handbook for the research of luftwaffe personnel · handbook for the (re)search of luftwaffe...
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© Jaap Woortman 29-8-01 1
Handbook for the (re)search of Luftwaffe personnel. By Jaap Woortman. Secretary of the Dutch Studygroup Airwar 1939-1945. Chairman of the Workinggroup-Airfields. E-mail: [email protected] During several years now I receive from time to time questions from all over the world about where can I find this and what does that mean. No problem, if possible I give an answer. In the first half of the year 2000 several people from all over the world decided to build a website and form the Luftwaffe Archives Group. In this website they give information about archives, musea and the possibility for discussion. The World Wide Web is a splendid tool for research but in many cases it gives more fun to do the research by yourselves. To give some support and guidelines I have composed a �Handbook for the (re)search for Luftwaffe personnel�. I hope it will give you the basic information you need and can use and if you feel that something is missing please let me know.
1. Information about Luftwaffe personnel. 1.1 The loss lists.
Depending on what we know a good start for getting information are the so-called Luftwaffe loss lists. This are daily made reports from the losses of the operational units of the Luftwaffe, flying and non-flying, at Generalstab level. An example of these loss lists can be seen at Andreas Brekkens website �Eagles over Norway� at www.stormbirds.com/eagles/ in Luftwaffe loss data from RLM 2 III 1170-1172. There are three sources for the information collected by the Genst. Gen. Quartiermeister 6th. Abt. of the Luftwaffe. In all the three sources information about 1944 is missing.: - Bundesarchiv/Militärarchiv. This archive contains the Luftwaffe files with the
loss lists. The address is: Wiesentalstrasse 10, 79115 Freiburg im Breisgau Germany. The postal address is: Postfach 79024.
Tel.: +49(0761) 47817-0 Fax: +49(0761) 47817900 E-mail: [email protected] For more information about the Bundesarchive see URL: www.bundesarchiv.de A detailed list of the Luftwaffe files can be found at
http://www.stormbirds.com/lwag/reference/barl001.pdf To be able to read this file you need an Adobe Acrobat Reader.
If I may give you an advise, send your question(s) by letter. Writing in English is no problem, but you will receive your answer in German. It will take some time, at least 2 till 3 months before you will receive an answer. Going there is even better!
- Imperial War Museum. In the Department of documents under GER/MISC/MCR/18. Luftwaffe Losses you will find 12 reels with vol. 1 till 24. The reels 1-12 can be bought. Contact the IWM for information. See IWM URL: www.iwm.org.uk E-mail [email protected]
- Verlag Media Data GbR mbH Roonstr. 23
D-49076 Osnabrück
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Germany Phone: 0541-4082495 E-mail: [email protected]
The price is � 358 for all the CD-ROMs together and is called 'Die Verluste der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1940-1945.
1.2 Deutsche Dienststelle(WASt).
Wehrmachtsauskunftstelle für Kriegeverluste und Kriegsgefangene (WASt). In English, WASt stands for Wehrmacht Information Office for War Losses and P.o.W.s. Today, it is known as Deutsche Dienstelle (WASt). The organization had and has the responsibility for records of casualties and death records of the German Wehrmacht. As such, for WW II one can find details about the specific aircraft and unit a wounded or killed pilot had been flying in and with at the time of the incident. More information can be found at the website of WASt at http://www.com-de.pair.com/WASt/ The address of Deutsche Dienststelle(WASt) is: Eichborndamm 179 13403 Berlin. Also here the best way to contact WASt is by postal mail. You can write in English, but the answer you will receive is in German. It is possible to buy copies from Namentliche Verlustmeldungen.
1.3 Bundesarchiv-Zentralnachweisstelle.
Bundesarchiv, Standort Aachen, Zentralnachweisstelle. Here you can find the career information of Heer, Marine and Luftwaffe personnel. The address of the archive is:
Bundesarchiv, Abteigarten 6, 52076 Aachen
Deutschland Telefon(02408) 147-0 Telefax(02408) 147 37 URL www.bundesarchiv.de
Public transport from Aachen Busbahnhof Bus: Linie 35, 54, 55, 65, 67 oder 68. You can visit the archiv Mo. � Th. 8.00 - 15.30 Hrs, Fr. 8.00 - 13.00 Hrs.
