 |
| Search
|
|
|
|
|
ACIG Special Reports
The "Fluglehrzentrum F-4" (FLZ) is still training German F-4-crews fresh out of type-training in the US on how to fly and fight with the F-4F in the European airspace. This transition is quite challenging, as the airspace over Europe is much more crowded then the airspace over the USA. Add the much more changing weather conditions and it becomes obvious that the new crew members still have a lot to learn at Hopsten.
Hopsten airbase has a long history as an active airfield in Germany. Construction of the first airfield to bear the name of Hopsten airbase started in 1938, with the airfield becoming operational in 1939. Interestingly, there were problems to name the airbase during that time, as the town of Dreierwald refused to give its name to an airfield. Thus, only after extensions of the base in 1940 and 1944 that used land coming from the village of Hopsten a name was found and the airbase was called Hopsten AB. After the final extension the airbase had three runways, with the main east-west runway being 3.000m long. The other two runways were running north-south and southwest-northeast.
In the early years of the WWII Hopsten was only playing a secondary role. It was only a temporary home of different units. In 1944 however, with the increasing allied bomb-attacks on Germany in full swing, the strategic location of Hopsten airbase right along the main entry routes of the heavy bombers meant that it became an important airbase in the defence of Germany. Even Messerschmitt Me
-262 jetfighters and Arado Ar.234 jet bombers were operating from the base in late 1944. Additionally, other conventional prop fighter units were operating from the base ? sometimes acting as cover for landing jets. Near the end of the war Hopsten airbase was regularly bombed by allied planes, but the heavy AA defences and well-dispersed aircraft, in combination with quick repairs to the runways meant that the airbase remained operational until allied ground forces reached it, on the 6th April 1945. The allies had no use for the airfield and gave the area to the local population for use as fields.
In 1959 the newly formed Bundesluftwaffe decided to built a new airbase on the area formerly used by the old WWII airfield. It was decided to build an entirely new airbase there, which was designed in accordance of the latest NATO standards. A new 3000m long North-South runway was constructed, as were HAS areas, underground fuel tanks and other support structures. However, the housing complex was built no less but eight kilometres away, in the city of Rheine. The new JaBoG36 (?Jagd-Bomber Geschwader? - Fighter Bomber Wing) was formed from a core of personnel from HBG 31 based at N?rvenich airbase, near Cologne. After getting all the aircraft and all personnel the unit was assigned to NATO in 1961. It operated the Republic F-84F fighter bombers in support of the 2nd Allied Air Fleet of NATO. At the time JBG36 did only consist of one flying squadron tasked with close air support: in 1962 a second squadron was formed, with the primary task being the training of fresh pilots coming from the US and teaching them how to fly and fight with the F-84F in Germany. In 1963 the wings badge was officially accepted. It displayed the rampant horse of Westphalia on a red and blue background. Blue stands for the sky, while the sky is a reminder of the naturally red soil of the fields of Westphalia. The badge was to remain basically the same during all later changes the wing would later go through.
 |
| In the 1960s the JaBoG36 "Westfalen" flew US-made Republic F-84F Thunderstreak jets, some of the largest single-seat fighter-bombers ever built. (Artwork by Tom Cooper)
|
In 1967 the wing re-equipped with F-104G Starfighters and was fully operational on the new mount. The F-104G was loved by the pilots and ground crews of the wing, and the attrition during ten years of operation was lower then that of F-84Fs.
1967 brought another important change: in accordance with the new NATO doctrine of ?Flexible Response? at detachment of US airmen was deployed together with nuclear bombs. The Americans were to prepare the nuclear bombs for delivery by the pilots of JaBoG 36 in case of a war with the WarPac. During peace time the nukes remained strictly under US control; they were not even stored at Hopsten but at the ammunition depot at Uthuisen, some three kilometres away. These ?special weapons? were replaced every three months with US transports bringing in the new bombs from central US depots in Germany and taking back the ?old? bombs. The transport of the weapons from the airbase to the depot was always quite an event, which was practised every month using training rounds, with a heavily guarded convoy ? escorted by helicopters, German infantry and Police, US military police and soldiers - travelling the narrow roads between the depot and the airbase. Such occasions were also used to train the mounting of those bombs on the F-104Gs. A team of German personnel would mount them on aircraft in specially-constructed ?Quick Reaction Alert? (QRA) shelters, after being checked by US security personal. There were special ?go? and ?no-go? areas in those shelters, which made working quite complicated. Nevertheless the bombs had to be ready in under 30 minutes. US specialists were responsible for the final placement of the warhead and the activation of the bomb.
For a nuclear strike role the Starfighters were equipped with the bomb and 4 drop tanks giving them an un-refuelled range at low-level of 1.300kms. The gun was removed and replaced by an additional fuel cell. During those times the wing had to keep two aircraft at 15 minutes readiness, fully armed and fuelled to be ready for a strike. However, this role however was reserved for the 1st Squadron 36 JaBoG only: the second squadron was still fulfilling the role it knew from the days of the F-84F ? and that was European training for aircrews fresh from the US.
In 1972 JaBoG 36 had lost its nuclear role and the bombs and the US troops had left the base. So it was a logical choice that the unit was picked to be one of the new F-4F wings, as the F-4F was not wired for nuclear weapons. In 1976 conversion to the F-4F was complete and the wing gained a secondary role of air defence.
The switch from the much loved ?manned rocket? to the new two-man crew F-4F did not go without problems, however: the old pilots were not used to work with the back-seater (or ?WSO?). The WSO were a totally new kind of aviator to the Luftwaffe and it must be said that forming a crew out of the pilot and the WSO did often take time. In the beginning the WSO was called the ?Kleine Ballast Offizier? (?Small Ballast Officer?), which was another interpretation of the official term that was in use, namely ?KampfRaumBeobachter?.
