German Army Aviation Corps

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Army Aviation Corps
Heeresflieger
Coat of Arms of Army Aviation Command
Active	1957–present
Country	Germany
Branch	German Army
Type	Army aviation
Role	Tactical Air Transport, Close Air Support, Reconnaissance, Liaison, Disaster Relief
Size	3 regiments, 1 independent squadrons, 1 school
Motto(s)	Forward! Nach vorn!
Commanders
Current commander	Brigadier General Volker Bauersachs
Insignia
Roundel
Fin flash
Cap badge
Collar patch
APP-6A symbol
Aircraft flown
Attack	Tiger
Patrol	H145
Trainer	H135
Transport	NH90

The German Army Aviation Corps^[1] (German: Heeresfliegertruppe) is a special unit within the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr). The German Army Aviation Corps is a branch of the German Army (Heer), containing all its helicopter units. The German Air Force and the German Navy both also have their own helicopter units.

The coat of arms of the German Army Aviation Corps depicts a red eagle, swooping down whilst carrying a sword in its claws. Members of the Army Aviation Corps wear a burgundy-coloured beret. 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 epaulettes of members of the German Army Aviation corps are lined in silver-grey. The gorget patches are held in the same color with two vertical cords. The sleeves of the uniforms display the flying wings, emphasising their main task.

The main tasks of the Army Aviation Corps are:

• support of own troops through anti-tank warfare.
• transport, both internally and externally, of personnel and material.
• reconnaissance in combination with other units.
• liaison between different units
• disaster relief, e.g. forest fires, floods 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.^[2]

Most units of the Army Aviation Corps are incorporated into the Airmobile Operations Division (Division Luftbewegliche Operationen). This division was founded on 1 July 2002 and became operational on 8 October 2002.

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

Since the unification of the Federal Republic of Germany with the German Democratic Republic 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 Airmobile Operations Division (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, NATO and the EU, first in Iraq after the 1st Gulf War, then on the Balkans with IFOR, KFOR, SFOR and EUFOR, and most recently in Afghanistan as part of ISAF and most recently in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as part of EUFOR RD Congo to support the UN mission MONUC 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 was reduced. Flying operations at a number of air bases ceased and the respective units were dissolved. Other units were transferred to the German Air Force.^[3]

Since 2020 the German Army Aviation Corpse consists of one brigade level unit called Helicopter Command. This Brigade belongs to the Rapid Forces Division and is made up of three rgiments, one school, brigade staff HQ and central support and maintenance center.^[4]

The German Army Aviation Corps is equipped with:

• Airbus H145 LUH SAR, Search and Rescue helicopter.
• Eurocopter EC135, training helicopter.
• NH90, multi-role helicopter
• Eurocopter Tiger, attack helicopter

• 
  Bell UH-1D
• 
  Bölkow Bo 105 P1A1

Currently active regiments as part of Helicopter Command:

Name of unit	Flying	Based at	Insignia	Note
Transport Helicopter Regiment 10 Lüneburger Heide	NH90	Faßberg
Transport Helicopter Regiment 30 Tauberfranken	NH90 H145	Niederstetten
Attack Helicopter Regiment 36 Kurhessen	Eurocopter Tiger	Fritzlar

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

Name of unit	Flying	Based at	Insignia	Note
Medium Transport Helicopter Regiment 15 Münsterland	Sikorsky CH-53G/GS	Rheine		Disbanded
Medium Transport Helicopter Regiment 25 Oberschwaben	Sikorsky CH-53G/GS	Laupheim		Transferred to German Air Force
Transport Helicopter Regiment 30 Tauberfranken	NH90 H145	Niederstetten

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

Name of unit	Flying	Based at	Insignia	Note
Light Transport Helicopter Regiment 10 Lüneburger Heide	NH90	Faßberg
Attack Helicopter Regiment 26 Franken	MBB Bo 105P	Roth		Disbanded 30 June 2014[5]
Attack Helicopter Regiment 36 Kurhessen	Eurocopter Tiger	Fritzlar

The following unit was not part of the Airmobile Operations Division but part of Air Transport Wing 62:

Name of unit	Flying	Based at	Insignia	Note
Army Aviation Support Squadron 1	Bell UH-1D	Holzdorf		Disbanded 31 December 2013[6]

