8th Flak Division

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

The 8th Flak Division, also known as Flak-Division 8, was a German Luftwaffe anti-aircraft unit in World War II. It mainly defended the Bremen area and the Weser-Ems region.

Origins and formation
- In May 1940, Germany created the Air Defense Command Denmark (Luftverteidigungs-Kommando Dänemark) in occupied Denmark. The first head was Hans-Jürgen von Witzendorff, followed soon after by Alexander Kolb (June 4, 1940).
- The staff was renamed the 8th Air Defense Command (Luftverteidigungs-Kommando Nr. 8) in June 1940 and sent to Hanover.

Move to Bremen and organization
- The unit was sent to Bremen on June 5, 1941.
- By early 1944 it was part of Luftgau XI, which also included other flak units.
- Its subordinate units included Flak Regiments 56, 26 (Bremen North), 89 (Bremen Center), and 13 (Bremen South), plus Flak Searchlight Regiments 56 and 160 (Bremen groups).

Commanders
- Kurt Wagner became head of the staff on June 30, 1941 (the division from September 1, 1941) and led it until December 4, 1944. He was followed by Max Schaller.

Role and operations
- On September 1, 1941, the 8th Air Defense Command was redesignated the 8th Flak Division and was based in Bremen-Oberneuland. Its job was to defend the Weser-Ems area.
- The division also used auxiliary troops called Luftwaffenhelfer, including underage students.

Strength and end of the war
- Around January 1945, Bremen had about 300 flak batteries.
- Near the end of the war, the 8th Flak Division, along with the 3rd Flak Division, came under the VI Flak Corps, formed on February 10, 1945, in the northern part of the Western Front.