Defence of the Reich: Female Fighter Controllers?

[edwest2]

Hello Don,


Thank you for your detailed reply. While I won't compare the situation in World War II with WW I, I will state that the number of women who
volunteered to work in Germany, from say, France, contributed, along with forced laborers from the East.



Best,
Ed West

[egbert]

At the beginning of World War II, there were approximately 70,000 soldiers serving in the Air Intelligence Corps. This figure increased to 243,000 by May 20, 1941, and to 500,000 soldiers by the summer of 1944. Women were also enlisted for service, especially within Germany, for example at the Jägerleitdienststellen.
The various Luftgaue saw tremendous service of Luftwaffenhelferinnen and Luftwaffennachrichtenhelferinnen.
Many women were indeed employed in the Jägerleitdienst as what you call today Jägerleitoffizier.
If you insert "Jägerleitdienst Frauen" or a similar search using the term Jägerleitdienst you will find a vast amount of references to include literature

[Carsten Petersen]

I have never heard of a female Jagdleit Offizier and I don't think that they ever excisted. There were Luftwaffenachrichtenhelferinnen that read the Reportage and sent messages, but a Jagdleitoffizier was something quite different. A Jagdleitoffizier was trained in leading a fighter plane to its target. He was able to transform the information from Freya and Würzburg Riese to positions on a Seeburg Tisch (or other maps). A female plotter was 'just' assisting him. I have checked the files of hundred of Jagdleitoffiziere and not one of them were female.

[egbert]

I have no clue why you never heard of female Jägerleitung in WW2 Lw.
The web is full of links for Jägerleitung by female Luftwaffenhelferinnen/Nachrichtenhelferinnen.
1944/45 the Lw was in dire needs of personnel and used experienced Jägerleitoffiziere (male) to train women in order to perform these jobs.
If you are able to understand the correct spelling and the nuances of German language you will find tons of information. Do not use search words like "Jagdleit Offizier" and such. Use the correct German wording for your search and you will be enlightend.....even detailed eyewitness stories are out there:

...... von diesen Stationen konnten die heimischen Jagdflugzeuge auch in der Dunkelheit zu den feindlichen Verbänden geleitet werden, um diese Bomber abzuschießen.

Eine dieser nachtjagdfähigen Stationen stand auf dem Ebbegebirge in der Nähe der Nordhelle und trug den Code-Namen „Nelke“. Sie wurde 1942-43 eingerichtet und ausgebaut. Hauptmann Weber war bis Kriegsende dort Kommandeur, Leutnant Nübel war ab Oktober 1943 dort als Jägerleitoffizier stationiert. Seine Aufgabe bestand u. a. darin, so genannte "Blitzmädel" oder „Maiden“, also junge Frauen, in die Abläufe der Tag- und Nachtjagd einzuweisen und zu schulen. Viele Männer waren im Krieg, so dass junge Frauen diese Aufgaben übernehmen mussten........

[ju55dk]

As Carsten states. No women were trained as Jägerleitoffiziere. It was a rather prolonged and complicated training. Luftnachrichtenhelferinnen were used as plotters, clerks, typist, telex and telephone exchange. No women in the german army got any officers training. In the mentioned case they were simply the voice of the Jägerleitoffizier standing next to him.
Junker