The ''Marinefliegerkommando'' (Naval Aviation Command) is the naval air arm of the

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mari ...

History

During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, naval aviators were part of the . After the war Germany was no longer allowed to maintain a military aviation capability. Heer and

Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military ...

both attempted to nevertheless maintain theoretical and practical knowledge of air warfare through concealed activities such as pilot training efforts. After the

National Socialists Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

had risen to power, these activities intensified until

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

unilaterally declared its withdrawal from armament limitations in 1935. The nascent rump naval air arm was quickly absorbed by

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...

's newly established , much to the navies chagrin. However, as a component of the air force, the ''Seeflieger'' maintained their organisational structure. A carrier-based aviation component was planned for the aircraft carrier ''Graf Zeppelin'', laid down in 1936, but lack of suitable aircraft, coupled with the reluctance of the ''Luftwaffe'' to support the ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

'' in the carrier's construction, culminated in its eventual cancellation in 1943. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, it was not until

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

's entry into

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

in the 1950s and the establishment of the ''

Bundesmarine The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mari ...

'', that a naval aviation force (''Marineflieger'') was formed. The United Kingdom was instrumental for the creation of the ''Marineflieger'', supplying training and aircraft. A number of

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wi ...

(FAA) officers operated as part of the

in the process. The first aircraft included

Hawker Sea Hawk The Hawker Sea Hawk is a British single-seat jet day fighter formerly of the Fleet Air Arm (FAA), the air branch of the Royal Navy (RN), built by Hawker Aircraft and its sister company, Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. Although its design origina ...

s, which were used by ''Marinefliegergeschwader'' 1 and 2, and

Fairey Gannet The Fairey Gannet is a carrier-borne aircraft that was designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer the Fairey Aviation Company. It was developed for the Royal Navy, being the first fixed-wing aircraft to combine both the search an ...

s. Until the new bases were ready, pilots were trained with the FAA in the UK. The first ''Kommando der Marineflieger'' was created in July 1956 in

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...

Holtenau Holtenau (; Danish: Holtenå) is a district of Kiel, on the southeastern part of the Danish Wahld. It was historically part of the Duchy of Schleswig, and has cultural influences from both Germany and Denmark. The district is located at the mouth ...

and elevated to divisional level in 1964, renamed to ''Marinefliegerkommando'' in 1967 and to ''Marinefliegerdivision'' in 1969 as it grew in size. This Naval Aviation Division commanded five wings and several supporting units in total before 1990, including two combat aircraft wings equipped with Lockheed Starfighter fighter aircraft and then the

Panavia Tornado The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing multirole combat aircraft, jointly developed and manufactured by Italy, the United Kingdom and West Germany. There are three primary Tornado variants: the Tornado IDS (inte ...

. The

maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) was replaced with the Bréguet Atlantic. After the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

, the unit was renamed to ''Flotille der Marineflieger'' in 1994 and reduced to a brigade-level command. Its last combat aircraft were handed over to the German Air Force in 2005 before the flotilla was dissolved on 30 June 2006. Afterwards, the remaining wings were directly assigned to fleet command until 8 October 2012, when the current ''Marinefliegerkommando'' was created in Nordholz under ''Kapitän zur'' ''See'' Andreas Horstmann, who had already been charged with naval aviation at fleet command in

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state ...

from 2006 to 2009. At the same time the remaining naval aviation aircraft were largely consolidated at Nordholz Naval Airbase.

Subordinate units

Apart from the staff, two - the 3rd and 5th - wings are currently assigned to the unit.

Naval Air Wing 3 (MFG 3) "Graf Zeppelin"

The German Navy's fixed-wing aircraft, namely eight Lockheed P-3C ''Orion'' MPA taken over from the

Dutch Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world an ...

and two modified Dornier 228LM pollution control aircraft are assigned to the 3rd wing, ''Marinefliegergeschader 3 "Graf Zeppelin"''. The unit is also responsible for handling flight operations in Nordholz. It was established in 1964. The wings tasks include surveillance and control of large sea areas as well as maritime warfare against targets above (

ASuW Anti-surface warfare (ASuW or ASUW) is the branch of naval warfare concerned with the suppression of surface combatants. More generally, it is any weapons, sensors, or operations intended to attack or limit the effectiveness of an adversary's su ...

) and below water ( ASW). Pollution control patrols are carried out implementing the

MARPOL 73/78 The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973 as modified by the Protocol of 1978, or "MARPOL 73/78" is one of the most important international marine environmental conventions. MARPOL 73/78, MARPOL is an amalg ...

convention on behalf of and in cooperation with German civilian authorities, namely the German coastal states and agencies under the Federal Ministry of Transport, who do not maintain the appropriate aircraft themselves. The P-3Cs are to be replaced with five P-8 Poseidon MPAs from 2024 on in order to avoid a looming capability gap caused by bringing forward the out-of-service date of the P-3Cs to 2025. A prior attempt to extensively refurbish the aircraft and extend their service time to 2035 was abandoned due to cost and technical issues. A technical support group (''Gruppe'') and a flying group, each with two flights (''Staffeln'') make up the unit along with an airbase group which is responsible for logistics, command infrastructure and air traffic: * Staff ** Flying Group *** 1st Flight (P-3C) *** 2nd Flight (P-3C, Do-228LM) ** Technical Group *** Technical Flight (P-3C) *** Technical Flight (general purpose) ** Air Base Group

