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Vote For Us
Glossery of German Terms
"shootdown" -- an air victory |
|
Abwurfbehaelter |
cluster bomb |
aide-de-camp; a position of responsibility rather than one of rank. |
|
scramble |
|
Ami |
slang for American |
Aufklaerung |
reconnaissance |
| mission; orders | |
Bereitschaft |
readiness |
Blitz |
lightning |
Blitzkrieg |
"lightning war" --the mobile form of warfare practiced by the Wehrmacht between 1939 and 1941; featured close cooperation betwen armored and air forces. |
| Chef des Generalstabes der Luftwaffe | Chief of the General Staff of the Luftwaffe |
"fat cars" --enemy heavy bombers |
|
Einsatz |
operation; mission |
| Einsatzbereitschaft | operational readiness, state of alert. |
| Einsatzfreude | love of combat |
Einsatz-Jagdgeschwader (EJG) |
disbanded units operational |
Einstazstaffel |
operational Staffel (of a training unit) |
Endausbildungsstaffel |
operational training squadron |
final destruction of an already-culled aircraft |
|
| advanced training group (ErgSt) | |
| Ergaenzungsstaffel (ErgSt) | advanced training squadron |
Erprobung |
test |
operational test group |
|
Erprobungsstaffel (EprSt) |
operational test squadron |
Erprobungsstelle |
test center; the Luftwaffe's primary aircraft test center was at Rechlin. |
a fighter pilot proficient in aerial combat; the Allied "ace" |
|
Flak |
Flieger-Abwehr-Kanone; anti-aircraft canon |
air division -- a higher command containing several types of flying units |
|
Fliegerfuehrer (Flifue) |
aircraft command/control unit or its commander. In the case of isolated theaters, the theater air commander. |
air corps -- a higher command containing several Fliegerdivisionen |
|
Fliegerei |
flying |
Flug |
flight, n. |
Flugkapitaen |
title of experience civilian test pilots. |
| Flugzeug | aircraft |
Flugzeugbau |
aircraft factory |
Flugzeugfuehrer |
pilot |
freie Jagd |
"free hunt" --a fighter sweep without ground control |
Freiherr |
baron |
Fuehrungstafel |
leader's squadron |
Fuehrungsverband |
lead formation |
FuG |
prefix (abbreviation of "Funk-Geraet") denoting radio or electronic equipment. |
Gefecht |
battle, combat |
combat report |
|
Gefechtsreihe |
battle row line-astern formation |
| combat post; position; base | |
| General of the Fighter Arm; a staff position in the RLM. Werner Moelders and Adolf Galland were the most prominent holders of the position. | |
Generalluftzeugmeister |
General in charge of aviation production |
wing (pl.Geschwader) --the largest mobile homogeneous Luftwaffe flying unit. |
|
wing commodore --usually a Major, Oberstleutnant, or Oberst in rank. |
|
GM 1 |
nitrous oxide (laughing gas), used to boost engine power at high altitudes. |
group (pl. Gruppen) --the basic Luftwaffe combat and administrative unit. |
|
group commander --usually a Hauptmann, Major, or Oberstleutnant in rank. |
|
Heer |
Army |
| "shoot-out" (cull) --to damage a bomber sufficiently to seperate it from its formation. | |
Himmelfahrtskommando |
"mission to heaven" --a suicide mission |
Holzauge |
"wooden eye" --the last airplane in a formation; "tailend charlie" |
| hunters' or pilots' cry of victory. St. Horridus was the patron saint of hunters and fighter pilots. | |
"indians" --enemy fighters |
|
jabo-rei |
extended-range fighter bomber (from jagdbomber mit vergroesserter Reichweite) |
| Jabostaffel | fighter-bomber squadron |
originally, a hunter, now also a fighter pilot |
|
Jaegerschreck |
"fear of fighters" --a derogatory term coined in Goering's headquarters. |
| Jagdbomber (Jabo) | fighter-bomber |
| Jagddivision (JD) | fighter division; could command one or more Jafue or Jagdgeschwader. |
| Jagdflieger | |
| fighter command/control unit or its commander. The Jafue originated as administrative units but evolved into operational control units during the war. | |
fighter wing, commanding three or four Gruppen. |
|
Jagdgruppe (JGr) |
fighter group; containing three or four Staffeln. |
Jagdkorps (JK) |
fighter corps; commanded one or more Jagddivision. |
Jagdschutz |
"fighter protection" --generally, a patrol of a section of front, rather than an escort mission. |
| fighter squadron; originally containing twelve aircraft (three Schwaerme). Its authorized strength was increased to sixteen aircraft in 1943. | |
Jagdverband (JV) |
fighter unit. The term was only used for JV44, the Gruppe of jet fighters commanded by General Adolf Galland in 1945. |
fighter arm or fighter force. |
|
Jasta |
jagdstaffel; fighter squadron (WWI) |
bomber wing |
|
bomber group |
|
Kampfgruppe-Jaeger (KGj) |
bomber group converted to fighters |
Kanalfront |
