Reconnaissance Squadron 52

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Reconnaissance Wing 52
- AG 52 -

Crest of the reconnaissance squadron 52

Internal association badge (coat of arms)
active December 12, 1959 to March 31, 1994
Country GermanyGermany Germany
Armed forces Bundeswehr Kreuz.svg armed forces
Armed forces air force air force
Strength approx. 1,500 soldiers;
approx. 400 civil servants
Insinuation COA 3LwDiv.svg3rd Air Force Division
last position Coat of arms Stadum.png Stadum , General Thomsen Barracks

Leck-Wappen.png Leck , Air Base (North Friesland)

guide
Commodore ColonelColonel Peek
(last commodore before decommissioning)
Aircraft
Reconnaissance aircraft /
helicopter 		Republic RF-84 , RF-104G , McDonnell F-4 in version RF-4E

The reconnaissance wing 52 was a reconnaissance squadron of the German armed forces for manned tactical aerial reconnaissance within the German armed forces , it was decommissioned on March 31, 1994.

history

On December 12, 1959, the first inspector of the Air Force , Lieutenant General Josef Kammhuber , commissioned reconnaissance wing 52 with order No. 125 of April 10, 1959 at Erding airfield . The squadron was subordinate to the 3rd Air Force Division in Münster , from 1970 in Kalkar . The first commodore of the squadron was Major Karl-Heinz Metz, who died on December 22, 1959 as a result of a traffic accident. Major Sommer took over the leadership until in January 1960 Major Roderich Cescotti was deployed as a squadron commodore. In October 1960 the AG 52 was relocated to Eggebek , and in 1964 to the airfield near Leck . The airfield had the ICAO code EDNL (1990). In addition to the airfield there, the association used the General-Thomsen barracks in the municipality of Stadum, named after General Hermann von der Lieth-Thomsen on October 8, 1966 .

The initial equipment of the reconnaissance wing 52 initially consisted of 36 aircraft of the tactical reconnaissance version of the Republic F-84 "Thunderflash" and four jet trainers Lockheed T-33 A, called "T-Bird".

In 1964 the AG 52 was equipped with the RF-104G as part of a squadron relocation .

The technical staff was retrained at the technical school of the Luftwaffe 1 in Kaufbeuren , while the pilots went through the starfighter training mainly at the weapons school 10 in Jever.

On June 4, 1966, the laying of the few remaining RF-84F began. On August 31, the officially last Thunderflash, changed in color by the technicians, started on the last flight to Erding.

From the beginning of 1971 to the end of 1972, the RF-104G were replaced by 44 aircraft McDonnell F-4 in the version RF-4E. The unarmed RF-4E was enabled as part of the " Combat Value Enhancement " project in 1979/1980 to also be used as a fighter-bomber.

  • Republic F-84, Schleswig Jagel

  • Lockheed T-33A of the AG 52 in the Air Force Museum Berlin-Gatow

  • Behind an RF 104 from the AG 51, in front of it an RF-101C from the USAF

  • RF 4 E of AG 52, Ramstein AFB

  • Thu 28 of AG 52, Leck - cross servicing + Do Flight

Squadron leadership and structure

The AG 52 was subordinate to the 3rd Air Force Division nationally; the NATO allegation was divided over SACEUR - SHAPE - AFNORTH - BALTAP and COMAIRBALTAB.

The Commodore of the AG 52

  • Major Karl-Heinz Metz, December 12, 1959 to December 22, 1959
  • Major Sommer, December 22, 1959 to January 16, 1960 (acting)
  • Major Roderich Cescotti (retired major general), January 16, 1960 to February 5, 1965
  • Lieutenant Colonel Jentzen, February 5, 1965 to February 1, 1970
  • Lieutenant Colonel Hermann Braun (retired colonel), February 1, 1971 to October 1, 1972
  • Colonel Gerhard John (retired Lieutenant General), October 1, 1972 - February 1976
  • Colonel Berndt-Dieter von der Betten , February 1976 - March 1981
  • Colonel Joachim Hameyer, April 1981 - September 1982
  • Colonel Siegfried Thormann, October 1982 - January 1986
  • Colonel Hans-Heinrich Seifert, February 1986 - December 1988
  • Colonel Henner Scholz (retired major general), December 1988 - March 1993
  • Colonel Peek April 1993 to December 15, 1993 (squadron decommissioned)

Squadron staff

The squadron staff (also Staff AG 52) supported the commodore and determined the measures necessary to implement the order. Its subject areas are divided into: S1 - Human Resources, S2 - Military Security and Military Intelligence, S3 - Operations, Organization and Training, S4 - Logistics, S6 - Telecommunications, Data Security.