The best way to contact the archive is to write a letter. Be aware of the fact that they charge you for the time they need. DM 30/half hour.
1.4 Volksbund. The organization responsible for the German war dead is the�Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V.�. It is a Bundesgeschäftsstelle located in the Werner- Hilpert-Strasse 2 34112 Kassel Deutschland Tel: 0561-70090 Fax: 0561-7009211 E-mail: [email protected] URL: www.volksbund.de At the webpage is a online database for German war dead. If you are not successful in finding the location of the person or grave you are looking for, you can send a letter or an e-mail to the Volksbund.
1.5 Local authorities.
If you have found the town or village were the person you were looking for has been born or crashed you can or contact the local authorities in the townhall or visit the website of
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the town or village. A nice overview of available websites can be found at home.bawue.de/~hanacek/info/darchive.htm Archive in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. If you contact the local authorities be aware of the fact that in Germany there is a Datenschutzgesetz. They are not allowed to give you all information on paper.
1.6 Missing persons. In Germany several organizations are working on missing persons.
- Deutsches Rotes Kreuz Suchdienst Hamburg Generalsekretariat Suchdienst Hamburg Amandastraße 74 20357 Hamburg Telefon: (040) 432 02-0 Telefax: (040) 432 02-200 e-Mail: [email protected]
- Deutsches Rotes Kreuz Suchdienst München. Generalsekretariat
Suchdienst München Chiemgaustraße 109 81549 München
Telefon: (089) 680 773-0 Telefax: (089) 680 745 92 e-Mail: [email protected] The webpage of the Deutches Rotes Kreuz can be found at www.drk.de - Kirchlicher Suchdienst.
Heimatortskarteien This organization is specialized in looking for civil persons from the German occupied areas. Information will only be given to the victims, their family or if you are authorized. The address is: Zentralstelle der Heimatortskarteien Lessingstr. 3, 80336 München Telefon: (089) 544 97-0 - Telefax: (089) 544 97-207
- Internationaler Suchdienst Arolson. This International Search Service is a unit formed by 10 states under control of the
International Red Cross. It�s goal is to give information about Germans and non-Germans who have been in NS concentration camps and labour camps. Also they give information about displaced persons(DPs) from after 1945. Information is only given to relatives or when you authorized. Internationaler Suchdienst Große Allee 5 � 9 34454 Bad Arolsen Deutschland Telefon: (05691) 60 37 See for the webpage www.its-arolsen.org/ An application form can be found at: home.t-online.de/home/fknolle/arolsen.htm Answers will only be given in writing not in e-mail.
- Also some webpages are available see; - Verschollen-Vermisste Personen des 2.Weltkriegs.(Missing persons from WWII)
http://s-h-e.de/nowoczyn/vermisst/index.htm The site is in German.
- Missing persons at www.missing-you.net/ Dedicated for the UK, but you never know.
- People Finder at www.around.co.uk/ Also mainly UK. -
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1.7 If nothing else was successful?
Why not try to place an advertisement in the magazine 'Jägerblatt' in Germany or in the 'Luftwaffen Revue' . The addresses are: Jägerblatt Gert Overhoff Dahlienweg 1 53757 Sankt Augustin Deutschland Tel.02241/203629 Fax: 02241/922609 E-mail: [email protected] URL: www.fliegergemeinschaft.de/ Luftwaffen Revue Rheinalle 55 D-53173 Bonn Germany An other possibility is to use one of the discussion websites of the World Wide Web. The Luftwaffe Archives Group website at www.stormbirds.com/lwag/ gives you several possibilities to find the webpage that suites you.
To give some basic information that could be very helpful during your research I have in the following chapters added some stories about time differences between UK and Germany during WW II in chapter 3 and an explanation about the gridsystem used by the Luftwaffe during WWII in chapter 4. In the chapters after chapter 4 you will find some references.
2. Dates and timing.
Often we only have small pieces of information. In one hand a date and in the other hand a day in the week. But does it fit? Who knows if May 10th, 1940 was on a Friday and what was the time of sunrise and sunset. Lucky for us the U.S.Naval Observatory, Astronomical Department gives us the possibility to check this information at http://aa.usno.navy.mil/
- Go to Data Services - Complete Sun and Moon Data for One Day - Form B and fill the name and data needed.
