German Glider civil registration up to 1945

[Stig Jarlevik]

Guys

Can anyone explain to me how the German civil glider registration worked?

A photo on e-bay
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=130192673234
prompted me to check some other photos. All seems to follow a certain pattern
1) First comes the national code, D
2) Second there is a single or double digit, which I presume represent a region (Luftgau perhaps?)
3) Finally there is the registration itself.

If my assumptions are correct, does anyone have a list over the regions?
Were gliders registered independently within each region or does the final digit batch represent the overall number reached?
D-1-1, D-2-1, D-3-1 etc, or
D-1-1, D-11-2, D-9-3 etc

Sorry if this request has been posted in the past by someone else. In such a case I must have missed it or still being unaware of our daily highlight...

Cheers
Stig

[Peter D Evans]

Hi Stig...

As I too was interested to know how the coding on gliders worked, I took the liberty to reproduce your question over on the LEMB. With thanks to Ed North, he pointed us towards the excellent LuftArchiv site here: http://www.luftarchiv.de

Locate and click on the Luftfhartindustrie link on the left hand side of the homepage. Under the sub-heading Segelflugzeuge, click on the 1922-1945 link which will enable access to a detailed explanation on the coding system employed.

Cheers

Peter D Evans
LEMB Administrator

[Stig Jarlevik]

Thanks Peter (and Ed)

Must admit I have never reached that far down the indicated page. Also admit I had again problems with the arrows down and up as indicated on the left. Took many trials before making downward progress.... Didn't give up this time though....

OK, the page explains the general layout and how things worked. Must say I am sure RLM right in the middle of the war had great fun changing the middle arab digit to a roman digit combination and on top make absolutely certain that basically none of the digit combinations were the same as before. All gliding associated places must have been thrilled. I bet all of them realised that the Allied intelligence hound dogs were right on their trails....

Unfortunately it gives no indication of how the final (the true) serial registration worked and I still don't know if all the registrations were in one range or if they were all independent within their region. Neither does it say if the gliders kept their previous end registration when, in 1943, the regional layout was changed and roman digits introduced.

Cheers
Stig