Luftwaffe Museum, Berlin Gatow.

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Brickie
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Luftwaffe Museum, Berlin Gatow.

Post by Brickie »

So I was on a work trip to Berlin and decided to take an extra couple of days leave at the end to see the city a bit. Saw mention of the official Luftwaffe Museum out at Gatow and decided to go and have a look.

Just as a PSA, this place is a royal pain to get to by public transport and really isn't great for anyone who has difficulty walking. Google Maps tells you to get the bus to the front door of the neighbouring barracks and walk through, but of course you can't do that because it's an active military base, so you need to continue on to the nearby suburb, then get *another* bus a few stops, then walk for ever from the bus stop to the base. Once there, the open hangars are 1, 3 and 7 out of 7, so again there's an immense amount of trudging involved.

All that being the case, I decided to photograph every damn thing in the museum - well, nearly - so I wouldn't have to go back for a while, and you might not have to either. Also it was effing freezing. The things I do for you guys.

It's also interesting how neglected and underfunded the place is, certainly compared with, say, Hendon or Cosford. The entry building is a Portakabin, and most of the aircraft standing around on the tarmac don't look like they've been touched since the day they came out of service. It probably speaks to how uninterested Germany as a whole is in all things military.

Anyway, on with the pictures. All captions in bold are reproduced from the labelling of the exhibit.

MBB HFB 320M Hansajet ECM
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Ilyushin Il-28 Beagle
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Hunting Percival P.66 Pembroke C.Mk 54
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Nord N2501D Noratlas
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C160D Transall
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Over the fence some other things were standing around on an apron.

A MiG-21 of some description nearby:
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And beyond what looked like a couple of Floggers and a Hip.
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Inside to thaw out for a bit.

Bücker Bü181 Bestmann
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A Kettenkrad
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Siemens-Schuckert D.III
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The information panel describes how this was built by hand by one person - Herr Manfred Pflum, head of the International Air Travel Museum in Villingen-Schwenningen - from the original WW1 plans. The work took around 6,500 man-hours, and then the aircraft was transported 800km by road to become the Luftwaffe Museum's 145th exhibit.

Avro 504K
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Leutnant, Freikorps Epp, 1919-1920
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"After the end of the First World War, there was a total aviation ban on Germany. With the tolerance of the Entente powers, the volunteers of "Freikorps Epp" used the latest all-metal aircraft from Junkers in the war against Soviet Russia. This Leutnant is wearing the Iron Cross 1st Class, the Observer badge, Wound Badge and on his sleeve the badge of Freikorps Epp"

Junkers D-1
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Cockpit detail
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Aircraft captain, German Air Sport Club, around 1934
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"Until 1935, the German Air Sport Club (Deutsche Luftsportverband, DLV) served among other things as the disguised rebuilding of the Luftwaffe. After that the militaristic aspects of the training came ever more into the foreground. In 1937 the DLV was disbanded and folded into the National Socialist Flying Corps."

Grunau Baby IIb
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Prussia: Oberleutnant, Uhlan regiment Nr.1
(West Prussian) Emperor Alexander of Russia's Own, 1914-18
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After switching to flying duty, many cavalry officers continued to wear the uniforms of their old regiments. Their membership of the Flying Corps was shown by the Aircraft Captain's Badge.

Prussia: Generalmajor in "Paletot" coat
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"Trademark of a General's uniform were the bright red cords on the trousers (Lampassen) and the same coloured patches on the collar and sleeve. This General doesn't have the General's Collar on his tunic. Generals and Field Marshals had the option of wearing the uniform of any regiment which granted them the honour."

Fokker Dr.I
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Prussia: Air Corps; Leutnant and field pilot, 1914-18
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"The pilots of the First World War had no fixed flying kit. To begin with, lined coats were issued, but in the search for ideal clothing, pilots often used better garments captured from the enemy."

