This Was The Last Luftwaffe Mission

Germany officially surrendered to the Allies on May 8, 1945, but did you know the last Luftwaffe operation occurred in June 1945, six weeks after the surrender?

An Extraordinary Mission

Surprisingly, even after Germany’s surrender, some German military aircraft remained operational. However, these planes were no longer used for combat but instead for humanitarian purposes. The Luftwaffe still had about 6,000 planes when Germany surrendered, though most were grounded due to a lack of fuel.

The Reason

How did a Luftwaffe squadron undertake an operation five weeks after the surrender? The answer lies in necessity. The unit involved was a sea rescue squadron, tasked with saving personnel from sunken ships or downed airmen. Between 1939 and 1942, Germany had created ten sea rescue squadrons.

They used aircraft like the Dornier Do 24 flying boat and the Heinkel He 115 and He 59 seaplanes. These squadrons operated across Europe, from the French coast to Venice, Italy, and even the Eastern Front.

The Last Luftwaffe Mission

On June 18, 1945, the last official Luftwaffe mission took place. In Denmark, 1,000 passengers were rescued by 13 Dornier Do 24s. The mission is considered official because command remained in German hands, with the aircrew wearing Luftwaffe uniforms. The only change was the removal of swastikas from the aircraft tails.

For security, the RAF escorted the operation with Hawker Typhoons from squadrons 175 and 184. By the afternoon of June 18, the mission was successfully completed, marking the end of Luftwaffe operations in WWII.