Original German WWII Luftwaffe Air Wing Commodore Rigid Vehicle Command Flag with Celluloid Cover and Probe Sample Tag – 9 ½” x 16″ Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. Personal and Unit command flags / pennants were an old German Army tradition which was continued and expanded during the Third Reich and included new designs and patterns for the fledgling Luftwaffe. Regulations concerning Luftwaffe Personal and Unit command pennants can be found dated as early as January 1935, before the formation of the Luftwaffe was officially announced. The Personal and Unit command pennants underwent numerous minor alterations at various times through-out the war.

This a very rare example of the “Probe” or Sample for a German WWII Luftwaffe Geschwader Kommodore (Air Wing Commodore) rigid vehicle Stabsflagge (command or staff flag). As with other types, these were used for the vehicles of high ranking officers and their staff. It would be flown from the left front fender of the Officer’s official or personal vehicle, when the Officer was uniformed and in the vehicle. 

The flag measures 9 ½” x 16″ and is double sided, showing a black field with a wide goldgelb (Gold-Yellow) stripe in the middle, the Waffenfarbe (corps color) for the flight branch. This included Aviator troops such as pilots and ground personnel as well as Fallschirmjäger (parachute troops). It is of multi-piece construction, and there is a heavily embroidered Luftwaffe eagle sewn onto each side as well, which are of the early-war style. It is encased in a thick celluloid covering, which has yellowed over the years, and protected the fabric from dirt and light.

The condition is very good, especially considering the age, and the colors are still relatively vibrant. The frame inside is still fully intact, as are the attachment hardware that would be used to attach it to the pole on the vehicle. 

One of these has a lovely “Probe” sample tag, attached to items that were considered official samples and/or design experiments. We have not had any items with this type of tag in quite some time. It has clear writing on one side, which reads:

Der Reichsminister der Luftfahrt
und Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe
vom: 13.7.40
Azi.e.12.20.L.F.4(IA2)Nr.40838/40
z.L.z.40.Nr.30 F. 390-09, Nr. 891
Probe
der Stabsflagge 
für
Geschwader=Kommodore

This translates roughly to:

The Reich Minister of Aviation and Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force
from: 13.7.40
Azi.e.12.20.L.F.4(IA2)No.40838/40
z.L.z.40.No.30 F. 390-09, No. 891
Sample of the staff flag for squadron = Commodore

The large abbreviation in the middle is most likely the Luftwaffe and/or Wehrmacht regulations that the command flag is authorized under. The tag is in great shape, printed on heavy solid cardboard, and still has the original red wax seal on the back. This has cracked over time, but we can still make out the Reichsadler national eagle, as well as some of the words around the edge.

Luftwaffe Command flags such as these are extremely rare, and this is the first example that we have ever had of this type! The sample tag is the icing on the cake, and is itself highly desirable! Ready to research and display!

Tactical Organization in the Luftwaffe
The highest tactical command was the Geschwader (Air Wing). The Geschwader bore the prefix that indicated its role in warfare, i.e., Jagdgeschwader (Fighter Wing). The Geschwaderkommodore or Kommodore was usaully a Major or above in rank and flew operations with his Geschwaderstab. This consisted of an Adjutant, a IIa Officer (Adj.’s assistant: commissioned rank), a IIb Officer (Adj.’s assistant: non-commissioned rank), a Staff Major, a Ia Operations Officer, a Ic Intelligence Officer, a Nachrichten Offizier (Intelligence/Signals Officer), a TO (Technical Officer), a Kfz-Offizier (Armaments Officer) and a IVa (Administrative Officer). The control of the entire Geschwader was normally exercised from the Gefechtsstand (Battle HQ) situated on the Geschwaderstab’s airfield, but this was not always the case, and its was common for the Geschwader to have its Gruppen scattered over a wide area, even possibly in different theatres of war. The Geschwader normally consisted of 3 Gruppen (Groups), the IV. Gruppe was normally the operational training unit (Ergänzungsgruppe) for the Geschwader, but it could be used for operations if needed, and in 1941, some Jagdgeschwaders were already using the IV. Gruppe as a fully fledged combat formation.

The Gruppe (Group) was led by a Gruppenkommandeur or Kommandeur, an executive post held by an aircrew member whose rank could vary considerably – normally it was a Major in the case of bomber units and a Hauptmann in fighter units. He had his own operational and administrative Gruppenstab (Staff), and flew combat operations with his Stabsschwarm (Staff Flight) usually of 3 to 4 aircraft. Under his command there were three, or sometimes four, Staffeln (Squadrons) led by a Staffelkapitän, an executive post that could be held by any aircrew officer from Leutnant to Hauptmann. In the temporary absence of the Staffelkapitän, the unit was led by a Staffelführer. For tactical operations, the Staffel was split into Schwarm (Section of four aircraft) or Rotte (pair of aircraft) in the case of fighters, fighter-bombers or close -support aircraft, or Kette (Flight of three aircraft) in the case of bombers and dive-bombers. The Staffel normally comprised between 12 and 16 aircraft, with the number of aircrew varying according to the strength; normally there were 20-25 pilots and 150 ground crew in the case of single-engined fighter units and 80 groundcrew in the case of twin-engined fighter units. Thus, a Gruppe consisted of 40-50 aircraft on establishment with around 500 ground personnel.

The Geschwader would thus have between 120-125 aircraft, in the case of a Jagdgeschwader, whereas the Kampfgeschwader had about 80-90 on strength. In October 1943, JG2 and JG26 became the first Geschwaders to increase the strength of their Gruppen from three to four Staffeln, thus raising the establishment to about 160 aircraft.