G
ermany’s CH-53s were purchased
during the Cold War for a con ict
that never materialised, but have
been busier since the fall of the
Iron Curtain. Proving their versatility time and
again, they have performed a wide variety of
roles in challenging conditions.
The Sikorsky heavylift helicopters,
based on the CH-53D Sea Stallion, were
licence- built by Fokker-VFW at Speyer in
West Germany. The rst of 110 ordered
was delivered to the Bundeswehr (Federal
German Army) on July 26, 1972, with the
last handed over three years later. Most of
their career they were assigned to Mittleres
Transporthubschrauberregiment (Medium
Transport Helicopter Regiment) 25 at
Laupheim. However, on January 1, 2013, the
CH-53G force was transferred to the Luftwaffe
which formed Hubschraubergeschwader64 (Helicopter Wing 64/HSG 64). The
wing comprises 1, 2 and 4 Staffels
(squadrons) at the south German base with
Lufttransportgruppe (Operations Group) HSG
64 and 3 Staffel residing at Holzdorf – 285
miles (460km) to the north. Formerly the East
German air base of Schönewalde, it is now
home to just over 700 military and civilian
staff of the wing’s some 2,000 personnel.
The Operations Group is responsible
for major maintenance, technical and
engineering training on the CH-53 while
three Staffel conducts advanced ying
training. Usually, 13 CH-53s are allocated to
Holzdorf and 46 to Laupheim.
Four Staffel ies 15 Airbus Helicopter H145
LUH SOFs, the rst two were delivered on
December 8, 2015 and the last example in
June 2017. These smaller helicopters operate
mostly in support of Kommando Spezialkräfte(KSK/Special Forces Command) and
Kommando Spezialkräfte Marine (KSM/
Special Forces Marine Command).VA R I A N TS
From 1999 onwards, 66 CH-53Gs were
modi ed to three different standards: GS
(German Special), GE (German Enhanced)
and GA (German Advanced). Twenty
examples were modi ed by Eurocopter at its
Donauwörth facility under this rst upgrade
and were given the designation CH-53GS.
The helicopter’s two 3,925hp (2,927kW)
General Electric GE T64-7 engines were
replaced by the manufacturer’s more
powerful T64-GE-100 powerplants – each
producing 4,330hp (3,230kW). New titanium
rotor blades were tted, a GPS navigation
system was updated and the cockpit was
made compatible for night-vision goggles.LU F T WA FFE’S HEL I
From supporting NATO operations to performing mercy missions and
fi ghting wildfi res, Germany’s CH-53s have excelled in testing tasks.
Dr Kevin Wright visited their Laupheim base to learn more about their work.
54 Aviation News incorporating Jets November 2018