The reconnaissance wing 52 was divided into three groups, the flying group, the technical group and the air base group.

Flying group

The flying group consisted of two flying squadrons , each with an image train for the processing of aviator films and aerial photo analysis, as well as the flight operations squadron . In the planning, control and monitoring of flight operations, the staff works with subject areas S2 and S3 to assist the commander of the flying group . The personnel officer (S1) provided support for personnel management with his subject area. The Geophysical Advice Center (Geophys.BSt) for weather advice to the flying crews and the data transmission center (SLAR DÜStn Mitte) were also subordinate to the flying group. The standardization group, which was directly subordinate to the staff working group, was important for the flying group. It operated the training and the reviews of the crews according to the tasks of the TCTP (Tactical Combat Training Program).

Technical group

The technical group provides the aircraft required for flight operations through repair and maintenance . The task of the technical group also includes supplying the squadron with spare parts, operating materials, imaging equipment, food and clothing. A staff and the maintenance team, the maintenance team, the electronics and image equipment team and the replenishment team are responsible for providing this logistical support.

Air Base Group

The air base group was divided into the motor vehicle squadron with the subordinate driving school , the air force security team and the air force medical team . The commander of the air base group was also the barracks commander .

The commanders from 1964 to 1994 were Major Weidemann and Lieutenant Colonel Einicke, Kuhn, Bormann, Wall, Ellger, Beckmann, Backens, Gudehus, Werner and Heidenreich.

Decommissioning and statistics

The 35 + 52 "last call" in Leck August 26, 1993

According to organizational order No. 44/1992 (Lw) of September 18, 1992, AG 52 was decommissioned with effect from March 31, 1994.

On August 26, 1993, the squadron said goodbye to its host community, Leck, with an open day. There were some flight demonstrations which ended with the so-called "last call" of the aircraft with the number 35 + 52. The AG 52 ended its service on December 15, 1993. On January 12, 1994 the last aircraft, the RF-4E 35 + 25, left the base in Leck.

The total flight hours of the AG 52 were: with the RF 84 F 52,597: 45, with the RF 104 G 21,627: 55, with the TF 104 G 3,973: 50 and with the RF 4 E 184.220: 50 hours; a total of 262,420: 20 hours.

Location of the aircraft

46 RF-4E phantom reconnaissance aircraft from Bundeswehr stocks were modernized and delivered to Turkey, one RF 4 E came to the Military History Museum at Berlin-Gatow airfield .

The 35 + 62 of the AG 52 in Gatow

losses

A total of 26 aircraft were lost in aircraft accidents; 18 crew members lost their lives.

McDonnell RF-4E (selection)

  • 35 + 70 on November 9, 1975
  • 35 + 55 on March 23, 1976, Major Klaus Langer † and combat observer Hans-Peter Baader seriously injured.
  • 35 + 23 on October 3, 1978, Baltic Sea near Møn , Lieutenant Thomas Hofmann † and Major Rüdiger Küchenthal †.
  • 35 + 47 on March 26, 1980
  • 35 + 30 on May 27, 1981; the pilot †
  • 35 + 80 on September 15, 1983, Captain Endres † and Oberleutnant Oland †.
  • 35 + 69 on June 15, 1988, near Coesfeld ; Lieutenant Colonel Keilmann † and Major Cimbal †.
  • 35 + 14 on July 5, 1988, near Stade
  • 35 + 85 on September 14, 1988, Baltic Sea; both crew members †

Former squadron members (selection)

Peter Aniol , Gerhard Back , Roderich Cescotti , Botho Engelien , Kurt Herrmann , Manfred Kohrs , Jürgen Koppelin , Walter Krupinski , Jochen Missfeldt , H. Dieter Neumann , Karlheinz Viereck .

Operations in the context of disaster control

The first use of the AG 52 took place from the Eggebek location in the form of aerial reconnaissance during the storm surge in 1962 . The scouts delivered u. a. Data on the condition of the dikes.

During the snow catastrophe in Northern Germany in 1978/1979 , soldiers and equipment from AG 52 were used to clear the B199 and the B5 ; primarily to keep the road connection to the district hospital in Niebüll free. The squadron also provided emergency power generators and accommodation for the civilian population.

Trivia

On the occasion of the 1972 Summer Olympics , the AG 52 vehicle squadron was included in the transport process. Twelve drivers and five buses were used.

