German Army Aviators Corps
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The German Army Aviators Corps (Heeresfliegertruppe) is a special unit within the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr). The German Army Aviators Corps is part of the German Army, containing all its helicopter units. The German Air Force and the German Navy both also have their own helicopter units.
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[edit] Identification
The coat of arms of the German Army Aviators Corps depicts a white eagle, swooping down whilst carrying a sword in its claws. Members of the German Army Aviator Corps wear a burgundy-coloured beret. The badge on the beret is a wing, crossed vertically by a sword, surrounded by oak leaves. Their epaulettes are lined in silver-grey. The sleeves of their uniforms show the flying wings, emphasizing their main task.
[edit] Tasks
The main tasks of the German Army Aviators Corps are:
- support of own troops through anti-tank warfare.
- transport, both internally and externally, of personnel and material.
- reconnaissance in combination with other units.
- liaison between different units
- disaster aid, e.g. wildfire, floods etc.
Due to their manifold tasks, the German Army Aviators Corps cannot be classified as having any of the classic tasks of army units, namely leading and supporting the leadership, fighting and supporting the fighting force.
Some but not all units of the German Army Aviators Corps are incorporated into the Airmobile Operations Division (Division Luftbewegliche Operationen). This division was founded on 1 July 2002 and became operational on 8 October 2002.
[edit] Equipment
The German Army Aviators Corps is equipped with:
- Bell UH-1D, light transport helicopter.
- Sikorsky CH-53G/GS, medium transport helicopter.
- MBB Bo 105P, anti-tank helicopter.
- MBB Bo 105M, reconnaissance and liaison helicopter.
- Eurocopter EC 135, training helicopter.
Procured but not yet delivered for active service have been:
- Eurocopter Tiger, attack helicopter
- LTH NATO-HELICOPTER 90, multi-role helicopter
 Bell UH-1D |
 Bölkow Bo 105 |
 Eurocopter EC 135 |
 Eurocopter Tiger |
 NH90 |
 CH-53G |
[edit] Units
The following units are part of the Air Mechanized Brigade 1 of the Airmobile Operations Division. The headquarters are in Fritzlar:
| Name of unit | Based at |
|---|---|
| Army Aviators Light Transport Helicopter Regiment 10 | Faßberg |
| Army Aviators Attack Helicopter Regiment 26 Franken | Roth |
| Army Aviators Attack Helicopter Regiment 36 | Fritzlar |
| Army Aviators Liaison and Reconnaissance Helicopter Squadron 100 | Celle |
| Army Aviators Support Squadron 14 | Celle |
The following units are part of the Army Aviators Brigade 3 of the Airmobile Operations Division. The headquarters are in Mendig:
| Name of unit | Based at |
|---|---|
| Army Aviators Liaison and Reconnaissance Helicopter Squadron 300 | Mendig |
| Army Aviators Support Squadron 7 | Mendig |
| Army Aviators Medium Transport Helicopter Regiment 15 Münsterland | Rheine |
| Army Aviators Medium Transport Helicopter Regiment 25 Oberschwaben | Laupheim |
| Army Aviators Support Squadron 10 | Laupheim |
| Army Aviators Light Transport Helicopter Regiment 30 | Niederstetten |
| Army Aviators Support Squadron 13 | Niederstetten |
The following unit is not part of the Airmobile Operations Division:
| Name of unit | Based at |
|---|---|
| Army Aviators Support Squadron 1 | Holzdorf |
The following units are part of the Army Aviators Training School. The headquarters are in Bückeburg:
| Name of unit | Based at |
|---|---|
| Instruction Group A (flying instruction) | Bückeburg |
| Instruction Group B (non-flying instruction) | Bückeburg |
| Training Centre C (flying instruction) | Celle |
| Army Aviators Test Squadron 910 | Celle |
| Research And Development Group | Bückeburg |
| Technical Maintenance Department | Bückeburg |
[edit] History
After the foundation of the Bundeswehr in 1955, the first head of the department of the German Army Aviators Corps, Colonel Horst Pape, was appointed on 7 November 1956. During the next ten years, a great number of bases all over the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany were founded.
In the first instance, all the equipment was acquired from allied nations. However, from the late 1960s onwards, more emphasis was put on developing new technology with other European partners. Until 1990, the German Army Aviators Corps was restricted to see active service only during aid mission within Germany and NATO countries.
Since the unification of the Federal Republic of Germany with the German Democratic Republic in 1990, there have been several rounds of re-organizations within the Bundeswehr, also affecting the German Army Aviators Corps. A number of bases were closed down, and their units either dissolved or merged with other units. In 2002, most remaining units of the German Army Aviators Corps were incorporated into the Airmobile Operations Division (Division Luftbewegliche Operationen) .
Furthermore, the rôle of the German Army Aviators Corps changed as well. Since the mid 1990s, it has been increasingly deployed in a support rôle in several countries for as varying bodies as the United Nations, NATO and the EU, first in Iraq after the the 1st Gulf War, then on the Balkans with IFOR, KFOR, SFOR and EUFOR, and most recently in Afghanistan as part of ISAF and most recently in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as part of the EU contingent within the UN mission MONUC to monitor the general elections in 2006. This mission began in June 2006 and ended with the last soldiers returning in December of the same year.
[edit] References
- Bundesministerium der Verteidigung, Das Heer: Heeresflieger, Bonn, 1975
- Bundesministerium der Verteidigung, Heeresflieger, Bonn, 1970.
- Bundesministerium der Verteidigung, Armee der Einheit 1990-2000, Bonn, 2000
- Bundeswehramt, Unser Heer 3: Heeresflieger, Bad Godesberg, 1962.
- Bünz, Fred, Modernisierung in der Bundeswehr: die Entwicklung des Konzeptes der Luftbeweglichkeit und der entsprechenden Einsatzgrundsätze; unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des von Carl von Clausewitz formulierten Wechselverhältnisses von Theorie und Praxis, Diss., München, 1999.
- Dressel, Joachim & Griehl, Manfred, Flugzeuge und Hubschrauber der Bundeswehr, Stuttgart, 1990
- Garben, Fritz, Deutsche Heeresflieger: nationale und internationale Rettungs-, Hilfs- und UN-Einsätze, Lemwerder, 2005.
- Garben, Fritz, Fünf Jahrzehnte Heeresflieger: Typen, Taktik und Geschichte, Lemwerder, 2006.
- Kaufholz, Bernd, Im Dienste des "alten Europa": Helfer in Kabul und andernorts, Halle, 2003
- Schütt, Kurt W., Heeresflieger: Truppengattung der dritten Dimension; die Geschichte der Heeresfliegertruppe der Bundeswehr, Koblenz, 1985
- Tausend Stichworte zur Bundeswehr, Herford, 1997
- Vetter, Frank, Die deutschen Heeresflieger: Geschichte, Typen und Verbände, Stuttgart, 2001.
[edit] See also
- History of the German Army Aviators Corps
- Bundeswehr
- German Army
- Australian Army Aviation Brigade
- British Army Air Corps
- French Army Light Aviation
- Malaysian Army Aviation
[edit] External links
- Official site of the German Army
- Official site of the German Armed Forces
- Site of Attack Helicopter Regiment 26 Franken in Roth
- Site of Army Aviators Liaison and Reconnaissance Helicopter Squadron 100
- Site of Medium Transport Helicopter Regiment 15 Münsterland in Rheine
- German website dedicated to the German Army Aviators Corps
