Total number of Luftwaffe aircrew killed over Britain
 

Sometimes, because we are so focused on specific, individual details, we cannot see the wood for the trees or the basic main facts.

Somebody asked me what the total number of Luftwaffe aircrew killed over Britain 1939-1945 was - and I had to admit I was stumped.

So, I looked in all my main reference books, After The Battle: Blitz Then and Now, Luftwaffe Combat Archive, Alfred Price, the internet, etc and surprisingly, none of them had a readily visible answer or total.

Does anybody know?

Thanks.

Re: Total number of Luftwaffe aircrew killed over Britain
 

Hard one but one never tackled in any great detail apart from 1940. Over, around, in combat, accident....all considerations.

Re: Total number of Luftwaffe aircrew killed over Britain
 

Yes Chris. The only figure that is commonly given is Luftwaffe losses for the Battle of Britain - but that is less than four months of almost six years war.

Re: Total number of Luftwaffe aircrew killed over Britain
 

I appreciate that it would be a slog but you’ve indicated that you have the sources to arrive at a figure for the Luftwaffe aircrew who died and who came down on UK soil.

Then it gets complicated … Those who later died in captivity of wounds or of natural causes would be additional to that figure, as would any who were repatriated with severe injury and later died. Taking your “killed over Britain” literally, then some will have died in aircraft that either got home or fell into the sea. Some were killed taking off for, or returning from, operations against the UK and so on. You’ve raised an interesting question but I suspect that any figure would have to be carefully qualified and would give a good idea of the scale of the death toll rather than being absolutely precise.

Re: Total number of Luftwaffe aircrew killed over Britain
 

Yes, I should have been more specific in my wording: probably 'died in operations against Britain 1939-1945' would better cover air accidents, fatal injuries etc.

The figures for RAF Bomber Command losses etc are a well-known statistic, but surprised no books on the Luftwaffe have mentioned it (that I can find yet).