force used a variety of aircraft: fighter aircraft (manufactured by factories Flugzeugwerke Albatros or Fokker ), reconnaissance aircraft ( Aviatik and DFW ) and bombers ( Gothaer Waggonfabrik , better known as the simplest of Gotha , and Zeppelin-Staaken ). But it is the hunters who most passionate enthusiasts of military aviation, since it is they who produce " as "such as Manfred von Richthofen , nicknamed the "Red Devil" by the French and the British Red Baron. Others " have "include Ernst Udet , Hermann Gring (later commander of the Luftwaffe), Oswald Boelcke (said the first air combat tactician Air tournament (dogfighting or "dogfight" in English), Werner Voss and Max Immelmann. This is the first German pilot awarded the Medal For Merit at that time the largest military award in Germany, having shot down eight enemy planes with Oswald Boelcke. It is for this reason that medal is nicknamed the "Blue Max" since then. Just as the Navy, the Army uses the German airship Zeppelin efffectuer for bombing missions on military and civilian targets in France, Belgium and the United Kingdom.
Until 1918 , all aircraft of the German army - and those of the army of Austria-Hungary - wear the badge of the Iron Cross. But by 1918, the aircraft began to wear a cross formed of two straight beams (Balkenkreuz), a badge which will become very familiar during the Third Reich. After the fall of Germany in November 1918 following the Armistice , the German Air Force is dissolved, as provided by the Treaty of Versailles , whose terms require that all German military aircraft are destroyed.
Between the wars
The Treaty of Versailles prohibiting him from maintaining an army air, German feels the need to train its pilots in secret for a future war. At first, it uses the civil aviation schools to train pilots to believe they are flying planes civilian airlines such as Lufthansa. But it is possible to use the light aircraft in Germany. For pilots to gain experience in new combat aircraft, Germany is seeking aid from the USSR. A secret airfield is located in Lipetsk in 1924 and operates it for nine years until its closure in 1933. The school uses training aircraft as German and Dutch and Russian.
On 26 February 1935 , Adolf Hitler ordered Gring to reinstate the Luftwaffe, although the armistice treaty is still in force. But neither France nor the United Kingdom nor the League of Nations did nothing to prevent Germany from taking such action or other violations of the treaty. Although the new Luftwaffe is an organization totally independent of the army, it nevertheless continues the tradition of awarding degrees to military personnel, a tradition maintained even today by the Bundesluftwaffe (that is, the Air Force of the FRG) and by many other air forces around the world. And yet, it is observed that the air service paramilitary force before the promulgation of the Luftwaffe was called the Deutscher Luftverband (SLD), whose leader was Ernst Udet. Its members wore uniforms with the insignia which continues to appear on the uniform of the Luftwaffe, although the names of "grades" are more "civilians" and military.
Luftwaffe seized the opportunity to test the effectiveness of its combat tactics and its equipment during the Spanish Civil War of one thousand nine hundred and thirty-six - in 1939 when the Condor Legion goes to Spain in order to provide air support to the revolt led by Francisco Franco cons republican government. The machines, whose names will become famous worldwide, include the Junkers Ju 87 " Stuka "(= Sturzkampfflugzeug fighter dive), specializes in dive-bombing, while offering a much more accurate than bombing altitude, and the Messerschmitt Bf 109 , the fighter the most famous in Germany. But as an army air attached to the nationalist forces of Franco, the insignia of the Luftwaffe is replaced on the aircraft fuselage to give the world the illusion that Germany itself does not actively support the rebellion. In its place, the cross bar lines on the fuselage apose is replaced by a black disk and the swastika (which is to say the swastika) over the drift is replaced by a sort of "X" on black background white. It then appears on the Spanish military aircraft, although the black ring is replaced by a roundel (like the French Air Force) but in red-yellow-red. The planes of the Legion are assigned to units numbered 88, for example, those assigned to the bombing Kampfgruppe (Bomb Group) 88 (KG/88) while those assigned to hunting Jagdgruppe (group hunting) 88 (JG/88).
