Squadron Exchanges 1970

20 till 30 January 1970

The German Navy MFG1, based at Schleswig Jagel, flying the F-104G, exchanged with a Royal Navy squadron based at Lossiemouth. It was a one-way exchange. German aircraft seen were F-104Gs 22+82, 22+83, 22+84 and 22+85 arriving January 20th, F-104Gs 22+80 and 22+81 arriving January 22nd. During the exchange also F-104G 22+75 with TF-104G 27+37 were seen, arriving the 27th and departing again the next day. (Info thanks to Sandy Watt). It is reported that the involved Royal Navy unit was 809 Squadron with Buccaneer S.2 but we still need confirmation.

21 till 28 January 1970

The German Air Force JG71 (2nd Staffel) based at Wittmund Air Base, flying the F-104G Starfighter exchanged with French Air Force EC 3/2 "Alsace" based at Dijon, flying the Mirage IIIE. It was a two-way exchange. (IFS: we believe that this could have been mixed up with the squadron exchange in July 1969, who can confirm?)

1 till 9 February 1970

The Canadian 430 Squadron based at Lahr, Germany, flying the CF-104, exchanged one-way to 144 Filo based at Murted, Turkey, also flying the F-104 Starfighter. Only the Canadians flew to Turkey with one CF-104D and three CF-104s. They flew via a fuel stop at Decimomannu.

26 February till 6 March 1970

The Canadian 422 Squadron, operating the CF-104 at Baden Soellingen, exchanged with the Royal Hellenic Air Force 336 Mira, operating the F-104G at Araxos. It was a two way exchange. Five Canadian Starfighters, being 668,796, 814, 821 and 889) and 8 pilots flew to Araxos via Decimomannu (also on the return). And at least four Greek Starfighters flew to Germany being F-104Gs 62-12303, 63-12697, 63-12713 and 64-17780. The Greek Starfighters arrived at Sollingen on the 26th of February after a night stop at Grosseto. Also when the departed March 6th, they took a night stop at Grosseto. Below pictures thanks to Dimitris Mitsainas, taken at Sollingen during the exchange. His father George Mitsainas is on this photo as well. It was winter at Soellingen those days and the pilots from Greece were enjoying this very much as can be seen on the pictures provided by Dimitris Adamopoulos below. Also two photos have been added from Chris Wootton showing the Canadians at Araxos.

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5 till 12 March 1970

The Dutch Air Force 311 Squadron, based at Volkel, flying the F-104G exchanged with Royal Air Force 4 Squadron based at Gutersloh flying the Hawker Hunter FR.10. It was a two-way exchange where at least six Hunters were flying from Volkel and also six Starfighters flew from Gutersloh. Note: Some believe the aircraft flew back on March 13th but we have no real proof yet.

April 1970

The French Air Force EC 1/4 operating the Mirage IIIE at Luxeuil AB exchanged with German Air Force JBG34 based at Memmingen, flying the F-104G Starfighter. At least the German Starfighters were seen in France for 10 days. Sadly no more information is known. Below a special prepared shield can be seen for the French team to remember the event (internet).

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20 April till 4 May 1970

The Dutch Air Force 312 Squadron, based at Volkel exchanged with German Air Force JBG32 (2nd Staffel) based at Lechfeld, both flying the F-104G. At least six German Starfighters came to Holland. It was a two-way exchange. The six German aircraft seen at Volkel were: 20+42, 21+45, 21+93, 25+22, 25+29 and 25+50 and also six Starfighters flew to Lechfeld (from April 22nd till 28th) including D-8047 and D-8268. On May 4th a TF-104G (27+83) landed at Volkel in relation to the end of the squadron exchange.
Below are two wonderful photos received from IFS member and JBG32 pilot Wolfgang Juergen (seen 2nd from left on photo with 312 Squadron badge) The big group photo was taken at Lechfeld just before the six Dutch Starfighters flew back. (who recognizes persons?) The other photo was taken at Volkel showing : On top (from left to right) Bob Hazenbos, Wolgang Juergen, Willem Kauffmann, Hans Maas (Intell), Hptm.Von Tschirnhaus, Maj. Knöpnadel, Olt Engelmayer,
Below (from left to right) Leo Rüpp (312 Squadron commander), unknown pilot JBG 32, unknown pilot JBG 32, Maarten Kuipers. Also some relics given by JBG32 to 312sq to remember this event (thanks to Rob Loonstra).

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28 April till 6 May 1970

This period the Belgium Air Force 350 Squadron (1 Wing) based at Beauvechain AB and flying the F-104G Starfighter exchanged with 111 Squadron flying the Lightning F.3 jets at RAF Wattisham (UK). It was a two way exchange. Three F-104G aircraft (FX10 - FX18 - FX82) and one TF-104G (FC04) flew to RAF Wattisham in Suffolk. Photos (thanks to Serge Bonfond) show a line up of the Belgium delegation at Wattisham, one photo showing FX-10 being prepared for a mission while a Lightning is taxying along, and finally a photo taken at the flightline at Wattisham showing activity around the only TF-104G FC-04.

