Luftwaffe

"Fly and fight until the war is over or you are dead."

- Luftwaffe motto

The Luftwaffe (directly translated as "Air Weapon" in German) is the aerial warfare branch of the German Military, and appears in Call of Duty, Call of Duty: United Offensive, Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty: Big Red One, Call of Duty 3, and Call of Duty: World at War.

Call of Duty
In the original Call of Duty, the Luftwaffe makes an appearance in the British campaign level "Airfield Escape" in which the player must mount a Flakvierling 38 and destroy incoming enemy Ju-87 "Stuka" dive-bombers. The aircraft will attack in three waves, each wave dive-bombing the player. After the final wave, a Focke-Wulf 200 "Condor" will arrive. Eventually the player will be driven toward the "Condor" and the level will end. The Luftwaffe's paratroopers (Fallschirmjaegers) are fought frequently in the game, especially, the American campaign. They are distinguishable from regular Wehrmacht or Waffen-SS troops by their rounded helmets (which look more similar to American M1 "Steel Pot" helmets than the German Stahlhelms) and camouflage outfits.

Call of Duty: Finest Hour
In Call of Duty: Finest Hour, at Stalingrad, Heinkel 111s can be seen in the distance bombing the city but pose no threat to the player as the bombs land in the distance. In the two Operation Little Saturn levels, a Luftwaffe base is attacked by a Russian T-34 tank group led by Nikolai Badanov. There are many Junkers Ju 52s and Ju-87 Stukas on the ground as well as in the air.

The Stukas will strafe the player with cannon fire and bombs, and will quickly destroy the tank if left unattended to with the T-34's machine gun. When the German transports are attempting to leave the airfield at the end of the campaign, if they strike the player's tank they will cause damage. They can be easily destroyed with the T-34's machine gun. The main cannon works as well, but is usually more difficult to aim and fire with.

During the British campaign, Stukas can be seen attacking the player, while escaping on the jeep.

During the American campaign, Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters can be seen overhead in Remagen. These don't cause harm to the player and are engaged by American P-51 Mustang fighters.

Call of Duty 2
In Call of Duty 2, in the British North African levels such as "The End of the Beginning" and "Assault on Matmata", Luftwaffe Ju-87 Stuka dive bombers oftentimes harass British forces with strafing attacks and dive bombing runs. They can also be seen occasionally dogfighting with British Spitfires. At the end of "Assault on Matmata", the player must use a German Flakvierling 38 to destroy waves of attacking Ju-87s.

Call of Duty 2: Big Red One
The Luftwaffe is first seen in the level "We've Been Through Worse" where Ju-87 Stukas are attempting to destroy the attacking American forces, but mobile American AA emplacements have been set-up to attack German planes.

In the level, "Liberators", the player must man various gun positions aboard a B-24 Liberator and shoot down numerous Luftwaffe aircraft, beginning with a slow-moving squadron of Messerschmitt Bf 323 transport aircraft and with much of the remaining level spent fending off constant attacks by Messerschmidt Me 109 fighters.

In the mission "Piano Lupo," the player is told to enter an M3A1 Half-track and man the M2 Browning Machine Gun and eliminate German planes.

Call of Duty 3
In Call of Duty 3, the Fallschirmjaegers are encountered in "The Island" and "The Forest" during the American campaign.

Call of Duty: World At War
During the Call of Duty: World at War campaign level "Vendetta", Focke-Wulf 200 Condors are seen flying en mass overhead. They are important to gameplay, because Dimitri Petrenko uses the roar of the Condors' engines to hide his sniper shots. The Luftwaffe is not seen for the rest of the campaign. In Multiplayer however, when playing War on "Downfall," one of the objectives is the "Luftwaffe Headquarters".

List of Aircraft and Anti-Aircraft Artillery used

 * Junkers Ju-52
 * Junkers Ju-87 (Stuka)
 * Messerschmidt Bf 109
 * Messerschmitt Bf 323
 * Focke-Wulf 190
 * Focke-Wulf 200 Condor
 * Heinkel 111
 * FlaK 88
 * Flakvierling

Trivia

 * The Fallschirmjaeger were supposed to appear in Call of Duty: World at War, but got scrapped. Their model files remain in the game's data.