Handbook for the research of Luftwaffe personnel

Handbook for the (re)search of Luftwaffe personnel.
Revision date 19-09-2003
By Jaap Woortman.
Secretary of the Dutch Studygroup Airwar 1939-1945.
Chairman of the Projectgroup-Airfields.
E-mail: j.woortman1@chello.nl
During several years now I receive from time to time questions from all over the world about
where can I find this and what does that mean. No problem, if possible I will give an answer.
But the World Wide Web is a splendid tool for research and in many cases it gives more fun
to do the research by yourselves. To give some support and guidelines I have composed a
“Handbook for the (re)search for Luftwaffe personnel”. I hope it will give you the basic
information you need. Please if you feel that something is missing or out of date let me know.
* Is an indication if the line or chapter is changed or new.
1. Information about Luftwaffe personnel.
1.1 The loss lists.
Depending on what we know a good start for getting information are the so-called
Luftwaffe loss lists. This are daily made reports from the losses of the operational units of
the Luftwaffe, flying and non-flying, at Generalstab level. An example of these loss lists
can be seen at Andreas Brekkens website “Eagles over Norway” at
www.stormbirds.com/eagles/ in Luftwaffe loss data from RLM 2 III 1170-1172.
There are three sources for the information collected by the Genst. Gen. Quartiermeister
6th. Abt. of the Luftwaffe. In all the three sources information about 1944 is missing.:
-
Bundesarchiv/Militärarchiv.
This archive contains the Luftwaffe files with the loss lists. The address is:
Wiesentalstrasse 10,
79115 Freiburg im Breisgau
Germany.
The postal address is: Postfach 79024.
Tel.: +49(0761) 47817-0
Fax: +49(0761) 47817900
E-mail: benutz@barch.ko.uunet.de
For more information about the Bundesarchive see URL: www.bundesarchiv.de
A detailed list of the Luftwaffe files can be found at
www.lwag.org/reference/barl001.pdf
To be able to read this file you need an Adobe Acrobat Reader.
If I may give you an advise, send your question(s) by letter. Writing in English
is no problem, but you will receive your answer in German. It will take some
time, at least 2 till 3 months before you will receive an answer. Going there is
even better!
-
Imperial War Museum.
The IWM has now a possibility of searching documents online. Go to “Documents”
and type “Luftwaffe”. You will find under GER/MISC/MCR/18. Luftwaffe Losses. It
are 12 reels with vol. 1 till 24. The reels 1-12 can be bought. Contact the IWM for
information.
See IWM URL: www.iwm.org.uk
E-mail docs@iwm.org.uk
-
Verlag Media Data GbR mbH
Roonstr. 23
D-49076 Osnabrück
Germany
Phone: 0541-4082495
E-mail: 05418601950@t-online.de
The price is € 358 for all the CD-ROMs together and is called 'Die Verluste der
Deutschen Luftwaffe 1940-1945.
Check for their program: www.verlag-media-data.de/
1.2 Deutsche Dienststelle(WASt).
Wehrmachtsauskunftstelle für Kriegeverluste und Kriegsgefangene (WASt). In English,
WASt stands for Wehrmacht Information Office for War Losses and P.o.W.s. Today, it is
known as Deutsche Dienstelle (WASt). The organization had and has the responsibility for
records of casualties and death records of the German Wehrmacht. As such, for WW II
one can find details about the specific aircraft and unit a wounded or killed pilot had been
flying in and with at the time of the incident.
More information can be found at the website of WASt at
www.com-de.pair.com/WASt/
The address of Deutsche Dienststelle(WASt) is:
Eichborndamm 179
13403 Berlin.
Also here the best way to contact WASt is by postal mail. You can write in English, but the
answer you will receive is in German. It is possible to buy copies from Namentliche
Verlustmeldungen.
