Help with (purpose of the luftkriegsackademie at Gatow, RH)

[mossop]

Hi There

Can anyone tell me what the purpose of the luftkriegsackademie at Gatow was (especially 1944/45), at first I thought it was a flying school for already qualified pilots (of some sort) but I'm thinking maybe it was base for the training of higher ranked Officers in air warfare (a guess from the name) .
Anyway I'm just guessing and any help on this would be much appreciated.

Regards Mossop

[Ruy Horta]

You've guessed right it is basically a school for higher military education, especially general staff work. Call it a military university. if you are interested in the general topic you might take a look at:

The Luftwaffe
Creating the Operational Air War, 1918-1940
James S. Corum
Univ. Press of Kansas, 1997
ISBN 0-7006-0836-2

Also of interest on the topic of German General Staff traditions:

The History of the German General Staff 1657-1945
Walter Goerlitz
Praeger, 1962
ISBN n/a

and

A Genius for War
The German Army and the General Staff, 1807-1945
Trevor N. Dupuy
Prentice Hall, 1977
ISBN 0-13-351114-6

Note that these latter two titles have little to do with the Luftwaffe!

[mossop]

Hi Ruy

Thanks for the reply and the suggestions for futher reading, you've given me a very good description to understand- its much appreciated.

Regards
Mossop

[Nick Beale]

There were other Luftkriegsakademie or -schulen elsewhere, e.g. LKS 12 at Bug-auf-Ruegen. I don't know if they were separate from Gatow or outposts, though.