8th Flak Division
8th Air Defense Command
Air Defense Command Denmark
German: Flak-Division 8
Luftverteidigungs-Kommando Nr. 8
Luftverteidigungs-Kommando Dänemark
ActiveMay 1940 – 1945
Country Nazi Germany
BranchBalkenkreuz (Iron Cross) Luftwaffe
TypeFlak
RoleAnti-aircraft warfare
SizeDivision
Garrison/HQHanover
Bremen
EngagementsBombing of Bremen in World War II
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Alexander Kolb

The 8th Flak Division (German: Flak-Division 8) was a Flak division of the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany during World War II.

History

In May 1940, the "Air Defense Command Denmark" (Luftverteidigungs-Kommando Dänemark) staff was formed in German-occupied Denmark,[1]: 116  which had been seized by Wehrmacht forces in Operation Weserübung in April 1940.[2] The initial head of the staff was Hans-Jürgen von Witzendorff, succeeded soon after on 4 June 1940 by Alexander Kolb.[3] This staff was designated "8th Air Defense Command" (Luftverteidigungs-Kommando Nr. 8) in June 1940 and sent to Hanover.[1]: 116  Subsequently, it was deployed to the city of Bremen on 5 June 1941. Here, the 8th Flak Division was part of Luftgau XI,[1]: 197  which by February 1944 also would contain 3rd Flak Division (Hamburg), 8th Flak Brigade (Wismar) and 15th Flak Brigade (Hanover).[4]: 37 

Its subordinate formations included the Flak Regiment 56 as well as the Flak Searchlight Regiment 56.[5]: 209  The Flak Regiment 26 was "Flak Group Bremen North", Flak Regiment 89 was "Flak Group Bremen Center", Flak Regiment 13 was "Flak Group Bremen South", Flak Searchlight Regiment 160 was "Flak Searchlight Group Bremen".[6]: 219f. 

On 30 June 1941, Kurt Wagner took command of the staff (from 1 September: the division). He held this office until 4 December 1944, when he was succeeded by Max Schaller.[3]

On 1 September 1941, 8th Air Defense Command, then headquartered at Bremen-Oberneuland, was redesignated "8th Flak Division". It was responsible for the defense of the Weser—Ems area.[1]: 116  As part of its duties as a flak division, the formation also received auxiliaries (Luftwaffenhelfer), including underage students.[7]: 233 

Around January 1945, the city of Bremen possessed around 300 flak batteries.[8]: 23 

Near the end of the war, the 8th Flak Division was, along with 3rd Flak Division, placed under the supervision of the VI Flak Corps,[1]: 197  which had been formed on 10 February 1945 in the northern sector of the Western Front.[1]: 10 

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tessin, Georg (1967). Die Landstreitkräfte 006–014. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939–1945 (in German). Vol. 3. Frankfurt/Main: Verlag E. S. Mittler & Sohn GmbH.
  2. ↑ Dildy, Douglas C. (2007). Denmark and Norway 1940: Hitler's boldest Operation. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781846031175.
  3. 1 2 Mitcham, Samuel W. (2007). "8th Flak Division". German Order of Battle: 291st–999th Infantry Divisions, Named Infantry Divisions, and Special Divisions in World War II. Vol. 2. Stackpole Books. ISBN 9780811734370.
  4. ↑ Zaloga, Steven J. (2011). Operation Pointblank 1944: Defeating the Luftwaffe. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781849083867.
  5. ↑ Tessin, Georg (1971). Die Landstreitkräfte 031–070. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939–1945 (in German). Vol. 5. Frankfurt/Main: Verlag E. S. Mittler & Sohn GmbH. ISBN 3764811072.
  6. ↑ Tessin, Georg (1996). Zweng, Christian (ed.). Verzeichnis der Friedensgarnisonen 1932–1939 und Stationierungen im Kriege 1939–1945. Wehrkreise VII–XIII. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 17. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. ISBN 3764809418.
  7. ↑ Fulbrook, Mary (2011). Dissonant Lives: Generations and violence through the German dictatorships. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199287208.
  8. ↑ Zaloga, Steven J. (2022). The Oil Campaign 1944–45: Draining the Wehrmacht's Lfeblood. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781472848574.
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