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Luftflotte 5 (Air Fleet 5) was one of the primary divisions 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-Fliegerabtei ...
in
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 ...
. It was formed 12 April 1940 in
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
for the invasion of Norway. It transferred to
Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
,
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
on 24 April 1940 and was the organization responsible for Luftwaffe activity in
Occupied Norway The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until the ...
throughout the Second World War.


History

Luftflotte 5 was responsible for German air operations during the invasion of
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
, and for the defence of the occupied territory thereafter. It was divided into various operational formations, governing air forces, and into Air Districts (''Luftgau'') controlling ground forces and facilities. In 1940, for the invasion, its main air asset was '' Fliegerkorps X'', a formation comprising four bomber and one fighter
wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...
s (''Geschwader'') together with air support forces. With the conclusion of the Norwegian campaign Fliegerkorps X was moved to other theatres (first to the
Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...
, then to the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
). On 15 August 1940 the ''Luftwaffe'' mounted the largest number of sorties of the
Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...
. ''Luftflotte'' 5 attacked the north of England. Believing Fighter Command strength to be concentrated in the south, raiding forces from
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...
and
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
ran into unexpectedly strong resistance. Inadequately escorted by
Bf 110 The Messerschmitt Bf 110, often known unofficially as the Me 110,Because it was built before ''Bayerische Flugzeugwerke'' became Messerschmitt AG in July 1938, the Bf 110 was never officially given the designation Me 110. is a twin-engine (Des ...
s, bombers were shot down in large numbers. North East England was attacked by 65
Heinkel He 111 The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a "wolf in sheep's clothing". Due to restrictions placed on Germany after th ...
s escorted by 34 Messerschmitt Bf 110s, and
RAF Driffield Royal Air Force Driffield or RAF Driffield is a former Royal Air Force station in the East Riding of Yorkshire, in England. It lies about south-west of Driffield and north-west of Beverley. It is now operated by the Defence Infrastructure Orga ...
was attacked at midday by 50 unescorted
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 ...
s. Out of 115 bombers and 35 fighters sent, 16 bombers and 7 fighters were destroyed.Document 32
Battle of Britain Historical Society. As a result of these casualties, ''Luftflotte'' 5 did not appear in strength again in the campaign. After the invasion of Norway air operations came under ''Fliegerführer (Ff) Nord'', an ad hoc formation of assigned squadrons (''Staffel'') and groups (''Gruppe''). From June 1941 fighter forces in Norway came under the separate command of ''
Jagdfliegerführer Norwegen Jagdfliegerführer Norwegen was a formation of the German Luftwaffe based in Occupied Norway during World War II. It was named for the "Fighter Leader (''Jafu''),A Jagdfliegerführer, or Jafü, was the commander of the Fighter forces of a ''Luf ...
''. Total forces amounted to three fighter groups and one bomber group, with attached night fighter and fighter bomber squadrons plus auxiliaries. On the ground Luftflotte 5's assets were administered by a single air district, ''Luftgau Kommando(LgK) Norwegen'', with subordinate commands operating airfields around
Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
,
Kristiansand Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporation ...
,
Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...
, and
Stavanger Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...
in the south,
Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...
, in the centre, and
Narvik ( se, Áhkanjárga) is the third-largest municipality in Nordland county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Narvik. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Ankenesstranda, Ball ...
and
Kirkenes Kirkenes (; ; Skolt Sami: ''Ǩeârkknjargg;'' fi, Kirkkoniemi; ; russian: Киркенес) is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Sør-Varanger Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, in the far northeastern part of Norway. The town ...
in the north of the country. In 1941, with the
invasion An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...
of the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
and the entry of
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
into the war as Germany's ally, a second air district was formed (''LgK Finnland'') around
Rovaniemi Rovaniemi ( , ; sme, Roavvenjárga ; smn, Ruávinjargâ; sms, Ruäʹvnjargg) is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland, and its southern part Per ...
, to co-ordinate German air activity on the northern front and
Operation Silberfuchs Operation Silver Fox (german: Silberfuchs; fi, Hopeakettu) from 29 June to 17 November 1941, was a joint German–Finnish military operation during the Continuation War on the Eastern Front of World War II against the Soviet Union. The objectiv ...
. In June 1942 ''Ff Nord'' was divided into three separate commands; ''Ff Nord West'' ("North (West)"), organized from Trondheim; ''Ff Lofoten'' operating from the
Lofoten Islands Lofoten () is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches and untouched lands. There are two towns, Svolvæ ...
against Allied convoys to
Murmansk Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') i ...
and the Soviet arctic ports; and ''Ff Nord Ost'' ("North (East)"), supporting Army operations against Murmansk and the northern front. In the summer of 1942 ''Ff Lofoten'' was reinforced with two bomber groups formed specifically for maritime operations. In 1944 these formations were reorganized again; ''Nord Ost'' became, briefly ''Ff Eismeer'' before becoming ''Ff 3''; ''Nord West'' became ''Ff 4''; and ''Lofoten'' became ''Ff 5''. On the ground ''LgK Norwegen'' became ''Kommandierende General der Luftwaffe (K.G.) in Norwegen'', covering ground and air formations in Norway, while ''LgK Finnland'' became ''K.G. Finnland'', with a similar remit in Finland and, later, northern Norway. As the war progressed however these organizations became increasingly irrelevant as German forces were forced to retreat and their air strength diminished. By the end of World War II they existed largely on paper.


