X. FliegerkorpsFor more details see Luftwaffe Organization (10th Air Corps) was a formation of the German

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, which specialised in coastal operations. It was formed 2 October 1939, in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

from the 10. Flieger-Division.

Operational history

Generalleutnant

Hans Ferdinand Geisler __NOTOC__ Hans-Ferdinand Geisler (19 April 1891 – 25 June 1966) was a German general during World War II. Military career Born in Hanover in April 1891, Geisler joined the Imperial German Navy on April 1, 1909 as a Seekadett, prior to Worl ...

was put in command of the newly formed ''Flieger-Division'' on 3 September 1939, based at Blankenese. Initially its force was the Heinkel 111 bombers of ''Kampfgeschwader'' 26. Geisler's Division was allocated the new

Junkers Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a German World War II ''Luftwaffe'' twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called '' Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") that would be too fast ...

bombers which were still being brought into service with ''Kampfgeschwader'' 25, on 7 September this was redesignated ''Kampfgeschwader'' 30. The Corps was stationed in north Germany in February 1940 when some of its aircraft were involved in a disastrous

friendly fire In military terminology, friendly fire or fratricide is an attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy/hostile targets. Examples include misidentifying the target as hostile, cross-fire while en ...

incident that terminated the

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

Operation Wikinger Operation Wikinger (English: "Viking") was a German naval sortie into the North Sea by the ''Kriegsmarine'' in February 1940 during the Second World War. Poor inter-service communication and cooperation between the ''Kriegsmarine'' and the ''Luf ...

. In early 1941, X. Fliegerkorps was transferred from Norway to

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

to support the build-up of the

Afrika Korps The Afrika Korps or German Africa Corps (, }; DAK) was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African Campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its African colonies, the ...

in Libya. On 12 January 1941, it had 80 Ju 88A-4 bombers of

LG 1 ''Lehrgeschwader'' 1 (LG 1) (Training Wing 1) formerly ''Lehrgeschwader Greifswald'' was a Luftwaffe multi-purpose unit during World War II, operating fighter, bomber and dive-bomber ''Gruppen''. The unit was formed in July 1936 and operated t ...

and 12 Ju 88D-5 reconnaissance planes at

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also b ...

, 80 Ju 87R-1 ("Stuka") dive-bombers of

StG 1 ''Sturzkampfgeschwader'' 1 (StG 1 - Dive Bomber Wing 1) was a Luftwaffe dive bomber wing during World War II. StG 1 was formed in May 1939 and remained active until October 1943, when it was renamed and reorganised into Schlachtgeschwade ...

and

StG 2 ''Sturzkampfgeschwader'' 2 (StG 2) ''Immelmann'' was a Luftwaffe dive bomber-wing of World War II. It was named after the World War I aviator Max Immelmann. It served until its dissolution in October 1943. The wing operated the Junkers Ju 87 ...

Trapani Trapani ( , ; scn, Tràpani ; lat, Drepanum; grc, Δρέπανον) is a city and municipality (''comune'') on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an imp ...

, 27 He 111H-6 torpedo bombers of KG 26 at Comiso and 34 Bf 110C-4 fighters of ZG 26 at

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for its ...

.Wood, Tony & Gunston, Bill ''Hitler's Luftwaffe'' Crescent Books p.33 It was prominent in the axis effort to suppress

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

interference with the supply routes from Italy by reducing

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

's effectiveness as a forward base. On 10 and 11 January 1941 X. Fliegerkorps planes sank and heavily damaged during

Operation Excess Operation Excess was a series of British supply convoys to Malta, Alexandria and Greece in January 1941. The operation encountered the first presence of ''Luftwaffe'' anti-shipping aircraft in the Mediterranean Sea. All the convoyed freighters rea ...