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May 1970

According to the detailed 421 squadron (RCAF) book, this month an exchange took place between the Sollingen based Canadian 421 Squadron and the Italian 154 Gruppo from Ghedi operating the F-104G Starfighter. The period is not exactly known but the Canadian Starfighters flew missions at least from Tuesday May 5th till the end of the week, so it is very likely that it started Monday the 4th of May. We have no confirmed information about the participating aircraft but some believe that two Italian aircraft were RF-104G MM6550 code "6-08" and F-104G MM6565 code "6-04" but these have not been confirmed. Both squadrons exchanged in the same period around the 2nd week of May.

May 1970

The German Air Force JBG33 (likely 1st Staffel) flying the F-104G, stationed at Buchel AB exchanged with a Turkish AF squadron operating from Balikesir (6AJU) (or Bandirma 6AJU?). It was a one-way exchange. Only the German Starfighters flew to Turkey.

21 May till 5 June 1970

The German Navy MFG2, based at Eggebek exchanged with the Turkish Air Force nr 4 Wing 144 Filo from Murted AB, both flying the F-104G Starfighter. It was a one-way exchange where the Germans flew to Turkey with 6 Starfighters. Below a picture can be found showing F-104G 23+16 leading a number of German F-104 taxiing at Murted Air Base during the event.

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25 May till 4 June 1970

The Dutch Air Force 322 Squadron, based at Leeuwarden exchanged with Danish Air Force 723 Eskadrille based at Aalborg, both operating the F-104G Starfighter. At least the Danish Starfighters came to Holland. It is unknown if the Dutch 104s went to Denmark as well. Six Danish Starfighters seen at Leeuwarden were R-347, R-349, R-645, R-753, R-755 and R-756. Not all of them were available the whole period. Aircraft R-349 and R-756 arrived on June 2nd. Below a picture is shown which can be found in the 723 Eskadrille history books about this exchange in 1970. Click on it for a larger photo. If you want the original photo scan please mail us...

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26 May till 4 June 1970

Norwegian Air Force 331 Skv, operating the F-104G at Bodo AB, exchanged with RAF 11 Squadron flying the Lightning F.6, based at RAF Leuchars. It was a 2 way exchange. Aircraft, which landed at Leuchars the 26th of May, included F-104G serial 61-2625/FN-K, 61-2630/FN-F, 61-2631/FN-H and 62-12232/FN-T. See the picture below showing the four aircraft lined up at Leuchars. It is very likely that aircraft 61-2625/FN-K, 61-2630/FN-F have been at Leuchars on pre-exchange. Another photo shows aircraft FN-K in front of the 11 Squadron building at Leuchars (Thanks to Erik Dahlen).

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2 till 11 June 1970

The Dutch Air Force 306 Squadron, based at Volkel, flying the RF-104G exchanged with German Air Force AG51 based at Bremgarten flying also the RF-104G. It was a two-way exchange where four German Starfighters were flying from Volkel and six Dutch Starfighters flew from Bremgarten. German aircraft at Volkel were 24+09, 24+11, 24+20 and 24+72. The participating Dutch pilots were Capt Bontekoe, Capt Koot, Capt Buffart, Capt van de Struif, Lt. Beelen, Lt. van de Velde, Lt. van Os and Lt. Leenders.

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8 till 18 June 1970

The German Air Force JBG31 flying the F-104G, stationed at Norvenich AB exchanged with the French AF EC1/3 and EC2/3 based at Nancy AB, operating the Mirage IIIE, during this period. It was a two way exchange. Four Mirages of EC2/3 were seen at Norvenich (495/3-JO?, 479/3-JH?, 488/3-JL? and 579/3-JB?). Aircraft 479 left Norvenich already June 11th. At Nancy two German aircraft hit the net barrier after encountering a chute failure. These were 21+65 on the 8th and 25+75 on the 9th of June. Below some pictures from the NAS archive can be found. Note : the French sources believe that the exchange started at the 7th. At Nancy not EC2/3 but EC1/3 was hosting the exchange.

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12 till 19 June 1970

The Canadian 427 Squadron of 4 Wing based at Baden Sollingen, flying the CF-104, exchanged with the RAF 43 Squadron flying the Phantom from Leuchars, Scotland. At the same time, most of the 427 Squadron pilots were at Leuchars. The final party with the Brits was attended by all the Lions as 427 returned from Leuchars before "The Fighting Cocks of 43" left.

16 till 25 June 1970

The German Air Force AG52 (second staffel) flying the RF-104G at Leck Air Base, exchanged with a Turkish Air Force squadron this period. A number of German Starfighters flew to Turkey. It is unknown if also Turkish aircraft came to Germany. Some believe it were F-100 aircraft and others mention Murted Air Base... But there were no F-100's based at Murted at all.

4 till 12 June 1970

The Belgium Air Force 349 Squadron (1 Wing), operating the F-104G at Beauvechain AB exchanged with Italian Air Force 21 Gruppo based at Cameri also operating the F-104G. It was a two-way squadron exchange.

