The C-160D Transall of the German Luftwaffe is a type that is seen less and less often. That's because the Transalls are slowly being phased out in Germany. The German airbase Hohn in the north of the country is the only airbase where the C-160D Transall is still based in Germany. The unit flying here with this type is Lufttransportgeschwader 63 (LTG-63). The other two units are no longer flying the Transall. LTG-61 at Landsberg in the south of the country has meanwhile been disbanded and LTG-62 at Wunstorf is already operational with the Airbus A400M. Through the years, the C-160 Transall is now an outdated aircraft. The German C-160 Transall fleet will be replaced by the Airbus A400 Atlas in the future. Due to drastic cuts in funds, 2 of 3 transport airfield will close down in Germany. Wunstorf will remain the only active transport airbase in Germany. This means Hohn and Landsberg will close when the Atlas enters service. The entire A400 fleet will therefore be based at Wunstorf. The preparations for the A400 are already started at Wunstorf. The platforms at Wunstorf will be increased and a complete new hangar complex is under construction. The first A400 will be delivered at Wunstorf in 2014 according to the expectations. The delivery of more than 40 aircraft will take place between 2014 and 2020. Originally, the German government had plans to purchase 60 A400s. Due to budget cuts this number was reduced to 40 aircraft. The French Air Force started to fly the first operational A400 in 2013; Germany and Great Britain will quickly followed in 2014. The basic pilot training for the A400 of these 3 countries will be based at Wunstorf. The tactical training on this type will take place at the French base Orleans-Bricy. The Airbus A400M has a much bigger load capacity compared to the C-160 Transall. The aircraft has also a larger operational range than its predecessor. This is a great advantage for the Luftwaffe, because they are now able to operate much quicker over the entire world.
The C-160 Transall is a transport aircraft which is powered with turboprop engines. The aircraft was developed in the 60s by a German-French consortium for military operations. The plane became a familiar face at the German Luftwaffe in the 70s and 80s; these aircraft were used for many times on flights to crisis areas. Currently, the Transall is still used by Germany, France and Turkey. The Transall is on a small scale also used for civilian purposes. The purchase of the Transall was decided after consultation of a Denfense Committee. The German-French cooperation decided to start designing an aircraft which had to replace the Noratlas 2501. Another option of the alliance was the purchase of a license-built version of the C-130 Hercules. Negotiations with the U.S. aircraft manufacturer Lockheed were stopped in 1963. The Americans could not deliver quickly enough, because the country was involved in the Vietnam War. The prototype of the Transall was already developed in the meanwhile. The final decision to build the C-160 Transall instead of the C-130 Hercules was made for political reasons. The C-160 V1 was the first of three prototypes and it made its first flight of 55 minutes on February 25, 1963. It flew from Melun-Villaroche in France. On May 25, 1963, the second prototype the C-160 V2 flew for the first time in Lemwerder near Bremen. The C-160 V3 made its first flight on February 19, 1964, from Hamburg-Finkenwerder/Waltershof. The first official delivery of a production aircraft, took place on August 2, 1967, in Lemwerder. The aircraft was built for the French Air Force. The first Luftwaffe Transall was delivered on April 30, 1968. During the first delivery batch, a total of 169 Transalls were built. The first 50 were delivered to the French Air Force. The second series consisted of 110 aircraft which were all built the German Luftwaffe. Additionally, 9 aircraft were delivered to South Africa.
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6 дек 2020
