Die Luftwaffe

A susbtantial part of the history of world war 2 is the history of the german Luftwaffe. Due to the versailles treaty it was foundet in secret with training of pilots in flying clubs in the Weimar era. It saw its first combat during the spanish civil war with the legion condor supporting the fascist Franko. The participation in this conflict gave the luftwaffe an advantage in combat experience with modern equipment. As the war broke out in 1939 the luftwaffe was a formidable, modern and experienced airforce. As with all branches the luftwaffe equipment was changed due to combat experience and the coming lack of resources and need for efficient production. 

Officers of the wehrmacht/luftwaffe had allowance and responsibilty to buy their own unifomrs, visors and gear. Within the luftwaffe all flying gear and equipment as flying boots, flightsuits, headgear etc was categorized as specialist equipment and supplied by the verkaufsabteilung. 

Luftwaffe "Schwimmweste

The luftwaffe had to fight the skies over water and a life preserver was basic part of the equipment. It started with the bulky socalled "kapok" schwimmweste 10-76. Several versions existed. It was a sausagedesign meant for inflation. Early versions also had "sausages" at the back, often causing the wearer to end face down in the water. 

Another example of the 10-30-B2 schwimmweste. They had limited postwar use by the civilian population so many are dirty and have rusty D-Rings due to poor storage. This example is an estate find, it originates from the airport of Sola, one of the airfields used by JG5 "Eismeer". Found together with a sitzfallschirm missing the canopy (used by civilians for wedding dresses) taken from one of the Forus hangars at the airport complex of Sola.

Luftwaffe Flieger Netzkopf haube

In the early days of military aviation the pilot had no closed canopy, the cockpit was open. There was a need from the start for protective headgear keeping the pilots head warm. In addition it was the platform for communication and breathing equipment. The basic design from the 30ies stayed in use until the end. In basic the german flight helmet can be divided in 3 main types. The summer flight helmet, The winter flighthelmet and the net flight helmed. Within each of these basic 3 types, several modifications can be seen as they were modified to fit the decvelopment in other gear as the oxygen masks, communications and goggles.

LPK W 101 Winter flying helmet

The back of an LKP w101 flight helmet. Brown strap is for adjustement. The 2 straps are for securing band of the flight goggles.

LPK S 101 Summer flying helmet

Einmann Schlauchtboot mit packhulle - One man survival Dinghy

Gerat no: 10-5501 A1 and gerat no:10-5501 A2

A well trained pilot was not a resource in abundance. Therefore all airforces had a high focus on the survival and rescue of downed pilots. Seenotausrustung was developed inn all air forces. The germans even had fully furnished survival buoys placed in the English channel, tough this was more morale boosting than practical.

Flying over water caused higher risk of loosing the pilots, therefore japanese, British, Us and german airfoirces had one mann survival dinghys. The german einmann schlauchtboot was rolled up in a “packhulle”. The packhulle had straps going over the shoulders and a waistband. It was used as the back apron of the fallschirm, remaining in place when the parachute was released landing on water.

Picture of the Packhulle with schlauctboot showing the shoulderstraps and waist securing band

A pilot bailing out landing on water first released his parachute. At the left side of the packhulle he could open the co2 valve causing the einmann schlauchtboat to partially inflate. The packhulle is closed with a number of buttons wich the inflation of the boat would release. His schwimmweste would also be inflated by opening the co2 valve. The parachute backpillow on early parachute contained dye powder making a green high visible trail in the water (will show documentation as it was tested comparing dye from farbeutel and parachutepillow, coming soon).

The partly inflated schlauchtboot would be inflated fully when the pilot had entered. The bailing cup would be used to discard water and the drifting anchor would be deployed. In the channel pants he would have both a gravity knife and a leuchpistole with cartridges. Upon hearing engine noises etc the pilot could discharge the farbbeutel or fire signal to be rescued by the “seenots dienst”.

There was no paddle in the pack as it was discontinued due to the fact the pilot would exaust himself for no results. The main objective was to keep the pilot out of the water to be rescued by naval units or the "seenotsdienst". The larger 3 man schlauchtboot contained a packhulle with a paddle in three parts. The pack also included a pump, plugs and containers with seenotsausrustung.

Until mid 1944 the schlauchtboot had bot FL-numbering and geratenumber. In 1944 they changed it to only gerate number. It can help date the schlauchtboot, but some manufacturing continued use of the Fi number. The schlauchtboot pictured here Is therefore probably manufactured in 1944 or 1945. It was believed that boats lacking the FL-number was kriegsmarine. The KM Dinghy often has other handles (4, 2 on each side) marked “einsteiggriff”.

It is manufacturer coded with “bpl” indicating production by Klepper werke in Rosenheim. A rubber Dinghy made in the alps of Bavaria. They also made raincoats and the Luftwaffe schwimmweste. It was heavily bombed in 1945, but rebuilt postwar. The company still exists today making kajaks and collapsable boats.

These Schlauchtboote are rare to find in good condition. The boats had some postwar use. One found for sale was used by the kida at a cabin on the nearby lake for paddling in the summer. Kept in the cabin since, it was in very good condition. The packhulle is the rarest, they were often discarded when the boats were used by the civilians postwar.

Luftwaffe "Die Schwarze Männer"

The luftwaffe mechanics was called "die Schwarze Männer" due to their black denim coveralls. Each luftwaffe "gruppe" had a flughafenbetriebskompanie led by an ingenur officer. Each staffel had appx 150 mechanics i a socalled betriebszug. They were responsible for maintenance, repair and re armament. Many of them educated themselves further to becoming flieger. 

The suits was initially black giving the crew their nickname. Before the outbreak of the war the colour change to a dark blue. The coveralls was heavy in weight, They were inner lined for warmth and constucted from a denim like Hbt material. They are double buttoned and closeable at the neck giving the wearer proper insulation. On the waits left picture one can see the Tie in string. On the right the insulating liner of the coveralls.The dark colour is to conceal stains of oil and dirt. Ground crew can also be seen with white coveralls, but these are often radio mechanics. Comparing to period photos, insignia useage is rare. It is probable that insigna on items are postwar additions.

Picture right showing the HBT denim like material. Also showing the black string for tie in. Coveralls was often marked with ink and as their useage required often cleaning, they are mostly washed away. Left picture showing the leg and tie in. These suits became popular and were also later in the war issued to troops manning flak artillerie.

In addition to the coveralls the mechanics was issued an overseas cap. It is black in colour. Notice the size marking.

Luftwaffe mechanics is not a collectors prime choice, but i deserves its place with any luftwaffe flight collection.

Luftwaffe flying boots