20 till end July 1970

The Belgium Air Force 1st Wing, operating the F-104G at Beauvechain AB exchanged with Royal Air Force 5 Squadron based at Binbrook, flying the Lightning F.6. It was a most probably, but not yet 100% confirmed, one-way exchange. Only the Lightnings came to Belgium. (Deployment, Exercise?)

30 June till 7 July 1970

The German Air Force AG52 (first staffel) flying the RF-104G exchanged with Royal Hellenic Air Force squadron 335 Mira operating the F-104G at Tanagra AB. It is unknown if it was a 1 or 2 way exchange but at least the Greek Starfighters came to Germany.

28 July till 8 August 1970

The German Air Force JG71 (1st Staffel) based at Wittmundhafen, flying the F-104G Starfighter exchanged with Royal Air Force 5 Squadron based at Binbrook, flying the Lightning F.6. It was a one-way exchange. Only the Starfighters flew to the UK. (Deployment).

3 till 12 August 1970

The Italian Air Force 9 Gruppo, based at Grosseto AB, operating the F-104G, exchanged with Dutch Air Force 323 Squadron based at Leeuwarden, also operating the F-104G. It was a two-way exchange between these two Starfighter squadrons. On 3 and 5 August the following Starfighters were seen at Leeuwarden AB: F-104G MM6515/4-15, MM6523/4-1, MM6533/4-14 and RF-104G MM6638/4-11. One of the Dutch Starfighters flying to Grosseto was D-8053 which received 4Stormo markings on its tail during this exchange.

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Mid till late August 1970

The Italian Air Force 10 Gruppo (9 Stormo), based at Grazzanise and operating the F-104G Starfighter, exchanged with Royal Air Force 11 Squadron flying the Lightning F.6 from Leuchars. It was a two-way exchange. Italian F-104G Starfighters seen in the UK on August 27th and 28th were MM6529/9-12, MM6575/9-11, MM6576/9-06 and MM6599/9-07. Aircraft MM6552/9-15 and MM6568/9-03 were seen at Leuchars on July 20th when they arrived for a pre-exchange visit. Below pictures are f0und showing the aircraft 9-03 during the pre-visit with in the background 9-15. The other pictures show aircraft 9-06, 9-11 and 9-12 on the flight line at Leuchars (4 fueltanks).

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11 till 19 August 1970

The German Air Force JG71 (2nd Staffel) based at Wittmundhafen, flying the F-104G Starfighter exchanged with Turkish Air Force 4 AJU based at Mürted, flying the F-104G. It was a one-way exchange. Only the Starfighters flew to Turkey (deployment). At the time Murted was the homebase of 191 Filo with F-102A and 144 Filo with F-104G. It could be just a visit for an exercise and not really an exchange. Who can confirm?

14 till 24 September 1970

The Norwegian Air Force 717 SKV flying the RF-5A aircraft, based at Rygge AB exchanged with German Air Force AG51 based at Bremgarten . It was likely a one-way exchange. At least the RF-104G aircraft were seen at Rygge AB. It is very likely that the Starfighters only came to Rygge because AG51's homebase Bremgarten was closed due to runway repair and all 104s were dispersed to Manching, Lechfeld, Memmingen and Buchel. Starfighters seen at Rygge included 23+87, 23+92, 24+13 and 24+60. Below a picture can be found showing aircraft 23+92 at Rygge (717 Skv squadron book) and the shield which was created for this event (all thanks to Tom Svendsen).

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15 till 22 September 1970

One of the Belgium Air Force 10 Wing squadrons, operating the F-104G at Kleine Brogel AB exchanged with German Air Force JBG33 (likely 1st Staffel) based at Buchel, also flying the F-104G Starfighter. It is unknown if this was a one or two way exchange.

17 till 25 September 1970

The Italian Air Force 22 Gruppo operating the F-104S at Istrana AB, exchanged with German Air Force JG71 squadron based at Wittmundhafen flying the F-104G Starfighter. It was a two-way exchange.

20 till 29 October 1970

The Belgium Air Force 10 Wing, 23 Smaldeel operating the F-104G at Kleine Brogel AB exchanged with German Air Force JBG34 (2nd Staffel) based at Memmingen, also flying the F-104G Starfighter. At least six German Starfighters were seen at Kleine Brogel being 20+46, 21+67, 22+31, 22+32, 22+33 and 22+46. It was a two-way exchange, with one of the aircraft being FX26 as can be seen on the picture below, showing Captain Karel van Brussel being welcomed by his German collegues. (Photo thanks to Michael Schneider)

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End November 1970

This month an exchange took place between the Sollingen based Canadian 439 Squadron, flying the CF-104, and the Danish Air Force 729 Eskadrille, flying the RF-84F Thunderflash, based at Karup. It was a two way exchange. In total 6 Canadian Starfighters were seen in Denmark while 4 RF-84Fs flew to Sollingen. The Canadians were st Karup for a period of 10 days. Aircraft were at least seen between 17th and 25th November. Canadian transport was performed by C-130s.

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