Jägerstab
| (Fighter Staff) | |
 Internal view of the planned underground factory, Weingut I, one of Jägerstab's projects, as found by the U.S. Army in 1945. |
|
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | March 1, 1944 |
| Dissolved | August 1, 1944 |
| Superseding agency |
|
| Agency executives | |
| Parent agency |
Reich Ministry of Armaments and War Production Reich Ministry of Aviation |
Jägerstab (Fighter Staff) was a Nazi German governmental task force whose aim was to increase production of fighter aircraft during World War II. Established in March 1944, it was composed of government and SS personnel, as well as representatives of the aircraft manufacturers.
The Jägerstab was instrumental in bringing about the increased exploitation of slave labour for the benefit of Germany's industry and its air force, the Luftwaffe. The task force played a key role in the Emergency Fighter Program, including the "people's jet" Heinkel He 162.
In early 1944, the Allied air war began to focus primarily upon the destruction of the Luftwaffe in preparation for the invasion of Normandy. Plans for the so-called "Big Week", which was intended to permanently smash the German capacity to produce fighter aircraft through targeted airstrikes on final assembly factories, were already underway in 1943. Between February 20–25, 1944, approximately 10,000 American and British aircraft, including about 6,000 bombers, attacked strategic targets all over Germany. Following these attacks, which seriously damaged German aircraft industry, the production rates fell drastically.
In response, Adolf Hitler authorised the creation of the Jägerstab with the aim of ensuring the preservation and growth of fighter aircraft production, superseding the Ministry of Aviation in this jurisdiction. The task force was established by the 1 March 1944 order of Albert Speer, the Minister of Armaments and War Production in the Hitler Cabinet, with support from Erhard Milch of the Reich Aviation Ministry. Speer and Milch played a key role in directing the activities of the agency, however, the day-to-day operations were handled by Chief of Staff Karl Saur, previously head of the Technical Office in the Armaments Ministry.
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