Verbindungsstaffel (liaison Staffel)

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'Clock High!:

Andy Fletcher
Operational Roles
Fri May 21, 2026 12:54
12.151.162.13


Hi All,

Could anyone tell me/confirm what roles the following Luftwaffe staffeln types fulfilled.

Fliegerzielstaffeln (Ziel = Destination) - ?
Verbindungsstaffeln (Verbind = Connection) - Liason?

Regards

Andy Fletcher

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Steve W.
Translations and functions...
Fri May 21, 2026 14:12
64.12.116.209

Fliegerzielstaffel (target-towing Staffel). These came into existence in Sep 44 after the Fliegerzielgeschwader were disbanded. The Fliegerzielgeschwader were set up at the beginning of 1944 using the former Luftdienstverbände, which had existed since before the war. There were around 20 independently numbered Fliegerzielstaffeln in existence from Sep 44 to the end of the war. They towed targets for air gunnery practice and for the Flakartillerie.

Verbindungsstaffel (liaison Staffel). Nearly every higher headquarters of the Luftwaffe and Heer had one. They flew commanders and senior officers, plans, documents, maps, etc., from place-to-place within the theater. They were also occasionally called upon to fly low-level reconnaissance along the front and even (rarely) spot for artillery. For the Luftwaffe, Verbindungsstaffeln were usually assigned to Fliegerkorps and above, and for the Heer at Armeeoberkommandos and above. A typical Verbindungsstaffel had 3 or 4 officers, 65 NCOs and men, and 9 to 20 aircraft, mostly Fi 156s, Kl 35s, W 34s, Fw 58s, Ju 52s and He 111s. The higher the command, the more aircraft.

HTH,

Steve W.

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Andy Fletcher
Thanks
Fri May 21, 2026 16:10
12.151.162.13


Hi Steve,

Thanks for again taking the time to answer my questions. Your answers were a great help.

Regards

Andy Fletcher

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

TonyC
Verbindungsstaffeln
Fri May 21, 2026 22:08
62.252.64.12

Steve,

Would these units' aircraft carry unit code letter/number combinations, or stkz, or nothing in particular? I have seen some pics of, eg, He111 carrying a general officer, with white stkz - is this the norm?

BTW, is there available a listing of unit codes?

Cheers,

Tony

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Steve W.
Markings
Fri May 21, 2026 22:30
64.12.117.7

96% of the Verbindungsstaffeln used aircraft marked with a 4-letter Stammkennzeichen. Only very, very few had a Verbandskennzeichen, and this because its predecessor had been assigned one and it was retained after the renaming.

Steve W.