The beginnings of the systematic bombing of cities appear April 26 in 1937 when a combined force of bombing German and Italian planes destroyed the bulk of the city Basque of Guernica in north-western Spain, a civilian target interest-free Strategic and whose destruction affects the mind. The whole world condemned the bombing, or almost, and the collective memory of this event has lasted through painting bearing the name of the city, executed by the artist Pablo Picasso , who specializes in cubist art. At that time it, the public is afraid that all future wars are part of such bombing since the Italian general Giulio Douhet (d. 1930) formulates theories regarding the role of military aircraft regarding what will be termed the "strategic bombing". That's the idea of Douhet: a nation can destroy another wearing a smashing hit industrial targets by aerial bombardment. The effect will be so withering that the morale of the civilian population plunge, and that the government will have no choice but to seek peace. That is a bad omen of what will happen - and not just during the war that will trip a few months after the end of the civil war in Spain.
The Second World War
During the summer of 1939 , just before the outbreak of the Second World War , the Luftwaffe became the Air Force the most powerful in the world.
It aligns approximately 4,000 aircraft, of which 1100 single-engine fighter Messerschmitt Bf 109 , 400 twin-engine fighter-bombers Messerschmitt Bf 110 , 1100 bombers means Dornier Do 17 , Junkers Ju 88 and Heinkel He 111 , and 290 dive bombers Junkers Ju 87 Stuka. Which gives it a significant role during the early campaigns of the war and contributes significantly to the ultimate success of the German armed forces during the period from 1 September 1939 until mid-June 1940 , demonstrating to the enemy armed tactical efficiency of blitzkrieg (lightning war) made by the Wehrmacht during the period between the wars.
With other countries, such as the Italian , the Japanese , the Hungarian , the Bulgaria and Romania , the German Nazi is part of the Axis. In ten months, she was victorious in Poland , in Norway , of Denmark , of Luxembourg , in Belgium and France , thanks to the close collaboration of the Luftwaffe with the armored divisions, the Panzer , coordinated by radio innovative encrypted. It is therefore an air force limited to a tactical role that saves Germany.
The Luftwaffe lost 1,470 planes on the Western Front in May- June 1940 that during 1290 invasion of the Netherlands, Belgium and France , between 250 and 300 aircraft were lost in accidents.
But the commander of the Luftwaffe, Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering begins to overestimate the capacity of its squadrons to make a quick and complete victory to Nazi Germany. He boasts that he can destroy the British air force one month before the outbreak of the planned invasion of the United Kingdom , including the operation code-named Sea Lion ("Sea Lion"). But the English Channel between occupied France and the UK North Sea separates Norway occupied (which was parked Luftflotte (fleet) under the command of V Generaloberst (Colonel General) Hugo Sperrle ). This contributes largely to maintaining freedom of the United Kingdom and the systematic use of radar and the courageous resistance of the pilot RAF Fighter Command, which includes not just British pilots, but pilots many other nationalities, including French.
Subsequently, the inability of the Luftwaffe to gain control of the sky during the Battle of Britain is seen as the consequence of a change in tactics. Instead of attacking military airfields, the Luftwaffe began to bomb industrial targets and cities such as London after an air raid on Berlin on 25 August 1940 bombers of RAF Bomber Command. It is a key moment in the conduct of war. The German air power begins to decrease gradually after the attack on the USSR in June 1941 and entry into the war the United States in December 1941. Nazi Germany is experiencing increasing difficulties of supply in strategic materials, especially the aluminum , without which it becomes increasingly difficult to build airplanes and other weapons for the German armed forces. Worst thing again for the Luftwaffe, the direction of Gring is really defective, although it always succeeds to blame his defeat on his subordinates as Udet (who committed suicide in November 1941 ).
Unlike the Air Force United States (USAAF) , this time under the leadership of General Henry H. Arnold , known as Hap, the Germans do not develop strategic bomber force. Yet before the war, Lufthansa employed four-engined long-range (the Focke-Wulf Fw 200 ) for transatlantic flights to the United States. If the Germans had built a lot instead of devoting so many resources to the construction of twin, it is likely that these four engines could inflict far more damage to targets in the United Kingdom. Fortunately for the Allies , they will not do, but still use the Luftwaffe Fw 200 for missions to the North in order to destroy merchant ships that brought the necessary supplies to the British Isles under siege. However, the heavy bombers of the USAAF, escorted by fighter jets like the P-51 Mustang equipped with extra fuel tanks jettisoned once engaged in aerial combat with enemy fighters have a long-range able to fly within the territory of the Reich during the operations conducted during the day while their colleagues in the RAF continued to attack enemy targets at night.
