Luftflotte Reich

Luftflotte Reich
Flag for the Chief of a Luftflotte
Active5 February 1944
Disbanded8 May 1945
Country Nazi Germany
BranchLuftwaffe
TypeCommand
Size~160.000 (spring of 1944)
EngagementsDefence of the Reich
Commanders
Notable
commanders		GenOberst Hans-Jürgen Stumpff

Luftflotte Reich[1] (Air Fleet Reich) was one of the primary divisions of the German Luftwaffe in World War II. It was formed on February 5, 1944 in Berlin-Wannsee from Luftwaffenbefehlshaber Mitte. Its primary task was to defend German air space during the Defense of the Reich campaign.

It was among the only Luftwaffe division that was in possession of a sizable number of Me 262s and Me 163s[2] fielding over 140 rocket aircraft as late as February 1945.

Commanding officers

Chief of staff

  • Generalmajor Sigismund Freiherr von Falkenstein, 5 February – 12 May 1944
  • Generalmajor Andreas Nielsen, 12 May 1944 – 8 May 1945

References

Citations

  1. ^ For an explanation of the meaning of Luftwaffe unit designation see Luftwaffe Organisation
  2. ^ Caldwell & Muller 2007, p. 322.

Bibliography

  • Caldwell, Donald L.; Muller, Richard R. (2007). The Luftwaffe over Germany: Defense of the Reich. London, UK: Greenhill Books. ISBN 978-1-85367-712-0.


Stub icon

This article about a specific military unit is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.