| Jagdgeschwader 71 "Richthofen" (Fighter Wing 71) |
|
|---|---|
Coat of arms of Jagdgeschwader 71 |
|
| Active | 6 June 1959-Present |
| Country | Federal Republic of Germany (Bundeswehr) |
| Branch | German Air Force (Luftwaffe) |
| Role | Air Defence, Rapid Deployment, NATO Command Force |
| Part of | 4th Air Force Division (4. Luftwaffendivision) |
| Garrison/HQ | Wittmund |
| Equipment | F-4 Phantom II |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
(Oberst) Gerhard Roubal |
| Notable commanders |
Erich Hartmann, Günther Josten |
Jagdgeschwader 71 (JG 71) Richthofen is a Fighter Wing of the German Luftwaffe. JG 71 was West Germany's first operational jet fighter unit and is currently the last operational German fighter unit using the F-4 Phantom II aircraft.[1]
The unit was formed in June 1959, equipped with 50 Canadair Sabre Mk.6s and stationed at the former RAF Ahlhorn. The highest-scoring fighter pilot of all time, Erich Hartmann, flew the Canadair Sabre (reputedly his favorite fighter plane design), and aircraft such as the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, in the newly formed wing in the late 1950s.
On 21 April 1961, the 43rd anniversary of the death of “Red Baron” Rittmeister Manfred Von Richthofen, JG 71 was given the honorary title of “Richthofen” by Federal President Heinrich Lübke. In 1961, JG 71 transferred from Ahlhorn to Wittmund.
May 1963 saw the introduction of the first F-104 Starfighters into Luftwaffe service. In 1974 the Wing obtained its first F-4F Phantom II's and on 19 September 1974 the unit's Starfighters were decommissioned. In 1988 the Wing's secondary role of Fighter Bomber Attack was given up so that JG 71 is now exclusively a Fighter Wing.
JG 71 is part of NATO's Immediate Reaction Force, meaning that it must be ready to deploy 12 aircraft on five days notice. However, the likelihood of having to deploy at such short notice is almost nil, so the Phantoms are kept operational to fulfill Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) interceptions and provide the best possible training for future Eurofighter Typhoon pilots. JG 71 is sharing its QRA duties with JG 74, which completed Eurofighter conversion in late-2008. Depending on the situation, the dividing line between the two units is roughly Frankfurt-Berlin, with JG 71 protecting the northern part of Germany.[2]
In 2007, for the second year running, JG 71 was German Air Force's record-breaking fighter wing in terms of flying activity, clocking up over 7,600 flying hours.[1] The unit is on 24/7 readiness to intercept unidentified aircraft over Germany. Between June and September 2008 the unit took part in NATO's Baltic Air Policing.[3] The unit participated in a Baltic Air Policing deployment from 1 November 2009.[4] In June 2010 six of the unit's F-4s were deployed to Iceland as part of NATOs Icelandic Air Policing mission.[5]
It is scheduled that starting with 2010 JG 71 will begin receiving its first Eurofighters. The wing will fly a mixed fleet for one or two years and by 2012 at the latest, the Phantom will be completely withdrawn from use. Although the Eurofighter is a multirole fighter aircraft, it seems likely that the JG7 1 will continue to carry out only air defence and interception duties.[6]
There was also a short-lived Jagdgeschwader 71 serving with the Luftwaffe during the early stages of World War II. It consisted of one group (I. Gruppe) with a staff (Gruppenstab) and two squadrons. It was created on 16 July 1939 in Schleissheim, and served until redesignated II./JG 51 in October 1939.
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||