Luftflotte 5

Luftflotte 5 (Air Fleet 5) was one of the primary divisions of the German Luftwaffe in World War II. It was formed 12 April 1940 in Hamburg for the invasion of Norway.
It transferred to Oslo, Norway on 24 April 1940 and was the organization responsible for Luftwaffe activity in Occupied Norway throughout the Second World War.

History

Luftflotte 5 was responsible for German air operations during the invasion of Norway, 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 wings (''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, then to the Mediterranean Sea).

On 15 August 1940 the ''Luftwaffe'' mounted the largest number of sorties of the Battle of Britain. ''Luftflotte'' 5 attacked the north of England. Believing Fighter Command strength to be concentrated in the south, raiding forces from Denmark and Norway ran into unexpectedly strong resistance. Inadequately escorted by Bf 110s, bombers were shot down in large numbers. North East England was attacked by 65 Heinkel He 111s escorted by 34 Messerschmitt Bf 110s, and RAF Driffield was attacked at midday by 50 unescorted Junkers Ju 88s. 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''. 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, Kristiansand, Bergen, and Stavanger in the south, Trondheim, in the centre, and Narvik and Kirkenes in the north of the country.

In 1941, with the invasion of the Soviet Union and the entry of Finland into the war as Germany's ally, a second air district was formed (''LgK Finnland'') around Rovaniemi, to co-ordinate German air activity on the northern front and Operation Silberfuchs.

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 against Allied convoys to Murmansk 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, 12 April 1940 – 9 May 1940
* Generaloberst Hans-Jürgen Stumpff, 10 May 1940 – 27 November 1943
* General Josef Kammhuber, 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
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
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