Luftwaffe Enigma Machine

Original caption: "Unsere Wehrmacht. Funkstation im offenen Gelände" (Our Armed Forces. Radio station in open terrain).

Source :
https://beeldbankwo2.nl/nl/beelden/?q=wehrmacht&mode=gallery&view=horizontal

Wehrmacht Soldiers and Sailors Listening to the Speech of Hermann Göring

Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring (Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe) spoke to the German Wehrmacht. On January 30, 1943, on the 10th anniversary of Adolf Hitler's assumption of power, Reichsmarschall Göring spoke to the German Wehrmacht in the ballroom of the Reich Aviation Ministry. View into the ranks of the representatives of the Wehrmacht, who listen to the striking words of the Reich Marshal.

 

Source :
https://beeldbankwo2.nl/nl/beelden/?q=wehrmacht&mode=gallery&view=horizontal

Studio Portrait of Luftwaffe Personnel in Tropical Uniform

Nice original postcard sized Luftwaffe portrait picture with full tropical uniform and a ribbon to the Deutsch-Italienische Erinnerungsmedaille an den Afrika-Feldzug.

Source :
https://fjm44.com/product/luftwaffe-portrait-picture-with-tropical-uniform-and-afrika-ribbon/

Recruits of the Luftwaffe during a Prayer

Recruits of the Luftwaffe during a prayer, 9 July 1938. The original caption said: "Luftwaffe soldiers have taken off their helmets after the issue of the command 'Helmets off for prayer!'"

Source :
https://www.akpool.de/ansichtskarten/26753519-ansichtskarte-postkarte-deutsche-wehrmacht-luftwaffe-helm-ab-zum-gebet-soldaten-mit-stahlhelmen-und-bajonetten
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-recruits-of-the-luftwaffe-during-a-prayer-1938-122549762.html?imageid=8FB962D8-981E-4D84-B5F2-C0C554513477&p=291611&pn=1&searchId=2adb0d94b30ee950bdafece3810c320c&searchtype=0
https://www.arkivi-bildagentur.de/articles/a514634

Pilots of I./JG 26 with Their New Leather Outfit

 

A picture which showing the heavy losses of fighter units in the "Reichverteidigung" (Defence of the Reich). Taken early October 1944, it shows pilots of I.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 26 (JG 26) with their new leather outfits in front of the Kommandantur of Krefeld airfield. Of these twelve men only four would survive the war, the other eight would be killed in the eight months until the end of the war. In the first row from left to right: Feldwebel Freiberger (1. Staffel, wounded as Oberfeldwebel on 10 December 1944 in combat with P-47 near Holzhausen / Neuß, died of his wounds on 2 April 1945); Unteroffizier Emil Brühan (1. Staffel, wounded on 25 February 1945 during a belly landing 2 km north-east Ladbergen because of engine failure; died of his wounds on 2 March 1945); Unteroffizier Heinrich Herbster (3. Staffel, wounded on 31 March 1945 by Flak near Lüdinghausen, bailed out and survived); Oberfähnrich Wolfgang Franz (3. Staffel, killed on 26 March 1945 in combat with Tempest near Lengerich); Unteroffizier Wilhelm Düsing (2. Staffel, wounded on 19 March 1945 in combat with P-5I near Osthevern, bailed out and survived), Unteroffizier Hermann Bischoff (without leatherjacket: 2. Staffel, missing in action on 23 December 1944 after combat with Marauder and P-47 south-west of Bonn); and Gefreiter Edwin Zuhaiko (3. Staffel, missing in action on 23 December 1944 after combai with Marauder and P-47 south-west of Bonn). Back row from left to right: Unknown (with pipe), Leutnant Hans-Hermann Krieger (1. Staffel, survived), Unteroffizier Ludwig Sattler (1. Staffel, missing in action on 26 December 1944 with 4./IG 26 after combat with P-51 in area Liege-Aachen), Oberfähnrich Heinrich Vandeweerd (3. Staffel, wearing Eisernes Kreuz I.Klasse, killed in action on 25 February 1945 near Sendenhorst in an accident); and Unteroffizier Heinz Meiss (killed in action on 13 March 1945 as member of 7./JG 26 in combat with Spitfire near Unna.

Source :
"Luftwaffe im Focus" Edition No.1 - 2002

Army Chaplain in Luftwaffe Funeral

Heeres Kriegspfarrer (Army Chaplain) in the funeral for Luftwaffe personnel.