1.3 Bundesarchiv-Zentralnachweisstelle.
Bundesarchiv, Standort Aachen, Zentralnachweisstelle. Here you can find the career
information of Heer, Marine and Luftwaffe personnel. The address of the archive is:
Bundesarchiv,
Abteigarten 6,
52076 Aachen
Deutschland
Telefon(02408) 147-0
Telefax(02408) 147 37
URL www.bundesarchiv.de
Public transport from Aachen Busbahnhof Bus: Linie 35, 54, 55, 65, 67 oder 68.
You can visit the archiv Mo. – Th. 8.00 - 15.30 Hrs, Fr. 8.00 - 13.00 Hrs.
The best way to contact the archive is to write a letter. Be aware of the fact that they
charge you for the time they need. DM 30/half hour.
1.4 Volksbund.
Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V
The organization responsible for the German war dead is the”Volksbund Deutsche
Kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V.”. It is a Bundesgeschäftsstelle located in the Werner- HilpertStrasse 2
34112 Kassel
Deutschland
Tel: 0561-70090
Fax: 0561-7009211
E-mail: info@volksbund.de
URL: www.volksbund.de
At the webpage is a online database for German war dead. If you are not successful in
finding the location of the person or grave you are looking for, you can send a letter or an
e-mail to the Volksbund.
1.5 Local authorities.
If you have found the town or village were the person you were looking for has been born
or crashed you can or contact the local authorities in the townhall or visit the website of
the town or village. A nice overview of available websites can be found at
home.bawue.de/~hanacek/info/darchive.htm Archive in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland.
If you contact the local authorities be aware of the fact that in Germany there is a
Datenschutzgesetz. They are not allowed to give you all information on paper.
1.6 Missing persons.
In Germany several organizations are working on missing persons.
-
-
Deutsches Rotes Kreuz Suchdienst Hamburg
Generalsekretariat
Suchdienst Hamburg
Amandastraße 74
20357 Hamburg Telefon: (040) 432 02-0
Telefax: (040) 432 02-200
e-Mail: DRK-Suchdienst-Hamburg@drk-sdhh.de
Deutsches Rotes Kreuz Suchdienst München.
Generalsekretariat
Suchdienst München
Chiemgaustraße 109
81549 München
Telefon: (089) 680 773-0
Telefax: (089) 680 745 92
e-Mail: DRK-Suchdienst-Muenchen@t-online.de
-
-
-
The webpage of the Deutches Rotes Kreuz can be found at www.drk.de
Kirchlicher Suchdienst.
Heimatortskarteien
This organization is specialized in looking for civil persons from the German occupied
areas. Information will only be given to the victims, their family or if you are authorized.
The address is:
Zentralstelle der Heimatortskarteien
Lessingstr. 3, 80336 München
Telefon: (089) 544 97-0 - Telefax: (089) 544 97-207
Internationaler Suchdienst Arolson.
This International Search Service is a unit formed by 10 states under control of the
International Red Cross. It’s goal is to give information about Germans and non-Germans
who have been in NS concentration camps and labour camps. Also they give information
about displaced persons(DPs) from after 1945.
Information is only given to relatives or when you authorized.
Internationaler Suchdienst
Große Allee 5 – 9
34454 Bad Arolsen
Deutschland
Telefon: (05691) 60 37
See for the webpage www.its-arolsen.org/
An application form can be found at:
home.t-online.de/home/fknolle/arolsen.htm
Answers will only be given in writing not in e-mail.
Also some webpages are available see;
- Verschollen-Vermisste Personen des 2.Weltkriegs.(Missing persons from WWII)
s-h-e.de/nowoczyn/vermisst/index.htm
The site is in German.
- Missing persons at www.missing-you.net/
Dedicated for the UK, but you never know.
- People Finder at www.around.co.uk/ Also mainly UK.
1.7 Traditionsverbände.
If you are looking for specific units you can contact one of the persons mentioned
in the list in 1.7.1. Please keep in mind that the address can be changed.