The following units operated independently:

Name of unit	Flying	Based at	Insignia	Note
Army Aviation Maintenance Squadron 100		Celle		Disbanded
Army Aviation Squadron 109		Celle		Disbanded
Army Aviation Liaison and Reconnaissance Squadron 109	MBB Bo 105M	Celle		Disbanded

The following units are or were part of the Army Aviation School. The school's headquarters is in Bückeburg:

Name of unit	Based at	Insignia	Note
Instruction Group A (flying instruction)	Bückeburg
Instruction Group B (non-flying instruction)	Bückeburg
Training Centre C (flying instruction)	Celle		To be disbanded
Army Aviation Test Squadron 910	Bückeburg		Disbanded on 31 December 2008
Research And Development Group	Bückeburg
Technical Maintenance Department	Bückeburg
Franco-German Training Centre	Le Luc (France)

• History of the Army Aviation Corps (Germany)
• Army aviation

• Bundesministerium der Verteidigung (1970), Heeresflieger, Bonn: Bundesministerium der Verteidigung
• Bundesministerium der Verteidigung (1975), Das Heer: Heeresflieger, Bonn: Bundesministerium der Verteidigung
• Bundesministerium der Verteidigung (2000). "Armee der Einheit 1990–2000" (PDF). Bundesministerium der Verteidigung. Retrieved 2010-10-08.^{[permanent dead link]}
• Bundessprachenamt (ed.) (1993), Militärisches Studienglossar Englisch – Teil II/III, Bonn: Bundesministerium der Verteidigung {{citation}}: |last= has generic name (help)
• Bundeswehramt (1962), Unser Heer 3: Heeresflieger, Bad Godesberg: Bundeswehramt
• Fred, Bünz (1999). "Modernisierung in der Bundeswehr: die Entwicklung des Konzeptes der Luftbeweglichkeit und der entsprechenden Einsatzgrundsätze; unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des von Carl von Clausewitz formulierten Wechselverhältnisses von Theorie und Praxis". Diss. Universität der Bundeswehr München. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
• Dressel, Joachim; Griel, Manfred (1990), Flugzeuge und Hubschrauber der Bundeswehr, Stuttgart: Motorbuch-Verlag, ISBN 3-613-01358-4
• Garben, Fritz (2005), Deutsche Heeresflieger: nationale und internationale Rettungs-, Hilfs- und UN-Einsätze, Lemwerder: Stedinger-Verlag, ISBN 3-927697-41-9
• Garben, Fritz (2006), Fünf Jahrzehnte Heeresflieger: Typen, Taktik und Geschichte, Lemwerder: Stedinger-Verlag, ISBN 3-927697-45-1
• Garben, Fritz (2007), Deutsche Heeresflieger: Techniker im Einsatz, Lemwerder: Stedinger-Verlag, ISBN 978-3-9276-9751-5
• Kaufholz, Bernd (2003), Im Dienste des "alten Europa": Helfer in Kabul und andernorts, Halle: mdv, ISBN 3-89812-202-6
• Rudolph, Christin-Desirëe (2012), Soldaten unterm Rotor: die Huschrauberverbände der Bundeswehr, Suttgart: Motorbuch-Verlag, ISBN 978-3-6130-3413-6
• Schütt, Kurt W. (1985), Heeresflieger: Truppengattung der dritten Dimension; die Geschichte der Heeresfliegertruppe der Bundeswehr, Koblenz: Bernard und Graefe, ISBN 3-7637-5451-2
• Bundesministerium der Verteidigung, ed. (1996), "Heeresflieger", 1000 Stichworte zur Bundeswehr, Mittler, ISBN 3-8132-0536-3
• Vetter, Bernd; Vetter, Frank (2001), Die deutschen Heeresflieger: Geschichte, Typen und Verbände, Stuttgart: Motorbuch-Verlag, ISBN 3-613-02146-3

• Official site of the German Army Aviation Corps (in German)
• Day of the German Army Aviators 2006 Archived 2016-04-02 at the Wayback Machine
• Site of Army Aviation Liaison and Reconnaissance Helicopter Squadron 100 Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine (in German)
• Helicopter museum in Bückeburg