Fliegerführer Atlantik

Fliegerführer Atlantik (German: Flyer Command Atlantic) was a World War II Luftwaffe naval air command for anti-maritime transport, anti-submarine, anti-surface fleet, close air support for the Kriegsmarine for operations in the Atlantic Ocean, maritime interdiction and maritime reconnaissance. The air command fought exclusively in the Battle of the Atlantic.

At the outbreak of the war in September 1939, the Luftwaffe had few specialised naval aviation units and aircraft. By 1940, the Wehrmacht occupied much of Western Europe and Scandinavia. The Kriegsmarine (Navy) and its commander-in-chief Erich Raeder saw this as an opportunity to destroy the sea communications of the United Kingdom, Germany's last significant opponent in Europe.

In February 1941, the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (OKL) was ordered by Adolf Hitler to form a naval air command to support the Kriegsmarine's U-boat operations in the Battle of the Atlantic. Commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, Hermann Göring, agreed to the formation of the specialised naval command which remained under the operational control of the Luftwaffe and was subordinated to Luftflotte 3, commanded by Hugo Sperrle. The command had jurisdiction over all Luftwaffe operations in the Atlantic Ocean, English Channel and Irish Sea. The organisation's first commanding officer was Martin Harlinghausen.

The command flew in action and achieved considerable success in 1941. Prime Minister Winston Churchill referred to Fliegerführer Atlantik and its main weapon of war, the Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor, as the "scourge of the Atlantic". At the close of the year British countermeasures tamed the threat from long-range German aircraft. As the battles in the Atlantic intensified in 1942 and 1943 the command made continuous demands for aircraft and crews. Busy in other theatres, the Luftwaffe could not afford to divert or create forces for Atlantic operations. Along with reconnaissance and anti-shipping operations, Fliegerführer Atlantik provided fighters for air superiority to cover U-boat transit routes in the Bay of Biscay against RAF Coastal Command.

By 1944 Fliegerführer Atlantik had ceased to be effective and in April it had been disbanded and merged into Fliegerkorps X (10th Flying Corps). Throughout its existence, Kampfgeschwader 40 was the command's main combat unit.