Luftwaffe construction units were established in 1939 from ''

Reichsarbeitsdienst The Reich Labour Service (''Reichsarbeitsdienst''; RAD) was a major organisation established in Nazi Germany as an agency to help mitigate the effects of unemployment on the German economy, militarise the workforce and indoctrinate it with Nazi ...

'' units transferred to the Luftwaffe, and reinforced with technically competent older conscripts, later also with

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

and foreign volunteers ''(

Hiwis Hiwi (), the German abbreviation of the word ''Hilfswilliger'' or, in English, auxiliary volunteer, designated, during World War II, a member of different kinds of voluntary auxiliary forces made up of recruits indigenous to the territories of Ea ...

).'' The main task was the construction and maintenance of military air bases. In 1944 the bulk of the construction units were transferred to the '' Organization Todt''; those remaining under Luftwaffe control becoming Luftwaffe pioneers.

History

During the buildup of the

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 ...

, necessary

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...

work was conducted by private contractors with civilian staff. From 1938 units from the ''

'' were increasingly used by the Luftwaffe for construction purposes. These RAD-units were from 1939 converted into Luftwaffe construction companies and battalions. From 1941 construction regiments, and sometimes construction brigades, were created."Bautruppen und Pioniere der Luftwaffe." ''Bundesarchiv.''
Retrieved 2017-01-31. Construction units under RAD control still existed; in 1942, 56 companies served with the Luftwaffe in the West. In 1944 most of the construction units were transferred to the '' Organisation Todt''; the construction troops remaining under Luftwaffe control were reorganized into 14 battalions as ''Lufwaffen-Pioniere.''

Mission

The role of the construction and pioneer units consisted of the implementation of all kind of construction projects, principally air base construction, and especially runway construction and repair. The pioneers were also tasked with the destruction of Luftwaffe installations, as the fronts contracted. Construction and pioneer units were also used to combat

partisan Partisan may refer to: Military * Partisan (weapon), a pole weapon * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line Films * ''Partisan'' (film), a 2015 Australian film * ''Hell River'', a 1974 Yugoslavian film also know ...

s, and as first-line troops in emergencies.

Personnel

The personnel of the construction units came from the ''Reichsarbeitsdienst'', and from older, technically trained, conscripts. The manual labor were increasingly performed by

and by ''

''.

Organization

The Luftwaffe construction units were immediately subordinated to the air base regional commands, the ''Koflug'', their use directed by its Field Works Office ''(Feldbauamt)'', and at the local air base by its Works Superintendent's Office ''(Bauleitung)'', composed of technical military officials. On the '' Luftgau'' level, a special staff officer ''(Stobau)'', later commander, of the construction units were in charge. In the ''

Reichsluftfahrtministerium The Ministry of Aviation (german: Reichsluftfahrtministerium, abbreviated RLM) was a government department during the period of Nazi Germany (1933–45). It is also the original name of the Detlev-Rohwedder-Haus building on the Wilhelmstrasse ...

'' an inspector of construction units supervised the technical and military training, and the appropriate use, of the construction units and the pioneers.TM-E 30-451, pp. X-7, 8.

References

Notes

{{reflist

Cited literature

* Henner, Sigurd & Böhler, Wolfgang (2014). ''Die Deutsche Wehrmacht. Dienstgrade und Waffenfarbe der Luftwaffe 1939-1945.'' Stuttgart: Motorbuch Verlag. * Thomas, Nigel & Caballero Jurado, Carlos (2000). ''Wehrmacht Auxiliary Forces.'' Oxford: Osprey Publishing. * United States War Department (1945). ''Handbook on German military forces. TM-E 30-451.'' Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office. ited as TM-E 30-451

External links

"Luftwaffen-Bau-Bataillone." ''The Luftwaffe, 1933-45.''

(in German) Military units and formations of the Luftwaffe