Fokker E-III
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Wheel & rigging detail
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Rumpler Taube
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Wheel & rigging detail
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Engine detail
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Wright Flyer
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Ejection Seat, unlabelled, presumably out of a MiG-21.
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MiG-21 PFM Cutaway
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Messerschmitt Bf108 Taifun (DH+DE)
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The caption explains that this aircraft crashed into a bay off the Baltic island of Rügen during WW2 and was fished out and transferred to the museum in 2009. The fuelage code is barely readable but if it is DH+DE, it would have belonged to Fighter Pilot School 3 at Stolp-Reitz, modern Słupsk-Redzikowo in Poland. There were bullet holes in the fuselage and the propellors were broken off, indicating that the engine was still turning at the time of impact. No human remains were found in or near the wreck, indicating that the pilot made a successful forced landing and escaped.

DFS-230A with paratrooper
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Flight Crew, 1940
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"The flying personnel of a bomber squadron wore a one piece flying garment with matching boots. The winter version of the garment was made of fur-lined leather, the summer was of beige canvas.

Schlulgleiter SG38
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"Schulgleiter" literally translates as School Glider

Lockheed F-104G Starfighter
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Piper L-18C
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DHC Chipmunk T-10
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Yakovlev Yak-11 Moose
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Piasecki / Vertol H-21c (V-43)
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So ... many ... stencils
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Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 PFM Fishbed-D (the non-cutaway side)

Cockpit area/ladder
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U/C doors, airbrakes and ventral tank
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Wing surface detail
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Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 UTI Midget
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A few models in cases; A Bf109 (labelled Me109 here) with a parasol in the desert:
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JJumo 004
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from a crashed Me 262

Daimler-Benz DB605A
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WK-1A jet engine
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Famously based on the Rolls-Royce Nene

Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet
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Walter HWK 109-509
The liquid-fuelled motor from the Komet
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Walter 109-500
Booster rocket for Arado Ar 234
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Jasta 11
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Painting showing Richthofen leading various other flyers of Jasta 11 over the front.

Flechettes
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Right, that's all from Hangar 1 and the surroundings. I gotta go to Tesco, more when I return.
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Re: Luftwaffe Museum, Berlin Gatow.

Post by jssel »

Really nice pictures Brickie. The uniform pictures are great.
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Re: Luftwaffe Museum, Berlin Gatow.

Post by Brickie »

Seconds out, round two.

We start with some whirlybirds.

MBB Bo 105 M
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Bell UH-1D Iroquois
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This is an example of the Federal Border Guards, delighting in the registration D-HATE.

Mil Mi-8T Hip
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You can just make out above the side door the legend SAR, which was the role performed by the old East German Hips after unification until retirement in 1994.

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Another example in VIP Transport markings. This one served until 1997 and in its time transported both Erich Honecker and Helmut Kohl. Kohl's wife Hannelore reportedly took one look at it and refused to board.
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Lockheed F-104G "Zell"
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The "Zell" project was an experimental rocket booster designed to enable the Luftwaffe's Starfighters to take off even when the runways were destroyed - it would be launched with a rocket booster from a ramp.

The project was tested in the US and Germany but ultimately abandoned on cost grounds; every launch cost 115,000 DM. The stuffed and mounted example is also carrying a B-43 tactical nuclear bomb.

Sculpture "Comrades in Arms", by Gerhard Thieme
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This bronze statue stood from its creation in 1970 until 1994 at the NVA (East German AF) HQ base at Strausberg/Eggersdorf. The Soviet pilot (on the right) is showing the East German pilot a manouevre. The slogan "Learning from the Soviet Union is learning to win!" was popular in the NVA.

Gatow during the Berlin Airlift
A rather impressive diorama featuring Avro Yorks and Douglas Dakotas of the RAF as the base would have appeared during the airlift.
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Outside the tower is the following bronze plaque

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"A reminder of the stationing of the Royal Air Force from 1945 to 1994 in Gatow, and in memory of the British soldiers who, during the Berlin Blockade in 1948-49 lost their lives for peace, and the freedom of this city."

