The German Army Aviation Corps (german: Heeresfliegertruppe) is a special unit within the German Armed Forces (

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

). The German Army Aviation Corps is a branch of the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

(''Heer''), containing all its

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribu ...

units. The

German Air Force The German Air Force (german: Luftwaffe, lit=air weapon or air arm, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ''Bundeswehr'') was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War as ...

and the

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mari ...

both also have their own helicopter units.

Identification

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

of the German Army Aviation Corps depicts a white eagle, swooping down whilst carrying a sword in its claws. Members of the Army Aviation Corps wear a

burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The ...

-coloured

beret A beret ( or ; ; eu, txapela, ) is a soft, round, flat-crowned cap, usually of woven, hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, wool felt, or acrylic fibre. Mass production of berets began in 19th century France and Spain, and the beret rema ...

. 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

epaulette Epaulette (; also spelled epaulet) is a type of ornamental shoulder piece or decoration used as insignia of rank by armed forces and other organizations. Flexible metal epaulettes (usually made from brass) are referred to as ''shoulder scales' ...

s of members of the German Army Aviation corps are lined in silver-grey. The

gorget patch Gorget patches (collar tabs, collar patches) are an insignia in the form of paired patches of cloth or metal on the collar of a uniform (gorget), used in the military and civil service in some countries. Collar tabs sign the military rank (group ...

es are held in the same color with two vertical cords. The sleeves of the

uniforms A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, s ...

display the flying wings, emphasising their main task.

Tasks

The main tasks of the Army Aviation Corps are: * support of own troops through

anti-tank warfare Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first dev ...

. * transport, both internally and externally, of personnel and material. *

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops ( skirmishe ...

in combination with other units. * liaison between different units *

disaster A disaster is a serious problem occurring over a short or long period of time that causes widespread human, material, economic or environmental loss which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources ...

relief, e.g.

forest fire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...

floods A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...

etc. 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. Most units of the Army Aviation Corps are incorporated into the

Airmobile Operations Division __NOTOC__ Airmobile Operations Division (''Division Luftbewegliche Operationen'') was a division of the German Army. The division was founded on 1 July 2002 and reported for duty 8 October 2002. Airmobile Operations Division consisted of approxima ...

(''Division Luftbewegliche Operationen''). This division was founded on 1 July 2002 and became operational on 8 October 2002. German CH-53 Helicopter assigned to the Stabilization Force and Portuguese Army Soldiers

German CH-53 Helicopter assigned to the Stabilization Force and Portuguese Army Soldiers

History

After the foundation of the Bundeswehr in 1955, the first head of the department of the German Army Aviation Corps, Colonel

Horst Pape Horst may refer to: Science * Horst (geology), a raised fault block bounded by normal faults or graben People * Horst (given name) * Horst (surname) * ter Horst, Dutch surname * van der Horst, Dutch surname Places Settlements Germany * Horst ...

, 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 Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

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 The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

countries. Since the unification of the Federal Republic of Germany with the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...

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

(''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 The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

, NATO and the EU, first in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

after the 1st

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

, then on the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

with IFOR,

KFOR KFOR may refer to: * KFOR (AM), a radio station (1240 AM) licensed to Lincoln, Nebraska, United States * KFOR-TV, a television station (channel 4 analog/27 digital) licensed to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States * KFOR-TV (Nebraska), a defun ...

SFOR The Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (SFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Bosnian war. Although SFOR was led by NATO, several non-NATO countries contributed troops. It ...

and EUFOR, and most recently in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

as part of

ISAF ' ps, کمک او همکاري ' , allies = Afghanistan , opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda , commander1 = , commander1_label = Commander , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , command ...

and most recently in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

as part of

EUFOR RD Congo European Union Force RD Congo, commonly referred as EUFOR RD Congo, was a European Union deployment in 2006 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. On 25 April 2006, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1671 (2006), authorisi ...

to support the UN mission

MONUC The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or MONUSCO, an acronym based on its French name , is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which was estab ...

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 will be reduced. Flying operations at a number of air bases will cease to exist and the respective units being dissolved. Other units will be transferred to the

.Quoted from , PDF-file "Die Stationierung der Bundeswehr in Deutschland", passim

Equipment

The German Army Aviation Corps is equipped with: * Airbus H145 LUH SAR, Search and Rescue helicopter. *

Eurocopter EC135 The Eurocopter EC135 (now Airbus Helicopters H135) is a twin-engine civil light utility helicopter produced by Airbus Helicopters (formerly known as Eurocopter). It is capable of flight under instrument flight rules (IFR) and is outfitted wit ...

, training helicopter. *

NH90 The NHIndustries NH90 is a medium-sized, twin-engine, multi-role military helicopter. It was developed in response to NATO requirements for a battlefield helicopter which would also be capable of being operated in naval environments. The NH90 ...

, multi-role helicopter *

Eurocopter Tiger The Eurocopter Tiger is a four-blade, twin-engine attack helicopter which first entered service in 2003. It is manufactured by Airbus Helicopters (formerly Eurocopter), which arose from the merger of Aérospatiale's and DASA's respective helic ...

attack helicopter An attack helicopter is an armed helicopter with the primary role of an attack aircraft, with the offensive capability of engaging ground targets such as enemy infantry, military vehicles and fortifications. Due to their heavy armament they ...

Image:Bundeswehrmuseum Dresden 6.jpg, Bell UH-1D Image:Bolkow Bo 105 1.jpg, Bölkow Bo 105 P1A1

Units

The following units were subordinate to Airmobile Operations Division, the division's headquarters being in

Veitshöchheim Veitshöchheim is a municipality in the district of Würzburg, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Main, northwest of Würzburg. Veitshöchheim has a population just under 10,000. It includes two villages: Veitshöchhei ...

: The following units were part of Airmobile Brigade 1 of Airmobile Operations Division. The division's headquarters was in

Fritzlar Fritzlar () is a small town (pop. 15,000) in the Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, Germany, north of Frankfurt, with a storied history. The town has a medieval center ringed by a wall with numerous watch towers. Thirty-eight meters (125& ...

: The following unit was not part of the Airmobile Operations Division but part of

Air Transport Wing 62 Air Transport Wing 62 (german: Lufttransportgeschwader 62) is a wing of the German Air Force (''Luftwaffe''). The wing was founded in 1959 and is currently based at Wunstorf Air Base in Lower-Saxony, Germany operating Airbus A400M fixed-wing ...

: The following units operated independently: The following units are or were part of the

Army Aviation School An Army Aviation School is a military educational establishment responsible for the training and development of the personnel and equipment of the aviation element in those armies that have a separate aviation branch. Tasks Army Aviation Scho ...

. The school's headquarters is in

Bückeburg Bückeburg (Northern Low Saxon: ''Bückeborg'') is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, on the border with North Rhine Westphalia. It is located in the district of Schaumburg close to the northern slopes of the Weserbergland ridge. Population: 21,0 ...

References

External links

Official site of the German Army Aviation Corps

Day of the German Army Aviators 2006

Site of Army Aviation Liaison and Reconnaissance Helicopter Squadron 100
{{in lang, de
Helicopter museum in Bückeburg
Army aviation units and formations German army aviation Military administrative corps of Germany Military units and formations established in 1957 Units and formations of the German Army (1956–present)