Description
Luftflotte West – Number 2, 14. Januar 1944
Scanned pages: 16 | Instant PDF download
Historical German Luftwaffe magazine, digitized.
Cover
A Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter waiting for its mission at dusk, pilot in the cockpit (“Eine Me 109 wartet auf ihren Einsatz”). Photo credit: Aufnahme: Kriegsberichter Boger.
Main Articles
“Störflug England”
An account of a night nuisance-raid (Störflug) bomber sortie by a Kampfgeschwader crew over England, following the flight from takeoff through the target run and safe return.
Author: Kriegsberichter Dr. Jansen. No pilots named explicitly (crew’s Staffelkapitän and Oberleutnant referred to but not named).
“Ein Kommandeur”
A profile of a young Gruppenkommandeur, Major Fuhrhop, tracing his career from Lüneburg Heath farm boy through Spanish Civil War combat service to his current command of a Kampfgeschwader group in the West.
Author: Kriegsberichter Dr. Jansen. Photo credit: Aufnahme: Kriegsberichter Fred Dietrich.
Pilot named: Major Fuhrhop.
“Vom Laufenden Band zum ersten Abschuss”
A photo-feature following the production and assembly of a new fighter aircraft on the factory line through to its delivery to the front-line Staffel and its pilot’s first aerial victory.
Photo credits: Aufnahmen: Kriegsberichter Boger. No individual pilots named.
“Der Erste Funker”
A profile of “Hanne,” a long-range bomber crew’s senior radio operator, covering his 27-year life story, Spanish Civil War service with the Legion Condor, and his passion for angling; includes a related sub-story “Ein Flug nach Reykjavik” describing a reconnaissance flight to Iceland.
Author: Kriegsberichter Dr. Wilh. Müller. Photo credits: Aufn.: Kriegsberichter Dr. Wilh. Müller (2), Falbe und Ofw. Ilgen.
No pilot explicitly named as “Pilot”; the crew’s radio operator is identified by the nickname “Hanne” (Hans), with the Hauptmann serving as pilot/aircraft commander unnamed.
“Schlieffen – Mensch, Plan, Vermächtnis”
A historical essay on Generalfeldmarschall Graf Alfred von Schlieffen, his career, strategic thinking, the Schlieffen Plan for a two-front war, and its legacy for German military strategy through both World Wars.
Author: Kriegsberichter Dr. Wilh. Müller. Illustrated with maps of the 1914 and 1940 Western campaigns; portrait engraving of Graf Alfred von Schlieffen.
“Die Panzerwaffe des Altertums – Die Taktik der ‘Elefanterie'”
A historical article on the military use of war elephants in antiquity (Alexander the Great, Hannibal, Pyrrhus, Zama, Roman and Carthaginian warfare) as an ancient precursor to armored warfare.
No author or Kriegsberichter credited; no photo credits (illustrated with an engraving of war elephants in battle).
“Der Kamerad”
A fictional short story about two feuding village families reconciled after one man risks his life to save the other from drowning in an icy river.
Author: Hans Friedrich Blunck (Erzählung von Hans Friedrich Blunck). Illustrated with pen drawings; no artist credited by name.
“Ich bekomme meinen Sohn!”
A humorous personal essay by a soldier-father anticipating and joking about the birth of his child, poking fun at naming debates and family reactions.
Author: Leutnant Ernst v. Khuon.
“Meiner Frau” (poem)
A short love poem addressed to the author’s wife, reflecting on distance and longing.
Author: Feldw. Heinz W. Krause.
“Kurkölnische Brandverordnung”
A comic historical short story set in the Electorate of Cologne about a bureaucratic fire-safety investigation into a peasant’s baking oven, satirizing officialdom.
Author: Gustav Halm (Erzählung von Gustav Halm). Illustration: Zeichnung: Kriegsberichter Escher.
“Das Geschehen der letzten Woche”
A news-roundup section covering the Eastern Front winter battles, the Western Front and Atlantic (air and U-boat actions), the southern Italian front, the Kriegsmarine’s 1943 annual balance, Luftwaffe combat actions, and Ritterkreuz / Eichenlaub award recipients listed by name and unit.
Photo credits: Aufnahmen: Kriegsberichter Keiner und Ohmeyer.
Puzzle/Games page (“Zum Zeitvertreib”)
Crossword, syllable puzzles, a chess endgame study, and riddles — no correspondent credited.
“Jagd mit der Kamera” (back cover)
A wildlife photo feature: an owl with its captured prey (“Eine Eule mit ihrer geschlagenen Beute”) and an otter feeding (“Fischotter bei der Mahlzeit”).
No photographer credited.
Artists Mentioned
- Kriegsberichter Escher – pen drawings/vignettes illustrating “Kurkölnische Brandverordnung”
- Unnamed illustrator (initials only, “R.D.C.” or similar, illegible) – portrait sketch of a child accompanying “Ich bekomme meinen Sohn!” (undated)
- Unnamed illustrator – pen drawings accompanying “Der Kamerad” (undated, uncredited)