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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 0677.PDF
JQ May 1955 675 Pupils of several different air forces listen to an instructional talk alongside one of the Har- vards still used for basic train- ing at Fiirstenfeldbruck, where the most promising of the German pilots will be trained to form an instructional and flight-command nucleus for the new Luftwaffe. LUFTWAFFE REDIVIVUS Germany s New Air Force for A.A.F.C.E. : Its Strength and Constitution WITH the West German Federal Republic now a fullmember of NATO, a new Luftwaffe will soon arise fromthe ashes of that laid low by Anglo-American air power just a decade ago. But there will be this essential difference: it willnot be a completely independent air arm but an integral part of Allied Air Forces Central Europe, just as are the contingentsalready contributed to A.A.F.C.E. by Britain, the United States, Canada, France, Holland and Belgium. The character and numerical strength of the prospective newWest German Air Force was decided long before the peace treaty was ratified. It is to be a purely tactical force, supplemented bysix Stafteln (squadrons) of transport aircraft. Total strength will be 80,000 officers, N.C.O.s and airmen and precisely 1,326 air-craft, organised into 20 Grundeinheiten (wings), each consisting of three squadrons. The operational units will be equipped withday and night all-weather intercepters, fighters, fighter/bomber ground-attack aircraft, and tactical reconnaissance machines.There will be two wings of all-weather fighters and a similar strength of Tac-R squadrons. The rest will be intercepters andfighter-bombers. Part will come under the operational control of Air Marshal SirHarry Broadhurst's 2nd Allied Tactical Air Force, which is now a predominantly R.A.F. force, with Belgian and Dutch contribu-tions; the remainder will be under the American-Canadian-French 4th A.T.A.F. These are the two field components of A.A.F.C.E.,of which Air Chief Marshal Sir Basil Embry, former A.O.C-in-C. Fighter Command, is the commander-in-chief, with headquartersat Fontainebleau; 2nd A.T.A.F.'s headquarters are near Munchen-Gladbach, and 4th A.T.A.F.'s at Ramstein, not farfrom Kaiserslautern. Full-scale training of the new Luftwaffe is expected to startabout September, and the force is likely to be ready for operational duties by the summer of 1958. Preliminary flying and other train-ing will be provided by the United States Government under the Mutual Defence Assistance Programme (M.D.A.P.), but otherNATO countries, including Britain, will supply some of the instructors. Conversion training will be the responsibility of theA.T.A.F. to which the wings are assigned. Probably half of the 20 Grundeinheiten will be assigned to each of the two AlliedTactical Air Forces. German officers will join the joint planning staff, and the West German Air Force will be administered by theFederal Government. The first task is obviously to train German instructors, pilotsdestined for commands, and key technicians. The M.D.A.P. flying training centre is at Fiirstenfeldbruck, near Munich, where duringthe last twelve months about 300 flying instructors and other pilots from most of the M.D.A.P. countries have completed courses. Fourexperienced R.A.F. pilots were seconded to the Fiirstenfeldbruck establishment as staff instructors at the beginning of this year.They are F/L. J. G. F. Hewitt, F/L. R. H. Payne, F/L. D. J. Lomas; and F/O. M. R. Holmes. In preparation for their futureduties they have taken a course on T-33s, which are the standard jet trainers there. Harvards are used for basic tuition, and bothjet flying and instrument training is given. When they have taken the full course most of the instructors return to pass on theirknowledge and skill to their own air forces, but a few are retained as staff instructors at Fiirstenfeldbruck. At Freising, only a few miles away, is the centralized M.D.A.P.school for instructing technicians in electronics, communications, and an American type of early-warning radar. The school isoperated by U.S.A.F.E. Eleven different courses are given, rang- ing in duration from six to 22 weeks. Most of the graduates returnto their own air forces as fully qualified instructors but, as at the flying training school, some stay at Freising as staff instructors.The number of volunteers for service in the revived Luftwaffe is reported to be satisfactory, so that for the present there is nointention of introducing conscription. If and when national service is instituted the period will probably be eighteen months.An official of an organization called the Aircraft Parts Producers' Association has stated in Frankfurt that Messerschmitt, Heinkel,Focke-Wulf and other German aircraft firms plan to resume pro- duction of powered aircraft "after June 1st," but it will clearly besome time before they can produce completely new designs. Meanwhile, the Luftwaffe will use both British and Americanoperational aircraft, though details of types have not yet been announced. A Triumphant British Picture (continued from opposite page) In the result on the screen the whole scene is vividly recaptured,without glamour, without any "wizard prang" characters and with- out deliberate staging of anything that did not actually happen.The very best use had clearly been made of the limited number of Lancasters available, the impression of a much larger forcebeing cunningly contrived. Domestic scenes of 617's crews show behaviour exactly as onewould recall it, and the same atmosphere of integrity is maintained throughout—a remarkable achievement when it is considered thatthe slightest bit of "acting" would have been instantly detectable. Unhurriedly, the operation is mounted, and the various forces ofLancasters set forth from Scampton in the twilight, cross the familiar city of Lincoln and set course for the sea. Once over thewater some particularly fine photography is presented, the familiar black outlines of the aircraft being rendered curiouslyportentous by the projecting semi-circles of the Wallis bombs. The leading formations lift gently across the enemy coast andpenetrate far into Holland, almost at tree-top height. Down the canals they fly, and soon they encounter opposition. The flakis the most realistic we have seen, and the end of one Lancaster is also very well done. Similarly excellent "special effects"—plusshots from German newsreels—characterize the attack on the dams themselves, a sequence which must have presented formidabletechnical difficulties to all concerned. A good test of any film is whether it seems long or short in rela-tion to its true length; The Dam Busters is one of the longest films of recent years (about 11,230ft. of celluloid, taking about 2\ hr torun), and the attack alone lasts for 40 minutes; yet no part of it drags for a moment.Altogether, this film is worthy of its subject, than which no more can be said. Richard Todd, as Gibson, and Michael Red-grave, as Wallis, have clearly taken immense pains to create the most faithful portrayal possible of their characters. The former,in particular, does a fine job in taking the part of a remarkable man who has not been with us for 11 years; and it could have been alltoo easy to present Gibson as Todd, and not to search for the true founder of No. 617. It is in just such matters that this film isoutstanding. The Dam Busters, now showing at the Empire, will be generallyreleased on September 5th. W. T. G.
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