Dienstauszeichnung der Luftwaffe

The Luftwaffe Long Service Award (Dienstauszeichnung der Luftwaffe) was a German decoration established on March 16, 1936. Long service awards, which also existed for the Army, the SS and the NSDAP, had traditionally been the German government's and armed forces' awards for faithful service. For civil servants, there were the Faithful Service Decoration (Treudienst-Ehrenzeichen, 1938) and the Customs Border Guard Decoration (Zollgrenzschutz-Ehrenzeichen, 1939). The new long service award was established on the first anniversary of the restoration of compulsory military service. In the decree, Hitler cited the “recognition of faithful service in the new Wehrmacht” as the reason for establishing the decoration.

The first awards were made on October 2, 1936. In 1939, a need arose for a cross for 40 years of service. Therefore, on March 10, 1939, a First Class “with Golden Oak Leaves on the Ribbon” was established.