Air fleet 3

Air fleet 3
active	February 1, 1939 to September 26, 1944
Country	German Empire
Armed forces	Wehrmacht
Armed forces	air force
Type	Higher command authority
structure	see subordinate associations
commander
Commander	see under leadership

The Luftflotte 3 (Lfl. 3) was an air fleet of the Luftwaffe of the Wehrmacht , established on February 1, 1939 , which was used exclusively in Western Europe during World War II and existed until September 1944.

history

Luftflotte 3 emerged on February 1, 1939 from Luftwaffe Group Command 3 under Hugo Sperrle , which had been formed a year earlier and had its headquarters in Munich until the start of the war . In September 1939, the company moved into the new headquarters in Bad Orb , Hesse , from where the air fleet managed the operations during the so-called seat war in the south-west of Germany. During the western campaign , Luftflotte 3 supported the advance of Army Group A through the Ardennes and contributed significantly to the success of the sickle-cut plan . After the end of the operations in France, it carried the brunt of the Battle of Britain together with Air Fleet 2 . When the latter was relocated to the east in preparation for the attack on the Soviet Union in 1941, Luftflotte 3 remained as the highest headquarters of the Air Force in the west and took over responsibility for northeast France, Belgium and the Netherlands. She was responsible for airspace defense and the continued attacks on England to a lesser extent (including Baedeker Blitz 1942, company Steinbock 1944). The headquarters were in the Palais du Luxembourg in Paris . The landing of the Allies in Normandy in June 1944 hit the air fleet considerably weakened; of around 900 aircraft, only around 500 were operational. Commander-in-chief Sperrle was relieved of his post after the defeat in France in August 1944, a month later the air fleet was disbanded and the Air Force Command West was formed in its place in Mannheim-Sandhofen .

guide

Standard of the Commander in Chief of an Air Fleet

Chiefs of the Air Fleet 3
Commander in chief	from	to
Field Marshal General Hugo Sperrle	February 1, 1939	August 23, 1944
Colonel General Otto Deßloch	August 23, 1944	September 21, 1944

Chiefs of the General Staff of the Air Fleet 3
Chief of the General Staff	from	to
Major General Maximilian Ritter von Pohl	February 1, 1939	June 10, 1940
Major General Günther Korten	June 11, 1940	December 31, 1940
Major General Karl Koller	January 1, 1941	August 26, 1943
Lieutenant General Hermann Plocher	August 26, 1943	September 26, 1944

Subordinate associations

September 1, 1939 (Southwest Germany)	directly subordinated	1. (F) / 123, 2. (F) / 123, Westa 51
	5th Air Division	Stab, I. and III./KG 51; I./ZG 52
	6th Air Division	Stab, II. And III./KG 53 ; III./StG 51; II./ZG 76
	Luftgau Command VII	I./JG 51 ; I./JG 71; IV./JG 72
	Luftgau Command XII	Stab, I. and II./JG 53
	Luftgau Command XIII	I./JG 70
	Air Defense Command 5
May 10, 1940 ( western campaign )	directly subordinated	1. (F) / 123; 3. (F) / 123; Westa 51
	I. Air Corps	I., II. And III./KG 1 ; III./KG 28 ; I., II. And III./KG 76 ; III./StG 51; II./ZG 76; II./ZG 26; I./JG 77 ; I./JG 3; 5. (F) / 122
	II. Air Corps	I., II. And III./KG 2 ; I., II. And III./KG 3 ; I., II. And III./KG 53; II./StG 2; I. (St) / 186; 3. (F) / 121
	V. Air Corps	I., II. And III./KG 51 ; I., II. And III./KG 55 ; I./ZG 52; V. (Z) / LG 1; I. and II./JG 52 ; I./JG 54; II./JG 51; 4. (F) / 121
	Fighter pilot 3	I., II. And III./JG 2 ; I., II. And III./JG 53; I./ZG 2; I. JG 76; III./JG 52
August 13, 1940 ( Battle of Britain )	directly subordinated	Westa 51
	VIII. Air Corps	I. and III./StG 1; I. and II./StG 2; I., II. And III./StG 77; II. (S) / LG 2 ; V. (Z) / LG 1; 2. (F) / 11, 2. (F) / 123; AGr (H) / 21
	V. Air Corps	I., II. And III./KG 51; I. and II./KG 54; I., II. And III./KG 55; 4th (F) / 14, 4th (F) / 121
	IV. Air Corps	I., II. And III./LG 1 ; I., II. And III./KG 27 ; KGr 806; AGr (H) / 31; AGr (H) / 41
	Fighter pilot 3	I., II. And III./JG 2; I., II. And III./JG 27 ; I., II. And III./JG 53; I. and II./ZG 2
June 22, 1941 (France)	directly subordinated	3. (F) / 123; Wekusta 51;
	IX. Air Corps	I. and III./KG 4; I./KG 28; III./KG 26 ; I. and III./KG 30; 3rd (H) / 122
	Pilot Atlantic	I., II. And III./KG 40 ; 3./Kü.Fl.Gr. 106; 2./Kü.Fl.Gr. 506; 1./Kü.Fl.Gr. 906; 5./Bo.Fl.Gr. 196; 1., 2. and 3./Kü.Fl.Gr. 606; 3. (F) / 122
	Fighter pilot 2	I., II. And III./JG 26; I./JG 52; 1./JG 1
	Fighter pilot 3	I., II. And III./JG 2
	Luftgau Command Belgium-Northern France
	Luftgau Command Holland
	Luftgau command in western France
June 1942 (France)	IX. Air Corps
	Pilot Atlantic
	Higher Fighter Pilot West
	Luftgau Command Belgium-Northern France
	Luftgau Command Holland
	Luftgau command in western France
June 1943 (France)	IX. Air Corps
	X. Air Corps
	Pilot Atlantic
	Higher Fighter Pilot West
	Fighter pilot in the south of France
	Luftgau Command Belgium-Northern France
	Luftgau Command Holland
	Luftgau command in western France
June 6, 1944 ( Operation Overlord )	directly subordinated	Enlightenment group 123; NAGr. 13; III./TG 1 ; IV. TG / 4 ; 1. (F) 121; Wekusta 51
	II. Air Corps	Fliegerführer West (ZG 1; III./SG 4)
	IX. Air Corps	I., II. And III./KG 2; I., II. And III./KG 6 ; II./KG 52; Task Force KG 101 ; I./SKG 10 ; I./KG 66 ; 3. (F) / 122
	X. Air Corps	I., II. And III./KG 40; FAGr. 5;
	II. Hunting Corps	4th hunting division (I. and III./JG 26; I. and III./NJG 4 ; I. and III./NJG 5 ); 5th Hunting Division (I. and II./JG 2; II./NJG 4); Hunting section leader Bretagne (III./JG 2); Hunting Section Leader South of France (Jagdgruppe Süd); Hunting section leader Bordeaux (Jagdgruppe West; II./JG 26)
	2nd Air Division	II. And III./KG 26; I. and III./KG 77 ; III./KG 100 ; 1. (F) / 33
	III. Anti-aircraft corps	Flak Regiments 37; 79; 431; 653
	Luftgau Command Belgium-Northern France
	Luftgau Command Holland
	Luftgau command in western France

