Topic summary
Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Luftstreitkräfte.
The Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte (German:, German Air Combat Forces) – known before October 1916 as Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches (lit. "The flying troops of the German Imperial Reich") – was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-language sources it is usually referred to as the Imperial German Air Service, although that is not a literal translation of either name. German naval aviators of the Marine-Fliegerabteilung were an integral part of the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine). Both military branches operated aeroplanes, observation balloons and airships.