''Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 31'' "

Boelcke Oswald Boelcke PlM (; 19 May 1891 – 28 October 1916) was a World War I German professional soldier and pioneering flying ace credited with 40 aerial victories. Boelcke is honored as the father of the German fighter air force, and of air ...

" (Tactical Air Force Wing 31; abbreviated as ''TaktLwG 31 "B"''), formerly known as ''Jagdbombergeschwader 31'' (Fighter-Bomber Wing 31; abbreviated as: ''JaBoG 31''), is a fighter-bomber wing of 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 a ...

(''Luftwaffe''). The wing is based in west Germany at

Nörvenich Air Base Nörvenich Air Base (Fliegerhorst Nörvenich) is a German Air Force air base in Germany . It is the home of Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 31 "Boelcke". The squadron flies the Eurofighter Typhoon. History It was built for the RAF Germany in 1 ...

. Its role are

Air Interdiction Air interdiction (AI), also known as deep air support (DAS), is the use of preventive tactical bombing and strafing by combat aircraft against enemy targets that are not an immediate threat, to delay, disrupt or hinder later enemy engagement of fr ...

Offensive Counter Air Offensive counter-air (OCA) is a military term for the suppression of an enemy's military air power, primarily through ground attacks targeting enemy air bases: disabling or destroying parked aircraft, runways, fuel facilities, hangars, air traffi ...

and

Close Air Support In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and moveme ...

. The wing flies the

Eurofighter Typhoon The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo ...

. On 1 October 2013, the renamed unit also became the parent unit of the newly established Tactical Air Force Group "Richthofen".

History

The wing was raised during 1957 on

Büchel Air Base Büchel Air Base is a military air base of the Luftwaffe in Büchel (Germany), near the city of Cochem and at about 70 km from Spangdahlem Air Base. It is home to the Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 33 (Tactical Air Force Wing 33; abbrevi ...

had not been readied yet. On 1 October 1957 the 1st Squadron was officially activated making it the oldest squadron still in service with the German Air Force. During January 1958 the wing began its move to Nörvenich and on 20 June 1958 the wing was officially activated there. On 19 January 1959 ''Jagdbombergeschwader 31'' became the first German Air Force wing to be assigned to

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 No ...

. On 20 April 1961 the wing was given the name ''"Boelcke"'', in honor of the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Luftstreitkräfte The ''Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte'' (, German Air Force)—known before October 1916 as (Flyer Troops)—was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-language sources it is usually referred to as the Imperial German Air Service, alt ...

fighter pilot

Oswald Boelcke Oswald Boelcke PlM (; 19 May 1891 – 28 October 1916) was a World War I German professional soldier and pioneering flying ace credited with 40 aerial victories. Boelcke is honored as the father of the German fighter air force, and of air ...

. Initially equipped with

Republic F-84F Thunderstreak The Republic F-84F Thunderstreak was an American swept-wing turbojet fighter-bomber. While an evolutionary development of the straight-wing F-84 Thunderjet, the F-84F was a new design. The RF-84F Thunderflash was a photo reconnaissance version ...

fighters, the wing received

Lockheed F-104 Starfighter The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic air superiority fighter which was extensively deployed as a fighter-bomber during the Cold War. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the "Century Series" of fi ...

s starting in 1961 and became the first operational air force Starfighter wing on 20 June 1962. With the introduction of the

Panavia Tornado IDS The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing multirole combat aircraft, jointly developed and manufactured by Italy, the United Kingdom and West Germany. There are three primary Tornado variants: the Tornado IDS (interd ...

in 1979 the ''Jagdbombergeschwader 31'' again was the first unit to switch to the new plane. When the air force began fielding its newest combat plane the

''JaBoG 31''. The first four Eurofighters arrived at Nörvenich on 16 December 2009 and with the departure of the last Tornados on 25 June 2010 ''JaBoG 31'' became the Luftwaffes first operational Eurofighter wing. A total of 31 Eurofighters will be based at Nörvenich.

Accidents

Since its inception ''JaBoG 31'' has lost 33 pilots in accidents, 18 of which died in F-104 Starfighter accidents. On 23 June 2014, a

was involved in a mid-air collision with a

Learjet 35A The Learjet Model 35 and Model 36 are a series of American multi-role business jets and military transport aircraft manufactured by Learjet. When used by the United States Air Force they carry the designation C-21A. The aircraft are powered by ...

over

Olsberg, Germany Olsberg is a town in the Hochsauerland district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography It is situated on the river Ruhr, approx. 15 km east of Meschede. It is bordered by Arnsberg Forest Nature Park, on the northern fringe of t ...

. The severely damaged aircraft made a safe landing at Nörvenich Air Base. The Learjet crashed, killing both pilots.

References

External links

JaboG 31 Website
(German) {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Jagdbombergeschwader 031 Military units and formations established in 1958 1958 establishments in Germany