And an Aussie Dakota
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Back inside the tower building, we get a history of the German air forces in objects and pictures rather than aircraft, and a rather neat conceit where a line is painted down the centre of the room after 1945 and parallel exhibits from East and West are shown on either side of it.

A member of Imperial and Royal flying service of Austria-Hungary, with a closeup of his medals. Terrible light in here for photography through glass!
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BMW 111a engine
As used in the Fokker D.VII
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Rudder from a Bf-109
With kill markings for British and US 4-engined bombers
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"My Name is Meier
Goering's dress uniform, beneath his famous quote ("If one enemy aircraft is seen over Berlin, you can call me Meier") and pictures of Berlin in ruins
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Technical problems with the MiG-21F13
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This board describes the techinical problems that plagued the introduction of the early model of MiG-21 to the NVA, which was ironically introduced as a reaction to the F-104. The main problems were with build quality, with the aerodynamics at take-off and landing, and with the engine. Eventually, technical fixes, more training and an improved maintenance regime were able to drop the accident rate. Unlike the west, however, where the "Starfighter Crisis" nearly brought the government down, the DDR authorities were able to hush up most of the problems.

Military toys in the West
Including some kits you might be interested in...
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(though it should be noted that in my experience most modern Germans frown on giving "war toys" to children)

Military toys in the East
Likewise
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NVA Uniform chart
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"The Dustbin of History"
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To which the NVA was consigned, officially disbanded on 3 October 1990 with East Germany's annexation to the Federal Republic. The Bundeswehr had the difficult task of absorbing at least some of the 90,000 soldiers of the NVA, who now found themselves wearing the olive green uniform of their former enemy, and no former NVA barracks was complete without a "Dustbin of History" into which old uniforms, posters, pictures etc were thrown.

East German general staff arrive in Munich by Interflug to discuss with their Western counterparts how to go about dismantling an army
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"If you can fly a Sopwith Camel, you can fly anything!"

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Re: Luftwaffe Museum, Berlin Gatow.

Post by iggie »

Fascinating pictures Brickie, thank you fit taking the time to post and for the narratives as well
Best wishes

Jim
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Re: Luftwaffe Museum, Berlin Gatow.

Post by Brickie »

More planes outside on the tarmac. Some of these are really in bad shape. A shame to see. Also the informational placards were missing in some cases so if anyone can help out with more details, that'd be great. Captions in bold as before are from the placards I photographed.

Republic RF-84F Thunderflash

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Closeup on camera ports
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F-4 Phantom (might be a recon bird again?)
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SU-22 Fitter
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The Blue-Red-Yellow colours were applied for the last flight of the type in 1990, and represent the colours of the Federal State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (newly created that year) where Naval Air Squadron 28 to which it belonged was based.

BR 1150 Breguet Atlantique
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Fairey Gannet
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Hawker (Armstrong Whitworth) Sea Hawk Mk.4
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Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 BN Flogger-F
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You can see where the East German national marking on the tail has been rather crudely painted out and the Bundesluftwaffe-style flag painted in; I don't believe the unified German Air Force used any Floggers operationally.
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Sukhoi Su-22 M4 Fitter-J
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Fiat G.91 R/3 "Gina"
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The R/3 was a recon and ground-attack version of the Gina, which for German service were built under license by Dornier in Oberpfaffenhofen. When withdrawn from service in 1982, some were sold to Portugal and others were used by Condor Air Services under contract to the Bundesluftwaffe as target tugs. The museum has 3 Ginas.

A pair of Hinds.
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Hawker Hunter
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Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 Fresco-C
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The museum's example served from 1957-1963, then was mothballed until 1972, restored to service and finally retired in 1985. If I read the German right, she was second hand in the first place (it says she came "from Poland", so whether it was built there or ex-Polish AF isn't clear).

An F-86 Sabre
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I think the German ones were mostly Canadair examples.

An F-86D Sabre Dog
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Dassault Super Mystere B2
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Not sure what this is - could be a MiG-17 or -19 with the extra radar on the nose?
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Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21F-13 Fishbed-C
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Another F-104
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Those big fuel tanks have about an inch of ground clearance.