Source :
https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/forum/wehrmacht-era-militaria/photos-and-paper-items-forum/13026803-army-chaplain

Painting Luftwaffe Helmets

 

From shiney helmets into a Matt finish: nice photo showing a Luftwaffe flak unit (circa 1940/41) painting their helmets to come in line with the 1940 order on helmet paint and decals. The sprayers is wearing HBT reed green Luftwaffe worksuits. It is also a very good photo depicting depot repaints of helmets.

Source :
https://www.facebook.com/LuftwaffeFD/photos/a.114470297207428/314601447194311/

Fallschirmjäger Anti-Partisan Operation

ECPAD Archives (FALL AOK F1648 L02)

1. Fallschirmjäger-Division in an anti-partisan operation in the region of Molise, Italy, October 1943. Veterans of "Merkur" in Crete are interrogating people of the village of Montefalcone Nel Sannio, Puglia. Note the variety of ammo pouches for Kar 98k and FG 42.

 

ECPAD Archives (FALL AOK F1648 L07)
1. Fallschirmjäger-Division unit searching the area for partisans and interrogating the population of the village of Montefalcone Nel Sannio (Puglia).

ECPAD Archives (FALL AOK F1648 L08)
1. Fallschirmjäger-Division in an anti-partisan operation at Montefalcone Nel Sannio (Puglia). Firepower is all!

ECPAD Archives (FALL AOK F1648 L09)
1. Fallschirmjäger-Division unit searching the area for partisans and interrogating the population (including Carabinieri) of the village of Montefalcone Nel Sannio (Puglia).

Source ;
ECPAD Archives

BMW 326 History

Luftwaffe soldiers posing in front of a BMW 326 Limousine

The BMW 326 is a medium-sized sedan produced by BMW between 1936 and 1941, and again briefly, under Soviet control, after 1945. The 326 was BMW's first four-door sedan. It had an innovative design and sold well despite its relatively high price. It also had an unusually involved afterlife.

Designed by Fritz Fiedler, the 326 featured a box-section frame that could readily be adapted for derivative models. Also innovative were the torsion bar rear suspension, inspired by the dead axle suspension of the Citroën Traction Avant, and the hydraulic braking system, the first to be used on a BMW car. Styled by Peter Schimanowski, the 326 was offered as a four-door sedan and as a two- or four-door cabriolet. The 326 sedan was the first BMW available with four doors. The BMW 320, BMW 321, BMW 327, and BMW 335 were based on the 326. The streamlined form of the body contrasted with previous relatively upright BMWs: drag was presumably reduced further by including a fixed cover over the spare wheel at the back.

The 1971 cc straight 6 engine was a version of the 319’s power plant, with the bore increased from 65 mm (2.6 in) to 66 mm (2.6 in), and an unchanged stroke of 96 mm (3.8 in) giving a displacement of 1,971 cc (120.3 cu in). In the 326 application, it was fed by twin 26 mm Solex carburetors to produce a claimed maximum output of 50 PS (37 kW) at 3750 rpm. The top speed is 115 km/h (71 mph).

The four-speed gear box was supported by freewheeling on the bottom ratios and synchromesh on the top two.

The 326 was introduced at the Berlin Motor Show in February 1936, the 326 was offered for sale from May of that year. The 326 was a success. By the time production was suspended in 1941, the Eisenach plant had produced 15,949 of them.

In 1945, Eisenach was occupied by US forces. However, the wartime allies had already agreed that Thuringia would fall within the Soviet occupation zone. The plant that BMW had originally acquired in 1929 was not fully destroyed, and it was possible for returning survivors to assemble sixteen postwar 326s. A modernised version, badged initially as the BMW 340, emerged around 1948. Despite the nomenclature, it was clear that BMW’s Eisenach plant was no longer under the control of BMW: later BMW 340s, still based on the prewar 326, were badged as EMW 340s following a protracted dispute concerning title to the BMW name. It was, perhaps, a tribute to the 326's perceived excellence, together with the skills of the workers who had struggled to revive it, that the Eisenach plant was permitted to produce the BMW design till approximately 1955, long after the Auto Union assembly facilities at nearby Zwickau had been dismantled and removed to Russia as part of the war reparations package.