As input you need the latitude and longitude of the place you are looking at. This can be obtained from National Imagery and Mapping Agency at http://www.nima.mil/ First go to:
- Maps & Geodata, - then GEONet Names Server, - then Access GEONet. - Go to Gazetteer Search and fill in the name of the place and select the country. - Then search and the result will be displayed.
3. Timing differences between UK and Germany during 1940-1945.
This article was published in Bulletin Airwar 1939-1945 Nr. 99 page 26/27 as �Time calculation 1940-1945�by Rob de Bruin/Great Bookham, England. I have checked two sources; first my own Whitaker Almanac and I have contacted the Royal Observatory at Greenwich. The situation is as follows:
1) Since 1916 Great Britain(from now on called England) has summertime. In winter they have GMT and in summer GMT+1.
2) Middle European Time(MET), that was the time in the Netherlands during the German occupation, it was equal to GMT+1 and during the summer Middle European Time is equal to GMT+2.
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3) The English introduced on February 25th, 1940 their summertime GMT+1. In the Netherlands we had Dutch Time. This means that from February 25th, 1940 it was 40 min. later in England than in Holland. From may 16th, 1940 the Germans introduced MET and the Dutch were one hour ahead of the English.
4) In England it was summertime during the war from February 25th, 1940 till October 7th, 1945. 5) To get more daylight it went over to Double British Summertime(DBST). This was during:
a. 1941 May 4th till August 10th. b. 1942 April 5th till August 9th c. 1943 April 4th till August 15th d. 1944 April 2nd till September 17th e. 1945 April 2nd till July 15th
6) During these periods the time in England was GMT+2 and that�s the same as MET(Summertime) 7) To make things more clear some examples:
Date Time in Holland/Germany Time in England. 30-05-1940 12.28 11.28 22-06-1941 06.05 06.05 03-11-1942 14.18 14.18 01-04-1943 23.25 22.25 01-05-1943 20.08 20.08 06-06-1944 05.30 05.30 05-05-1945 08.00 09.00
8) The change of time was done in the early Sunday morning hours at 2.00 O�clock. 9) Here follows a list of dates when the German time was equal to British time.
a. 1941 May 4th till August 10th. b. 1942 April 5th till August 9th and November 2nd till December 31. c. 1943 January 1st till March 29th and April 4th till August 15th and from October 4th till December 31st. d. 1944 January 1st till April 2nd and April 4th till September 17th and October 2nd
till December 31st. e. 1945 January 1st till April 2nd. This is a translation of the essence of an article published in Bulletin Airwar 1939-1945 Nr.99. With many thanks to Mr. Robert de Bruin, Great Bookham, England. The translation has been made by Jaap Woortman.
4. Geografic locations.
GRADNETZMELDEVERFAHREN. IPMS Norway Luftwaffe SIG Electronic Newsletter No 2/1998 by Andreas Brekken. When I first started out researching Luftwaffe operations, terms like Grossquadrat 06 and Planquadrat confused me. As time passed and I got more and more interested in losses etc. of Luftwaffe units in Norway and over the northern parts of the former Soviet Union and Finland, as well as the Skagerrak and North Sea, I found out that I had to do something with this. Thanks to Francis Marshall, author of the book "Sea Eagles" I have been able to get hold of an article in German describing the system. I haven't seen anything published on the Internet on this issue, so I have made an article in English, and will submit a Norwegian language version for publication in the paper Luftwaffe SIG Newsletter, with illustrations. Hope you like this feature, and please ask me questions if something is unclear. Comments to my English are also welcome.
The Luftwaffe Map Reference System (Gradnetzmeldeverfahren) Introduction The official name for the map reference system of the WW II German Luftwaffe was 'Gradnetz' or 'Gradnetzmeldeverfahren'.