1.7.1. Associations copied from Jägerblatt 6/2001:
JG 1&11
JG 2
Theo Nau
Paul Müngersdorff
Rheinblickstrasse 12
Zum Mühlenberg 58
55422 Bacharach
D-53884 Troisdorf
Germany
Germany
JG 3
Gerhard Baeker
Immelmannstr. 10
53757 St Augustin
Germany
JG 5
Kastanienweg 8
64546 Mörfelden -Walldorf
Germany
JG 26
Werner Molge
Schenefelder Platz 4
JG 27
Sighart Dinkel
Postfach 1145
22869 Schenefeld
Germany
69169 Leimen
Germany
JG 51
Dr Heinz Lange
Freiheit 1
Brensberg
51429Bergisch
Germany
JG 52
Alfons Altmeier
Dohrerweg 4
56814 Faid
Germany
JG 53
Walter Seiz
Am Schieferbuckel 24
72760 Reutlingen
Germany
JG 54
Hermann Hammerstein
Joseph-Schmiedweg 25
87700 Memmingen
Germany
JG77
Jakob Müller
Boninstrasse 4
64546 Mörfelden-Walldorf
Germany
JG 301/JG 302
Willi Reschke
Gartenstrasse 3
99105 Stotternheim
Germany
JG 400
Dr. Ing. E.H. Reinhard Opitz
Hermann Fleitmannweg 9
44265 Dortmund
Germany
Me 262 Verbände
Alfred Ambs
Harztalstrasse 51
83714 Miesenbach
Germany
Nachtjagd Geschwader
Herbert A.W. Thomas
Velsstrasse 46
44803 Bochum
Germany
Mölders Vereinigung
Fritz Wegner
Postfach 1865
86633 Neuburg/Donau
Germany
Traditionsgemeinschaft
Aufklärungsgeschwader 52 e.V.
“Peter Anoil
General Thomsen Kaserne
25917 Stadum
Germany
Fallschirmpanzerkorps HG
Kameradschaft "Weisse Spiegel"
Hanns Schmitz
Reichenberger Str.39
53604 Bad Honnef
Germany
Luftnachrichtentruppe
Generalmajor a.D. Wllhehn Von
Bornstaedt
Laerchenhof
57612 Kirchelb
Germany
Gemeinshaft der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger
Vereinigung der Flieger Deutscher Streitkrafte e. V.
Willi Gobel
Krahwinkeler Strasse 34A
53797 Lohrnar
Germany
Bund Deutscher Fallschimjäger
Herr General a.D. Fritz Eckert
Franz Liszt Strasse 1
66780 Rehlingen
Germany
For fighter pilots you can also check “Gemeinschaft der Flieger deutscher Streitkräfte e.V.
at www.fliegergemeinschaft.de/
1.8 If nothing else was successful?
Why not try to place an advertisement in the magazine 'Jägerblatt' in Germany or in the
'Luftwaffen Revue' . The addresses are:
Jägerblatt
Gert Overhoff
Dahlienweg 1
53757 Sankt Augustin
Deutschland
Tel.02241/203629
Fax: 02241/922609
E-mail: overhoff@fliegergemeinschaft.de
URL: www.fliegergemeinschaft.de/
Luftwaffen Revue
Rheinalle 55
D-53173 Bonn
Germany
An other possibility is to use one of the discussion websites of the World Wide Web.
The Luftwaffe Archives Group website at www.lwag.org/
gives you several possibilities to find the webpage that suites you.
To give some basic information that could be very helpful during your research I have
in the following chapters added some stories about time differences between UK and
Germany during WW II in chapter 3 and an explanation about the gridsystem used by
the Luftwaffe during WWII in chapter 4. In the chapters after chapter 4 you will find
some references.
2. Dates and timing.
Often we only have small pieces of information. In one hand a date and in the other hand a day
in the week. But does it fit? Who knows if May 10th, 1940 was on a Friday and what was the
time of sunrise and sunset. Lucky for us the U.S.Naval Observatory, Astronomical Department
gives us the possibility to check this information at aa.usno.navy.mil/
- Go to Data Services
- Complete Sun and Moon Data for One Day
- Form B and fill the name and data needed.
As input you need the latitude and longitude of the place you are looking at. This can be
obtained from National Imagery and Mapping Agency at www.nima.mil/ First go to:
- Maps & Geodata,
- then GEONet Names Server,
- then Access GEONet.
