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Frank Born flew Sukhoi and MiG jets with the East German Air Force. In more recent times, his Cold War RAF contemporary Nigel Walpole got to know a potential former foe
The Sukhoi Su-22 pilots at Laage AB were well trained in night air-to-ground and air defence operations
Frank Born Collection via Ralph Hessler
Major Frank Born of the East German Air Force
Frank Born Collection
With a little apprehension, my wife and I helped each other through broken down fences and rusting barbed wire into another of the ex-Soviet and East German Air Force (EGAF) airfields, now vacated, but which hitherto I had known only from my target studies in the recently ended Cold War.
We need not have worried. Only a couple of times did we come face-to-face with anyone interested in our purpose, and they were soon charmed by my wifeâs explanation (in a Dutch version of German!) and allowed to go on our way. We thought it better not to volunteer that I was once an RAF fast jet pilot who had spent much of his career gazing over the inner German border, often from as high as 50,000ft, watching our potential adversaries train for war.
In this visit, however, our purpose was very different; we were exploring every aspect of our one-time enemies at work and play, our similarities and differences in the Cold War. Not only were we now able to âwalk the groundâ largely unhindered and see a wealth of military hardware, but more importantly, given help from my old friends in NATOâs Luftwaffe, we got to know many East German airmen, some of whom became and remain our close friends. Top of our list were Frank Born and his delightful wife, Ute.
A Sukhoi Su-22M parked at Laage AB
Frank Born Collection
Behind the curtain
In his younger days Frank had attended the Lenin Academy in Moscow, dealing with all aspects of military command and leadership. He showed great promise until his military career petered out at the end of the Cold War in December 1989, and it was then that we became good friends, swapping experiences in our respective air defence and fighter/ground attack roles.
271 East German hopefuls had initial flight training in the USSR, and 101 MiG-15s arrived in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in April 1953, on loan from the Soviet Air Force, for jet training to begin at No.1 Fighter Regiment (JFR 1) of the âKasernierte Volkspolizeiâ (KVP), effectively an embryo air force, at Cottbus, using Soviet instructors.
However, a worsening economic situation led to the suspension of jet training and the return of MiGs to Soviet bases in East Germany, leaving JFR-1 to continue training on the piston-powered Yak-18 and Yak-11.
TIn addition to its pair of 30mm canon in the wing roots, the Su-22 could deliver a wide variety of air-to-ground and air-to-air weapons including those shown here in a HAS at Laage
Frank Born Collection
In March 1956, the GDR announced the formation of East Germanyâs Nationale Volksarmee (NVA). The unit at Cottbus became Fliegergeschwader1(FG-1), the NVAâs first flying school, with Hptm KlausJĂŒrgen BaarÎČ as its commander. Initially, Yak-18s and Yak-11s simulated combat tactics and the interception of propaganda balloons drifting in from West Germany, pending the arrival of MiG-15UTI jet trainers and MiG-15bis fighters.
Jet flying resumed on FG-1 in early 1957, and by November, 21 of its pilots had converted to the MiG. Within a year, six fighter wings were equipped with a mix of single and twoseat MiG-15s, but the single-seat fighters were soon replaced by the much-improved MiG-17 Fresco, supported by MiG-15 trainers because there was no dual version of the Fresco.
On September 8, 1956, a major ceremony at Flugplatz Kamenz marked the official inauguration of the EGAFâs Officersâ School, âOffizierschuleâ (OHS). The fouryear courses began with six weeks of basic military training and five months of ground instruction which included Russian language and âleadershipâ training, including political and military doctrine.
From 1963, students at the OHS could earn a university degree and learn to fly the relatively robust and simple L-29 Delfin jet which, from 1977, was supplemented or replaced by the more advanced L-39 Albatros. The latter was a significant upgrade on the Delfin and could comfortably achieve 390kts (450mph) with a service ceiling of 33,000ft.
From 1961, most operational training for air defence took place at Bautzen, with âType 2â operational conversion to frontline fighters following at Flugplatz Rothenburg, initially on the MiG15 and then the MiG-17. From 1964, several marks of the MiG-21 were used, with dual instruction and first solo sorties carried out in the two-seaters, normally after some 20 sorties/ten hours. Several consolidation sorties in one of the single-seaters would follow.
A fine study of Major Frank Born in the cockpit of a Sukhoi Su-22
Frank Born Collection
Frontline jets
Having passed the rigorous selection process, Frank Born initially trained on Goldlauter gliders, then the Yak-18A. His formal induction into the NVA began with a mixed programme of academic and flight training at Bautzen, beginning in 1976 with an agenda similar to mine at the RAF College, Cranwell. Frank flew 100 hours on the Albatros, giving him a total of 300 flying hours on the L-39, MiG-15UTI and the MiG-17F in the last year at Flugplatz Drewitz.
His course was shortened from four to three years because the frontline was short of pilots. This compares with my 279 hours on the Chipmunk, Harvard and Balliol and two years and seven months at Cranwell. I also had 74 hours in a four-month jet conversion course on the Meteor at RAF Driffield.
It had then been planned for Frank to convert to the MiG-21SPS at Flugplatz Rothenburg for operational training and a posting to an air defence squadron.
Instead, he was invited to switch to the ground-attack role, initially to fly the MiG-17 pending the re-equipment of fighter-bomber wing JBG-31/37 with the exciting new MiG-23BN, and this he readily accepted. My operational training consisted of 31 hours on the Vampire and 15 hours on the earliest mark of Hunter.
