User:EvilMossman/sandbox
| Air Force Band — LwMusKorps — | |
|---|---|
 Coat of Arms for Air Force Band 1 (Dissolved in 2014) | |
| Active | 1958 - Present |
| Country |  Germany |
| Allegiance | Bundeswehr |
| Branch |  Luftwaffe |
| Type | Military Band |
| Size | ~150 Men |
| Garrison/HQ | Erfurt, Münster |
The German Air Force Band (Luftwaffenmusikkorps) was founded in 1958 to serve as a military band for the German Air Force. Though it was initially formed as one unit, two more were created in March 1959. The three units had garrisons in Karlsruhe, Münster, and Neubiberg.
On 26 October 2011, the merging of the three bands was announced by the Federal Minister of Defence in the course of a planned reform. On 24 March 2014, Air Force Band 1 was merged with Air Force Bands 2 and 3 into two units, garrisoned in Erfurt and Münster. The final resolution took place on 30 June 2014.
History[edit]
The Air Force Band shadowed the Bundeswehr in Upper Bavaria, Swabia, Franconia and Upper Palatinate during military ceremonies. It operated beyond traditional concerts as part of public relations. This included numerous excursions abroad, including concerts in Italy, France, Japan, Holland, Hungary, and Canada, and missions in the US, UK, Switzerland, Turkey, Portugal, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Romania, and Austria. In May 1998, they took part in the 40th annual international military pilgrimage to Lourdes in France.
Naturally, the majority of Air Force Band's tasks were in Germany. These include providing music for the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, their appearance as the "The Merry Musicians" on ZDF, as well as the NATO Music Festival in Kaiserslautern and Mönchengladbach. They played many concerts, including ones in Karlsruhe, Bremen, Hamburg, Kiel, Braunschweig, Stuttgart, and in 1998 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, which marked the 50th anniversary of the end of the Berlin blockade.
References[edit]
- "Militärmusikdienst der Bundeswehr in neuer Struktur" (in German). Blasmusik.de. 19 September 2009. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
- "Musik bei Bundeswehr, Bundespolizei, Polizei und Zivildienst". Musik-Almanach (in German). Regensburg: Deutscher Musikrat: 820–823. June 2006. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
External links[edit]
Category:Units and formations of the German Air Force Category:Bundeswehr Category:Military music Category:Münster Category:1958 establishments