Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization
Mission (MINUSMA) in Mali.
Illustrious history
LTG 61 was disbanded after 60 years of
operations. The wing stood up at Erding air
base in Bavaria on August 24, 1957 as the
first flying unit of the new Luftwaffe, which
had only been established the previous year.
Flight operations began in 1957 with
18 Douglas C-47Ds taken from US Air
Force and Royal Air Force stocks. The
C-47D was soon replaced by the Nord
2501D Noratlas. On June 16, 1970, the
wing received its first C-160D Transall.
At its peak, the 1. Staffel (1./LTG 61, 1st
Squadron) had up to 35 Transalls.
The total included examples of the
Luftwaffe-specific C-160 Transall
ESS (erweitertem Selbstschutz,
improved self-protection) with an
integrated electronic warfare system
featuring a radar warning receiver
and a missile warning system.
The Transall ESS is chiefly used in war zones
and crisis regions. Chaff and flares can be
launched via underwing pods and scabbed-on
dispensers to defend against enemy missiles.
Until the 2. Staffel was disbanded in 2012,
LTG 61 included a transport helicopter
component. The Bell UH-1D rotorcraft
were used for transport missions as well as
search and rescue (SAR) operations over
southern Germany. At the end of that year,
the Deutsches Heer (German Army) took over
the UH-1D fleet as well as the SAR role.
The wing’s last Transall ESS (50+66)
departed Landsberg at the end of October
and headed to Manching for its scheduled
inspection, carried out by Airbus Defence
and Space. Prior to this, LTG 61 completed
its last weekly aeromedical evacuation
(AirMedEvac) standby with the same aircraft.
As a result of the continuous reduction of
its Transall fleet, only three C-160Ds
were still on LTG 61’s books at the
beginning of December 2017: 51+01
(with a special 60th anniversary silver
colour scheme), 50+64 (special fly-
out colour scheme), and 50+81.
The last three Transalls were
scheduled to leave Landsberg/Lech before Christmas. Serials 50+64
and 50+81 will be transferred to LTG 63 at
Hohn in northern Germany. Serial 51+01
will escape scrapping and find a place
in the Luftfahrtmuseum Wernigerode.
LTG 63 is now the final Luftwaffe Transall
wing. According to current plans, the airlifter
will be fully phased out by 2021 at which
point LTG 63 will also be disbanded.
Despite its impending demise, LTG 61 found
cause for celebration in 2017. To mark the
wing’s 60th anniversary, Transall 51+01 received
a special silver ‘retro look’ which led to it being
nicknamed ‘Silberne Gams’ (‘silver chamois’).
As part of the Day of the German Armed Forces,
LTG 61 officially took its leave in front of 51,000
local visitors at its base on June 10. A symbolic
fly-out event then took place on September 28.
Part of Instandsetzungszentrum 11
(Maintenance Centre 11) based at Erding
will remain stationed at Landsberg/Lech until
the end of 2018. In the course of the year,
eight Transalls will be scrapped here after any
valuable parts have been removed to help
support the LTG 63 fleet. Although LTG 61 has
gone, the Luftwaffe is not giving up Landsberg/
Lech entirely, reserving the option to reactivate
it for military purposes in the future.http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #359 FEBRUARY 2018 // 47
At its peak, the 1. Staffel (1./LTG 61, 1st As a result of the continuous reduction of
its Transall fleet, only three C-160Ds
were still on LTG 61’s books at the
beginning of December 2017: 51+01
(with a special 60th anniversary silver
colour scheme), 50+64 (special fly-
out colour scheme), and 50+81.scheduled to leave Landsberg/ AFMMain image: Transall 51+01 resplendent
in LTG 61’s 60th anniversary ‘retro’
scheme. The ‘Silberne Gams’ will be
preserved at the Luftfahrtmuseum Wernigerode
near Halberstadt. All photos Florian Friz
This photo: Transall 50+66 was the wing’s fi nal
ESS-upgraded aircraft. Here it disgorges troops
and Wiesel air-transportable weapons carriers
during an air power demonstration.Right: The tail of Transall 50+64, the wing’s fl y-
out aircraft, bears the legend: ‘Servus Transall...
mach’s guad’ – roughly translated from the
Bavarian as ‘Farewell, Transall, all the best’.