Dassault Mirage IIIE
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English Electric Lightning
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Aero L-39
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North American OV-10B Bronco
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Germany bought 18 Broncos from the US navy to use as target tugs; the 100m long streamers were fitted with microphones to measure accuracy. Target Tug missions were flown by private firms, in this case Rhein-Flugzeugbau.

EE Canberra B.2
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All three German Canberras have been preserved.

Another Fiat G.91
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Lockheed T-33A
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Another unknown to me. Looks a bit like a PZL Iskra, but not quite.
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Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 UM Mongol-B
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Two-seat Flogger trainer
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Fiat G.91 T3
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One more instalment to come in a bit.
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Re: Luftwaffe Museum, Berlin Gatow.

Post by Brickie »

OK, last instalment.

Between the main apron and Hangar 7 where the last exhibits are, you walk between two rows of SAMs, Soviet on one side, NATO on the other...

S-200 "Vega" (SA-5 Gammon)
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NVA mobile SAM Radar
mounted on a Ural 375A truck
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Hawk SAM system launcher & radar
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S-125 "Neva" (SA-3C Goa)
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S-75 "Dvina" (SA-2B Guideline 1)
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NIKE-Hercules SAM system
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And finally to the last hangar.

Forgot to snap the caption for this, but it's clearly a Harvard.
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Bristol 171 Sycamore Mk.52
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The Germans bought about 50 Sycamores, with four going to Naval Aviation (Marineflieger) and the rest to the Bundeswehr. They were used for SAR (like this example). The Bundeswehr's batch were originally organised into three Rescue Squadrons and after 1966 into a single new Helicopter Transport Wing. The Marineflieger retired its Sycamores in 1967, the Bundeswehr kept theirs until May 1969. This example served first with Weapons School 30, then later to the 3rd Air Rescue Squadron in Ahlhorn, before ending its life with the Helicopter Transport Wing (HTG 64).

It's another Starfighter!
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Once the Luftwaffe ironed out all the problems with the F-104, it became a beloved aircraft of the German pilots.

Fouga CM-170R Magister

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German Magisters were licence-built by Flugzeug-Union Süd, and taken into service from 1957, but were already being phased out in favour of training Luftwaffe pilots in the USA from the early 60s. The aircraft were sold to other NATO allies but also to the Algerian Air Force. The last Luftwaffe Magister was retired in 1969.

McDonnell-Douglas F-4F Phantom II
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Engine detail
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Germany recieved 175 F-4Fs between 1973 and 1975, a modified version of the US F-4E, for use as fighter and fighter-bombers. 110 machines were upgraded between 1991 and 1996 before the Eurofighter was ordered as a replacement. "The last Phantom", says the placard "will probably not leave service until 2012 when 71 "Richthofen" squadron switches to the Eurofighter".

BL-755 Cluster Bomb
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Developed in the UK in 1972, banned in 2008.

Dassault-Breguet/Dornier ALPHA JET
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The Dornier works built only 175 of its planned 200 Alpha Jets, with Dassault-Breguet doing likewise. They entered service in 1980, replacing the Fiat G.91 and, on retirement in 1993-94 the majority of German Alphas followed their Fiat predecessors to the Portuguese Air Force.

MiG-29A
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The NVA had been delivered its 20 MiG-29s and 4 MiG-29 UB two seat trainers in 1988, just one year before the fall of the wall. The newly unified Luftwaffe absorbed them and flew them until 2003 when they went to Poland for a symbolic €1 per aircraft. More on the Luftwaffe's Fulcrums here.

Kleinkubelwagen P601 A
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The East German army used this Trabant variant. It was nicknamed the "Fabric hound"; 165 were delivered and used for border patrols and general transport. A more powerful version (with a 4-stroke instead of 2-stroke engine) was intended to be introduced in 1990 but never saw service. The Bundeswehr inherited 1,000 of these.