However, the Luftwaffe remained strong and with the strengthening of the flak which had a workforce of more than 2 / 3 of all weapons and Nachtjagd (Game Night) "continued to kill many allied bombers, including This is amazing, one hundred to eight British planes during a single night (from 30 to 31 October 1944 ) when the RAF attacked the city of Nuremberg , a famous rallies of the Nazi party NSDAP during the prewar period.
It feels especially German air superiority on the Eastern Front, as the Luftwaffe enjoyed a level of technology than the Soviets, and the presence of many Experten, that is to say, highly experienced pilots as Erich Hartmann , who will finish the war with an incredible track record - 352 enemy aircraft shot down, including 345 Soviet, a total that was first contested before being admitted later. In contrast, the highest ranking of a driver off the Luftwaffe was only sixty-two enemy aircraft (including a copy of a Messerschmitt Me 262 ) and is claimed by a Soviet pilot, Colonel Ivan Kojidoub (which eventually was promoted to Colonel-General during the 1960s). Nevertheless, the vast Russian territory allowed the Soviets to rebuild the factories at a great distance from the front to manufacture thousands of aircraft and other weapons that allowed their armed forces to stop and repel the German army in inflicting two major defeats at Kursk and Stalingrad ( Volgograd ), while preventing the capture of Leningrad.
The Luftwaffe is active on many fronts, including in North Africa where it provides air support to the Afrika Korps , which is under the direction of General Erwin Rommel , and also during the offensive against Yugoslavia and Greece before triggering the invasion of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on 22 June 1941. Many Luftwaffe units are also in Italy , even after the armistice with the Allies in Italy in September 1943 , and remain in country until the end of the war in Europe in May 1945. It also exists in Romania a few squadrons of Luftwaffe fighters, whose mission is to protect the deposits of Ploesti , which provide the Nazi war machine vital fuel for its offensive against the USSR.
One of the unique features of the Luftwaffe (unlike other air forces), is the existence of a specific force of elite paratroopers, the Fallschirmjger. Airborne operations more often during 1940-1941, such as the clever and quick capture of Fort Eben-Emael (Wallonia, Belgium) in May 1940 and the most bitter of Crete in May 1941. But the losses suffered by the paratroopers and transport planes Junkers Ju 52 during the Battle of Crete convince Adolf Hitler that the mass airborne drop was a big mistake. Now, Fallschirmjger no longer participate in airborne operations to large, but rather in special operations such as the successful rescue of Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini during the operation Eiche in 1943. From the year 1944, Fallschirmjger were no longer really involved in airborne operations, in particular because of the reality of the strategic situation. They nevertheless continued to shine in the only role of elite troops in major battles such as for example battle of Monte Cassino where Fallschirmjger have inflicted huge losses to the allied forces from January to May 1944.
Although the Germans have made attempts to combat the British bombers during World War I , the strength of German night fighters - the Nachtjagd - must reinvent the tactics to use against them when they begin to powerfully attack targets in the territory Reich. A chain of radar stations was established along the entire length of the territory of Norway to the Swiss border, known as "Chain of Kammhuber", named after Generalleutnant (Lieutenant General) Josef Kammhuber. The squadrons of fighters nearby at night, Nachtjagdgeschwader (NJG), receive the alert to take off and intercept enemy bombers. These squadrons are equipped with aircraft such as the Messerschmitt Bf 110 and Junkers Ju 88 , which will be provided later with the radar system known as Liechtenstein, installed in the nose.
We consider the Heinkel He 219 Uhu (Owl) as the best night-fighters. But the Germans do not build in large numbers. Waves of bombers cast off during each mission hundreds of aluminum strips called in French straws (and then into English by the codename of Window (window), now chase, "chaff") to obviate defensive radar system and nearly blind night fighters English. Two notable names among the ace of the night fighters Helmut Lent, who manages to shoot down 110 enemy planes before being killed in a landing accident in October 1944 , and Wolfgang Schnaufer, who manages to shoot 102 and to survive to war, but lost his life following a car accident in France in 1950.
