General der Flieger
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General der Flieger (English: General of the aviators; GdF) was a General of arm/branch of service (General der Waffengattung) rank of the Luftwaffe of the German Wehrmacht. Until the end of WW2 in 1945, this particular general officer rank was on tree-star level (OF-8), equivalent to a US Lieutenant general.
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Definition
In the German states of Prussia, Bavaria, Württemberg, Saxony and Austria, there were traditionally four ranks for generals (in ascending order): Generalmajor → Generalleutnant → (General der Waffengattung) → Generaloberst, only to be surpassed by the Generalfeldmarschall. The General of the branch (air force, cavalry, infantry or artillery) was usually entrusted with command of an army corps as commanding general (Kommandierender General) or an office (Dienststellung) of equal rank.
The rank must not be confused with a position of service (title) within the Luftwaffe (often exercised by ranks below general), mainly General der Jagdflieger, General der Kampfflieger and General der Schlachtflieger, but also various Fliegerführer (e.g. Fliegerführer "Norwegen", "Mitte" or "Eismeer").
General der Flieger (rank)
This is a list of German officers who last (before death, retirement, or surrender of the Wehrmacht) held the rank of General der Flieger. Officers who have been promoted to Generaloberst or Generalfeldmarschall after this rank are not taken into account:
- Alexander Andrae (1888–1979)
- Karl Barlen (1890–1956)
- Hellmuth Bieneck (1887–1972)
- Karl-Heinrich Bodenschatz (1890–1979)
- Walter Boenicke (1895–1947)
- Rudolf Bogatsch (1891–1970)
- Alfred Bülowius (1892–1968)
- Friedrich Christiansen (1879–1972)
- Friedrich von Cochenhausen (1879–1946)
- Joachim Coeler (1891–1955)
- Heinrich Danckelmann (1887–1947)
- Paul Deichmann (1898–1981)
- Egon Doerstling (1890–1965)
- Eduard Dransfeld (1883–1964)
- Karl Drum (1893–1968)
- Karl Eberth (1877–1952)
- Hellmuth Felmy (1885–1965)
- Martin Fiebig (1891–1947)
- Johannes Fink (1895–1981)
- Veit Fischer (1890–1966)
- Helmuth Förster (1889–1965)
- Stefan Fröhlich (1889–1978)
- Heribert Fütterer (1894–1963)
- Hans Geisler (1891–1966)
- Wilhelm Haehnelt (1875–1946)
- Hans Halm (1879–1957)
- Friedrich-Carl Hanesse (1892–1975)
- Willi Harmjanz (1893–1983)
- Otto Hoffmann von Waldau (1898–1943)
- Josef Kammhuber (1896–1986)
- Erich Karlewski (1874–1946)
- Gustav Kastner-Kirdorf (1881–1945)
- Leonhard Kaupisch (1878–1945)
- Ulrich Kessler (1894–1983)
- Karl Kitzinger (1886–1962)
- Waldemar Klepke (1882–1945)
- Robert Knauß (1892–1955)
- Karl Koller (1898–1951)
- Werner Kreipe (1904–1967)
- Bernhard Kühl (1886–1946)
- Otto Langemeyer (1883–1950)
- Hermann von der Lieth-Thomsen (1867–1942)
- Alfred Mahncke (1888–1979)
- Wilhelm Mayer (1886–1950)
- Rudolf Meister (1897–1958)
- Max Mohr (1884–1966)
- Walter Mußhoff (1885–1971)
- Erich Petersen (1889–1963)
- Curt Pflugbeil (1890–1955)
- Maximilian von Pohl (1893–1951)
- Richard Putzier (1890–1979)
- Erich Quade (1883–1959)
- Georg Rieke (1894–1970)
- Hans Ritter (1893–1991)
- Hugo Schmidt (1885–1964)
- Wilhelm Schubert (1879–1972)
- Julius Ferdinand Schulz (1889–1975)
- Karl-Friedrich Schweickhard (1883–1968)
- Hans-Georg von Seidel (1891–1955)
- Hans Seidemann (1902–1967)
- Hans Siburg (1893–1976)
- Wilhelm Speidel (1895–1970)
- Albert Vierling (1887–1969)
- Hellmuth Volkmann (1889–1940)
- Bernhard Waber (1884–1945)
- Walther Wecke (1885–1943)
- Rudolf Wenninger (1890–1945)
- Helmuth Wilberg (1880–1941)
- Wilhelm Wimmer (1889–1973)
- Bodo von Witzendorff (1876–1943)
- Ludwig Wolff (1886–1950)
- Konrad Zander (1883–1947)
General der Luftwaffe (rank and position)
General der Luftwaffe corresponded to that of a general of the branch of arms. It was only awarded twice within the Luftwaffe in 1942 and thus represents a special case within the rank system. The reason was that the Luftwaffe Lieutenant Generals to be promoted could not be clearly assigned to any type of service (aviators, anti-aircraft artillery, parachute troops, etc.). and this solution was used.
- Wilhelm Schubert (1879–1972), promoted 1. Juli 1942
- Walther Wecke (1885–1943), promoted 1. Dezember 1942
General positions (Luftwaffe)
- Generalluftzeugmeister
- General der Flak-Ausbildung
- General der Fliegerausbildung
- General der Jagdflieger
- General der Kampfflieger
- General der Schlachtflieger
General der Waffengattung (similar ranks)
Reichswehr und Wehrmacht
Heer
- General der Infanterie
- General der Artillerie
- General der Kavallerie
- General der Panzertruppe (since 1935)
- General der Pioniere (since 1938)
- General der Gebirgstruppe (since 1940)
- General der Nachrichtentruppe (since 1940)
- Generalstabsarzt
Luftwaffe
- General der Fallschirmtruppe
- General der Flakartillerie (first position, since 1 April rank)
- General der Luftnachrichtentruppe
Kriegsmarine
In the Kriegsmarine, the equivalent rank was Admiral.
Waffen-SS
In the Waffen-SS, the higher SS ranks were given the same ranks as general ranks in the Wehrmacht and the corresponding shoulder straps were worn. The SS-Obergruppenführer with the addition "and general of the Waffen-SS" was equivalent to the general of a branch of service. There was also the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer and General of the Police.