Roles of the individual squadrons were no longer different, but both were now fully-developed combat units. In 1980 the JaBoG 36 was the first Luftwaffe unit to deploy to Goose Bay in Canada ? for low-level training.
In 1981 the training role was to return to Hopsten in form of a third unit created at the base. The ?Zentrale Ausbildungseinrichtung F-4? (Central Training Facility F-4) was formed with a sole role of ?europeanisation? of F-4 crews coming fresh from the US. In 1986 the unit received the official name ?Westfalen? through the German ministry of defence to mark the close connection of the unit to the region of Westphalia.
After German reunification it was designed to make some changes to the Luftwaffe F-4 wings. . The fighter bomber role was dropped and the units became pure fighter wings. Thus, the JaBoG 36 became Jagdgeschwader 72 (?JG? ? for ?Fighter wing?) in 1990. There were some considerations for moving this unit to the ?newly integrated? eastern part of Germany, but this never happened: instead, the former JaBoG 35 from the Pferdsfeld AB was deployed to Laage AB and joined the MiG-29s of the former NVA to become the JG74. Today this unit is the first to convert to the EADS EF-2000 Eurofighter.
 |
| All German F-4F JG wing badges in the hangar at Hopsten. (All photos by Author)
|
The upgrade of the F-4Fs to the ICE standard also saw changes to the F-4 fleet. With the withdrawal of the F-4E used for training it was decided to replace them with 24 F-4F LA variants. The LA was easily recognisable by the black random, as these Phantoms were not equipped with the new APG-65Y radar like their grey nose LV counterparts. The remaining operational LAs were pooled at Hopsten airbase. With this the second squadron was taking offer the training role again and the second combat-ready squadron was eventually dropped.
 |
| A sight that is becoming increasingly rare: three F-4Fs in a break over Hopsten AB.
|
The next few years were uneventful for the wing. Apart from some much needed modernisation ? like a new runway in 2000 and a new control tower, new mess hall and other updates ? the wing operated without problems. However, in 2001 it became clear that due to the restructuring within the Luftwaffe the JG72 would be disbanded and the Hopsten AB closed. The local area was to be hit very hard due to the closure of this and other nearby military installations and there were fierce protests against such an action. However, these have bought only a few years: the 1st Squadron JG74 ? the actual combat element of the wing ? ceased operation in 2002, with the last QRA flown in January 2002. This also meant the end of being assigned to NATO. Personnel of the Wing was reduced from 1.350 to 800 and the number is permanently dwindling. Flight hours were cut as well, and deployments became more rare, the remaining Unit eventually being re-named FLZ F-4.
 |
| F-4F in the twilight of its career.
|
Today the FLZ F-4 is in a state of draw down. Soldiers leaving the unit are no longer replaced. Many of the older and highly experienced soldiers and pilots will not transfer to another unit and will leave the armed forces when the base finally closes down in 2005. With the F-4 also on the way out the number of new crews to be trained has been reduced. In the 1990ies a course could easily consist of 20-40 new crews. Today 2-6 new crews are normal. In addition there is a special course for flying officers returning to the unit after flying a desk.
Previously, flying was conducted around the clock: today the unit flies in ?blocks?, being active on working days and only before mid-day, or after.
 |
| Reminder of the days spent at Gosse Bay: an F-4F taxies at Hopsten in front of some Indian-summer colored trees.
|
Nevertheless, to keep instructor-pilots trained the unit often deploys single crews to Red Flag, Mapple Flag, TLP or other international exercises. A highlight for the unit was the participation in ?Anatolian Eagle 2003?, when its crews were mainly flying CAPs and OCA missions with AWACS and tanker-support. Interestingly the unit was to judge the exercise for future participation by other Luftwaffe units.
The last F-4F LA was taken out of service in 2003 with some of them going to museums while the majority was scrapped (34+34 is at the Luftwaffe museum at Berlin Gatow, 37+36 in Kosice, in Slovakia, two technical schools did also got airframes, and 37+10 went to Fassberg for training of young mechanics on aircraft engines). This leaves the unit with six F-4F LVs currently operational. The seventh Phantom (38+25) was scrapped after a landing accident at Hopsten in 2004. It is planned that the last flight from Hopsten should take place around the end of 2005. The future of the airbase is still very open, as there are no final plans on what to do with the area after the Luftwaffe leaves.
However, today the unit is still flying and motivation of the crews and personnel is still good: it is a very senior unit with highly experienced personal who really know and love the F-4F. There are practical jokes flying around about the guys in Laage not being able to fix the ?Game Boy Jet?, or that for an EF one would not need a pilot, but a 15-year-old computer nerd. For some of the personnel the F-4-career is far from over. With the last F-4Fs planed to be flying with JG71 until 2012 some hope to go to that unit after Hopsten closes down. For many of involved people this is likely to mean selling their house and leaving their friends; others might have choose working at Wittmund during the week and only seeing their families over the weekend.
 |
| F-4F in the maintenance hangar with the wings badge in the background.
|
 |
| Cutaway modell of an J-79.
|
Most of the younger soldiers will have to move. The older ones with only few years of service left will choose to stay in Hopsten and take the long drive from their new bases every weekend. Some of them have been working at Hopsten for over 30 years: in fact, few mechanicians have been working on the F-4s since delivery of the aircraft (first as non commissioned officers later as civil specialists)!
© Copyright 2002-3 by ACIG.org
Top of Page
|
|
|
Latest
ACIG Special Reports
|
|