Chapter Twenty Two: The Union's People Army
2. The Air Force
The Air Force of the NVA was the air arm of the National People's Army. It was founded in 1927 with French asistance. In 1957, the Air Force absorbed the Air Defense Forces, which operated ground-based anti-aircraft missile and tracking systems. The Air Forces, called also Popular Air Forces (PAF), has a strength of 58,000 men and 567 aircrafts (helicopters and fixed wing aircrafts).
The PAF primarily flows French aircraft along with some native designs. The British air force is unique among the French allies in that it is equipped with the most advanced French fighters, instead of downgraded export models.
The PiB Tornado GR4 using the old model of roundels.
The mainstay of the offensive support fleet is the PiB Tornado GR4. This supersonic aircraft, a licensed copy of the Etendard 2000-5F with minor adjustements- can carry a wide range of weaponry, including Darter AAMs, laser-guided bombs, GPS-guided bombs, 250 kg 'booster' bombs, a variety of unguided 'iron' bombs, reconnaissance pods or drop tanks
The Tornado is supplemented by the Westland Welkin II -a reverse-engineered copy of the German Focke Wulf Fw 250A Phantom fighters (1)- which is used in the interceptor roles, and to counter enemy air defences. The Welkin II is being upgraded to GR9A standard with newer systems and more powerful engines.
Structure of British Army as of January 2004
The head of the PAF is the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Chief Marshal John Romney Day. The CAS heads the Air Force Soviet, which is a committee of the Defence Soviet.
While there were once individual commands responsible for bombers, fighters, training, etc., only one command now exists:
* Air Command (Headquarters at PAF Bentley Priory): responsible for the operation of all of the PAF untis.
Groups are the subdivisions of operational commands; these are responsible for certain types of operation or for operations in limited geographical areas. As from January 2004, three groups exist:
* 1 Group (the Air Combat Group): controls the PAF's combat fast jet aircraft and has seven airfields in the UoB.
* 2 Group (the Air Combat Support Group): controls the strategic and tactical air transport aircraft, the PAF Regiment, the PAF's air-to-air refuelling aircraft as well as the search and rescue assets.
* 22 Group: responsible for recruiting, personnel management and training.
Wings
On 31 March 2003, the PAF formed seven Air Wings (AWs) in order to support operations. They have been established at the seven main operating bases: Coningsby, Cottesmore, Kinloss, Leuchars, Lossiemouth, Lyneham and Marham, numbered Nos 121, 135, 140, 201, 217, 325 and 345 AWs respectively. These units are commanded by a group captain who is also the parent unit's Station Commander. The AW comprises the non-formed unit elements of the station that are required to support a deployed operating base, i.e. the command and control, logistics and administration functions amongst others.
They are designed to be flexible and quickly adaptable for differing operations. They are independent of flying squadrons, Air Combat Support Units (ACSU) and Air Combat Service Support Units (ACSSU) who are attached to the EAW depending on the task it has been assigned.
Due to the secrecy that surrounds the PAF this OOB is just an educated guess.
Coningsby airbase.
* 2nd Squadron (Welkin II GR9A)
* 9th Squadron (Welkin II GR9A)
* 13th Squadron (Welkin II)
Cottesmore airbase.
* 6th Squadron (Welkin II)
* 41st Squadron (Welkin II)
* 413th Squadron (Welkin II)
Leuchars airbase.
* 43th Squadron (Tornado)
* 56th Squadron (Tornado)
* 111th Squadron (Tornado)
Lossiemouth airbase.
* 12th Squadron (Tornado)
* 14th Squadron (Tornado)
* 15th Squadron (Tornado)
Lyneham airbase.
* 92th Squadron (Tornado)
* 122th Squadron(Welkin II )
* 617th Squadron (Welkin II GR9A)
Marham airbase.
* Training Command
Additionally, there is the Transport Command (under 2 Group), which controls nine squadrons, three of them equipped with the heavy transport Westland Warrior (2); and the Coastal Command (under 1 Group), with three recce squadrons, which fly the H-S Nimrod (3).
An important part of the work of the PAF is to support the British Army by ferrying troops and equipment at the battlefield. However, RAF helicopters are also used in a variety of other roles, including support of RAF ground units and heavy-lift support. The support helicopters are organised into the tri-service Joint Helicopter Command (JHC), along with helicopters of the Army and the Navy.
The large Bristol Belvedere HC2 (4), based at Odiham, provides heavy-lift support and is supported by the smaller Puma HC1 medium-lift helicopter, based at RAF Benson and RAF Aldergrove.
(1) On three occasions individual Fw 250As landed in the Uob (in 1967
Major Heinz Felfe was ordered to return a recently repaired Fw 250A from a repair workshop to Hamburg. He used this opportunity to fly it to the UoB; in 1968 Leutnant Paul Massing used a training exercise to defect and landed his Fw 250A at a Biggins Hill airfield. According to the then common practice, he received a commission in the PAF, eventually becoming a colonel; in 1970 Leutnant Markus Hess defected to the UoB by flying across the channel in his Fw 250A. Chairman Jeremy Thorpe tasked Westland with cloning the Phantom, which was done in less than a year. One Fw 250A was fully dismantled, down to the smallest bolt, the second was used for flight tests and training, and the third one was left as a standard for cross-reference.
(2) A mixture of the C-5A and the C-130K.
(3) The good old Nimrod of OTL.
(4) A fitter version of the original Belvedere.