Having played a pioneering role in the development of airplanes with turbojet with prototypes such as the Heinkel He 178 and Heinkel He 280 , the Luftwaffe became the first air force in the world to put into service - but in a hurry - an operational jet aircraft, the Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe said (swallow). The aircraft encountered many reliability problems with its engines: Although they enjoy the new concept of axial flow, however they lack the strategic materials of high quality required for their manufacture, the result of allied bombing and the negative evolution of the war for Germany. In addition to the Me 262, the German airline industry produces more advanced devices such as quite the Arado Ar 234 , a jet plane (either twin or four-) dedicated to the bombing and reconnaissance, the Heinkel He 162 said " Volksjger (hunter popular), a single-engine jet fighter (the engine is a BMW 003), the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet said (comet), a fighter powered by a rocket (the Walther 509), among others. Other types of advanced aircraft, such as kite flying, the Horten Ho 229 (originally the Horten Ho IX), that the Germans manufactured at the Gothaer Waggonfabrik (Gotha), are either undergoing trials, or even about to start production at the end of the war in Europe. The German aviation industry is also developing the first cruise missile in the world, the Fieseler Fi-103 , dubbed the V-1 (V is used here to Vergeltung, retaliation), and the first ground-ground missile (or "ballistic missile" ) known as the V-2.
These machines are modern, but they can not prevent the defeat of the Third Reich full air. Luftwaffe lack of fuel, trained pilots and experienced organization and airfields safe (that is to say hidden). The last major offensive by the Luftwaffe took place on 1 January 1945 : the Bodenplatte operation whose aim is to destroy as much ground as possible enemy planes. But for their part, the Germans lost over 300 aircraft and are now everywhere on the defensive while the Western Allies and the Soviets invaded the territory of the Reich itself and near Berlin to end the Nazi regime. The Allies have the efforts of the German technology in striking many aircraft left behind after being nearly or completely destroyed by the enemy during his retreat to the interior of Germany. For example, the Operation Paperclip (paper clip) in 1944-45, aims to capture information of all kinds in the field of military technologies and innovative German capture of specialists and engineers for the " evacuate "the United States, the United Kingdom, USSR and France.
Among those who go to Russia, Professor Hans Wocke, responsible for drawing the first jet bomber wings boom negative world, the Junkers Ju 287 , the first prototype, the Ju 287 V1, made during test flights war. The design of the Ju 287 incorporated in the design of the prototype Junkers EF (Erprobungsflugzeug or test aircraft) 140. In any case, neither it nor any other aircraft designed by the Germans will be accepted in the Soviet armed forces because the Germans are still prisoners and the authorities forbid them access to modern facilities necessary to design and develop military aircraft. The Soviets allow most designers captives to return to Germany or western or eastern, towards the end of 1953 Organization of business units Operational units and training of the Luftwaffe organized roughly the same as the U.S. Army Air Corps (which became U.S. Army Air Forces later). The squadrons of fighters, Jagdgeschwader (JG), consist of three or four groups (Gruppen), which themselves are composed of three squadrons (Jagdstaffel), each composed of twelve aircraft. So Wing Fighter # 1 was JG, the first group of this squadron is the I / JG 1 and the first squadron is 1./JG 1. (The JG 1 used the Heinkel He 162 above the end of the war in Europe. During the last two months of the war, she lost 22, and ten drivers were killed and six others were seriously injured.) Similarly, the Luftwaffe squadrons of bombers called the Kampfgeschwader (KG), those of the night fighters Nachtjagdgeschwader (NJG), those of the dive bombers Stukageschwader (StG) and those with maritime patrol and rescue crews slaughtered sea Kstenfliegergruppen (K.Fl.Gr.). Known groups of specialists the bombers Kampfgruppen (KGR). At the head of a Geschwader is a Geschwaderkommodore, a one Gruppenkommandeur Gruppe and Staffel of a Staffelkapitn. But these names define functions within the unit and not grades as an officer in the Luftwaffe. Generally, it is a Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel) - or, what is exceptional, an Oberst (colonel) - who is leading a Geschwader. The Gruppe is usually commanded by a Major (Commander) or Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel), but it also happens that this is a Hauptmann (captain). And in theory it's a Hauptmann (captain) or Oberleutnant (Lieutenant) and sometimes even a Leutnant (lieutenant) who is the head of a Staffel. Special marking on the aircraft fuselage identifies the function of the driver. So the plane has two Gruppenkommandeur rafters before the Balkenkreuz while that of Geschwaderkommodore includes a chevron and two horizontal bars that surround the Balkenkreuz. After the war ended, the German air force is severely restricted. Allies completely prohibit the Germans to have a military aircraft, until they can, following the Cold War , the new Federal Republic to join the a href = "% C3% Organisation_du_trait A9_de_l 27Atlantique_Nord%" title = "Organization of the North Atlantic Treaty"> NATO in 1955, when they realize they now need it because of the growing military threat from the Soviet Union and other countries of the Warsaw Pact. During the following decades, the Luftwaffe of West Germany mainly uses equipment of U.S. origin. All military aircraft are now the German Iron Cross on the fuselage, as during the Great War, and the national flag of the FRG on the tail. Many former fighter pilots who fought against the Allies during the war, joined the new Air Force post-war and go to the U.S. to receive a refresher course before returning to Germany to familiarize themselves with the new machines supplied by the Americans. These figures include Erich Hartmann (352 enemy aircraft destroyed), Gerhard Barkhorn (301), Gnther Rall (275) and Johannes Steinhoff (176). Steinhoff, whose face and the rest of the body are serious burns suffered in an accident on takeoff flying a Messerschmitt Me 262 towards the end of the war in Europe, will be the commander in chief of the Luftwaffe and will Rall his immediate successor. Hartmann retired in 1970 - at the age of 48 years. Josef Kammhuber mentioned above, joined the Luftwaffe after the war and also will retire as an Inspekteur der Bundesluftwaffe in 1962. The Starfighter crisis occurs during the 1960's because of the high accident rate of F-104G Starfighter German and the number of drivers killed in these accidents. The general public then the jet nicknamed the Witwenmacher ("widow-maker"). Apart from the risks inherent in high speed flight at low altitude (mission for which the F-104 was not originally designed) with the weather not always mild, and technical problems at the reactor, it appears that aircraft maintenance and pilot training were also involved. Strangely, the Germans have actually lost less than F-104 in proportion as the Canadian, Belgian or Dutch. From the 1960s, the German aviation industry contributes significantly to the re-equipment of the Luftwaffe: licensed construction of F-104G Starfighter , design and construction with European partners in the C160 Transall , the Panavia Tornado , and the recent Eurofighter Typhoon. The German Democratic Republic (GDR) communist decides to use the same name - the Luftstreitkrfte - for its air force as during the Great War. Within the Air Force flying the aircraft built by the Soviet Union such as the Sukhoi Su-7 (coded "Fitter" by NATO) and those of the Russian manufacturer Mikoyan-Gurevich , including fighter MiG-21 , MiG -23 and Mig-29. Unlike the Luftwaffe aircraft of the FRG, the GDR had the wear the badge of the national flag (see photo) and not the Iron Cross. In this case, the three stripes of the tricolor of the GDR (in force from 1959 to 1990) are oriented vertically instead of horizontally and the badge itself takes the shape of a diamond. We also see the badge on the symbol of communism in the GDR: the hammer, the carpenter's compass (see flag) and the ears of wheat in a wreath. After the reunification of the FRG and the GDR in October 1990 , planes from the former Luftstreitkrfte fly in the Luftwaffe, then the force has 746 combat aircraft The 2000s Like all other Western air forces, it sees its size reduced significantly and in 2004 , the Federal Defence Minister Peter Struck announced his goal to see combat aviation consisting of 265 aircraft in 2015 or 85 Tornado upgraded and 180 Eurofighters , supplemented by a fleet of UAVs with long endurance. The Luftwaffe will have the Taurus cruise missile, the Meteor missile and air-ground weapons range . Fighters: Transport aircraft: Helicopters: 
Postwar
In Germany
In German Democratic Republic
After reunification
Current Aircraft
References
Bibliography
See also
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