- Go to Gazetteer Search and fill in the name of the place and select the country.
- Then search and the result will be displayed.
This information is from the period before you had to register.
Also could it be helpful to know when it was Eastern and Whitsuntide during World War II.
At hosting.tiscali.nl/jurriens/pasen.htm we can find at table for Eastern and Whitsuntide from
1900 till 2400 and higher.
3. Timing differences between UK and Germany during 1940-1945.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
This article was published in Bulletin Airwar 1939-1945 Nr. 99 page 26/27 as “Time
calculation 1940-1945”by Rob de Bruin/Great Bookham, England.
I have checked two sources; first my own Whitaker Almanac and I have contacted the Royal
Observatory at Greenwich. The situation is as follows:
Since 1916 Great Britain(from now on called England) has summertime. In winter they have
GMT and in summer GMT+1.
Middle European Time(MET), that was the time in the Netherlands during the German
occupation, it was equal to GMT+1 and during the summer Middle European Time is equal to
GMT+2.
The English introduced on February 25th, 1940 their summertime GMT+1. In the Netherlands
we had Dutch Time. This means that from February 25th, 1940 it was 40 min. later in England
than in Holland. From may 16th, 1940 the Germans introduced MET and the Dutch were one
hour ahead of the English.
In England it was summertime during the war from February 25th, 1940 till October 7th, 1945.
To get more daylight it went over to Double British Summertime(DBST). This was during:
a. 1941
May 4th till August 10th.
b. 1942
April 5th till August 9th
c. 1943
April 4th till August 15th
d. 1944
April 2nd till September 17th
e. 1945
April 2nd till July 15th
During these periods the time in England was GMT+2 and that’s the same as
MET(Summertime)
To make things more clear some examples:
Date
Time in Holland/Germany
Time in England.
30-05-1940
12.28
11.28
22-06-1941
06.05
06.05
03-11-1942
14.18
14.18
01-04-1943
23.25
22.25
01-05-1943
20.08
20.08
06-06-1944
05.30
05.30
05-05-1945
08.00
09.00
The change of time was done in the early Sunday morning hours at 2.00 O’clock.
Here follows a list of dates when the German time was equal to British time.
a. 1941
May 4th till August 10th.
b. 1942
April 5th till August 9th and November 2nd till December 31.
c. 1943
January 1st till March 29th and April 4th till August 15th and from
October 4th till December 31st.
d. 1944
January 1st till April 2nd and April 4th till September 17th and October 2nd
till December 31st.
e. 1945
January 1st till April 2nd.
This is a translation of the essence of an article published in Bulletin Airwar 1939-1945 Nr.99.
With many thanks to Mr. Robert de Bruin, Great Bookham, England.
4. Geografic locations.
Important for research is the knowledge of the geografic locations used. In this chapter
I will explain the Luftwaffe, the British and the American system.
THE LUFTWAFFE SYSTEM: GRADNETZMELDEVERFAHREN.
IPMS Norway Luftwaffe SIG Electronic Newsletter No 2/1998 by Andreas Brekken.
When I first started out researching Luftwaffe operations, terms like Grossquadrat 06 and
Planquadrat confused me. As time passed and I got more and more interested in losses etc. of
Luftwaffe units in Norway and over the northern parts of the former Soviet Union and
Finland, as well as the Skagerrak and North Sea, I found out that I had to do something with
this. Thanks to Francis Marshall, author of the book "Sea Eagles" I have been able to get hold
of an article in German describing the system. I haven't seen anything published on the
Internet on this issue, so I have made an article in English, and will submit a Norwegian
language version for publication in the paper Luftwaffe SIG Newsletter, with illustrations.
Hope you like this feature, and please ask me questions if something is unclear. Comments to
my English are also welcome.
The Luftwaffe Map Reference System (Gradnetzmeldeverfahren)
Introduction
The official name for the map reference system of the WW II German Luftwaffe was
'Gradnetz' or 'Gradnetzmeldeverfahren'.
