The German Air Sports Association (Deutscher Luftsportverband, or DLV e. V.) was an organisation set up by the Germans in March 1933 to establish a uniform basis for the training of military pilots. Its chairman was Hermann Goring and its vice-chairman Ernst Rohm.

History

Since the Treaty of Versailles officially forbade Germany from building fighter planes of any sort, the German Air Sports Association used gliders to train men still officially civilians for the future Luftwaffe. The first steps towards the Luftwaffe's formation were undertaken just months after Adolf Hitler came to power. Hermann Goring, a World War I ace with 22 victories and the holder of the Orden Pour le Merite, became National Kommissar for aviation with former Deutsche Luft Hansa director Erhard Milch as his deputy. On 25 March 1933 the German Air Sports Association absorbed all private and national organizations, whilst retaining its 'sports' title. In April 1933 the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM – Reich Air Ministry) was established. The RLM was in charge of development and production of aircraft, and soon afterwards the test site or Erprobungsstelle at Rechlin became its testing ground, a military airfield that had been first established in August 1918. Goring's control over all aspects of aviation became absolute, with the exception of gilders and balloons over which Milch had control as deputy kommissar because Goring’s weight prevented him from flying in either.

The German Air Sports Association was dissolved in 1937 and replaced with the National Socialist Flyers Corps, a corporation under public law and subordinate to Reichsluftfahrtminister Goring.

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The Luftwaffe was the aerial warfare branch of the German Wehrmacht during World War II. After the German Empire's World War I-era army air force, the Luftstreitkrafte, and the Kaiserliche Marine naval air units had been disbanded by May 1920 under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, the Luftwaffe was reformed on 26 February 1935 and grew to become one of the strongest, most doctrinally advanced, and most battle-experienced air forces in the world when World War II started in Europe in September 1939. After the defeat of the Third Reich, the Luftwaffe was disbanded in 1946.

Luftwaffe is also the generic term in German speaking countries for any national military aviation service, and the names of air forces in other countries are usually translated into German as "Luftwaffe" (e.g. Royal Air Force is often translated as "britische Luftwaffe").[citation needed] However, Luftstreitkrafte, or "air armed force", is also sometimes used as a translation of "air force" for post-World War I air arms, as it was used as the first word of the official German name of the former East German Air Force, disbanded the day before German reunification was achieved in October 1990. Since "Luft" translates into English as "air", and "Waffe" may be translated into English as either "weapon" or "arm", "Air Arm" may be considered the most literal English translation of Luftwaffe (cf. Fleet Air Arm).

Origin
World War I
One of the forerunners of the Luftwaffe, the Imperial German Army Air Service, was founded in 1910 with the name Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches, most often shortened to Fliegertruppe. It was renamed Luftstreitkrafte by October 1916. The air war on the Western Front received the most attention in the annals of the earliest accounts of military aviation, since it produced aces such as Manfred von Richthofen, popularly known as the Red Baron, Ernst Udet, Oswald Boelcke, Werner Voss, and Max Immelmann, many of whom would later serve in the Luftwaffe, and Manfred von Richthofen's eventual successor to the command of JG I, Hermann Goring, the Luftwaffe's commander in-chief for most of its existence.

After the defeat of Germany, the service was dissolved on 8 May 1920 under the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles, which also mandated the destruction of all military aircraft of Germany.

Interwar period
Since the Treaty of Versailles forbade Germany to have an air force, German pilots trained in violation of the treaty in secret. Initially, civil aviation schools within Germany were used, yet only light trainers could be used in order to maintain the facade that the trainees were going to fly with civil airlines such as Deutsche Luft Hansa. To train its pilots on the latest combat aircraft, Germany solicited the help of its future enemy, the Soviet Union, which was also isolated in Europe. A secret training airfield was established at Lipetsk in 1924 and operated for approximately nine years using mostly Dutch and Russian, but also some German, training aircraft before being closed in 1933. This base was officially known as 4th squadron of the 40th wing of the Red Army.

Preparing for war: 1933–1939
Contrary to popular belief in American and British circles, the Luftwaffe was not "the hand maiden of the German Army." The German officer Corps was keen to develop strategic bombing capabilities against its enemies. However, economic and geopolitical considerations had to take priority. The German air power theorists continued to develop strategic theories, but emphasis was given to army support, as Germany was a continental power and expected to face ground operations following any declaration of hostilities.

