Luftwaffe weapons school

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The Luftwaffe Weapons School is a training facility for the Bundeswehr Air Force at the Laage site . It was set up on October 1, 2019. In the time of the Cold War there were already three weapons schools of the Air Force 10, 30 and 50, who carried out the tactical training of military pilots on use patterns. They were later reclassified to fighter-bomber squadrons.

Luftwaffe weapons school (since 2019)

The tasks of the Luftwaffe weapons school include the training and further education of flying personnel, fighter control officers and officers of the military intelligence system. The students are not only recruited from soldiers in the Bundeswehr, but also from members of friendly nations.

Commanders

Rank Surname Beginning The End
Lieutenant colonel Dirk Pingel 01 October 2019

Air Force weapons schools (1957–1983)

Air Force weapons school 10

Coat of arms of the Luftwaffe school 10

The Luftwaffe 10 weapons school was set up on April 1, 1957 in Nörvenich with a Canadian F-86 Saber Mk. 5 . In September of the same year the association relocated to Oldenburg and began flight operations there in November 1957. Initially supported by flight instructors from the Royal Canadian Air Force from Zweibrücken , their task was to train future pilots for jet aircraft on the respective operational model. In the initial phase of the Luftwaffe, a staff was created for the Luftwaffe's new fighter squadrons . With the beginning of the introduction of the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter in January 1960, a training squadron F-104 was set up as the 4th squadron of the weapons school 10 in Nörvenich. The training of the future pilots of Fighter Bomber Wing 31 took place in April 1961 on the two-seater F-104F. In June 1962, four F-104s of the Aerobatic Team of the 4th Squadron crashed during a training flight and all four pilots were killed. After the squadrons moved from Oldenburg to Jever at the end of 1962 , all parts of the association were brought together there in 1964. After the basic training and weapons system training had been relocated to the USA, the so-called Europeanization, i.e. training in European airspace, took place in Jever. In July 1983 the Luftwaffe 10 weapons school was closed as the last weapons school. It was absorbed into Fighter Bomber Squadron 38 .

Air Force Weapons School 30

In January 1957, the Luftwaffe 30 weapons school was set up at the Fürstenfeldbruck airfield . Her job was to train fighter-bomber pilots on the American F-84F Thunderstreak . Twenty machines of this type were handed over to the Air Force in November 1956. In July 1957, the first squadron moved to Büchel Air Base with the task of setting up Fighter Bomber Wing 31. This moved to its final location in Nörvenich the following year.

In July 1958 the Fighter Bomber Wing 33 emerged from the staff and the 1st and 2nd squadrons of the weapons school . The 3rd season switched to the Air Force 50 Weapons School. The Air Force 30 Weapons School was dissolved at the same time.

From November 1957 to June 1958 Major Walter Krupinski was in command of the Luftwaffe 30 weapons school .

Air Force weapons school 50

The Luftwaffe 50 weapons school was set up in Erding in February 1958 with the RF-84F, initially for training the Luftwaffe's reconnaissance pilots. At the same time, it formed the personnel base for the reconnaissance squadrons 51 and 52. In 1960 the equipment began with the Fiat G.91 weapon system , in 1964 the association moved to Fürstenfeldbruck and merged with the pilot school "B". Their assignment, the basic and advanced training on jet-powered combat aircraft, was relocated to the USA from 1967. From 1971 onwards, the Luftwaffe 50 would have developed into the Light Combat Wing 49 in the event of a defense . In October 1978, the weapons school was reorganized and renamed Jagdbombergeschwader 49 .

Additional tasks of the Luftwaffe 50 weapons school from April 1964 onwards were the training of flight control officers in the air support teaching group and, from 1972 onwards, the aptitude test for aspirants for aviation service.

  • coat of arms

  • Coat of arms of the FFS B

  • Coat of arms of the WaSLw 50 (from 1964)

  • Coat of arms of the WaSLw 50 (until 1964)

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The Luftwaffe weapons school ceremoniously put into service. In: Bundeswehr journal . October 4, 2019, accessed May 5, 2020 .
  2. ↑ crash of the aerobatic team of the 4./WaSLw 10 on the homepage of the Air Force; Accessed August 12, 2009.
  3. ↑ Waffenschule 30 on the Air Force homepage; Accessed August 12, 2009.