, dates = 1 July 1938 – 18 April 1945 , country = , branch =

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-Fliegerabtei ...

, type = Flak , role =

Anti-aircraft warfare Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes Surface-to-air m ...

, size = Division , battles =

Bombing of Duisburg in World War II Duisburg was bombed a number of times by the Allies during World War II. The most devastating air raids on Duisburg occurred during October 1944 when the city was bombed by the Royal Air Force (RAF). Duisburg was a major logistical centre in the ...

Battle of the Ruhr

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

Ruhr pocket , notable_commanders =

Johannes Hintz __NOTOC__ Johannes Hintz (1 October 1898 – 21 May 1944) was a German general during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Hintz was injured in a car-accident on 14 May 1944 in Paris and di ...

The 4th Flak Division () was a Flak division of the ''

'' of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

during World War II.

History

On 1 July 1938, the "Air Defense Command

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...

" () staff was formed, later redesignated "Air Defense Command

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

" (). On 1 August 1939, this Air Defense Command received its ordinal number 4, becoming "4th Air Defense Command" (). The initial head of the staff was Kurt Steudemann, who was replaced on 31 October 1939 by Otto-Wilhelm von Renz. It was initially the only air defense command in the

Ruhr area The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...

. It was assigned to Luftgau VI, headquartered at

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...

, along with 7th Flak Division (created in March 1940) in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

. On 1 September 1941, the 4th Air Defense Command was officially designated the "4th Flak Division" and initially remained headquartered at Düsseldorf, though its HQ was subsequently redeployed in July 1942 to

Ratingen Ratingen ( li, Rotinge) is a town in the district of Mettmann in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It lies in the northwestern part of Berg about 12 km northeast of Düsseldorf. Administration With a communal reform of 1975 the independent mu ...

. Along with the designation as 4th Flak Division, command passed to

Gerhard Hoffmann Gerhard Hoffmann (4 August 1880 – 18 June 1945) was a German nuclear physicist. During World War II, he contributed to the German nuclear energy project, also known as the Uranium Club. Education Hoffmann studied at the University of Götting ...

. Initially, the 4th Flak Division was responsible to protect the entire Ruhr industrial area from the Allied strategic bombing campaign, but the creation of an additional formation, the 22nd Flak Division, in

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

in June 1943 meant that the 4th Flak Division was only left responsible for the western Ruhr area. The 4th Flak Division staff was concurrently redeployed to

Duisburg Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in Nor ...

. On 5 March 1942, command passed to

, who was later succeeded by

Ludwig Schilffarth Ludwig may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ludwig (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Ludwig (surname), including a list of people * Ludwig Ahgren, or simply Ludwig, American YouTube live streamer and co ...

on 20 February 1944. The final commander was a colonel-ranked officer named Max Hecht, who took command on 15 November 1944. By 1 November 1943, the 4th Flak Division was still part of the heaviest-defended region in terms of flak divisions, as Luftgau VI with its three flak divisions (4th, 7th, 22nd) had more flak divisions than any other Luftgau. At this point, the entire Luftgau VI, then under

August Schmidt August Schmidt may refer to: * August Schmidt (Wehrmacht) (1892–1972), German general * August Schmidt (Luftwaffe) (1883–1955), German general * August Schmidt (journalist) August Schmidt (9 September 1808 – 13 October 1891) was an Aust ...

, was armed, across its three flak divisions, with 320 heavy flak batteries, 35 medium flak batteries, 125 light flak batteries, 107 searchlight batteries, and 41 various flak support batteries. In 1945, the 4th Flak Division was used in ground-level combat on the Western Front, along the Rhine river. On 18 April 1945, the 4th Flak Division surrendered as part of the Ruhr pocket.

References

{{Flak divisions of the Wehrmacht Flak divisions Military units and formations established in 1938 Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945