Traditional community

The traditional community Aufklärungsgeschwader 52 e. V. was founded on November 10, 1992 by 164 former members of the reconnaissance squadron 52 in the General Thomsen barracks in Stadum, and Peter Aniol was elected as the first chairman . After just five years, the number of members had grown to 500. Up until 2011, the lower rooms of the officers 'quarters served as storage space for the chronicle as well as exhibits from all areas of the aviation association, then the move to the former NCOs' residence followed. The association has u. a. to the content, to present the history of the AG 52 and the local tradition maintenance of the garrison community of Leck from 1939 to today. The private military history collection of the traditional community of the reconnaissance wing 52 was included in the museum association in 1977.

literature

  • Reconnaissance Wing 52 Chronicle . 1st edition, Clausen and Bosse Leck 1993.
  • Bernd Lemke ; Dieter Krüger ; Heinz Rebhan; Wolfgang Schmidt : The Air Force 1950 to 1970. Concept, structure, integration. Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-486-57973-8 .
  • Roderich Cescotti : Die Deutsche Luftfahrt - Combat aircraft and reconnaissance aircraft, Bernard & Graefe, Koblenz, ISBN 3-7637-5294-3 .
  • Curd-Torsten Weick: The difficult balance: continuities and breaks in German policy towards Turkey . LIT Verlag Hamburg 2000, ISBN 3-8258-5297-0 .
  • Helmuth Sethe: The big snow - the catastrophic winter 1978/79 in Schleswig-Holstein. 17th edition. Husum Verlag, Husum 2009. ISBN 978-3-88042-074-8 .
  • Klaus Kropf: Jet squadrons on the move: First Bundeswehr jets in the Air Force and Navy . VDM Heinz Nickel 2006, ISBN 3-86619-001-8 .

Web links

Commons : Aufklärungsgeschwader 52  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Aufklärungsgeschwader 52 Chronik , 1st edition 1993, p. 24
  2. ^ Roderich Cescotti: Die Deutsche Luftfahrt - Combat Airplanes and Recon , Bernard & Graefe, Koblenz, ISBN 3-7637-5294-3 .
  3. ↑ Aufklärungsgeschwader 52 Chronik , 1st edition 1993, p. 24 ff.
  4. ↑ mil-airfields.de: Military Airfield Directory: Flugplatz / Fliegerhorst Leck (Luftwaffe AG ​​52) , accessed on January 6, 2011
  5. ↑ Aufklärungsgeschwader 52 Chronik , 1st edition 1993, p. 24
  6. ↑ Aufklärungsgeschwader 52 Chronik, 1st edition 1993, p. 139
  7. ↑ Aufklärungsgeschwader 52 Chronik , 1st ed. 1993, pp. 30–31
  8. ↑ Aufklärungsgeschwader 52 Chronik , 1st ed. 1993, pp. 9, 181, 183, 188, 198, 199, 207, 215, 221, 227, 233.
  9. ↑ Aufklärungsgeschwader 52 Chronik , 1st edition 1993, p. 45
  10. ↑ Aufklärungsgeschwader 52 Chronik , 1st edition 1993, p. 145.
  11. ↑ youtube.com: Black Panther
  12. ↑ Aufklärungsgeschwader 52 Chronik , 1st edition 1993, p. 236.
  13. ↑ Curd-Torsten Weick: The Difficult Balance: Continuities and Breaks in German Turkey Policy P. 193 .
  14. ↑ Small question from MP Angelika Beer and the parliamentary group BÜNDNIS 90 / DIE GRÜNEN Phantom Warplanes in Turkey. Accessed on June 20, 2012
  15. ↑ DER SPIEGEL 14/1976: The death of a jet pilot spreads unrest among the pilots: Was stress the cause of the crash?
  16. ↑ Hamburger Abendblatt October 7, 1978 Retrieved May 28, 2012
  17. ↑ giessener-allgemeine.de: "A huge ball of fire shot into the sky & # 133;" Retrieved on May 28, 2012
  18. ↑ “The 31-year-old captain was an experienced pilot with a teaching and checking license. It looks like he's tried by all means to leave residential areas behind. The second inmate, a 37-year-old first lieutenant "
  19. ^ Münstersche Zeitung of June 16, 1988.
  20. ↑ braunschweig.de Jochen Missfeldt, Prize Winner 2002
  21. ↑ consilium.europa.eu (PDF) Biography: Lieutenant General Karlheinz Viereck, accessed on December 4, 2015
  22. ↑ Reconnaissance Wing 52 Chronicle. 1st edition 1993, p. 211
  23. ↑ Reconnaissance Wing 52 Chronicle. 1st edition 1993, p. 149
  24. ↑ ag52-tgm.de
  25. ↑ Karin Johannsen: Main concern: Remember! In: Nordfriesland Tageblatt. Retrieved March 28, 2016 .
  26. ↑ jok: Private military history collection has been added to Museum Association. Nordfriesland Tageblatt of April 27, 2017.