For these reasons, between 1933 and 1934, the Luftwaffe's leadership was primarily concerned with tactical and operational methods. In aerial terms, the army concept of Truppenführung was an operational concept, as well as a tactical doctrine. In the First World War, air units had been attached to specific army formations and acted as support. Dive bomber units were considered essential to Truppenführung; destroying Headquarters and lines of communications. Luftwaffe "Regulation 10: The Bomber" (Dienstvorschrift 10: Das Kampfflugzeug), published in 1934, advocated air superiority and approaches to ground attack tactics without dealing with operational matters. Until 1935, the 1926 manual "Directives for the Conduct of the Operational Air War" continued to act as the main guide for German air operations. The manual directed the OKL to focus on limited operations (not strategic-operations); the protection of specific areas and support of the army in combat.

Luftwaffe organization
Luftwaffe commanders
Throughout the history of the Third Reich, the Luftwaffe had only two commanders-in-chief. The first was Hermann Goring, with the second and last being Generalfeldmarschall Robert Ritter von Greim. His appointment as commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe was concomitant with his promotion to Generalfeldmarschall, the last German officer in World War II to be promoted to the highest rank. Other officers promoted to the second highest military rank in Germany were Albert Kesselring, Hugo Sperrle, Erhard Milch, and Wolfram von Richthofen.

At the end of the war, with Berlin surrounded by the Red Army, Goring sent a telegram to Hitler suggesting he take over leadership of the Reich. Hitler interpreted this as an ultimatum and coup. Hitler ordered his arrest and execution. Goring's SS guards did not carry out the order and he was arrested by the United States Army in Bavaria on 9 May 1945. Goring was prosecuted at the Nuremberg Trials after the war. The indictments were for:
1.Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of a crime against peace
2.Planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression and other crimes against peace
3.War crimes
4.Crimes against humanity

He was found guilty on all four counts and sentenced to death by hanging. He appealed to the court requesting to be shot as a soldier. The court refused. However, Goring defied the sentence and committed suicide by taking potassium cyanide.

Sperrle was prosecuted at the OKW Trial, one of the last twelve of the Nuremberg Trials after the war. He was acquitted on all four counts of all charges. He died in Munich in 1953.

Second World War
When the Second World War began, the Luftwaffe was one of the most technologically advanced air forces in the world. During the Polish Campaign that triggered the war, it established air superiority, and then air supremacy, quickly. It supported German Army (Heer) operations which ended the campaign in five weeks. The Luftwaffe's performance was as the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe had hoped. The Luftwaffe had rendered invaluable support to the army, mopping up pockets of resistance. Goring was delighted with the performance. Command and control problems were experienced, but owing to the flexibility and improvisation of both the army and Luftwaffe, these problems were solved. The Luftwaffe was to have in place a ground-to-air communication system, which played a vital role in the success of Fall Gelb.

In the spring of 1940, the Luftwaffe assisted the Kriegsmarine and Heer in the daring invasion of Norway, Operation Weserübung. Flying in reinforcements and winning air superiority, the Luftwaffe contributed decisively to the German conquest and expulsion of the Western Allies from Scandinavia.

In the summer of 1940, the Luftwaffe contributed to the unexpected success in the Battle of France. It helped destroy three Allied Air Forces and secure the defeat of France in just over six weeks. However, during the Battle of Dunkirk despite intense bombing, it could not deliver Goring's promise to destroy the British Expeditionary Force, which escaped to continue the war.

Luftwaffe ground forces
One of the unique characteristics of the Luftwaffe (as opposed to other independent air forces) was the possession of an organic paratrooper force called Fallschirmjager. These were established in 1938. They saw action in their proper role during 1940–1941, most notably in the capture of the Belgian army fortress at the Battle of Fort Eben-Emael and the Battle for The Hague in May 1940, and during the Battle of Crete in May 1941. However, more than 4,000 Fallschirmjager were killed during the Crete operation.[86] Afterwards, although continuing to be trained in parachute delivery, paratroopers were only used in a parachute role for smaller-scale operations, such as the successful rescue of Benito Mussolini, the then-deposed dictator of Italy in 1943. Fallschirmjagerformations were then used as crack foot infantry in all theatres of the war.

During 1942 surplus Luftwaffe personnel was used to form the Luftwaffe Field Divisions, standard infantry divisions that were used chiefly as rear echelon units to free up front line troops. From 1943, the Luftwaffe also had an armoured paratroop division called Fallschirm-Panzer Division 1 Hermann Goring, which was expanded to a Panzerkorps in 1944.

War crimes
Throughout the war civilians or prisoners were used as human guinea pigs in testing Luftwaffe equipment. It is unclear whether these tests were carried out by Luftwaffe personnel or on the orders of OKL. These illegal tests are classified as war crimes and were carried out on the Luftwaffe's behalf.