The German Army Aviation Corps[1] (German: Heeresfliegertruppe) is a special unit within the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr). The German Army Aviation Corps is a branch of the German Army (Heer), containing all its helicopter units. The German Air Force and the German Navy both also have their own helicopter units.
The coat of arms of the German Army Aviation Corps depicts a red eagle, swooping down whilst carrying a sword in its claws. Members of the Army Aviation Corps wear a burgundy-coloured beret. The badge on the beret is a wing, crossed vertically by a sword, surrounded by oak leaves. The Waffenfarbe of the German Army Aviation Corps ( a means the German military uses to distinguish between different corps or troop functions in its armed services) is silver-grey. The epaulettes of members of the German Army Aviation corps are lined in silver-grey. The gorget patches are held in the same color with two vertical cords. The sleeves of the uniforms display the flying wings, emphasising their main task.
Due to their manifold tasks, the German Army Aviation 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.[2]
Most units of the Army Aviation 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.
CH-53G of the German Army Aviation Corps during an exercise in BosniaKurdish refugee children run toward a CH-53G helicopter of the German Army Aviation Corps in Northern Iraq in 1991
After the foundation of the Bundeswehr in 1955, the first head of the department of the German Army Aviation 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 Aviation 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 Aviation 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 Aviation Corps were incorporated into the Airmobile Operations Division (Division Luftbewegliche Operationen) .
Furthermore, the role of the German Army Aviation 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 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 EUFOR RD Congo to support 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.
In October 2011 the German Federal Ministry of Defence announced a reorganisation/reduction of the German Armed Forces. As a consequence, the strength of Germany Army Aviation Corps was reduced. Flying operations at a number of air bases ceased and the respective units were dissolved. Other units were transferred to the German Air Force.[3]
Since 2020 the German Army Aviation Corpse consists of one brigade level unit called Helicopter Command. This Brigade belongs to the Rapid Forces Division and is made up of three regiments, one school, brigade staff HQ and central support and maintenance center.[4]
↑ Quoted from Bundesministerium der Verteidigung (26 October 2011), Neues Stationierungskonzept der Bundeswehr (in German), archived from the original on 8 November 2011, retrieved 5 November 2011, PDF-file "Die Stationierung der Bundeswehr in Deutschland", passim
Bundessprachenamt (ed.) (1993), Militärisches Studienglossar Englisch – Teil II/III, Bonn: Bundesministerium der Verteidigung{{citation}}: |last= has generic name (help)
Bundeswehramt (1962), Unser Heer 3: Heeresflieger, Bad Godesberg: Bundeswehramt
Fred, Bünz (1999). "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. Universität der Bundeswehr München.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
Dressel, Joachim; Griel, Manfred (1990), Flugzeuge und Hubschrauber der Bundeswehr, Stuttgart: Motorbuch-Verlag, ISBN3-613-01358-4
Garben, Fritz (2005), Deutsche Heeresflieger: nationale und internationale Rettungs-, Hilfs- und UN-Einsätze, Lemwerder: Stedinger-Verlag, ISBN3-927697-41-9
Garben, Fritz (2006), Fünf Jahrzehnte Heeresflieger: Typen, Taktik und Geschichte, Lemwerder: Stedinger-Verlag, ISBN3-927697-45-1
Garben, Fritz (2007), Deutsche Heeresflieger: Techniker im Einsatz, Lemwerder: Stedinger-Verlag, ISBN978-3-9276-9751-5
Kaufholz, Bernd (2003), Im Dienste des "alten Europa": Helfer in Kabul und andernorts, Halle: mdv, ISBN3-89812-202-6
Rudolph, Christin-Desirëe (2012), Soldaten unterm Rotor: die Huschrauberverbände der Bundeswehr, Suttgart: Motorbuch-Verlag, ISBN978-3-6130-3413-6
Schütt, Kurt W. (1985), Heeresflieger: Truppengattung der dritten Dimension; die Geschichte der Heeresfliegertruppe der Bundeswehr, Koblenz: Bernard und Graefe, ISBN3-7637-5451-2
Bundesministerium der Verteidigung, ed. (1996), "Heeresflieger", 1000 Stichworte zur Bundeswehr, Mittler, ISBN3-8132-0536-3
Vetter, Bernd; Vetter, Frank (2001), Die deutschen Heeresflieger: Geschichte, Typen und Verbände, Stuttgart: Motorbuch-Verlag, ISBN3-613-02146-3
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
