''General der Luftwaffe'' (en: ''General of the air force'') was a

General of the branch A general of the branch, general of the branch of service or general of the ... (where instead of the ellipsis an appropriate name of the military branch is being put) is a three or four-star general officer rank in some armies. Several nations di ...

rank of the

Deutsche Luftwaffe ''Luftwaffe'' is a generic German term for an air force. It may also refer to one of the following air forces: * The ''Luftwaffe'' of Nazi Germany (1933–1945) * The ''Luftwaffe'' of the Federal Republic of Germany (1956–present) * The '' Schwei ...

(en: German Air Force) in Nazi Germany. Until the end of

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in 1945, this particular general officer rank was on three-star level (

OF-8 An officer of three-star rank is a senior commander in many of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-8. The term is also used by some armed forces which are not NATO members. Typically, three-star officers hold the ...

), equivalent to a US

Lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

. The "General of the branch" ranks of the Luftwaffe were in 1945: * General of parachute troops * General of anti-aircraft artillery * General of the aviators * General of air force communications troops * General of the air force The rank was equivalent to the

ranks of the '' Heer'' (army) as follows: ;Heer: * General of artillery * General of mountain troops *

General of infantry General of the Infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to: * General of the Infantry (Austria) * General of the Infantry (Bulgaria) * General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Impe ...

General of cavalry General of the Cavalry (german: General der Kavallerie) was a General officer rank in the cavalry in various states of which the modern states of German and Austria are successors or in other armies which used the German model. Artillery officers ...

* General of the communications troops * General of panzer troops (armoured troops) * General of engineers * General of the medical corps * General of the veterinary corps ;Other services: The rank was also equivalent to the German three-star ranks: * ''Admiral'' of 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 ...

, equivalent to (US Vice admiral) and * '' SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS'' in the ''Waffen-SS''.

Officers in this rank

Literature

*Reinhard Stumpf: Die Wehrmacht-Elite - Rang und Herkunftsstruktur der deutschen Generale und Admirale 1933–1945, Harald Boldt Verlag, Boppard/Rhein 1982. *Karl Friedrich Hildebrandt: Die Generale der Luftwaffe 1935–1945 (3 Bde.), Biblio-Verlag, Osnabrück 1991. {{General ranks of the Wehrmacht Military ranks of Germany Three-star officers of Nazi Germany

Officers in this rank

See also

Literature