the (English) Channel front. |
Kanalgeschwader |
the Geschwader serving on the English Channel (JG 2 and JG 26). |
Kanaljaeger |
fighter pilot(s) based near the Channel. |
Kapitaen |
"capitan" --a Staffel command position rather than a rank. |
Katschmarek |
a slang term for a wingman--originally a derogatory term for a dim-witted infantry recruit. |
flight of three aircraft. |
|
"commander" --a Gruppe command position rather than a rank. |
|
Kommandogeraet |
control device for BMW 801D engine |
"commodore" --a Geschwader command position rather than a rank. |
|
operational training wing |
|
Luftgau |
a Luftwaffe command unit that contained several Fliegerkorps |
"air fleet" --corresponded to a numbered American Air Force unit. |
|
"airforce" --refers to the German Air Force. |
|
Luftwaffenkommando (Lkdo) |
air command--a small or downgraded Luftflotte. |
air witness report; confirms kill by another pilot. |
|
| night fighter wing. | |
Nachtjagdgruppe (NJGr) |
night fighter group |
Nachtjagdkommando |
night fighter detachment. |
Nachwuchs |
"new growth" --a late-war replacement pilot. |
| Nahaufklaerungsgeschwader (NAG) | close reconnaissance wing |
close reconnaissance group |
|
Nahkampf |
close support |
Commander in Chief of the Air Force; Hermann Goering. |
|
| Oberkommando des Heer (Ob.d.H.) | High Command of the Army |
| Oberkommando des Luftwaffe (Ob.d.L.) | High Command of the Air Force |
| Oberkommando des Marine (Ob.d.M.) | High Command of the Navy |
Oberwerkmeister |
line chief. |
Pak |
Panzer-Abwehr-Kanone; anti-tank canon |
Panzer |
tank (vehicle) or armor |
Panzerbeikaempfungsstaffel |
Antitank squadron |
Panzerblitz |
Antitank air-to-ground rocket. |
combat box--an American heavy bomber formation. |
|
Reich |
"empire" --Hitler's Germany was the Third Reich. |
| Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) | German Air Ministry; Goering's headquarters, it controlled all aspects of German aviation. |
Reichsverteidigung (RVT) |
organization responsible for the air defense of Germany; home defense |
range |
|
Revi |
reflecting gunsight (Reflexvisier) |
Knight's Cross (military decoration) |
|
tactical element of two aircraft. |
|
wingman; the second man in a Rotte. |
|
Rottenfuehrer |
leader of an element of two aircraft. |
Schlacht |
ground attack (literally "slaughter") |
Schlachtflieger |
ground attack pilot(s) |
ground attack wing |
|
Schlageter |
JG 26's honor title; commemorated Albert Leo Schlageter a local national hero in the Rheinland. A WWI artillery officer, joined the Freikorps after the war, fought in Lithuania to expell the Bolsheviks, fought against the Poles after that, shot by the French for blowing up a section of railroad track to prevent a trainload of coal from the Rhineland being sent to France as part of the French reparation demands. JG26 took part in the occupation of the Rhineland as JG 132 before it was renumbered and was warmly greeted by the German people there. To repay their hospitality the squadron asked for the name "Schlageter" as their honor title. |
| Schnelleskampfgeschwader (SKG) | fast bomber wing (contained Bf110, Bf109, and/or Fw190 fighter-bombers). |
| flight of four aircraft (pl. Schwaerme); all German fighter formations were made up of units of Schwaerme. | |
flight leader. |
|
Schutzstaffel (SS) |
"protective squad" --originally Hitler's bodyguard, the SS grew into any army of 600,000 men (the Waffen-SS), totally independent of the Wehrmacht. |
Sitzkrieg |
"sitting war" --the "phony war" in western Europe between September 1939 and April 1940. |
| Stab | staff |
Stabsschwarm |
staff flight. |
squadron (pl. Staffeln). |
|
Staffelfuehrer |
squadron leader (temporary or probationary). |
squadron leader --usually a Leutnant, Oberleutnant, or Hauptmann. |
|
Storch |
"Stork" (Fieseler Fi156 observation aircraft) |
Stuka |
dive bomber; in German often, and in English always, used to denote Junkers Ju87 aircraft (Sturzkampf) |
| Stukageschwader (StG) | dive-bomber wing pimarily made up of Ju87s |
Sturmabteilung (SA) |
storm troopers--Hitler's private military force; downgraded (violently) after Hitler became president of Germany in 1934. |
technical officer; a position of repsonsibility rather than one of rank. |
|
transport wing; cargo and troops |
|
Tommy |
German slang for Englishman. |
a large formation of aircraft. |
|
Wehrmacht |
armed forces --refers to the German Armed Forces. |
Weihe |
"Kite" (Focke-Wulf Fw58 liaison aircraft) |
| Werk-Nummer (W.-Nr.) | serial-number |
Zerstoerer |
"destroyer" (heavy fighter)--Bf110 or Me410 twin-engined fighter. |
heavy fighter wing. |
|
| Zerstoerergruppe (ZGr) | heavy fighter group |