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The UK's 70th anniversary commemorations of the Battle of Britain attracted an unusual visitor to the Royal International Air Tattoo: a rare Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter. Owned by EADS, the aircraft is one of only a handful of the more than 34,000 Bf 109-class fighters produced which remain airworthy. Also known as "Red Seven", the aircraft was built in 1958 and served with the Spanish air force until 1965, before later taking a starring role in the 1969 film The Battle of Britain. Now carrying Luftwaffe markings, the Bf 109 was due to mark the anniversary by flying in formation...

German newspaper The Local says that Germany’s armed forces (Bundeswehr) are facing deep cuts in the government’s attempt to save nearly €10 billion. The Defence Ministry has drafted a proposal for cuts with the Luftwaffe facing the most drastic reductions – the report says that up to 15 C-160 Transall transporters will be immediately decommissioned and the number of Airbus Military A400Ms reduced from the current requirement of 60, and 100 Tornado fighters will be retired “as soon as possible”, leaving just 85. The Luftwaffe will also not receive the last 37 Eurofighter Typhoons on order. Helicopter numbers will also...

The German air force has commenced test activities with the first of a planned 85 Panavia Tornado aircraft to be upgraded to a so-called ASSTA 2 operating configuration. Prepared by EADS Military Air Systems using an electronic combat and reconnaissance variant aircraft, the modernisation introduces improved cockpit displays and countermeasures equipment. EADS expects to update 62 Tornados to the ASSTA 2 standard after the completion of flight tests by the air force’s WTD-61 test squadron, with the service to modify the rest of its retained fleet in Erding. The Luftwaffe plans to continue flying 85 Tornados until around 2020, after...

An RAF pilot and an aviator from the Luftwaffe have flown together on a combat mission for the first time since Britain and Germany were bitter Second World War enemies. The two airmen joined forces in the skies above Afghanistan in the war against the Taliban. Last night, the Ministry of Defence confirmed that an RAF flight lieutenant had piloted a Tornado GR4 supersonic jet with a German navigator behind him in the cockpit. The Luftwaffe major - the equivalent of a squadron leader in the RAF - speaks perfect English and is said to have fitted in well with...

ON TV Hitler's Stealth Fighter airs Sunday, June 28, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on the National Geographic Channel. Preview Hitler's Stealth Fighter >> July 25, 2009--At a Northrop Grumman facility in California, top stealth-plane experts admire their handiwork in late 2008—a full-size, though flightless, replica of a Horten 2-29, aka Hitler's stealth fighter, created for a documentary airing June 28 on the National Geographic Channel. (Read the full story.) The team tested the re-created Nazi jet against World War II-style radar. With its radar-resistant design and 600-mile-an-hour (970-kilometer-an-hour) speed, the team concluded, the Ho 2-29 would have allowed British antiaircraft...

"GRAF ZEPPELIN" REDISCOVERED Hitler's Showpiece Aircraft Carrier Found A Polish oil firm working in the Baltic Sea has found the remains of the "Graf Zeppelin," Hitler's first -- and last -- aircraft carrier. The ship sank for good sometime after World War II, but exactly where and why is an enduring mystery of the early Cold War. Divers working for the Polish oil firm Petrobaltic on Monday discovered the rusting hulk of Nazi Germany's only aircraft carrier, the Graf Zeppelin, sunk in mysterious circumstances by the Soviets after World War II. Its exact location had been a riddle for almost...

3/24/2006 - TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFPN) -- March 21 was a special day for one Airman. It was the day that he received his Purple Heart Medal. It was a proud day, and a long overdue one at that. Mr. Leo Bach received his medal after suffering injuries to his right leg and back after bailing out of his B-17 Flying Fortress nearly 62 years ago. Mr. Bach, then a 24-year-old first lieutenant bombardier in the U.S. Army Air Corps, was one of nine crewmembers on a bombing run destined for Cottbus, Germany, April 11, 1944. The crew...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. .................................................................. .................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should...

Dr. Dow Pursley, Ed.D, returned home from teaching an ethics class Monday night at Baptist Bible College and Seminary and told his wife Joanne he was flying to Florida to protest against Terri Schiavo's impending death. The family counseling professor booked the first flight out of town -- a 4 a.m. red-eye Tuesday -- and the couple of 37 years then spent the balance of the night praying. Advertisement Click Here! Later Tuesday morning Dr. Pursley, 56, was shocked with a Taser stun gun and arrested by Pinellas Park (Fla.) police on charges of attempted burglary and resisting arrest without...

Luftwaffe legend to be erased from Schröder's plane By Michael Leidig in Munich (Filed: 06/07/2003) The word "Luftwaffe" is to be removed from aircraft used by the German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and other top government officials in a belated attempt to exorcise the wartime ghosts of the Nazi past. Nearly 60 years after the Second World War ended, the move to stop identifying politicians' aircraft with a name redolent of wartime bombardment was initiated by Johannes Rau, Germany's president. The plan was unveiled in the same week that Germany held a brainstorming session in London to develop a new "brand"...

20:49 Germany to take `Luftwaffe` off gov`t planes out of sensitivity to `countries where there are certain historic resentments`

Germany's president wants the word Luftwaffe removed from official aircraft used on government business. Johannes Rau believes the word was once a symbol of the country's proud military past and is tarnished by its Second World War associations. Instead he wants Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Federal Republic of Germany) written on the fuselage of official Airbus planes. Mr Rau's inspiration is the US president's plane, Air Force One, which is emblazoned with the words United States of America rather than US Air Force. German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has also reportedly expressed a wish to depose the tradition of identifying VIP aircraft with...

You've heard the rumors, perhaps even seen a magazine article or two -- several Me 262 jets are now under construction in the United States!! This incredible project is the result of a eight-year production and engineering effort, now entering its final stages.  Formerly subcontracted to the Texas Airplane Factory and administered by Classic Fighter Industries, Inc. the WTMF owner's group has now  assumed watch over the final, and most critical, phase of the project.  Our Seattle-based team of expert designers, engineers and technicians expects to reach the flight test stage in the next three months. SPECIAL UPDATE for...