German Order of Battle - Statistics as of Quarter Years, 1938-45

Introduction

The information in HRA 137.306-14 has been extracted from a series of 35 files of documents entitled "Einsatzbereitschaft der Fliegenden Verbände" which were originated by sections of the 6. Abteilung of the Luftwaffe General quartiermeister's Staff. The originals were held in the ADI(K) Document Section in the late 1940s. 

The originals were later copied to microfilm, returned to Germany and can be found at the Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv under RL 2 III/700 - 734, entitled "Übersicht über Soll, Istbestand, Einsatzbereitschaft, Verluste und Reserven der fliegenden Verbänden", compiled in several large books. Summaries of the documents can also be found at the Public Record Office in the UK, as AIR40/1207 "The German Air Force : first line strength at three monthly intervals during the European War 1939 - 1945", but again only on A4 paper. As mentioned above, the originals were copied to microfilm in the USA, but I don't know where they are today, possibly at the National Archives in Washington DC, or at the USAFHRA in Alabama.

The documents consists of returns giving the establishment, strength, serviceability, and losses of Luftwaffe flying units, covering the period from 1.8.38 to 10.1.45; at first the returns were made weekly, but later they were drawn up every 10 days. Later in the war, the lists also include which command a given unit operated under.

The following abbreviations are used in the tables: