The German ''
Luftwaffe'' (Air Force), ''
Heer
Heer may refer to:
People
* Jeet Heer, Canadian author and journalist
* Jeffrey Heer (born 1979), American computer scientist and entrepreneur
* Kamal Heer (born 1973), Punjabi singer and musician
* Oswald Heer (1809–1883), Swiss botanist and ...
'' (Army), ''
Kriegsmarine
The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...
'' (Navy) and the
Waffen-SS used
Arabic numerals
Arabic numerals are the ten numerical digits: , , , , , , , , and . They are the most commonly used symbols to write Decimal, decimal numbers. They are also used for writing numbers in other systems such as octal, and for writing identifiers ...
as well as
Roman numerals
Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, eac ...
to distinguish between the different units, sub-units and organization levels of their respective military branch.
Luftwaffe flying units
*Arabic numerals denoted a ''
Staffel'' (Squadron) of a ''
Geschwader
This is a list of words, terms, concepts, and slogans that have been or are used by the German military. Ranks and translations of nicknames for vehicles are included. Also included are some general terms from the German language found frequently i ...
'' (Flying Wing).
[Obermaier 1976, p. 10.]
:Example: 2./
Jagdgeschwader 51 refers to the 2nd ''Staffel'' of the 51st Jagdgeschwader.
*Roman numerals denoted a ''
Gruppe'' (Group) of a ''Geschwader''.
:Example: III./
Zerstörergeschwader 26 refers to the 3rd ''Gruppe'' of the 26th Zerstörergeschwader.
Units of the ''Heer'' or Waffen-SS
The ''Heer'' or Waffen-SS used a similar naming convention to the Luftwaffe. An Infantry, Panzer, Grenadier
division was normally composed of three
regiments. Each of these regiments was composed of three
battalions denoted by Roman numerals. Each battalion was composed of three
companies which were numbered by Arabic numerals. This naming scheme also applied to land based units of the ''Kriegsmarine'', ''Luftwaffe'' and the Waffen-SS.
See also
*
Glossary of German military terms
References
;Citations
;Bibliography
* Obermaier, Ernst (1976). ''Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe 1939-1945 Band II Stuka- und Schlachtflieger'' (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. .
* Scherzer, Veit (2007). ''Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives'' (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. .
{{refend
Military of Nazi Germany