Luftwaffe The Deutsche Luftwaffe or Luftwaffe is the commonly used term for the German air force. The history of the German military aviation forces began in 1910 with the founding of the Imperial German Army Air Service, yet it has not been continuous because Germany lost both World Wars (1914-1918 and 1939-1945).
In 1939-1940, the Luftwaffe helped the German army to astonishingly rapid success in both Eastern and Western Europe, but failed to win control of the skies over Great Britain. The Luftwaffe was, however, notable in putting the world's first jet fighter and the world's only rocket-powered fighter into action during the war.