Dikke Bertha Posted 25 May , 2006 Share Posted 25 May , 2006 Hello I know very little of the war in the air during WWI and so I hope you will forgive my simple question. I am reading about the German 1918 offensives in France and the author refers on a number of occasions to the Luftwaffe. Is this the correct title for the German Air Force during the First War or at least in 1918?? A confirmed landlubber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell Smith Posted 25 May , 2006 Share Posted 25 May , 2006 embarrasingly enough, I'm not sure if the German Air Service had an official name at that point. I've heard the term "fliegercorp" (don't laugh at my pseudo-german) which may be the closest thing you'll find to an official title. I also saw the term "Luftstreikreft" used long ago, but haven't seen that one used since. I do know, however, that to use the term "Luftwaffe" when referring to the German Air Service of WW1 is incorrect as the term had not been coined yet. russ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regulus 1 Posted 25 May , 2006 Share Posted 25 May , 2006 No not correct at all ! Fliegertruppe, Luftfahrtwesen or so but certainly no Luftwaffe ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Borden Battery Posted 25 May , 2006 Share Posted 25 May , 2006 Don't argue with Regulus 1, he gets the last word on the Germans in the air over the Western Front. Borden Battery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted 25 May , 2006 Share Posted 25 May , 2006 According to Heinz Nowarra's Eisernes Kreuz und Balken Kreuz, which is a good basic history of the German air services in the Great War, on 8 October 1916 Generalleutnant Wilhelm von Hoeppener was appointed as Kommandierenderer General der Luftstreitkräfte - Commanding General of the Air Service. I've seen the word Luftstreitkräfte used frequently to describe German Army Aviation, including in Alex Imrie's Pictorial History of the German Army Air Service. Gareth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Hederer Posted 25 May , 2006 Share Posted 25 May , 2006 According to Heinz Nowarra's Eisernes Kreuz und Balken Kreuz, which is a good basic history of the German air services in the Great War, on 8 October 1916 Generalleutnant Wilhelm von Hoeppener was appointed as Kommandierenderer General der Luftstreitkräfte - Commanding General of the Air Service. I've seen the word Luftstreitkräfte used frequently to describe German Army Aviation, including in Alex Imrie's Pictorial History of the German Army Air Service. Gareth I always thought Luftstreitkräfte was the proper term. Recently I did see a paper written in the 20's (by a German) about the German air forces at Verdun that used the term Luftwaffe, which was a bit of a surprise for me. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 25 May , 2006 Share Posted 25 May , 2006 The "Luftwaffe" was only officially founded 1935 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Hederer Posted 25 May , 2006 Share Posted 25 May , 2006 The "Luftwaffe" was only officially founded 1935 Egbert, Right you are..that's why I was very surprised to see the term used in 1926. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dikke Bertha Posted 31 May , 2006 Author Share Posted 31 May , 2006 My thanks to everybody who responded. I knew it did not sound right. Otherwise the book was quite good Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now