JG 71 "Richthofen"
Canadair Sabre at the
Luftwaffenmuseum. This one specifically bears the personal markings of
The Black Devil (Erich Hartmann). The unit was formed in June 1959, equipped with 50
Canadair Sabre Mk.6s and stationed at the former
RAF Ahlhorn. The highest-scoring fighter pilot of all time,
Erich Hartmann, flew the Canadair Sabre (reputedly his favorite fighter plane design), and aircraft such as the Lockheed
F-104 Starfighter, in the newly formed wing in the late 1950s. On 21 April 1961, the 43rd anniversary of the death of “Red Baron”
Rittmeister Manfred von Richthofen, JG 71 was given the honorary title of “Richthofen” by Federal President
Heinrich Lübke. In 1963, JG 71 transferred from Ahlhorn to
Wittmundhafen Air Base. May 1963 saw the introduction of the first
F-104 Starfighters into German Air Force service. In 1974 the Wing obtained its first
F-4F Phantom II's and on 19 September 1974 the unit's Starfighters were decommissioned. In 1988 the Wing's secondary role of Fighter Bomber Attack was given up so that JG 71 is now exclusively a Fighter Wing. JG 71 is part of NATO's Immediate Reaction Force, meaning that it must be ready to deploy twelve aircraft on five days' notice. However, the likelihood of having to deploy at such short notice is almost nil, so fulfilling
Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) interceptions for Northern Germany is shared with
JG 74, which completed Eurofighter conversion in late 2008. Depending on the situation, the dividing line between the two units is roughly
Frankfurt-
Berlin, with JG 71 protecting the northern part of Germany. of JG 71 In 2007, for the second year running, JG 71 was German Air Force's record-breaking fighter wing in terms of flying activity, clocking up over 7,600 flying hours. The unit is on 24/7 readiness to intercept unidentified aircraft over
Germany. Between June and September 2008 the unit took part in
NATO's
Baltic Air Policing. The unit participated in a Baltic Air Policing deployment from 1 November 2009. In June 2010 six of the unit's F-4s were deployed to Iceland as part of NATOs
Icelandic Air Policing mission. In 2010 JG 71 began receiving its first Eurofighters. The wing flew a mixed fleet for three years until June 2013 when the last Phantoms were withdrawn. ==Notes==