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The system was introduced before the war, and was in use without major modifications until end of April 1943. The escalation in the number of allied bomber attacks against targets in Germany and German occupied territory made it necessary to modify the system. The result was the introduction of the 'Jagdtrapez' by the head of the Luftwaffe Intelligente Forces, General der Ln-Truppe Martini. Description of the'Gradnetzmeldeverfahren' The idea behind the 'Gradnetzmeldeverfahren' was to develop a system where bases and navigation points could be given a position both in maps prepared by the armed forces but also other available maps. It was based on the Greenwich system, which describe a given position by longitude and latitude, measured in degrees. This meant that the system could be used on all maps, which were made utilizing the widespread Greenwich geographic coordinate system, regardless of scale or projection used when preparing the map. The numbers used to give the position of a certain location using the 'Gradnetzmeldeverfahren' can be viewed as a short form of the position in full, without a real translation or encoding. The basic division have its base at the 0º-meridian (Greenwich), and have division lines at every 10º longitude. The areas between every tenth degree longitude are limited to the north and south by the 89º, 79º, 69º, 59º ... and so on degree latitude. These areas, which are limited by sides measuring ten degrees longitude and latitude are called 'Zusatzzahlgebiete'.
The 'Zusatzzahlgebiete' Every 'Zusatzzahl' therefore describe an area contained within every tenth degree longitude and latitude. The basis for the latitudinal description of the border of the 'Zusatzzahlgebiet' is 1º southern latitude (1º south of Equator) with a division line on every tenth degree northern and southern latitude. The corresponding basis for the longitudinal description is the Greenwich 0º- meridian, with division lines on every tenth degree eastern and western longitude. The 'Zusatzzahl' are given by the ten-count of the northwestern corner of each 'Zusatzzahlgebiet'. The first number give the ten-count of the longitude, while the second number give the ten-count of the latitude. If the degree number is below 10º, a zero is used. The repetition of the 'Zusatzzahl' in the four quarters of the globe, make the use of a special description necessary; north of 1º southern latitude the 'Zusatzzahl' for the areas having eastern longitude are given the additional description 'Ost', while the areas having western longitude have the addition 'West'. South of 1º southern latitude the 'Zusatzzahl' for the areas having eastern longitude are given the additional description 'Südost', while the areas having western longitude have the addition 'Südwest'.
The 'Großtrapez' The subdivision of the 'Zusatzzahlgebiete' follow every whole degree longitude and latitude. The area between two neighbouring degrees latitude and longitude are called a 'Großtrapez', which can be further subdivided given the needed degree of accuracy. The 100 'Großtrapeze' included in one 'Zusatzzahlgebiet' are given numbers ranging from 00 to 99. Be aware of the different numbering system for areas west and east of the Greenwich 0"-meridian. The size of a 'Großtrapeze' is approximately 70x111 kilometers (in Germany and other areas with the same latitudinal width). The two-digit numbering are calculated in the following way: Using the northwestern corner of the 'Zusatzzahlgebiet' as basis, the first number is defined by the one-count of the geographical longitude (numbers on the upper and lower edge of the map), while the second number is defined by the one-count of the geographical latitude (numbers on the left and right edge of the map).
Subdividing the'Großtrapez': The 'Mitteltrapez' The first subdivision of the 'Großtrapez' is the 'Mitteltrapez', which have an area of approximately 35x28 kilometers. Using the latitudinal parallels at 15', 30' and 45' and the longitudinal meridian at 30', every 'Großtrapez' are divided into eight 'Mitteltrapeze'. The 'Mitteltrapeze' are numbered from 'l' through '8' starting with the area in the upper left corner
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and ending with the lower right one.
The 'Kleintrapez' The second subdivision define the 'Kleintrapeze' measuring approximately 9x11 kilometers. The latitudinal parallels with 5' distance between them and the longitudinal parallels 10' apart, divide the 'Mitteltrapez' into nine 'Kleintrapeze'. The numbering of the 'Kleintrapeze' run from '1' through '9', starting in the upper left corner, making three rows of 'Kleintrapeze', with the ninth positioned in the lower right corner of the 'Mitteltrapez'.