literature

Georg Tessin : Associations and troops of the German Wehrmacht and Waffen SS in World War II 1939–1945. Volume 14. The Land Forces. Name associations. The air force. Flying bandages. Flak deployment in the Reich 1943–1945 . Biblio-Verlag, Bissendorf 1980, ISBN 3-7648-1111-0 .

Web links

German Luftflotten 2,3, & 5 (English; PDF; 73 kB), LD & E / Command and General Staff College, August 13, 1940
German Luftflotten 2,3, & 5 (English; PDF; 80 kB), LD & E / Command and General Staff College, September 14, 1940
German Luftflotte 1939–1945 (18 pages) (PDF; 154 kB)

Individual evidence

↑ Bernhard R. Kroener : The German Reich and the Second World War , Volume 5/1 , Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-421-06232-3 , p. 718.
↑ Ulf Balke: The aerial warfare in Europe 1939-1941 . Bechtermünz Verlag, Augsburg 1998, ISBN 3-86047-591-6 , p. 401-405 (1057 pp.).
↑ Ulf Balke: The aerial warfare in Europe 1939-1941 . Bechtermünz Verlag, Augsburg 1998, ISBN 3-86047-591-6 , p. 408-413 (1057 pp.).
^ Leo Niehorster : German Airforce, Order of Battle 3rd Air Fleet 22 June 1941 , accessed on May 5, 2015.
↑ ^a ^b German Luftflotte 1939–1945 (PDF; 154 kB), pp. 4–5.
^ Leo Niehorster: German Airforce, Order of Battle 3rd Air Fleet 6 June 1944 , accessed on May 5, 2015.

[1] Bernhard R. Kroener : The German Reich and the Second World War , Volume 5/1 , Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-421-06232-3 , p. 718.

[2] Ulf Balke: The aerial warfare in Europe 1939-1941 . Bechtermünz Verlag, Augsburg 1998, ISBN 3-86047-591-6 , p. 401-405 (1057 pp.).

[3] Ulf Balke: The aerial warfare in Europe 1939-1941 . Bechtermünz Verlag, Augsburg 1998, ISBN 3-86047-591-6 , p. 408-413 (1057 pp.).

[4] Leo Niehorster : German Airforce, Order of Battle 3rd Air Fleet 22 June 1941 , accessed on May 5, 2015.

[GLS3-5] German Luftflotte 1939–1945 (PDF; 154 kB), pp. 4–5.

[6] Leo Niehorster: German Airforce, Order of Battle 3rd Air Fleet 6 June 1944 , accessed on May 5, 2015.