NQM Luftwaffe

Chris Kemp’s Not Quite Mechanised

German Air Force (Luftwaffe)

Airfield HQ	1 Geschwäder Comd in  Staff Car (s3),  Control Tower Van (s3)
Gruppen x 2-4	1 Aircraft (See notes below)(s3-4) (Each strength point represents a Staffel)
Ground Support	1-6 Ground Sp Crews (@L1), Fuel Bowser, Fire Truck with Crew (@L3), Ammo Tender (L3). Each aircraft engine should have 1 Log point to support it.

My old Luftwaffe ground crew bases

Newer ground crews on 30, 25 or 20mm bases

At the operational level – Luftflotte, Fliegerkorp

At operational level, the Luftwaffe was divided into Luftflotten (Air fleets). Each Luftflotte contained several Fliegerkorps, the core of which were several Geschwäder, but also independent Staffeln and Kampfgruppen attached. Operational aircraft strengths fluctuated wildly. The Geschwäder was the fixed unit whose designation did not change

At the tactical level – Geschwäder, Gruppe and Staffel

A Geschwäder  would be roughly equal an  RAF Group and comprised about 100-120 aircraft or 3-5 Gruppen. If Gruppen or Staffeln were moved between Geschwäder, they changed their designation to fit into the new Geschwäder.

A Gruppe  would be roughly equal an  RAF Wing and comprised about 30-36 aircraft, or one NQM model of 1-4 strength points.

A Staffel  would be roughly equal an  RAF Squadron and comprised about 10-12 aircraft or one strength point.

The following aircraft types were used by the Luftwaffe. I have not included purely Strategic Aircraft, Trainers or Night fighters, nor aircraft where only small numbers saw service at the very end of the war. , I have included the German designation, (first operational use) and [Type]. If I have been able to determine, I have given operational areas and any comments that help: If it looks a bit like an easily available aircraft that it can be modelled from, I have noted that (less necessary in 2021 with 3d printing). The main source for this section is Gunston, B. (1978) Combat Aircraft of WWII. Arranged by date of entry into service using his framework.

1934

Junkers Ju52. (1934), [Transport, Bomber].

1936

1/144 He111s from the Author’s collection

Heinkel He111  (1936)  [Medium Bomber].

1/72 Airfix Hs 123b photo copyright Glenn Irvine

Henschel Hs123. (1936), [Dive Bomber, Close Support].

Henschel Hs126. (1936 – 1942), [Recce, Close Support].

Junkers Ju86. (1936), [Recce, Bomber].

1/144 Stuka from the Author’s collection

Tank busting Stuka JU87 G (from the Author’s collection)

Junkers Ju290. (1936), [Transport, Bomber]. Transport used at Stalingrad.

Ju-290 1:44 Scale Die cast Model

1937

Dornier Do17 Fliegende Bleistift (Flying Pencil)

Dornier Do17. (1937), [ Med Bomber & Recce].

Fieseler Storch Fi156  (1937) [STOL Army Cooperation. All Fronts (Tankzone model from the Author’s collection)

Die cast 1/100 Bf109 from the Author’s collection

Messerschmitt Bf109. (1937), [Fighter, Fighter-Bomber]. Widely used on all Fronts.

 

1939

Arado Ar196

Arado Ar196. (1939), [ Recce Seaplane]. Saw service in the Black Sea and Med.

1/144 Ju88s from the Author’s collection

Junkers Ju88 (1939) [Medium Bomber]

Bf110e from ZG 26 1942

Messerschmitt Bf110. (1939), [Fighter].

1940

Dornier Do217. (1940), [ Med Bomber, & Recce].

Focke Wulf Fw189 Uhu. (1940), [Close Support Recce]. Widely used on Eastern Front. (Conversion from a P-38 Lightning by the Author)

Focke Wulf Uhu Fw189. (1940), [Recce, Close Support] Conversion by Author

1/144 Fw190 from YesthatPhil’s collection. Used without permission

Focke Wulf  Fw190. (1940), [Fighter-Bomber]. Widely used on all Fronts.*

Go145 by Brian Baker. Used without permission

Gotha Go145. (1940), [Night Attack]. 6 Geschwäder used on Eastern Front.

1941

1/72 Bv138 copyright Jürgen Klüser (http://www.klueser.eu) used without permission

Blohm und Voss Bv138. (1941), [ Recce Flying Boat]. Saw service in the Black Sea and Med.

1942

Henschel Hs129

Henschel Hs129. (1942), [Close Support]. Purpose built tank buster.*

1944

Messerschmitt Me262

Messerschmitt Me262 (1944). [Fighter Bomber]. Only included because Tim Gow gave me two :O)

This link gives an orbat for the Luftwaffe on the eastern front.

This link gives an orbat for the Luftwaffe in North Africa.

   *Some pictures from http://www.tankzone.co.uk