It's another Huey, this one for SAR.
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Cessna T-37B
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From the 1960s onward, most German jet pilots did their training in the USA in machines like this; West Germany bought a number of examples for training but for legal reasons they were then "leased" to the USAF and painted in American markings.

The badge of the TTTE, Tri-National Tornado Training Establishment at RAF Cottesmore, 1981-1999. Below a Tornado cockpit mockup.
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A joint British-German-Italian training school, other photos in the area show German and Italian pilots taking the Yard of Ale challenge,

Sikorsky H-34G
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Front doors
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Exhaust detail
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The H-34 was used in various versions by all parts of the West German armed forces; the Bundeswehr used the G I through G III models mainly for troop transport and supply, but also for rescue and liaison. The Marineflieger used the G III only, for Anti-Sub operations and Air-Sea Rescue. In February 1962 the H-34 was used extensively in the North German flood catastophe. This example was one of two VIP transport choppers, and flew Konrad Adenauer around.

Panavia Tornado IDS
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FM Q2
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A small target drone used for SAM training. Launched off a catapult, remotely controlled with a 2km radius with a 6h endurance and a speed of 200kph.

And that's your lot folks! Hope you enjoyed it, and if you want to see the full-size versions of any of those, let me know and I'll post the link.
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Re: Luftwaffe Museum, Berlin Gatow.

Post by iggie »

Brilliant! Some great reference pictures there; cheers!
Best wishes

Jim
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Re: Luftwaffe Museum, Berlin Gatow.

Post by Clashcityrocker »

Excellent show. Thanks for sharing.

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Re: Luftwaffe Museum, Berlin Gatow.

Post by LarryH57 »

Great photos; It was interesting to see that the WW2 German aircraft had swastikas painted on their tails, as for many years these were banned from public show. If you are going to restore an aircraft from that period you may as well do it properly!

I loved the Berlin Airlift diorama, as somewhere in the line up of Avro Yorks will be models of the ones my dad flew in the Airlift!
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Re: Luftwaffe Museum, Berlin Gatow.

Post by general rocket »

Thanks for sharing. A good mix.
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Re: Luftwaffe Museum, Berlin Gatow.

Post by ShaunW »

An excellent piece Brickie and the museum holds a great and varied collection of types. I don't like to see aircraft stored in the open though, especially not in the North European climate as the weather soon takes its toll if the museum doesn't have the resources to keep on top of maintenance. Thanks for taking the time to post this and for braving the Berlin winter for us, so we don't have to :grin:
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Re: Luftwaffe Museum, Berlin Gatow.

Post by Brickie »

LarryH57 wrote:Great photos; It was interesting to see that the WW2 German aircraft had swastikas painted on their tails, as for many years these were banned from public show.
I'd always understood that Swastikas were fine for "educational purposes", such as museums, but not for "toys" such as model kits or computer games.
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Re: Luftwaffe Museum, Berlin Gatow.

Post by LarryH57 »

Interesting point; so if a local museum wanted to show off what aircraft were based locally, then a model of a Luftwaffe type in a display case would be OK - but not if someone bought one from the museum shop!

But hey lets not get in to all that; lets just admire the photos!
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Re: Luftwaffe Museum, Berlin Gatow.

Post by Brickie »

The models in the cases did have swastikas on their tails where appropriate, certainly. Beyond that, I'm not an expert in the law beyond that some movies (eg Valkyrie) are regarded as sufficiently educational to get dispensation, while even the most "educational" computer games (eg Hearts of Iron) are not.

Edit: And the only thing they really sold in the museum shop were Bundesluftwaffe squadron patches and similar knick-knacks. And it was shut.
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Re: Luftwaffe Museum, Berlin Gatow.

Post by AndrewR »

Anything classified as a toy or game under the law will not be allowed to display a swastika. This also extends to public displays of model aircraft (the "toy" definition trumps the "history/education" aspects of the display).

Great pictures. Takes me back, I lived in Berlin for three years.
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