''Luftflotte'' 1 ("Air Fleet 1") was one of the primary divisions of the German
Luftwaffe
The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
in World War II. It was formed on 1 February 1939 from ''Luftwaffengruppenkommando'' 1 in Berlin. This Luftwaffe detachment served in
Estonia
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
,
Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
,
Lithuania
Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
and
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
, supporting Axis forces in area; with command offices in
Malpils, Latvia, (26 June 1944), Eastern front.
Units under command
Strategic reconnaissance
*Stab/FAGr 1 (
Riga
Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...
–
Spilve)
*3.(F)/22 (Riga–Spilve)
*5.(F)/122 (
Mitau)
*NASt 3 (Riga–Spilve)
Maritime reconnaissance
*1./SAGr 127 (
Reval–
Ülemiste)
Transports
*1./TGr 10(Ital.) (Riga–Spilve)
Transports (special works)
This unit was branch of
Kampfgeschwader 200 (KG 200) with bases in
East Prussia
East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...
,
Courland and the Baltic. It was equipped with:
*
Junkers Ju 252
*
Junkers Ju 352 ''Herkules''
*
Arado Ar 232 ''Tausendfüßler'' for transporting special commandos, weapons, vehicles or dropping secret agents in clandestine missions behind enemy lines.
* I.(TGr.)/KG 200 (based at Riga)
Bombers
* 14.(Eis)/
KG 55 (
Jakobstadt)
''3.Fliegerdivision'' (3rd air division) Petseri
Tactical Reconnaissance
* ''Nahaufklärungsgruppe 5''
** Stab//NAGr 5 (
Petseri)
** 1./NAGr 5 (
Idriza)
* ''Nahaufklärungsgruppe 31''
** 1./NAGr 31 (
Wesemberg)
Land Air Strike
*I/SG 3 (Jakobstadt)
Night ground attack
*''Nachtschlachtgruppe 1''
**Stab/NSGr 1 (
Idriza)
**3./NSGr 1 (
Idriza)
**1./NSGr 1 (
Kaunas
Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...
)
**2./NSGr 1 (
Kaunas
Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...
)
*''Nachtschlachtgruppe 1''
**Stab/NSGr 3 (
Vecuci)
**1./NSGr 3 (
Vecuci)
**2./NSGr 3 (
Vecuci)
**1./NSGr 12 (
Vecuci)
*''Nachtschlachtgruppe 12''
**1./(Detach)NSGr 12(Riga–Spilve)
*''Nachtschlachtgruppe 11''
**Stab/NSGr 11 (
Rahkla)
**1./NSGr 11 (Rahkla)
**2./NSGr 11 (Rahkla)
**2./NSG 12 (
Libau)
''Jagdabschnittführer Ostland'' ("fighter direction in Ostland") Riga-Spilve
JG 54 with fighters
*Stab/JG 54 (
Dorpat)
*I./JG 54 (
Turku
Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...
) (Finland)
*2./JG 54 (
Reval–
Laksberg)
*3./JG 54 (Reval–
Laksberg)
''Gefechtsverband Kuhlmey'' (Kuhlmey combat unit) Immola
Tactical reconnaissance
*1./NAGr 5 (
Immola)
Fighters
*II./JG 54 (Immola)
Ground attack
*''
Schlachtgeschwader 3'' based at Immola
**Stab/SG 3
**1./SG 3
**2./SG 3
**3./SG 3
Commanding officers
*Generalfeldmarschall
Albert Kesselring
Albert Kesselring (30 November 1885 – 16 July 1960) was a German military officer and convicted war crime, war criminal who served in the ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II. In a career which spanned both world wars, Kesselring reached the ra ...
, 1 February 1939 – 11 January 1940
*Generaloberst
Hans-Jürgen Stumpff, 12 January 1940 – 10 May 1940
*General
Wilhelm Wimmer, 11 May 1940 – 19 August 1940
*Generaloberst
Alfred Keller, 20 August 1940 – 12 June 1943
*Generaloberst
Günther Korten
Günther Korten (26 July 1898 – 22 July 1944) was a German Colonel General and Chief of the General Staff of the Luftwaffe in World War II. He died from injuries suffered in the 20 July plot, assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler on 20 July 19 ...
