Luftstreitkräfte
| German Air Combat Forces | |
|---|---|
| Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte | |
Form of the Tatzenkreuz used on German military aircraft in 1915 | |
| Founded | 1 May 1910 – 8 May 1920 |
| Country | German Empire (1910–1918) Weimar Republic (1918–1920) |
| Allegiance | Kaiser Wilhelm II |
| Branch | Imperial German Army |
| Type | Air force |
| Role | Aerial warfare |
| Size | 1918: 2,709 front line aircraft 56 airships 186 balloon detachments About 4,500 aircrew |
| Engagements | World War I Greater Poland Uprising (1918–1919) |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Hermann von der Lieth-Thomsen Ernst von Hoeppner |
| Insignia | |
| 1914–1915 | |
| 1916 – March 1918 | |
| March/April 1918 – 1919 | |
The Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte (German: [ˈdɔʏtʃə ˈlʊftˌʃtʁaɪtkʁɛftə], German Air Combat Forces) – known before October 1916 as Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches (The Imperial German Air Service, lit. "The flying troops of the German Kaiser’s Reich") – was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-language sources it is usually referred to as the Imperial German Air Service, although that is not a literal translation of either name. German naval aviators of the Marine-Fliegerabteilung were an integral part of the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine). Both military branches operated aeroplanes, observation balloons and airships.