Israeli and German air forces take part in historic joint exercise over Dachau
Flightpath included the site of the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics and a former Nazi concentration camp
Israeli and German planes performed an historic joint flyover in Germany for the first time.
The exercise on Tuesday included jets from the German and Israeli air forces skirt the edge of Dachau, where the Nazis established their first concentration camp for political opponents in 1933.
The flyover also took pilots over the former Nazi airfield Furstenfeldbruck near Munich, which is where Palestinian terrorists shot dead nine Israeli athletes and coaches and one German police officer at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Two Israelis had been killed earlier.
The joint delegation also attended a commemoration ceremony at the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial.
The two air forces perform a flyby over Dachau:
Making history ????????????????
The IAF and @Team_Luftwaffe performed the joint flyby at the "Dachau" concentration camp and above the "Fürstenfeldbruck" airport, to honor and remember those murdered in the holocaust and the 11 victims of the 1972 Munich Massacre https://t.co/H2BAAWY4QU
— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) August 18, 2020
Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz led an escort of two Eurofighters to greet the Israeli Air Chief into German airspace, with IAF Commander, Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin, telling him it is “I am proud to lead our first deployment to Germany. It is a testimony to our strong ties and mutual commitment”.
Commander of the German Air Force, Lt. Gen. Ingo Gerhartz accompanying an IAF "Nachshon Eitam" (Gulfstream G550), piloted by IAF Commander, Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin and the IAF's first female squadron commander, Lt. Col. G, on its way to the international exercise in Germany pic.twitter.com/RQiU35FyB7
— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) August 17, 2020
Gerhartz told the German press agency dpa last week the exercise is “a moving sign of our friendship today” and a sign of determination to “fight antisemitism with the utmost consistency.”
The flyover comes in the midst of a historic two-week joint exercise between Israel and Germany, dubbed Blue Wings 2020, which started on Monday.
It is the Israeli Air Force’s first joint exercise with the Luftwaffe in Germany. The German Air Force held joint exercises in Israel last Autumn.
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