The Inspector of the Air Force (German: Inspekteur der Luftwaffe) is the commander of the Air Force of the modern-day German Armed Forces, the Bundeswehr. The Inspector is responsible for the readiness of personnel and materiel in the German Air Force, in that function reports directly to the Federal Minister of Defence.[1] The current Inspector is Ingo Gerhartz, appointed on 29 May 2018.
| Inspector of the German Air Force | |
|---|---|
| Inspekteur der Luftwaffe | |
 Standard of the Inspector of the Air Force | |
 | |
| Federal Minister of Defence | |
| Abbreviation | InspL |
| Reports to | General Inspector of the Bundeswehr |
| Precursor | Oberkommando der Luftwaffe |
| Formation | 1 June 1957 |
| First holder | Josef Kammhuber |
The Inspector of the Air Force is the chief of the Air Force Command, based in Gatow, Berlin. They sit under the General Inspector of the Bundeswehr and are a member of the Defence Council for Bundeswehr-wide matters. Both the Inspector and their deputy hold the rank of lieutenant general (German: Generalleutnant) while in office, although the first Inspector, Josef Kammhuber, was an exception, holding the rank of full general as a reward for his efforts to build up a new German Luftwaffe.
List of Inspectors of the Air Force
edit| No. | Portrait | Inspector of the Air Force | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | General Josef Kammhuber (1896–1986) | 1 June 1957 | 30 September 1962 | 5 years, 121 days | |
| 2 | Lieutenant General Werner Panitzki (1911–2000) | 1 October 1962 | 25 August 1966 | 3 years, 328 days | |
| 3 | Lieutenant General Johannes Steinhoff (1913–1994) | 2 September 1966 | 31 December 1970 | 4 years, 120 days | |
| 4 | Lieutenant General Günther Rall (1918–2009) | 1 January 1971 | 31 March 1974 | 3 years, 89 days | |
| 5 | Lieutenant General Gerhard Limberg (1920–2006) | 1 April 1974 | 30 September 1978 | 4 years, 182 days | |
| 6 | Lieutenant General Friedrich Obleser (1923–2004) | 1 October 1978 | 30 March 1983 | 4 years, 180 days | |
| 7 | Lieutenant General Eberhard Eimler (born 1930) | 1 April 1983 | 30 September 1987 | 4 years, 182 days | |
| 8 | Lieutenant General Horst Jungkurth (born 1933) | 1 October 1987 | 31 March 1991 | 3 years, 181 days | |
| 9 | Lieutenant General Jörg Kuebart (1934–2018) | 1 April 1991 | 30 September 1994 | 3 years, 182 days | |
| 10 | Lieutenant General Bernhard Mende (1937–2004) | 1 October 1994 | 30 September 1997 | 2 years, 364 days | |
| 11 | Lieutenant General Rolf Portz (born 1940) | 1 October 1997 | 31 March 2001 | 3 years, 181 days | |
| 12 | Lieutenant General Gerhard W. Back (born 1944) | 1 April 2001 | 11 January 2004 | 2 years, 285 days | |
| 13 | Lieutenant General Klaus-Peter Stieglitz (born 1947) | 12 January 2004 | 29 October 2009 | 5 years, 290 days | |
| 14 | Lieutenant General Aarne Kreuzinger-Janik (born 1950) | 29 October 2009 | 25 April 2012 | 2 years, 179 days | |
| 15 | Lieutenant General Karl Müllner (born 1956) | 25 April 2012 | 29 May 2018 | 6 years, 34 days | |
| 16 | Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz (born 1965) | 29 May 2018 | Incumbent | 6 years, 172 days |
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![Rolf Portz [de]](/wiki/File:DF-SD-01-06244_Michael_E._Ryan,_and_General_Rolf_H._Portz_(cropped).jpeg)
![Gerhard W. Back [de]](/wiki/File:DF-SD-04-02365_US_Brigadier_General_Mark_A._Volcheff,_German_Lieutenant_General_Gerhard_Back,_and_Herr_Klaus_Layes,_Mayor_of_Ramstein-Misenbach_(cropped).jpg)
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References
edit- ^ "Inspekteure der Luftwaffe". Geschichte der Luftwaffe (in German language). 16 July 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2019.[permanent dead link]
External links
edit- (in German) Inspekteure der Luftwaffe (Bundesarchiv)
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