Luftflotte Reich

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.

Luftflotte Reich
Flag for the Chief of a Luftflotte
Active	5 February 1944
Disbanded	8 May 1945
Country	Nazi Germany
Branch	Luftwaffe
Type	Command
Size	~160.000 (spring of 1944)
Engagements	Defence of the Reich
Commanders
Notable commanders	GenOberst Hans-Jürgen Stumpff

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

• Generaloberst Hans-Jürgen Stumpff, 5 February 1944 – 8 May 1945

Chief of staff

• Generalmajor Sigismund Freiherr von Falkenstein, 5 February 1944 – 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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)