Jeroen van Veenendaal interviews Commanders of Helicopter Transport Wing 64, German Air Force
Evolution
Helicopter Transport Wing 64 was founded in 1966 and when the wing was disbanded in April 1994, personnel and equipment were absorbed by the other air transport wings of the German Air Force. As Helicopter Wing 64 was re-established on 1 October 2010, the helicopters previously assigned to Air Transport Wing 62 and Air Transport Wing 63 formed a new unit. In 2011, the German armed forces went through a series of structural changes. The air force absorbed the former army CH-53 and the helicopter wing staff transferred from Holzdorf to Laupheim.
The wing consisted of three flying squadrons of CH-53s and one flying squadron with the H145M. The 1st and the 2nd CH-53 squadrons are at Laupheim and the 3rd squadron of CH-53 is located at Holzdorf. The main task of the 3rd squadron is for training.
Helicopter Wing 64 is the largest flying wing within the German Armed Forces. The mammoth distance between Laupheim and Holzdorf has made the job of Lt Col Christian Mayer a challenging one. “The distance between Laupheim and Holzdorf is approximately 550kms. The wing is planning to have an extra location, which will be located at Diepholz, lower Saxony by 2019.”
CH-53 versions
Within the German Air Force, there are four types of CH-53 helicopters. Lt Col Mayer stated, “We have four models: the G, GS, GE, and GA. The Gs are the oldest, they are the basic model. The GS are the workhorsee in the missions abroad because they have the Electronic Warfare systems, upgraded communications systems and they have the external fuel tanks. They still fly with the analog cockpits. The GA model has a digital cockpit but lacks the range and the Electronic Warfare capabilities of the GS version. At the moment, we have only 20 GS helicopters.” Owing to the age of the helicopters, maintenance consumes much time which means almost no CH-53GS versions are left in Germany. Because of the external fuel tanks, the total flight endurance is six hours. The CH-53GA is an upgraded CH-53G version with a state-of-the-art cockpit having multifunctional displays and a four-axis autopilot system. It is also equipped with satellite radios and satellite phone.
Experiencing the CH-53
During the conversation with Lt. Col Patrick Schneider on his experience in flying the CH-53 in German service, with close to 1500 flight hours on the CH-53. Schneider always wanted to be a pilot and said, “The basic fundamentals of flying are the same for every helicopter, but of course, as we move forward, upgraded technology and high-tech systems always give over the edge experience and CH-53 is fully equipped with these attributes. The multi-crew cockpit is also a challenge for the pilot, but is really handy when you have only a part of the work to do.” Schneider started as a Bo-105 pilot, “In the Bo-105, a single pilot helicopter, you as the pilot are responsible for everything including radio communication, navigation, technical supervision and taking care of the passengers. Though flying the CH-53 is easy but the real challenge is to be aware of the technical background. In case of an emergency or a malfunction of one of the systems, one needs to be fully familiar with technical background of the helicopter.”
Conversion to the CH-53 rig simulator training takes part in Bückeburg at the International Helicopter Training Centre, where there are four full mission flight simulators for the CH-53. The basic flight training takes about a year. From the first theoretic training, to be a fully trained pilot in an air wing, takes about three to five years.
Special Operations
The main task of the CH-53 is for transportation of personnel and material. But special tasks also include supporting Special Forces of the army, the Kommando Spezialkräfte (Commando Special Forces, KSK) and the navy. In November 2016, Chief of the Staff of German Armed Forces decided that only the fourth squadron of the helicopter Wing, the H145M squadron, should be one of the Special Operations units in Germany. Lt Col Christian Mayer who recently became wing commander of the helicopter wing 64 explained, “To give SOF the whole spectrum of transport capabilities, they need a helicopter with a size like the H145M, but also like an NH90, Black Hawk or Merlin up to a heavy transport helicopter like the CH-53. But there are always missions where there is a need for the transport capabilities which only the CH-53 can provide.”
Personnel recovery
CH-53s of the Air Force also perform personnel recovery. The CH-53 GS has “perfectly” fitted in the spot for personnel recovery and search and rescue requirements. Because of its massive size, it can carry medics as well as an extraction force and apart from that, is also equipped with machine guns for self-defence. The CH-53s are also equipped with an electronic warfare system. Lt. Col. Schneider gave an example of why the CH-53 is ideal for this type of missions, “When you look at Bosnia, it was of utmost importance to get pilots back safely. They were trying to do that with the UH-1 but found out that the UH-1 was not capable of covering such distance. You need an extraction force in there to go outside the helicopter, identify the personnel on the ground embark the casualties and return to operating base.”
Fire fighting and flood relief
The CH-53 has the capability to carry fire buckets and sling loads under the helicopter. In the past, German CH-53 helicopters have helped control wildfires in Greece. In 2002, after a colossal flood in the Elbe River, civilians needed to be evacuated and sandbags be transported to cut off areas. “The first day I was flying with my UH-1. I was starting a mission in the morning and flew up for 8-9 hours. We had to rescue people by hoist from roofs of houses. After this first day, the rescue mission coordinator asked me to take over. At that moment, there were about 25 UH-1s and 5 CH- 53s flying their missions. About five days later, we established the rescue HQ at Holzdorf, an extraordinary experience, all 20 CH-53 helicopters were flying. It was a logistic super event to see all helicopters returning in the evening. The maintenance personnel did their job and we also flew missions during night time with night vision goggles transporting sandbags to stem the high water,” stated Lt. Col. Mayer.
Maintenance of the German CH-53s is done by Airbus. The first four helicopters originally built by Sikorsky, were shipped from the USA to Germany and then manufactured and licenced by VFWFokker at Speyer in Germany.
The Future
Mayer continued: “The CH-53 is an old workhorse and we are getting to the stage where this venerable helicopter will be retired and replaced by another heavy transport helicopter.” The choice is between the CH-47F Chinook and the CH-53K King Stallion. The timeline to start replacing the current CH-53s is set for 2023 and the last CH-53s should be taken out of service by 2030.” The CH-47 has a lower price, but the CH-53K will have the capability to carry more personnel and cargo, the decision for the future heavy transport helicopter to be made 2019. It is possible that Helicopter Wing 64 will be split into two wings located in Holzdorf and Laupheim with the introduction of the new helicopter.
“We would like to establish up to two CSAR squadrons to have priority Personnel Recovery covered and also for training comparable with what we have now at Holzdorf: a mixed squadron, a training squadron and an operational squadron. There is a plan to deploy up to four flying squadrons at Laupheim, three with the heavy transport helicopters and one with the H145M and three flying squadrons with heavy transport helicopters at Holzdorf,” Mayor opined.
“All
personnel here are highly motivated with different backgrounds, which is good
as it allows coming up with different and innovative ideas. I think this is an
excellent Wing that is prepared for the future.”
Text by Jeroen van Veenendaal