The 'Meldetrapez' The third subdivision is called 'Meldetrapeze' and have an area of approximately 3x4 kilometers. The latitudinal parallels positioned at 1'40", 3'20", 6'40" and 8'20" and the longitudinal parallels positioned at 3'20" and 6'40" divide the 'Kleintrapez' into nine 'Meldetrapeze'. The size of the resulting 'Meldetrapez' usually small enough as to give the necessary degree of accuracy for the report of a given position. The numbering of the 'Meldetrapeze' run from '1' through '9', starting in the upper left corner, making three rows of 'Meldetrapeze', with the ninth positioned in the lower right corner of the 'Kleintrapez'. In the system used until 30. April 1943, there were only four 'Meldetrapeze' in a 'Kleintrapez', numbered from '1' through '4�. The 'Arbeitstrapez' The fourth subdivision results in the definition of an 'Arbeitstrapez' with an area of approximately l x 1,2 kilometers by a further subdivision by a factor three the distance between the parallels in the 'Meldetrapez'. The description of the 'Arbeitstrapeze' are given by small letters from 'a' through �i', running in three rows starting in the upper left corner of the 'Meldetrapez'. In the old system, there were only four 'Arbeitstrapeze' named 'links oben' (lo), 'rechts oben' (ro), 'links unten' (lu) and finally 'rechts unten' (ru).
'Jägermeldenetz' For the guidance of fighter aircraft, anti-aircraft artillery and early warning systems, another system was also in use by the Luftwaffe. In the 'Jägerrneldenetz', the 'Zusatzzahlgebiete' were divided in a northern and a southern part, these subdivisions called 'Jagdtrapeze'. As an example, the 'Zusatzzahlgebiet' '05 Ost' would be subdivided into the 'Jagdtrapeze' '05 Ost Nord' and �05 Ost Süd�, The subdivision of the 'Jagdtrapeze' was made using the same system as on the 'Großtrapeze', dividing along whole degrees latitude and longitude. The 'Mitteltrapeze' was given other descriptions, not two numbers but two upper letters. Starting in the northwestern corner running in rows from west to east and north to south, the descriptions started with 'AA', 'AB', 'AC' and so on until 'AU', then 'BA', 'BB' all the way through to 'UU'. The double letter areas cover the whole 'Jagdtrapez', without regard to the 'Großtrapez'.
Example of the two systems in use: The airfield at Köln-Butzweilerhof has the following geographical coordinates: 50" 59' 28" northern latitude and 6º 53' 42" eastern longitude. The position in the 'Gradnetzmeldeverfahren' is:
05 ost 61 2 3 2 a 1 2 3 4 5 6
In the 'Jägermeldenetz’ the resulting position is defined by: 05 Ost S NO 3 2 a 1 2 3 4 5 6
The positions are found in the following way:
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1. The are defined by the ten-count of the northwestern corner of the 'Zusatzzahlgebiet'. The area is limited by: 2. in the west 00º longitude in the north 59º northern latitude in the east 10º eastern longitude in the south 49º northern latitude In the nortwestern corner, the 00º longitude (ten-count 0) and the 59º northern latitude (ten-count 5) cross, giving the resulting 'Zusatzzahl' '05 Ost'. In the, the airfield is
located in the southern half of the 'Zusatzzahlgebiet', and the 'Zusatzzahl' is '05 Ost Süd' or '05 Ost S'.
3. The definition of the 'Groβtrapez' is given by the 'Gradnetzzahlen' of the northwestern corner, in this case the cross between 06º eastern longitude and 51º northern latitude, resulting in the number '61'.
4. The 'Mitteltrapez' will in this case be defined by the number '2' in the 'Gradnetzmeldeverfahren' system, the corresponding letter combination being 'NO' in the 'Jägermeldenetz'.
5. 'Kleintrapez' in both cases '3'. 6. 'Meldetrapez' in both cases '2'. 7. 'Arbeitstrapez' in both cases 'a'.
At last a comment: The Army and Navy both used other 'Gradnetzmeldeverfahren' which did not correspond to the Luftwaffe system. Great .........
If you want more explanation please contact Andreas at: [email protected]
5. Feldpostnumbers.
A good start for research are Feldpostnumbers. Feldpostnumbers are coded Wehrmacht units. The translation for these numbers can be found in :�Die deutsche Feldpostübersicht 1939-1945�, by Norbert Kannapin. The work consists of 3 parts and the price is � 225,- It is published by Biblio Verlag. See for further information http://www.militaria-biblio.de Also this work is available or will be available soon at CD-ROM as:�Die Feldpostübersicht der Deutschen Wehrmacht�. Also from Verlag Media Data GbR mbH.
6. Abschussmeldungen.
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The German Abschussmeldungen can be found in the microfilms C2025 - C2037 in the Bundesarchiv/Militärarchiv in Freiburg, Germany.
