Flak units of the Luftwaffe (Wehrmacht)

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Anti-aircraft artillery flag

The list of German anti- aircraft units includes all of the Luftwaffe's anti- aircraft units that existed from their foundation in 1935 to the German surrender on May 8, 1945. It also includes units that only existed for a few days or weeks.

Anti-aircraft corps

Anti-aircraft divisions

Anti-aircraft brigades

Flak regiments

Flak headlight regiments

A flak spotlight somewhere in Northern Europe

Flak searchlight regiments served to illuminate the airspace at night in order to illuminate the incoming enemy bomber formations and thus enable the actual flak batteries to focus on the target. The first established flak searchlight regiments existed from 1940, also with regard to the so-called Helle-Nachtjagd-Riegel (see also the explanations under 1. Flak searchlight division ). With the introduction of new radar techniques and the discontinuation of light night hunting from 1942, the flak headlight batteries were then assigned to support regular flak regiments or remained within the framework of these associations at their stationing points such as in major cities such as Berlin , Hamburg , Vienna or the Ruhr area .

Fortress flak regiments

With the general mobilization of the Wehrmacht in August 1939, the term fortress flak regiments, sometimes just called fortress flak regiments, included the first special regimental staff. Contrary to their somewhat misleading addition to the name fortress , these regiments were not permanently stationed (at one place or place). They are also not to be compared with the term fortress (e.g. fortress Breslau ), which was used more frequently towards the end of the war. Following their original concept, the fortress flak regiments were already used as mobile flak units when they were set up. In the summer of 1941 the fortress regiments were dissolved by renaming. They went into regular flak regiments with the corresponding ordinal number.

Railway Flak Regiments (E)

The first railway flak regiment existed in 1941. Its designation was Flak Regiment 72 (E) . Railway flak regiments were primarily used for the rapid relocation of flak units to sections of the front that needed flak support. The regimental staff created for this purpose were responsible for the operational management of the railway flak units when they were deployed on site. There were five such regiments in total:

  • Flak Regiment 72 (E) : (1941 - May 8, 1945)
  • Flak Regiment 97 (E) : (Spring 1944 - May 8, 1945)
  • Flak Regiment 112 (E) : (1941 - May 8, 1945)
  • Flak Regiment 114 (E) : (May 18, 1944 - May 8, 1945)
  • Flak Regiment 122 (E) : (November 1941 - May 8, 1945)

Railroad Transport Protection Regiments (E.Tr.)

Light quadruple flak on a railroad car

The rail transport protection regiments emerged in response to the air threat to rail traffic from the Allied air superiority after the invasion of Normandy on the Western Front . The ever more violent air raids finally forced the German army command to respond to this threat with light mobile anti-aircraft units, the railway transport protection batteries. However, there were only three such regiments: Flak Regiment 50 (E.Tr.), Flak Regiment 159 (E.Tr.) and Flak Regiment 255 (E.Tr.). A fourth line-up (Flak Regiment 158 ​​(E.Tr.)) was reversed.

Flak regiments

The term Flaksturmregiment was given by Hermann Göring on October 6, 1944 as a kind of honorary name to the appropriate flak units. The flaka division to be honored had to have proven itself through excellent performance in decisive attack or defensive battles. As an appreciation of the highest degree of probation , the designation Flaksturmabteilung was then also given to flak regiments. A strict standard was applied to emphasize the importance of this award . From 1935 to 1945 there were therefore only twelve regiments that were given the suffix Flaksturmregiment . So was z. B. from the Flak Regiment 10 by naming the Flak sturm regiment 10.

Parachute anti-aircraft regiments

The parachute suffix was similar to the Flaksturmregiment suffix, a kind of award for the corresponding regiment to be honored. The background was that in the first years of the war the parachute troops were regarded as an elite force by the Wehrmacht leadership, especially by the Commander in Chief of the Air Force Hermann Göring. An example of this is the Göring parachute flak regiment .

Flaker regiments

In the first years of the war, the flak regiments were not subject to any precise procedures. They were primarily subordinated to the responsible air district command. This situation lasted until the summer of 1941. It was only at this point in time that the first command staffs of the flak regiments were set up. These were then responsible for the management and supervision of their flak replacement departments. From this point on, they were no longer subordinate to the Luftgau Command, but to the Higher Commander of the Flaker Regiments , which was renamed the Flaker Division from 1944 .

literature

  • Karl-Heinz Hummel: The German flak cartillery 1935–1945. Your major formations and regiments. VDM, Zweibrücken 2010, ISBN 978-3-86619-048-1 .
  • Horst-Adalbert Koch: Flak. The history of the German anti-aircraft cartillery and the deployment of air force helpers. 2nd, completely revised and expanded edition. Podzun, Bad Nauheim 1965.
  • Hans-Dietrich Nicolaisen: The flak helpers. Air force and naval helpers in World War II. Ullstein, Berlin et al. 1981, ISBN 3-550-07949-4 .

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Karl-Heinz Hummel: The German flak cartillery 1935-1945. Your major formations and regiments. VDM, Zweibrücken 2010, p. 404.
  2. ^ Karl-Heinz Hummel: The German flak cartillery 1935-1945. Your major formations and regiments. VDM, Zweibrücken 2010, p. 440.
  3. ^ Karl-Heinz Hummel: The German flak cartillery 1935-1945. Your major formations and regiments. VDM, Zweibrücken 2010, p. 446.
  4. ^ Karl-Heinz Hummel: The German flak cartillery 1935-1945. Your major formations and regiments. VDM, Zweibrücken 2010, p. 451.