The Russians were not alone in being impressed by the 326. Detailed plans of the sedan and coupé derivative models were also rescued by the British. Family connections, involving the founder of the Bristol Aeroplane Company and a Frazer-Nash director who had imported to England and adapted BMW designs in the 1930s, led to Bristol. A succession of Bristols cars introduced between 1947 and 1953 were unapologetic developments of the respected BMW design. Ten years after the war's end, Bristol’s 403 produced between 1953 and 1955 retained a BMW style front grill: under the skin the engine had been extensively upgraded, and the Bristol 403 now offered a claimed output of 100 bhp (75 kW). The engine size, at 1971 cc, was unchanged.

Source :
https://www.ebay.com/str/kriegsfotostusslamabad
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_326

First Axis POWs at Tobruk

 

Men of the Australian 9th Infantry Division guard Italians and some of the first German prisoners to be taken during the war in North Africa, after Rommel's first unsuccessful assault on Tobruk, 17 April 1941. If we are talking about Heer Division, it was the 5. leitche-Division during the 1st Siege of Tobruk that was on 10-14 April 1941. However, on the 2nd Siege of Tobruk from 30 April to 7 May 1941 it was a mix between the elements of the 5.leichte-Division and the newly arrived 15. Panzer-Division (except for Panzer-Regiment 8 that was not involved yet). BTW, if someone asking: Why are their heads bowed? It is actually a basic techniek of not to look your captors in their eyes, state only your name and number. Look what happened at Malmedy: at the Nuremberg Trials the SS Soldiers stated in their defense that the American POW’s looked at them tauntingly almost staring them down ... we all know how that ended for the Americans!

Source :
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=4981605118546865&set=gm.2563691697254982
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205205791

Luftwaffe HG Soldier in Sicily

 

 

Soldier of Panzergrenadier-Regiment 1 "Hermann Göring" in Sicily, August 1943 (between Augusta and Syracuse).

Source :

ECPAD Archive, courtesy of Blanluet Christophe

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10158873472923308&set=gm.2706887726245122

Walther von Reichenau and Sir Cyril Deverell

British Field Marshal Sir Cyril Deverell, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, inspects a Luftwaffe honor guard in September 1937. The German Generalleutnant right behind him is Walther von Reichenau.

von Reichenau was born in 1884, joined the army in 1902, and served in the First World War. After the war, he continued his military career. When he was introduced to Hitler by an uncle in 1932, he became a loyal follower and joined the NSDAP (Nazi Party), despite army regulations that were there to keep the army and politics separate. Apart from furthering his career, he opposed the radical SA (Sturmabteilung) leader Ernst Röhm, who had pressed for SA to become the major military force in the new Reich. Conspiring with Himmler and Göring, he was one of the instigators of “the Night of the Long Knives” in 1934, where Röhm and other leaders of the SA were purged and executed.

In 1938 Adolf Hitler wanted to appoint him as Commander-in-Chief of the Army. Leading figures in the German Army complained and Gerd von Rundstedt, Franz Halder and Ludwig Beck all refused to serve under him. The job went to Friedrich von Brauchitsch instead. von Reichenau led armies in both the invasion of Poland and of France, and was promoted to Generalfeldmarschall in 1940. One would think that such an ardent Nazi and career officer would favor the plans for an attack on the Soviet Union in 1941, but von Reichenau actually opposed them. This didn’t stop him from being appointed to lead the 6th Army.

Once committed to the war in the East, he led the 6th Army in capturing Kiev, Belgorod, Kharkov and Kursk. An anti-semite, Reichenau encouraged his soldiers to commit atrocities against the Jews in the territory under his control (the “Reichenau Order”). On one occasion he told his men: “In this eastern theatre, the soldier is not only a man fighting in accordance with the rules of the art of war… For this reason the soldier must learn fully to appreciate the necessity for the severe but just retribution that must be meted out to the subhuman species of Jewry…” All Jews were henceforth to be treated as de facto partisans, and commanders were directed that they be either summarily shot or handed over to the Einsatzgruppen execution squads.

In other matters, he displayed some sound thinking, like recognizing the Soviet superiority in armor and the risks attached to it, the need for recruiting Ukrainians and Byelorussians to fight the Red Army alongside the Wehrmacht, and the risk of increasing partisan warfare. Reichenau used to go on a daily cross-country run in order to keep fit. On 12 January, 1942, he ran several kilometers in temperatures well below -20 degrees Celcius. When he returned, he had a severe heart attack (some sources say that it was a stroke). After being unconscious for five days, it was decided to fly him back to Germany. Walter von Reichenau died on 17 January 1942, when the plane carrying him to Leipzig crash-landed and he reportedly suffered a fatal heart attack. His funeral was performed with the usual pomp of the Third Reich. Hitler did not attend his funeral.