See http://www.stormbirds.com/lwag/reference/bama001.pdf
The second part, the Kriegsgefangenen Kartei, is also very interesting just as the Personalakten deutscher Luftwaffen-Generalstäbler and officers. Good to know is that the films contains claims made by FLAK and the flying Geschwader. The microfilms can be ordered from the BA/MA.
7. Ordering documents from the Bundesarchiv. For the purchase of copies of documents of the Bundesarchive is information available. This information will be given in German and
English. The survey of costs is only available in German. The procedure how to order copies in German language see http://www.stormbirds.com/lwag/reference/bama002.pdf The procedure how to order copies in English language see http://www.stormbirds.com/lwag/reference/ba002.pdf The cost overview is given in the German language only in http://www.stormbirds.com/lwag/reference/ba001.pdf
8. Unit information. Of course it is possible to get unit information at the Bundesarchiv, but sometimes it is easier to get it from the web. At www.ww2.dk/ from Michael Holm you can find an amazing amount of information about flying and non-flying units from the Luftwaffe.
9. Identification discs(Dog tags) or Erkennungsmarke.
The identification disc should give the authorities a possibility to identify a dead body. Information about the layout can be found at: www.wehrmacht-awards.com/documents/tags.htm Deutsche Dienststelle WASt would be the proper unit who could answer the question which name belongs to the number on the disc.
10. German military radio call signs at aircraft and the Stammkennzeichen. In Lexikon der Wehrmacht at http://members.nbci.com/_XMCM/Lexikon_wehrmacht/ww2/Zusatz/Luftwaffe/Inhalt.htm at Kennungen deutscher Militärmaschinen, you will find an explanation about the used radio call signs of the Luftwaffe. Similar information can be found at www.ww2.dk under miscellaneous or at 12 O�Clock High at www.xs4all.nl/~rhorta under Luftwaffe. An other type of radio call sign is the Stammkennzeichen or factory code. It is a combination of 4 letters used during the period when the plane is test flown at the factory and delivered to the operational unit. For the Messerschmitt Bf109 see http://www.yeowell19.freeserve.co.uk/stkzmen.htm
11. Emblems at aircraft. The webpage �Emblems of Heer, Luftwaffe and Marine units of the Wehrmacht 1939-1945� at www.wwiidaybyday.com/ is designed for our handbook. Here you will find via �unit emblems� a large amount of emblems on Luftwaffe aircraft.
12. Collar patch and other signs. At the same webpage under �uniforms, ranks� you will find information about several items of the German uniform.
13. Ranks in the Luftwaffe.
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At Wehrmacht awards and decorations at www.wehrmacht-awards.com/ you can find under research tools a survey of German ranks.
14. Aviation Wings and decorations A great help in identifying persons are photo�s. In many cases the wings and badges of the person are visible, but what does it mean. At www.homestead.com/WWIIWings/Luftwaffemain.html �Aviation Wings and Badges of World War II� a pictures and the meaning of the wings and badges can be found. At Wehrmacht awards and decorations at www.wehrmacht-awards.com/ you can find information about all the different kind of decorations.
15. Luftwaffe aircraft and their Werk Nummer.
A good overall site about the German Werknummer system have I not been able to find. But at the LWAG site at www.stormbirds.com/lwag/ at Aircraft Designation Systems several entries give information about Werk Nummer.
16. German WW II ordnance codes. The explanation about German WW II ordnance codes is gives in the website at www.radix.net/~bbrown/codes_full.html\ This information was published by Karl R.Pawlas, Nürnberg 1977 as Liste der Fertigungskennzeichen für Waffen, Munition und Gerät.
17. Luftwaffe tactical signs. An explanation of the Luftwaffe Flak tactical signs can be found at the website �German Armed Forces� at http://www.freeport-tech.com/WWII/011_germany/__ge_index.htm at German Organizational Symbols.
18.
At the end of this guide though the world of archives and websites I would like to thank mr. Richard T.Eger LWAG who raised in one of our e-mail discussions the idea of making a guide for the ones who are searching the World Wide Web for information about their relatives and lost control. I also would like to thank Andreas Brekken and Robbert de Bruin for giving permission to use their stories about grid systems and timing.