, 12 June 1943 – 23 August 1943
*General
Kurt Pflugbeil, 24 August 1943 – 16 April 1945
Chiefs of staff
*Generalmajor Wilhelm Speidel, 1 February 1939 – 19 December 1939
*Generalleutnant
Ulrich Kessler, 19 December 1939 – 25 April 1940
*Oberst Heinz-Hellmuth von Wühlisch, 1 May 1940 – 9 May 1940
*Generalmajor Dr. Robert Knauss, 9 May 1940 – 4 October 1940
*Generalmajor Otto Schöbel, 5 October 1940 – 16 January 1941
*Generalmajor Heinz-Hellmuth von Wühlisch, 16 January 1941 – 13 October 1941
*Generalmajor
Herbert Rieckhoff, 13 October 1941 – 23 February 1943
*Generalmajor Hans Detlef Herhudt von Rohden, 23 February 1943 – 24 August 1943
*Generalmajor
Klaus Uebe, 25 August 1943 – 24 December 1944
*Oberstleutnant
Paul-Werner Hozzel, 25 December 1944 – 16 April 1945
Subordinate units
*II, III/
Kampfgeschwader 1 "Hindenburg" (
Ju 88A)
*
Kampfgeschwader 76 (Ju 88A)
*
Kampfgeschwader 77 (Ju 88A)
*K.Fl.Gr. 806 (
Ju 88A)
*
Jagdgeschwader 54 (
Bf 109F)
*2(F) Ob.d.L. (
Do 215B)
*5(F) 122 (Ju 88D)
*eleven squadrons of (
Hs 126)
*SAGr 125 (
Ar 95,
Ar 196,
He 114)
*one transport squadron (
Ju 52)
*five liaison squadrons (
Fi 156)
*
IV Flak Corps
**
2nd Flak Division
**
6th Flak Division
ImageSize = width:580 height:520
PlotArea = width:465 height:460 left:35 bottom:20
AlignBars = early
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy # European date format
Period = from:01/01/1937 till:08/05/1945 #
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:01/01/1937
ScaleMinor = grid:blue unit:month increment:3 start:01/01/1937
PlotData=
color:red width:10
bar:1FD from:01/02/1939 till:22/09/1939 text: 1. Flieger-Division
bar:2FD from:01/02/1939 till:31/08/1939 text:2. Flieger-Division
bar:3FD from:01/02/1943 till:31/10/1944 text:3. Flieger-Division
bar:LLD from:01/08/1939 till:04/10/1939 text:Luftwaffen-Lehr-Division
bar:1FK from:01/05/1941 till:19/07/1942 text:I. Fliegerkorps
bar:8FK from:01/07/1941 till:28/09/1941 text:VIII. Fliegerkorps
bar:FF1 from:01/07/1942 till:28/02/1943 text:Fliegerführer 1
bar:FFO from:01/04/1941 till:30/11/1941 text:Fliegerführer Ostsee
bar:LKO from:01/02/1939 till:30/09/1939 text:Luftwaffenkommando Ostpreussen
bar:JAO from:01/12/1943 till:17/09/1944 text:Jagdabschnittsführer Ostland
bar:GVK from:01/06/1944 till:30/06/1944 text: Gefechtsverband Kulmey
bar:LK1 from:01/08/1938 till:01/01/1943 text:Luftgau-Kommando I
bar:LK2 from:30/09/1939 till:31/05/1941 text:Luftgau-Kommando II
bar:LK3 from:01/10/1937 till:24/03/1941 text:Luftgau-Kommando III
bar:LK4 from:01/10/1937 till:24/03/1941 text:Luftgau-Kommando IV
bar:LK8 from:01/02/1939 till:01/04/1939 text:Luftgau-Kommando VIII
bar:LKP from:01/11/1941 till:30/06/1943 text:Luftgau-Kommando Petersburg/Riga
bar:FK26 from:01/06/1943 till:31/08/1944 text:Feldluftgau-Kommando XXVI
bar:LV1 from:01/08/1939 till:31/10/1939 text:Luftgaustab z.b.V. 1
bar:LV1 from:01/06/1941 till:30/11/1941
bar:LV3 from:01/08/1939 till:31/10/1939 text:Luftgaustab z.b.V. 3
bar:LV10 from:01/06/1941 till:30/11/1941 text:Luftgaustab z.b.V. 10
bar:4FK from:01/06/1944 till:30/06/1944 text:IV. Flakkorps
bar:2FKD from:01/01/1942 till:30/09/1944 text:2. Flak-Division
bar:6FKD from:01/04/1942 till:16/04/1945 text:6. Flak-Division
bar:LR1 from:start till:end text:Luftnachrichten-Regiment 1
bar:LR11 from:start till:end text:Luftnachrichten-Regiment 11
bar:LR21 from:start till:end text:Luftnachrichten-Regiment 21
Abbreviations
* FAGr = ''Fernaufklärungsgruppe'' =
Reconnaissance aircraft.
** ''Gruppe'' = equivalent to a RAF
Wing
A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...
.
* JG = ''Jagdgeschwader'' =
Fighters.
** ''Geschwader'' = equivalent to a
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
Group.
* KG = ''Kampfgeschwader'' =
Bombers
A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes
air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles.
There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strategic bombing is ...
.
* KG zbV = ''Kampfgeschwader zur besonderen Verwendung'' =
Transport aircraft Transport aircraft is a broad category of aircraft that includes:
* Airliners, aircraft, usually large and most often operated by airlines, intended for carrying multiple passengers or cargo in commercial service
* Cargo aircraft or freighters, fix ...
, later TG.
* NAGr = ''Nahaufklärungsgruppe'' =
Observation aircraft
Surveillance aircraft are aircraft used for surveillance. They are primarily operated by military forces and government agencies in roles including intelligence gathering, maritime patrol, battlefield and airspace surveillance, observation (e ...
.
* NASt = ''Nahaufklärungsstaffel'' = Observation aircraft.
** ''Staffel'' = equivalent to a RAF
Squadron.
* NSGr = ''Nachtschlachtgruppe'' = Night ground attack.
* SAGr = ''Seeaufklärungsgruppe'' =
Maritime patrol aircraft
* SG = ''Schlachtgeschwader'' =
Ground attack.
* TG = ''Transportgeschwader''= Transport aircraft.
See also
*
Organization of the Luftwaffe (1933–1945)
References
;Notes
;References
Luftflotte 1 @ Lexikon der Wehrmacht
{{Authority control
German Air Fleets in World War II
Military units and formations established in 1939
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945