Missile Wing 1
| Missile Wing 1 | |
|---|---|
| German: Flugkörpergeschwader 1 | |
 | |
| Active | 1963–1991 |
| Disbanded | 1991 |
| Country | West Germany |
| Branch | German Air Force |
| Part of | 1st Luftwaffendivision, Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force |
Missile Wing 1 (German: Flugkörpergeschwader 1, FKG 1) was a unit of the German Air Force.
FKG 1 was activated in Kaufbeuren in February 1958, equipped with the MGM-1 Matador cruise missile.
In September 1963, FKG 1 moved to Saarburg Kaserne in Landsberg am Lech. The wing had two subordinate units: Missile Group 12 (German: Flugkörpergruppen 12) in Landsberg and Missile Group 13 (German: Flugkörpergruppen 13) in Kaufbeuren.[1] The wing went through training at Fort Sill on the Pershing missile. FKGrp 12 fired missiles in April 1964 and FKGrp 12 in July 1964. The wing received missiles at their Quick Reaction Sites in West Germany on August 12, 1964. The wing moved to Görisried/Bodelsberg in 1976.
Warheads were under U.S. control, released only in wartime conditions.[2] Warheads were controlled by the 82nd U.S. Army Missile Detachment (82nd USAFAD) from 1965 to 1971 and by the 74th U.S. Army Field Artillery Detachment from 1971 to 1991.
A new Combat Alert Site at Lehmgrube in Kettershausen was completed in 1975 for FKG 1, but the site was turned over to the 56th Field Artillery Brigade, who named it Fort von Steuben.
Pershing 1b was a single stage, reduced range version of the Pershing II with the same range as the Pershing 1a. The Pershing II launcher was designed so that the cradle could be easily repositioned to handle the shorter missile airframe. The intent was to replace the German Air Force's Pershing 1a systems with Pershing 1b, since SALT II limited the range of German-owned missiles. The German government agreed to destroy its Pershing 1a systems when the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty on May 27, 1988, thus the Pershing 1b was never deployed. Although not covered by the treaty, West Germany agreed unilaterally to the removal of the Pershing 1a missiles from its inventory in 1991, and the missiles were destroyed in the United States.
The wing was deactivated on December 31, 1991.
Commanders
- Oberst Richard Frodl 1963-1969
- Oberst Hans-Wilhelm Fleckner 1969-1971
- Oberst Heinz Werner 1971-1972
- Oberst Sebastian Sanktjohanser 1972-1981
- Oberst Franz-Egon Dropmann 1981-1984
- Oberst Dieter Reindl 1984-1987
- Oberst Peter Schmitz 1987-1989
- Oberst Herbert Wülfel 1989-1991
- Oberst Kurt Stürmer 1991-1991
Gallery
-
West German Air Force Pershing 1 on parade, 6 June 1969 -
Members of the West German Air Force receive Pershing 1a equipment in early 1971 -
West German Air Force Pershing 1a at the Militärhistorisches Museum Flugplatz Berlin-Gatow, Germany
References
- ^ Berghoff, Major Walter (1970). "In einem Flugkörpergeschwader Pershing". Jahrbuch der Luftwaffe (in German). Luftwaffe.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|trans_chapter=ignored (|trans-chapter=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ Burns, Steven T. (2014). History of the Pershing Missile Systems. ISBN 978-1-63318-129-8.