Naval Air Wing 5 (MFG 5)T

''Marinefliegergeschwader 5'' commands the navies rotorcraft fleet of Westland ''Sea Lynx MK 88 A'' and ''Sea King Mk 41'' helicopters, tasked with ship-based anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, transport and special forces support duties and is responsible for search and rescue (SAR) duty in the North and Baltic seas. The ''Sea King'' fleet is currently transitioning to the NH90 ''Sea Lion''. Sea Lion operations began during June 2020 and the wing will eventually have 20 in service. The NH90 in its ''Sea Tiger'' version will also replace the ''Sea Lynx'' from 2025 on as the navies frigate-based helicopter. The unit redeployed in 2012-2013 to Nordholz from Kiel-

where it had been stationed since its creation in 1958. * Staff ** Flying Group *** 1st Flight (Sea Lynx Mk 88 A) *** 2nd Flight (Sea King Mk 41) *** ? Flight (Sea Lion) *** Instruction Flight ** Technical Group *** Technical Flight (Sea Lynx Mk 88 A) *** Technical Flight (Sea King Mk 41) *** Technical Flight (Sea Lion) *** Technical Instruction Flight

Aircraft

The command had 2,500 personnel on active duty in 2020. As of 2019, it operates 54 aircraft. , - , Sea Falcon ,

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

, UAV , ISR , 2022 , , , 2 on order as a testbed for future UAVs on the corvettes, 8 more planned , - , Puma AE II ,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, UAV , ISR , 2019 , 6 , , 3 systems with 6 UAVs, dubbed "LARUS" in the German Navy , - ,

DJI Phantom 4 The Phantom () is a series of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) developed by Chinese technology company DJI. Technical specs The DJI Phantom drones have mostly similar technical properties. These are the specs for the Vision+ model: * Start weigh ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, Micro UAV , ISR , 2017 , 5 , , , - , Dornier 228LM ,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, Propeller , Pollution control , 1991 , 2 , 2 , , - ,

Boeing P-8 Poseidon The Boeing P-8 Poseidon is an American maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft developed and produced by Boeing Defense, Space & Security, and derived from the civilian Boeing 737-800. It was developed for the United States Navy (USN). T ...

, Jet ,

MPA MPA or mPa may refer to: Academia Academic degrees * Master of Performing Arts * Master of Professional Accountancy * Master of Public Administration * Master of Public Affairs Schools * Mesa Preparatory Academy * Morgan Park Academy * Mou ...

, 2025 , , , 5 on order, replacing

Lockheed P-3 Orion The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engined, turboprop Anti-submarine warfare, anti-submarine and maritime patrol aircraft, maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed Corporation, Lockh ...

from 2025 onwards , - ,

, Propeller ,

, 2006 , 5 , 8 , Formerly of the

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world an ...

. To be replaced with five Boeing

. , - , NHI NH90 Sea Lion ,

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, Rotorcraft , SAR/transport , 2018 , 14 , 14 , 4 more on order, replacing the Sea King , - , NHI NH90 Sea Tiger ,

, Rotorcraft , ASW , 2025 , , , 31 on order, replacing the

Westland Lynx The Westland Lynx is a British multi-purpose twin-engined military helicopter designed and built by Westland Helicopters at its factory in Yeovil. Originally intended as a utility craft for both civil and naval usage, military interest led t ...

, - , Westland Sea Lynx Mk 88 A ,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, Rotorcraft , Attack/SAR/transport , 1981 , 21 , 21 , , - , Westland Sea King Mk 41 ,

, Rotorcraft , SAR/transport , 1972 , 19 , 22 , The ''Marineflieger'' previously operated the following aircraft: *

* F-104 G Starfighter *

Breguet Atlantic Breguet or Bréguet may refer to: * Breguet (watch), watch manufacturer **Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747–1823), Swiss watchmaker **Louis-François-Clement Breguet (1804–1883), French physicist, watchmaker, electrical and telegraph work * Brégue ...

Dornier Do 28 The type designation Dornier Do 28 comprises two different twin-engine STOL utility aircraft, manufactured by Dornier Flugzeugbau GmbH. Most of them served with the German Air Force and '' Marineflieger'' and other air forces around the world in ...

Gallery

File:Tornado MFG1 RAF Mildenhall 1984.jpeg, A Tornado IDS at RAF Mildenhall in 1984 File:LynxMk88 F-214 1993.JPEG, A

Lynx A lynx is a type of wild cat. Lynx may also refer to: Astronomy * Lynx (constellation) * Lynx (Chinese astronomy) * Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory Places Canada * Lynx, ...

helicopter on the

flight deck The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopte ...

of a German frigate in 1993 File:A2604-Germany-Orion-6001-RIAT2013.JPG, A P-3 Orion painted with a special scheme for the 100th anniversary of the ''Marineflieger'' File:A2730-Germany-SeaKing-8965-RIAT2013.JPG, A Westland Sea King in 2013 File:A2630-Germany-DO228-9835-RIAT2013.JPG, A Dornier 228 in 2013

References

{{Reflist

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20080321114500/http://www.fly-navy.de/index2.html Military units and formations of the Imperial German Navy Military units and formations of the German Navy Military aviation units and formations of Germany in World War I