School of Army Aviation (Germany)

School of Army Aviation (Germany)
Heeresfliegerwaffenschule
Active1 July 1959 — present
CountryGermany
BranchArmy
TypeTraining School
RoleFlight Training, Development
Part ofGerman Army Aviation Corps
Garrison/HQBückeburg
Celle
Le Luc (France)
Commanders
Current
commander
Brig. Gen. Ulrich Ott[1]
Insignia
APP-6A symbol

The German School of Army Aviation (Heeresfliegerwaffenschule) based at Bückeburg, is one of the schools of the German Army and is responsible for the training and development of the German Army Aviation Corps' personnel and equipment. Furthermore, the basic training of helicopter pilots of the other components of the German Armed Forces also takes place at the School of Army Aviation.

The School of Army Aviation was founded on 1 July 1959 and based first at Mendig before being transferred on 12 January 1960 to its current location at Bückeburg Air Base, utilising the facilities of RAF Bückeburg, constructed by the Royal Air Force in 1946 and closed in the mid-1950s.[2]

In October 2011 the German Federal Ministry of Defence announced a reorganisation/reduction of the German Armed Forces. Due to the reduction of helicopter units within the German Army, some of which are to be disbanded whereas others are to be transferred to the German Air Force, and also in light of the already existing international character of training helicopter pilots, the School of Army Aviation (Heeresfliegerwaffenschule) will be renamed to International Helicopter Training Centre.[3] Training of helicopter pilots of the other components of the German Armed Forces (Air Force and Navy) at Bückeburg started in 2011.[4]

  1. ^ "Kommandoübergabe beim IHTC", Schaumburger Nachrichten (in German), 2018-03-18, retrieved 2018-09-27
  2. ^ Die Heeresfliegerwaffenschule – "Realität und Simulation" (in German), Federal Ministry of Defence, 3 March 2014, archived from the original on May 1, 2014, retrieved 24 June 2014
  3. ^ Quoted from Bundesministerium der Verteidigung (26 October 2011), Neues Stationierungskonzept der Bundeswehr (in German), retrieved 5 November 2011, PDF-file "Die Stationierung der Bundeswehr in Deutschland", p. 75
  4. ^ Heeresfliegerwaffenschule – Geschichte (in German), Federal Ministry of Defence, 5 March 2014, archived from the original on May 1, 2014, retrieved 24 June 2014