The system was introduced before the war, and was in use without major modifications until
end of April 1943. The escalation in the number of allied bomber attacks against targets in
Germany and German occupied territory made it necessary to modify the system. The result
was the introduction of the 'Jagdtrapez' by the head of the Luftwaffe Intelligente Forces,
General der Ln-Truppe Martini.
Description of the'Gradnetzmeldeverfahren'
The idea behind the 'Gradnetzmeldeverfahren' was to develop a system where bases and
navigation points could be given a position both in maps prepared by the armed forces but also
other available maps. It was based on the Greenwich system, which describe a given position
by longitude and latitude, measured in degrees. This meant that the system could be used on
all maps, which were made utilizing the widespread Greenwich geographic coordinate system,
regardless of scale or projection used when preparing the map.
The numbers used to give the position of a certain location using the 'Gradnetzmeldeverfahren'
can be viewed as a short form of the position in full, without a real translation or encoding.
The basic division have its base at the 0º-meridian (Greenwich), and have division lines at
every 10º longitude. The areas between every tenth degree longitude are limited to the north
and south by the 89º, 79º, 69º, 59º ... and so on degree latitude. These areas, which are limited
by sides measuring ten degrees longitude and latitude are called 'Zusatzzahlgebiete'.
The 'Zusatzzahlgebiete'
Every 'Zusatzzahl' therefore describe an area contained within every tenth degree longitude
and latitude. The basis for the latitudinal description of the border of the 'Zusatzzahlgebiet' is
1º southern latitude (1º south of Equator) with a division line on every tenth degree northern
and southern latitude. The corresponding basis for the longitudinal description is the
Greenwich 0º- meridian, with division lines on every tenth degree eastern and western
longitude. The 'Zusatzzahl' are given by the ten-count of the northwestern corner of each
'Zusatzzahlgebiet'. The first number give the ten-count of the longitude, while the second
number give the ten-count of the latitude. If the degree number is below 10º, a zero is used.
The repetition of the 'Zusatzzahl' in the four quarters of the globe, make the use of a special
description necessary; north of 1º southern latitude the 'Zusatzzahl' for the areas having eastern
longitude are given the additional description 'Ost', while the areas having western longitude
have the addition 'West'. South of 1º southern latitude the 'Zusatzzahl' for the areas having
eastern longitude are given the additional description 'Südost', while the areas having western
longitude have the addition 'Südwest'.
The 'Großtrapez'
The subdivision of the 'Zusatzzahlgebiete' follow every whole degree longitude and latitude.
The area between two neighbouring degrees latitude and longitude are called a 'Großtrapez',
which can be further subdivided given the needed degree of accuracy. The 100 'Großtrapeze'
included in one 'Zusatzzahlgebiet' are given numbers ranging from 00 to 99. Be aware of the
different numbering system for areas west and east of the Greenwich 0"-meridian.
The size of a 'Großtrapeze' is approximately 70x111 kilometers (in Germany and other areas
with the same latitudinal width).
The two-digit numbering are calculated in the following way: Using the northwestern corner
of the 'Zusatzzahlgebiet' as basis, the first number is defined by the one-count of the
geographical longitude (numbers on the upper and lower edge of the map), while the second
number is defined by the one-count of the geographical latitude (numbers on the left and right
edge of the map).
Subdividing the'Großtrapez':
The 'Mitteltrapez'
The first subdivision of the 'Großtrapez' is the 'Mitteltrapez', which have an area of
approximately 35x28 kilometers. Using the latitudinal parallels at 15', 30' and 45' and the
longitudinal meridian at 30', every 'Großtrapez' are divided into eight 'Mitteltrapeze'. The
'Mitteltrapeze' are numbered from 'l' through '8' starting with the area in the upper left corner
and ending with the lower right one.
The 'Kleintrapez'
The second subdivision define the 'Kleintrapeze' measuring approximately 9x11 kilometers.
The latitudinal parallels with 5' distance between them and the longitudinal parallels 10' apart,
divide the 'Mitteltrapez' into nine 'Kleintrapeze'.