He was succeeded by General Friedrich Paulus, who took command of the 6th Army. Paulus was a staff officer who had never led a unit larger than a battalion. A year later, he surrendered to the Soviets in the ruins of Stalingrad, his army in tatters. What would have happened if von Reichenau, a much more competent and decisive officer, hadn’t died? One thing is pretty sure, though: if he had survived to the end of the war, he would’ve been one of the generals on trial in Nürnberg, and would probably have ended up in the gallows as a war criminal.

Source :

Björn Hellqvist photo collection

https://ww2inphotos.wordpress.com/2017/07/page/1/

German Flak 88

One of the most well-known guns of World War II was the 8.8 cm Flak 36 anti-aircraft gun, often referred to as the “Eighty-eight” or German “Acht-acht“. It had its origins in World War 1, but the versions that saw action during WW2 were developed in the 1920’s and 30’s. During the Spanish Civil War, it was discovered that the gun was very effective against vehicles, tanks and other ground targets. It was mobile, but required an Sd.Kfz.7 half-track tractor to pull it. It could fire a 9.4 kilo grenade to an altitude of 9900 meters, posing a serious threat to Allied bombers. Used as an anti-tank gun, it could knock out most tanks at a range of up to 2 kilometers. The 8.8 cm gun was also the basis for the main gun of the Tiger tank, one of the most feared tanks of World War II. In the photo, eight of the 11-man crew are visible. Flak batteries were operated by the Luftwaffe, and the stationary batteries defending German cities were often crewed by boys aged 15-16 years old. One of many ironies of the war was that many of the crews serving these powerful guns weren’t old enough to buy a beer.

Source :
Björn Hellqvist photo collection
https://ww2inphotos.wordpress.com/2017/07/31/acht-acht/

Two Luftwaffe Instructors with Their Charges During Training

Two Luftwaffe instructors with their charges during initial training. The recruits are wearing white denim clothing, which was popular both on land and for general work aboard ships. The trucks on which they are sitting were quite common at the time. They were used on building sites, quarries and other places where heavy loads had to be moved. The tracks were often laid temporarily along the roads to overcome the problem of carrying heavy loads over soft ground or rough cobblestones. Heavy loads were still moved by horses and carts until some time after World War II. Lorries composed only a tiny fraction of the traffic on roads, many of which were unsurfaced tracks - even the more busy highways were covered with bumpy cobblestones. The vast majority of modern, tarmac surfaces did not appear on the continent of Europe until long after the war.

Source :
Book "Wolfpacks At War: The U-Boat Experience In WWII" by Jak Mallmann Showell

Luftwaffe Prisoners Taken in a Jeep

 Two German Luftwaffe Unteroffizieren (Corporals) are photographed on the hood of an American-made Willys MB jeep after being taken as POWs by Dutch soldiers of the Royal Netherlands Motorized Infantry Brigade (Prinses Irene Brigade) in neighboring Belgium. Near Beringen, Limburg, Belgium. September 1944.

Source :
http://bag-of-dirt.tumblr.com/post/131443691765/two-german-luftwaffe-unteroffizieren-corporals

Fallschirmjäger at the Fornebu Aerodrome

German Luftwaffe Fallschirmjäger (paratroopers) of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1 (FJG 1) rest and regroup at the Fornebu aerodrome after capturing the surrounding area during Operation Weserübung; the German invasion of Norway. On 9 April 1940, both Denmark and Norway were simultaneously invaded by German troops. Controlling Norway was important to Germany for three primary reasons: securing the western coast as part of the defensive Atlantic Wall, as a base for naval units, including U-boats to target Allied shipping in the North Atlantic, and to secure shipments of iron-ore from Sweden through the port of Narvik. Fornebu, Bærum, Norway. April 1940. Image taken by Willi Ruge.

Source :
http://bag-of-dirt.tumblr.com/post/143396722415/german-luftwaffe-fallschirmj%C3%A4ger-paratroopers

Königstiger with Fallschirmjäger at the Ardennes Offensive

King Tiger ‘222’ commanded by SS-Untersturmführer Kurt Sova from schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 501 was part of Kampfgruppe Peiper and was photographed at Kaiserbaracke on 18 December 1944 with a load of paratroopers from Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 9 of the 3. Fallschirmjäger-Division.