After the reunification - Lufttransportgeschwader 65 der Bundesluftwaffe
After the reunification of Germany units of the former
Nationale Volksarmee (pending disbanding) were subordinated to newly-created
Bundeswherkommando Ost (
Eastern Command of the Federal Armed Forces) and it's subordinate formations. In case of the air units it was the
5. Luftwaffendivision (
5th Air Force Division) headquartered in Strausberg. For the task of managing air transport units of the
Luftsttreitkräfte / Luftverteidigung the
Lufttransportgeschwader 65 (
LTG 65, 65th Air Transport Wing) was formed with HQ in Neuhardenberg (Marxwalde in GDR times), and took command over:
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Transportfliegergeschwader 44 (
TFG-44, 44th Air Transport Wing) in Neuhardenberg,
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Transportfliegerstaffel 24 (
TFS-24, 24th Air Transport Squadron) in Dresden-Klotzsche (with An-26 aircraft),
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Transportfliegerausbildungsstaffel 45 (
TAS-45, 45th Transport Aviation Replacements Squadron) in Kamenz (with An-2, L-410 Turbolet and Zlin Z-43 aircraft) - training unit.
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Verbindungsfliegerstaffel 14 (
VS-14, 14th Liason Aviation Squadron) in Strausberg (with An-2, L-410 Turbolet and Zlin Z-43 aircraft),
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Transporthubschraubergeschwader 34 (
THG-34, 34th Transport Helicopter Wing) in Brandenburg-Briest (with Mi-8 helicopters),
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Hubschrauberausbildungsgeschwader 35 (
HAG-35, 35th Helicopter Replacements Wing) in Brandenburg-Briest (with Mi-2 and Mi-8 helicopters).
Units of the former
NVA were gradually disbanded and their aircraft either immediately retired or kept for shorter or longer time in service in the
Bundeswehr.
LTG 65 itself was disbanded in 1993, while remaining planes and helicopters were transferred to other units.
Total of 12 Turbolet's were accepted for use by
LTG 65 and later most of these were taken over by the
Flugbereitschaft des Bundesministeriums der Verteidigung (lit.
Flight Readiness of the Federal Ministry of Defence -
Bundesluftwaffe's VIP transport unit) where last of them remained in service until 2000.
Bundesluftwaffe took over numerous Mi-8 helicopters of the
LuSK/LVD, with some of them being used by
LTG 65 (some others by other units - both of the Air Force and of Army Aviation) and later by
Flugbereitschaft from which they were retired by 1995. Other Mi-8's were retired from the
Bundeswehr by 2000.
12 An-26 transports were taken over by the
LTG 65 and they remained in service for a relatively short time, being retired until 1994 (nominally still in service of the by-then already disbanded
LTG 65).
LTG 65 took over 3 Tu-134A planes from the East German Air Force. Their period in service with the new owner was rather short, though, and within less than 2 years they were retired.
Also the large Il-62M's didn't enjoy long service with
Bundesluftwaffe and within around 2 years they were retired and sold to users in the former Soviet Union.
Only jet planes from the
TFG-44 that enjoyed relatively long service were two Tu-154M's. After a short period of service with
LTG 65 they were transferred to
Flugbereitschaft where one of them (11+02) was adapted for use by for the purposes of the Treaty on Open Skies. Unfortunately, on 13 september 1997 that plane collided over South Atlantic, 120km west from the coast of Namibia, with Lockheed C-141 Starlifter of the US Air Force. All people on board (24 on Tu-154 and 9 on C-141) perished. Other Tu-154 remained in service until 2000.
After the reunification and dissolving of
Interflug it's three new Airbus A310 airliners were taken over by the
Bundesluftwaffe and pressed into service with
Flugbereitschaft as VIP transports, essentialy becoming Germany's Air Force One's, and received individual names (10+21 "Konrad Adenauer", 10+22 "Theodor Heuss", 10+23 "Kurt Schumacher"). Since 2011 they were replaced in that task by larger A340's but they remained in service, being joined by 4 more A310's in MRTT variant.