The numbering of the 'Kleintrapeze' run from '1' through '9', starting in the upper left corner,
making three rows of 'Kleintrapeze', with the ninth positioned in the lower right corner of the
'Mitteltrapez'.
The 'Meldetrapez'
The third subdivision is called 'Meldetrapeze' and have an area of approximately 3x4
kilometers. The latitudinal parallels positioned at 1'40", 3'20", 6'40" and 8'20" and the
longitudinal parallels positioned at 3'20" and 6'40" divide the 'Kleintrapez' into nine
'Meldetrapeze'.
The size of the resulting 'Meldetrapez' usually small enough as to give the necessary degree of
accuracy for the report of a given position. The numbering of the 'Meldetrapeze' run from '1'
through '9', starting in the upper left corner, making three rows of 'Meldetrapeze', with the
ninth positioned in the lower right corner of the 'Kleintrapez'. In the system used until 30.
April 1943, there were only four 'Meldetrapeze' in a 'Kleintrapez', numbered from '1' through
'4’.
The 'Arbeitstrapez'
The fourth subdivision results in the definition of an 'Arbeitstrapez' with an area of
approximately l x 1,2 kilometers by a further subdivision by a factor three the distance
between the parallels in the 'Meldetrapez'. The description of the 'Arbeitstrapeze' are given by
small letters from 'a' through ‘i', running in three rows starting in the upper left corner of the
'Meldetrapez'. In the old system, there were only four 'Arbeitstrapeze' named 'links oben' (lo),
'rechts oben' (ro), 'links unten' (lu) and finally 'rechts unten' (ru).
'Jägermeldenetz'
For the guidance of fighter aircraft, anti-aircraft artillery and early warning systems, another
system was also in use by the Luftwaffe. In the 'Jägerrneldenetz', the 'Zusatzzahlgebiete' were
divided in a northern and a southern part, these subdivisions called 'Jagdtrapeze'. As an
example, the 'Zusatzzahlgebiet' '05 Ost' would be subdivided into the 'Jagdtrapeze' '05 Ost
Nord' and ‘05 Ost Süd’, The subdivision of the 'Jagdtrapeze' was made using the same system
as on the 'Großtrapeze', dividing along whole degrees latitude and longitude.
The 'Mitteltrapeze' was given other descriptions, not two numbers but two upper letters.
Starting in the northwestern corner running in rows from west to east and north to south, the
descriptions started with 'AA', 'AB', 'AC' and so on until 'AU', then 'BA', 'BB' all the way
through to 'UU'. The double letter areas cover the whole 'Jagdtrapez', without regard to the
'Großtrapez'.
Example of the two systems in use:
The airfield at Köln-Butzweilerhof has the following geographical coordinates:
50" 59' 28" northern latitude and 6º 53' 42" eastern longitude.
The position in the 'Gradnetzmeldeverfahren' is:
05 ost
61 2 3 2 a
1
2 3 4 5 6
In the 'Jägermeldenetz’ the resulting position is defined by:
05 Ost S
NO 3 2 a
1
23 4 5 6
The positions are found in the following way:
1. The are defined by the ten-count of the northwestern corner of the 'Zusatzzahlgebiet'.
The area is limited by:
2. in the west 00º longitude
in the north 59º northern latitude
in the east 10º eastern longitude
in the south 49º northern latitude
In the nortwestern corner, the 00º longitude (ten-count 0) and the 59º northern latitude
(ten-count 5) cross, giving the resulting 'Zusatzzahl' '05 Ost'. In the, the airfield is
located in the southern half of the 'Zusatzzahlgebiet', and the 'Zusatzzahl' is '05 Ost Süd'
or '05 Ost S'.
3. The definition of the 'Groβtrapez' is given by the 'Gradnetzzahlen' of the northwestern
corner, in this case the cross between 06º eastern longitude and 51º northern latitude,
resulting in the number '61'.
4. The 'Mitteltrapez' will in this case be defined by the number '2' in the
'Gradnetzmeldeverfahren' system, the corresponding letter combination being 'NO' in
the 'Jägermeldenetz'.
