The Luftwaffe training policies had to be underhanded since
the Treaty of Versailles prevented Germany from having an
airforce, German pilots had to be trained in secret. At the
start civil aviation schools inside Germany were used, But
only light training Aircraft could be used in order to maintain
the charade that the trainees were going to fly with civil
airlines such as Lufthansa. To train its pilots on the latest
combat aircraft, Germany courted the help of its future enemy,
Russia. A secret training airfield was established at Lipetsk
in 1924 and operated for around 9 years using mostly Russian,
but also some German, training aircraft before being shot
down 1933.
The Warplanes of the Third Reich.
ISBN-10: 0385057822
German Aircraft of the Second World War.
ISBN-10: 0370000242
Hitler's Luftwaffe.
ISBN-10: 051718771X
For a complete list of
sources