Commanding officers

* Generalfeldmarschall
Erhard Milch Erhard Milch (30 March 1892 – 25 January 1972) was a German general field marshal (''Generalfeldmarschall'') of Jewish heritage who oversaw the development of the German air force (''Luftwaffe'') as part of the re-armament of Nazi Germany foll ...
, 12 April 1940 – 9 May 1940 * Generaloberst
Hans-Jürgen Stumpff __NOTOC__ Hans-Jürgen Stumpff (15 June 1889 – 9 March 1968), was a German general during World War II and was one of the signatories to Germany's unconditional surrender at the end of the war. Military career Stumpff joined the army in 190 ...
, 10 May 1940 – 27 November 1943 * General
Josef Kammhuber Josef Kammhuber (August 19, 1896 – January 25, 1986) was a career officer in the Luftwaffe and post-World War II German Air Force. During World War II, he was the first general of night fighters in the Luftwaffe. Kammhuber created the night ...
, 27 November 1943 – 16 September 1944


Subordinated units

ImageSize = width:580 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:40 bottom:60 top:10 right:10 AlignBars = early DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy # European date format Period = from:01/01/1940 till:08/05/1945 # TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:01/01/1940 ScaleMinor = grid:blue unit:month increment:3 start:01/01/1940 PlotData= color:red width:10 bar:VL5 from:01/06/1944 till:30/09/1944 text:Verbindungsstaffel/Luftflotte 5 bar:10FK from:01/04/1940 till:31/12/1940 text:
X. Fliegerkorps X. FliegerkorpsFor more details see Luftwaffe Organization (10th Air Corps) was a formation of the German Luftwaffe in World War II, which specialised in coastal operations. It was formed 2 October 1939, in Hamburg from the 10. Flieger-Division ...
bar:GEN from:02/11/1943 till:16/09/1944 text:Komm. General der Deutschen Luftwaffe in Finnland bar:FFN from:01/03/1941 till:30/06/1942 text:Fliegerführer Nord bar:FFNO from:01/06/1942 till:30/06/1944 text:Fliegerführer Nord(Ost) bar:FFNW from:01/06/1942 till:30/06/1944 text:Fliegerführer Nord(West) bar:FFL from:01/06/1942 till:30/06/1944 text:Fliegerführer Lofoten bar:FFE from:01/06/1944 till:30/06/1944 text:Fliegerführer Eismeer bar:FF3 from:01/06/1944 till:16/09/1944 text:Fliegerführer 3 bar:FF4 from:01/06/1944 till:16/09/1944 text:Fliegerführer 4 bar:FF5 from:01/06/1944 till:16/09/1944 text:Fliegerführer 5 bar:JFFN from:01/06/1941 till:16/09/1944 text:
Jagdfliegerführer Norwegen Jagdfliegerführer Norwegen was a formation of the German Luftwaffe based in Occupied Norway during World War II. It was named for the "Fighter Leader (''Jafu''),A Jagdfliegerführer, or Jafü, was the commander of the Fighter forces of a ''Luf ...
bar:LKN from:01/05/1940 till:30/09/1944 text:Luftgau-Kommando Norwegen bar:LKF from:01/08/1941 till:30/11/1943 text:Luftgau-Kommando Finnland bar:13FB from:01/06/1942 till:30/11/1943 text:13. Flak-Brigade bar:14FB from:01/06/1942 till:30/09/1944 text:14. Flak-Brigade bar:LR5 from:start till:end text:Luftnachrichten-Regiment 5 bar:LR15 from:start till:end text:Luftnachrichten-Regiment 15 bar:LR25 from:start till:end text:Luftnachrichten-Regiment 25


References

;Notes {{Luftflotten German Air Fleets in World War II Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1944