F OX TOWING ME-163B & LUFTWAFFE GROUND CREW

The Luftwaffe is a German air force that began to form in February 1935 under a special order of the Nazi dictator of Germany - Adolf Hitler. The commander of the Luftwaffe - from its very beginning, actually until the end of World War II - was Herman Göring. From 1935 to 1939, the amount of Luftwaffe equipment grew by leaps and bounds, and so did the number of ground personnel. This tendency continued until the end of World War II. It is assumed that in 1939-1945, a total of around 3.4 million people served in the German armed forces, the lion's share of which was ground personnel. At the start of the September campaign, the Luftwaffe had approximately 900,000. people, and in the summer of 1941 that number grew to 1.5 million people. However, at the beginning of 1944, the Luftwaffe already numbered about 3 million people, which was the maximum it achieved during World War II. This number (3 million people) included, inter alia, 600 thousand. people serving in anti-aircraft artillery and 530 thousand. people in auxiliary units. It is assumed that from the beginning of the war to January 1945, the losses of Luftwaffe personnel amounted to approx. 140,000. people killed and approx. 155 thousand. missing persons.