Missile Wing 2

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Missile Wing 2
German: Flugkörpergeschwader 2
Flugkorpergeschwader 2.svg
Active 1965–1991
Disbanded 1991
CountryFlag of Germany.svg  West Germany
Branch Roundel of the German Air Force (with Border).svg   German Air Force
Part of 3rd Luftwaffendivision, Second Allied Tactical Air Force

Missile Wing 2 (German : Flugkörpergeschwader 2, FKG 2) was a unit of the German Air Force. It was activated on 1 January 1965 in Lechfeld with two subordinate units: Missile Group 21 (German : Flugkörpergruppe 21) and Missile Group 22 (German : Flugkörpergruppe 22). [1]

German language West Germanic language

German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol (Italy), the German-speaking Community of Belgium, and Liechtenstein. It is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg and a co-official language in the Opole Voivodeship in Poland. The languages which are most similar to German are the other members of the West Germanic language branch: Afrikaans, Dutch, English, the Frisian languages, Low German/Low Saxon, Luxembourgish, and Yiddish. There are also strong similarities in vocabulary with Danish, Norwegian and Swedish, although those belong to the North Germanic group. German is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English.

German Air Force Air warfare branch of Germanys military

The German Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the Bundeswehr, the armed forces of Germany. With a strength of 27,767 personnel, it is the fourth largest air force within the European Union, after the air forces of the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. Although its budget has been significantly reduced since the end of the Cold War in 1989–1990, the Luftwaffe is still among the best-equipped air forces in the world.

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Missile Group 21 moved to Nörvenich in September 1965. In 1976, the Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) site at Arsbeck became operational for FKG 2, and QRA Nörvenich was used for training. In November 1986, QRA Arsbeck was closed.

Nörvenich Place in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Nörvenich is a municipality in the district of Düren in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located about 10 km (6 mi) east of Düren.

Warheads were under U.S. control, released only in wartime conditions. [2] Warheads were controlled by the 85th U.S. Army Field Artillery Detachment (85th USAFAD) from 1969 to 1991.

Pershing 1b was a single stage, reduced range version of the Pershing II with the same range as the Pershing 1a. The Pershing II launcher was designed so that the cradle could be easily repositioned to handle the shorter missile airframe. The intent was to replace the German Air Force's Pershing 1a systems with Pershing 1b, since SALT II limited the range of German-owned missiles. The German government agreed to destroy its Pershing 1a systems when the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty on 27 May 1988, thus the Pershing 1b was never deployed. Although not covered by the treaty, West Germany agreed unilaterally to the removal of the Pershing 1a missiles from its inventory in 1991, and the missiles were destroyed in the United States.

Pershing II American ballistic missile

The Pershing II Weapon System was a solid-fueled two-stage ballistic missile designed and built by Martin Marietta to replace the Pershing 1a Field Artillery Missile System as the United States Army's primary nuclear-capable theater-level weapon. The U.S. Army replaced the Pershing 1a with the Pershing II Weapon System in 1983, while the German Air Force retained Pershing 1a until all Pershings were eliminated in 1991. The U.S. Army Missile Command (MICOM) managed the development and improvements, while the Field Artillery Branch deployed the systems and developed tactical doctrine.

Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty Expired agreement between the USA and USSR (later Russia) on nuclear arms control

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was an arms control treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union. U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev signed the treaty on 8 December 1987. The United States Senate approved the treaty on 27 May 1988, and Reagan and Gorbachev ratified it on 1 June 1988.

The wing was deactivated on 31 December 1991.

Commanders

Militärhistorisches Museum Flugplatz Berlin-Gatow Military Museum in Berlin-Gatow, Germany

The Militärhistorisches Museum der Bundeswehr - Flugplatz Berlin-Gatow, is the Berlin branch of the Bundeswehr Military History Museum. The museum acts as an independent military department.

Related Research Articles

The MGM-31A Pershing was the missile used in the Pershing 1 and Pershing 1a field artillery missile systems. It was a solid-fueled two-stage ballistic missile designed and built by Martin Marietta to replace the PGM-11 Redstone missile as the primary nuclear-capable theater-level weapon of the United States Army and replaced the MGM-1 Matador cruise missiles operated by the German Air Force. Pershing later replaced the European-based MGM-13 Mace cruise missiles deployed by the United States Air Force and the German Air Force. Development began in 1958, with the first test missile fired in 1960, the Pershing 1 system deployed in 1963 and the improved Pershing 1a deployed in 1969. The U.S. Army replaced the Pershing 1a with the Pershing II Weapon System in 1983 while the German Air Force retained Pershing 1a until all Pershings were eliminated in 1991. The U.S. Army Missile Command (MICOM) managed the development and improvements while the Field Artillery Branch deployed the systems and developed tactical doctrine.

Nuclear artillery class of artillery using munitions with nuclear warheads

Nuclear artillery is a subset of limited-yield tactical nuclear weapons, in particular those weapons that are launched from the ground at battlefield targets. Nuclear artillery is commonly associated with shells delivered by a cannon, but in a technical sense short-range artillery rockets or tactical ballistic missiles are also included.

BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missile

The Ground Launched Cruise Missile, or GLCM, was a ground-launched cruise missile developed by the United States Air Force in the last decade of the Cold War and destroyed under the INF Treaty.

MGM-13 Mace

The Martin Mace is a tactical cruise missile developed from the Martin TM-61 Matador later MGM-1 Matador. It was replaced by the MGM-31 Pershing missile by Robert McNamara, and later in its role as a cruise missile for West Germany, by the BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missile.

Woensdrecht Air Base airport in the Netherlands

Woensdrecht Air Base is a military airport between the villages of Woensdrecht and Huijbergen, about 10 km south of the city of Bergen op Zoom in the Netherlands. It is located near the A58 motorway and the border with Belgium.

This Pershing missile bibliography is a list of works related to the Pershing 1 and Pershing 1a Field Artillery Missile Systems and the Pershing II Weapon System.

56th Field Artillery Command unit of the United States Army

The 56th Field Artillery Command was a brigade size element of the United States Army. The unit was constituted in 1942 with the last period of active service being 1963 through 1991 with the nuclear Pershing missile system.

RK-55 cruise missile

The Novator RK-55 Relief is a Soviet land-based or submarine-launched cruise missile with a nuclear warhead. It was about to enter service in 1987, when such weapons were banned under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. A version launched from submarine torpedo tubes, the S-10 Granat, has apparently been converted to carry conventional warheads and continues in service to this day. The Russian Federation was reported to have deployed the derivative SS-CX-7/SS-CX-8 systems on February 14, 2017.

Quick Reaction Alert state of readiness in military aviation

Quick Reaction Alert, known colloquially as QRA, is state of readiness and modus operandi of air defence maintained at all hours of the day by NATO air forces.

59th Ordnance Brigade brigade

The 59th Ordnance Brigade is a military unit of the United States Army. The unit is currently stood up as the U.S. Army Ordnance School's training brigade. In its previous iteration, the brigade had more than 6,500 soldiers. It was responsible for storage, delivering, maintaining, Nuclear and Chemical Control Orders, and supervising the weapons of mass destruction for U.S. Forces and Forces of the Allied NATO-Countries, except France.

Second Allied Tactical Air Force was a NATO military formation under Allied Air Forces Central Europe tasked with providing air support to NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG). 2ATAF commanded all flying units based within its sector and all reinforcements flying into its sector, as well as ground-based radar systems and stations, air defense units and the airfields in its sector.

Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 31

Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 31 "Boelcke", formerly known as Jagdbombergeschwader 31, is a fighter-bomber wing of the German Air Force (Luftwaffe). The wing is based in west Germany at Nörvenich Air Base. Its role are Air Interdiction, Offensive Counter Air and Close Air Support. The wing flies the Eurofighter Typhoon.

Green River Launch Complex

The Utah Launch Complex was a Cold War military subinstallation of White Sands Missile Range for USAF and US Army rocket launches. In addition to firing Pershing missiles, the complex launched Athena RTV missiles with subscale (test) warheads of the Advanced Ballistic Re-entry System to reentry speeds and impact at the New Mexico range. From 1964 to 1975 there were 244 Green River launches, including 141 Athena launches and a Pershing to 281 kilometers altitude. "Utah State Route 19 runs through the Green River Launch Complex, which is south of the town and eponym of Green River."

Pershing missile launches

From 1960 to 1988 there were Pershing missile launches for testing from various sites in the US. The systems included the Pershing 1 Field Artillery Missile System, the Pershing 1a Field Artillery Missile System and the Pershing II Weapon System. Initial launches were from what is now the Eastern Range at Cape Canaveral, Florida using Launch Complex 30A using the dismounted erector launcher. Later launches were from the full transporter erector launcher (TEL). Further launches were conducted at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) using tactical equipment. The Pershing 1 and 1a had a range of 740 kilometres (460 mi), thus launches were from various subinstallations into WSMR. The two-stage Pershing II had a range of 1,770 kilometres (1,100 mi), thus launches at WSMR used a single-stage missile with two-stage launches at Cape Canaveral.

Missile Wing 1

Missile Wing 1 was a unit of the German Air Force.

There are a number of Pershing missile displays of inert missiles in the U.S, Germany and Russia. The Pershing systems were eliminated after the ratification of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty on 27 May 1988. The treaty allowed for a total of fifteen Pershing II and GLCM missiles for display and seven Pershing IIs were retained. A number of Pershing 1 and Pershing 1a missiles are also on display.

Air Transport Wing 63 is a wing of the German Air Force (Luftwaffe). The wing was founded in 1957 and is currently based at Hohn Air Base in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany operating Transall C-160 fixed-wing aircraft.

References

  1. ↑ Berghoff, Major Walter (1970). "In einem Flugkörpergeschwader Pershing" [Pershing Missile Wing]. Jahrbuch der Luftwaffe[Yearbook of the German Air Force] (in German). Luftwaffe.
  2. ↑ Burns, Steven T. (2014). History of the Pershing Missile Systems. ISBN   978-1-63318-129-8.
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