5. 'Kleintrapez' in both cases '3'.
6. 'Meldetrapez' in both cases '2'.
7. 'Arbeitstrapez' in both cases 'a'.
At last a comment:
The Army and Navy both used other 'Gradnetzmeldeverfahren' which did not correspond to
the Luftwaffe system. Great .........
Map 1. The names of the blocks in the “Gradmeldenetz”.
If you want more explanation please contact Andreas at: andreas.brekken@labmed.uio.no
THE BRITISH SYSTEM OF GEOGRAFIC LOCATION.
*
At the website from Thierry Arsicaud at http://www.echodelta.net/mbs/engoverview.php you can find a fine explanation in French and English about the British
system of coordination during World War II in Europe.
The site has the following pages:
- An overview of the “Modified British System”.
- The diagrams of the grid used in relation with this system of coordinates(European
Theatre of Operations)
- A “coordinates translator”, which allows the conversion towards more
“conventional”geographical coordinates(latitude and longitude)
- A message board dedicated to this system of coordinates.
- Some related links.
- Contact with Thierry Arsicaud at thierry@echodelta.net
It is the tool for the translation of coordinates and it gives you besides the translation
also a recent map of the location you are looking for.
5. Weather conditions.
Now we know something about time and place, what about the weather? Of course also
important, but where can we find information about the weather conditions. My neighbours at
the south border, the Belgians, have an online database with also information about the
weather for the period 1939-1945.
Go www.meteo.be/nederlands/index.php?menu=Menu1_3_3
Go to: “The important meteorological events in the 20th century"
"Per deceda" At "1931-1940" and "1941-1950" you will find tipical weather
conditions. If you have more questions please call in Belgium 02-373 0520 or 02-373
0521 or e-mail: marin@oma.be
6. Feldpostnumbers.
A good start for research are Feldpostnumbers. Feldpostnumbers are coded Wehrmacht units.
The translation for these numbers can be found in :”Die deutsche Feldpostübersicht 19391945”, by Norbert Kannapin. The work consists of 3 parts and the price is € 225,It is published by Biblio Verlag. See for further information www.militaria-biblio.de
Also this work is available or will be available soon at CD-ROM as:”Die Feldpostübersicht
der Deutschen Wehrmacht”. Also from Verlag Media Data GbR mbH.
7. Abschussmeldungen.
The German Abschussmeldungen can be found in the microfilms C2025 - C2037 in the
Bundesarchiv/Militärarchiv in Freiburg, Germany.
See www.lwag.org/reference/bama001.pdf
The second part, the Kriegsgefangenen Kartei, is also very interesting just as the Personalakten
deutscher Luftwaffen-Generalstäbler and officers. Good to know is that the films contains
claims made by FLAK and the flying Geschwader.
The microfilms can be ordered from the BA/MA.
Another site with claim information is Tony Wood’s site Combat Claims&Casualties
Allied&Axis 1939-1945 at www.tonywood.cjb.net
8. USAAF aerial victory credits.
The counter part of the Abschussmeldungen of the Luftwaffe is the US aerial victory
list. This list can be found at
www.au.af.mil/au/afhra/wwwroot/aerial_victory_credits/avc_preface.html
Another source for this information is Frank J.Olynyks USAAF(European Theatre)
Credits for the destruction of enemy aircraft in air-to-air combat World War 2.
9. Ordering documents from the Bundesarchiv.
For the purchase of copies of documents of the Bundesarchive is
information available. This information will be given in German and
English. The survey of costs is only available in German.
The procedure how to order copies in German language see
www.lwag.org/reference/bama002.pdf
The procedure how to order copies in English language see
www.lwag.org/reference/ba002.pdf
The cost overview is given in the German language only in
www.lwag.org/reference/ba001.pdf
10. Unit information.
Of course it is possible to get unit information at the Bundesarchiv, but sometimes it is easier
to get it from the web. At www.ww2.dk/ from Michael Holm you can find an amazing amount
of information about flying and non-flying units from the Luftwaffe.
