Luftwaffe term?

[John Beaman]

Was there a specific term for a fighter unit to be on 15 minute standby or was a word like Alarmbereitschaft used and generally understood to be 15 minutes?


Thanks

[Chris Goss]

According to the Manual of German Air Force Terminology, Alarmbereitschaft was immediate readiness so I would guess no

[John Beaman]

Originally Posted by Chris Goss

According to the Manual of German Air Force Terminology, Alarmbereitschaft was immediate readiness so I would guess no

Thanks, Chris. So, was there a specific term for the 15 minute readiness?

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by Chris Goss

According to the Manual of German Air Force Terminology, Alarmbereitschaft was immediate readiness so I would guess no

Could anything be more immediate than Sitzbereitschaft though? I've always taken it to mean "cockpit readiness" (although "Sitz" is pretty generic for chairs and seats so I suppose it could mean "armchair readiness").

[John Beaman]

Nick:

I agree with you. That is why I was seeking a specific term for the 15 minute readiness, if there was such a term.

[Jochen Prien]

Dear John,

Sitzbereitschaft was the most immediate state of readiness, not to be measured in a specific time; in the state of Sitzbereitschaft a fighter unit had to be prepared to take off at once if the alarm was sounded.

A 15 minute readiness would be termed 15 Minuten Bereitschaft, as would any other state of readiness - Stundenbereitschaft for one hours readiness, Halbstundenbereitschaft for 30 Minutes readiness, 5 Minutenbereitschaft and so on.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Jochen

[John Beaman]

Dear Jochen:

That is what I was seeking. Thanks for the clarification.

I wonder how common this specific readiness might have been used as opposed to say, 1 hour or 30 minutes, etc.?

Cheers,

John