.Greene, Jack & Massignani, Alessandro ''The Naval War in the Mediterranean 1940-1943'' Chatham Publishing (1998) pp.133-136 Bf 109E-7 fighters of

JG 26 ''Jagdgeschwader'' 26 (JG 26) ''Schlageter'' was a German fighter-wing of World War II. It was named after Albert Leo Schlageter, a World War I veteran, Freikorps member, and posthumous Nazi martyr, arrested and executed by the French for ...

and

JG 27 ''Jagdgeschwader'' 27 (JG 27) "''Afrika''" was a fighter wing of the Luftwaffe during World War II. The wing was given the name "Africa" for serving in the North African Campaign predominantly alone in the period from April 1941 to Septemb ...

joined the offensive on Malta during February and March 1941.Wood, Tony & Gunston, Bill ''Hitler's Luftwaffe'' Crescent Books p.33 The Corps was moved out of Sicily in April 1941 for the

Invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, or ''Projekt 25'' was a German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was ...

and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

.Wood, Tony & Gunston, Bill ''Hitler's Luftwaffe'' Crescent Books p.33 Maritime float planes replaced fighters and dive bombers while the Corps was stationed in

. Strength on 10 May 1942 was 74 Ju 88 at

Eleusis Elefsina ( el, Ελευσίνα ''Elefsina''), or Eleusis (; Ancient Greek: ''Eleusis'') is a suburban city and municipality in the West Attica regional unit of Greece. It is situated about northwest from the centre of Athens and is part of i ...

and

Heraklion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital city, capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion (regional unit), Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Gree ...

, 25 He 111 at Kalamaki, and 53 Ar 196A-3, He 60c, Fokker T.VIII and Bv 138C-1 at Skaramagas and Kavalla.Wood, Tony & Gunston, Bill ''Hitler's Luftwaffe'' Crescent Books p.50 The Corps was crucial in securing air superiority and German victory during the 1943 Dodecanese Campaign. The Corps was renamed to ''Kommandierender General der Deutschen Luftwaffe in Griechenland'' (commanding general of the German Luftwaffe in Greece) in March 1944 and disbanded on 5 September 1944 with the withdrawal of German forces from the country.

Commanding officers

Commanding general

* General der Flieger

Hans Geisler __NOTOC__ Hans-Ferdinand Geisler (19 April 1891 – 25 June 1966) was a German general during World War II. Military career Born in Hanover in April 1891, Geisler joined the Imperial German Navy on April 1, 1909 as a Seekadett, prior to Worl ...

, 2 October 1939 – 31 August 1942 * General der Flieger Bernhard Kühl (acting), 3 June 1940 – 20 September 1940 * General der Flieger

Otto Hoffmann von Waldau __NOTOC__ Otto Hoffmann von Waldau (7 July 1898 – 17 May 1943) was a German general during World War II who commanded the 10th Air Corps. He was killed in an air crash on 17 May 1943. Awards * Iron Cross (1914) 2nd and 1st Class * Clasp to Ir ...

, 31 August 1942 – 31 December 1942 * Generalleutnant

Alexander Holle __NOTOC__ Alexander Holle (27 February 1898 – 16 July 1978) was a German general (Generalleutnant) in the Luftwaffe's Condor Legion during the German involvement in the Spanish Civil War and World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cro ...

, 1 January 1943 – 22 May 1943 * General der Flieger

Martin Fiebig Martin Fiebig (7 May 1891 – 23 October 1947) was a German Luftwaffe general who commanded several air corps and equivalent-sized formations during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Afte ...

, 22 May 1943 – 1 September 1944

Chief-of-Staff

* Oberstleutnant Martin Harlinghausen, 1 November 1939 – 31.3.41 * Generalleutnant Ulrich Kessler (acting), 25 April 1940 – 21 May 1940 * Generalleutnant

Günther Korten Günther Korten (26 July 1898 – 22 July 1944) was a German Colonel General and Chief of the General Staff of the Luftwaffe in World War II. He died from injuries suffered in the assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler on 20 July 1944. Biography ...

, 1 April 1941 – March 1942 * Oberst Sigismund Freiherr von Falkenhausen, 1 April 1942 - March 1943 * Major Eckard Christian, 8 March 1943 – 2 June 1943 * Generalmajor

Walter Boenicke __NOTOC__ Walter Boenicke (15 December 1895 – 21 April 1947) was a German general (General der Flieger) in the Luftwaffe during World War II who commanded the 3. Flieger Division. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Boen ...

, June 1943 – 6 January 1944

References

;Notes ;References
X. Fliegerkorps @ Lexikon der Wehrmacht

{{Corps of the Luftwaffe A010 Military units and formations established in 1939 1939 establishments in Germany Military units and formations disestablished in 1944