11. Identification discs(Dog tags) or Erkennungsmarke.
The identification disc should give the authorities a possibility to identify a dead body.
Information about the layout can be found at:
www.wehrmacht-awards.com/documents/tags.htm
Deutsche Dienststelle WASt would be the proper unit who could answer the question which
name belongs to the number on the disc.
12. German military radio call signs at aircraft and the Stammkennzeichen.
In Lexikon der Wehrmacht at www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/inhaltsverzeichnis1.htm
at Kennungen deutscher Militärmaschinen, you will find an explanation about the used radio
call signs of the Luftwaffe. Similar information can be found at www.ww2.dk under
miscellaneous or at 12 O’Clock High at www.xs4all.nl/~rhorta under Luftwaffe.
An other type of radio call sign is the Stammkennzeichen or factory code. It is a combination
of 4 letters used during the period when the plane is test flown at the factory and delivered to
the operational unit.
For the Messerschmitt Bf109 see www.yeowell19.freeserve.co.uk/stkzmen.htm
13. Emblems at aircraft.
The webpage “Emblems of Heer, Luftwaffe and Marine units of the Wehrmacht 1939-1945”
at www.wwiidaybyday.com/ is designed for our handbook. Here you will find via “unit
emblems” a large amount of emblems on Luftwaffe aircraft.
14. Collar patch and other signs.
At the same webpage under “uniforms, ranks” you will find information about several
items of the German uniform.
15. Ranks in the Luftwaffe.
At Wehrmacht awards and decorations at www.wehrmacht-awards.com/ you can find under
research tools a survey of German ranks.
16. Aviation Wings and decorations.
A great help in identifying persons are photo’s. In many cases the wings and badges of the
person are visible, but what does it mean. At www.ww2wings.com/main.shtml
“Aviation Wings and Badges of World War II” a pictures and the meaning of the wings and
badges can be found.
At Wehrmacht awards and decorations at www.wehrmacht-awards.com/ you can find
information about all the different kind of decorations. This informatie can also be found in
the Lexikon der Wehrmacht at www.lexikonderwehrmacht.de/
In very interesting listing of “Ritterkreuzträger”can be found on this site at
www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Orden/Ritterkreuz/IndexRK.htm
17. Luftwaffe Flightgear.
To make the handbook more “full proof” we cannot leave out the site about the Luftwaffe
Flightgear. It can be found as “The Luftwaffe Flightgear Forum”at:
wengerm.home.mindspring.com/Flightgear_forum_intro.html
18. Luftwaffe aircraft and their Werk Nummer.
A good overall site about the German Werknummer system have I not been able to find.
But at the LWAG site at www.lwag.org/ at Aircraft Designation Systems several entries give
information about Werk Nummer.
19. German WW II ordnance codes.
The explanation about German WW II ordnance codes is gives in the website at
www.radix.net/~bbrown/codes_full.html
This information was published by Karl R.Pawlas, Nürnberg 1977 as Liste der
Fertigungskennzeichen für Waffen, Munition und Gerät.
20. Luftwaffe tactical signs.
An explanation of the Luftwaffe Flak tactical signs can be found at the website “German
Armed Forces” at www.freeport-tech.com/WWII/011_germany/__ge_index.htm at German
Organizational Symbols.
It is possible that this site has moved. If you know more of this please let the webmaster know.
21. Luftwaffe aces and others.
A good site for detailed information about aces is “Pilotenbunker 1939-1945” at
www.pilotenbunker.de/. Here you cannot only find information about the Luftwaffe but also
from all other fighting nations during World War II.
22. This article is also published at the LWAG site and in the Handbook 2001-2002 of the
Dutch Study Group Airwar 1939-1945.
23. At the end of this guide though the world of archives and websites I would like to
thank mr. Richard T.Eger LWAG who raised in one of our e-mail discussions the
idea of making a guide for the ones who are searching the World Wide Web for
information about their relatives and lost control. I also would like to thank
Andreas Brekken and Robert de Bruin for giving permission to use their stories
about grid systems and timing.