The MiG-17F, with a reheated WK-1F engine, had a significantly better overall performance than the MiG-15 with its RD-45 (Nene) engine, giving it an increase in speed of 40-50kts. It was armed with one 37mm and two 23mm cannons and, being optimised for air defence, later models had improved gunsights with radar ranging. The MiG-17F could also carry rockets, bombs or additional fuel tanks on each of its two wing pylons and could also be fitted with cameras for tactical reconnaissance.
Low and fast â a pair of Su-22s mark the final days of the East German Air Force at Laage in 1990
Frank Born Collection
In the mid-1960s the MiG-15s, MiG-17s and MiG-19s were replaced progressively by variants of the MiG-21. These remained the backbone of the EGAF air defence force until the end of the Cold War, albeit reinforced in the 1980s by one wing of MiG-23MF/ML Flogger fighters on JG-9 at PeenemĂŒnde and two squadrons of MiG-29 Fulcrums on JG-3 at Preschen.
Accepting the premise that offence can contribute significantly to the defence of the homeland, the EGAF began raising a fighter/ground-attack (FGA) force in the 1970s, initially with the MiG-17Fs of JBG-31/37 at Drewitz. These fighter-bombers were replaced in 1979 by the MiG-23BNs. This offensive force was strengthened further in 1985 with the formation of two wings of Sukhoi Su-22M4 Fitters. Frank was in an ideal position to be one of the EGAFâs first FGA pilots.
Advanced training
Frank enjoyed his introduction to ground-attack in the MiG-17F, its guns and relative agility becoming a telling feature in its success against the heavier, unarmed USAF Phantoms and Thunderchiefs it met in combat over Southeast Asia. However, being shorter than most of his comrades, Frank found the seat in the MiG-17F too low for him in aerobatics, weapons training and combat, and when the suggestion that âBorniâ should be allowed to fly the MiG standing up got nowhere, he soon proved that being below the average height did not stop him becoming an exceptional pilot.
Frank found the MiG-17 to be an excellent air-to-ground weapons platform during their plentiful low-level training in Germany and in the unlimited low flying in less familiar Poland, all offering invaluable tactical experience. The MiG-17 pilots visited Polish bases such as Pila, Miroslawic and Babimost, often for joint exercises, and in many cases, they were cleared for first run attacks (FRA) with operational weapons, approaching their targets from various directions with guns, rockets and bombs by day, but only with bombs at night. Although no records could be found of the accuracies achieved, the JBG-31 pilots were very proud of their proficiency with the MiG-17Fâs hard-hitting 37mm and 23mm cannon, and the 57mm unguided air-to-ground rockets, some launched horizontally from a height of 80ft at 380kts.
So-called âmanoeuvring aerobaticsâ were authorised down to 3,000ft, before progressing to air combat tactics, but the extensive use of reheat could reduce the duration of combat sorties to 20 minutes. Frank recalled dissimilar air combat against other German and Polish fast jets, but not Soviet MiG-17 units, and it remains unclear whether these were âunofficialâ activities or part of formally authorised training.
There was a price to pay for the rapid evolution of the EGAF, but a cursory study suggests that the accident rates at Bautzen and Rothenburg were no more than should have been expected for a new but fast developing air force at the beginning of the jet age. In 1958 and 1959, the MiG-15s at Bautzen suffered seven landing accidents, an eighth being due to a collision on the ground. Rothenburg suffered its first fatal accident to a MiG-15bis in July 1960, and in September both pilots aboard a MiG-15UTI died. Four MiG-15s were badly damaged or destroyed in 1961 and there was a fatal accident in May 1962 when a MiG-17 exploded inexplicably over Poland, killing the respected Col Leander Ratz.
Two months later, another MiG-17 was lost and the pilot killed when he ejected at an estimated height of 500ft, and in April 1963 one died when he ejected from a MiG-17 at a height of 700ft. From then until 1990 the number of accidents at Bautzen decreased, while remaining relatively light at Rothenburg. Perhaps it was partly due to their good training that Frankâs group did not lose an aircraft during its time in the EGAF, and the records show that from 1971 to 1979, only six MiG-17Fs were lost to pilot error, technical defect or operational hazard.
Potent âFitterâ
As with the air defence wings, JBG-31 was subject to special monthly exercises both on the ground and in the air, planned and directed by in-house commanders. These were usually staged under fully operational conditions and often with well-rehearsed off-base deployments to the wingâs dedicated reserve airstrips.
These demanding dispersal exercises, to such rudimentary airfields as Alteno, MĂŒncheberg and Gross Köris grass airfields, and highway strips, were also carried out at night. Mobile searchlights would light up the runway thresholds, the runways themselves being hardened but blended naturally into the environment. Frank flew me over some of these deserted fields; not in a MiG, sadly, but in a civilian Cessna. Some of the strips were unknown to me from my target studies, and I found them very difficult to see from the air. There were no buildings, no tell-tale features to suggest an airfield, so they were equally difficult to see on the ground, and there tended to be woods nearby which could offer natural camouflage.
To add to the tension among the airmen, divisional commanders and the commander of the air defence force were known to appear unexpectedly, on the ground or in the air, to assess the wingâs general preparedness, vulnerability and response to air and ground attacks. Initially, the MiG-17F pilots of JBG-31 did not maintain Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) forces at constant readiness, but in exercises the wing was required to generate a specific number of aircraft within given times. These tests were similar to the RAFâs so-called Minevals, Maxevals and Tacevals, but invariably without the dispersals.
At the end of 1984 Frank took his ground-attack experience on the MiG-17F to JBG-77 at Flugplatz Laage, where he converted to the mighty single-seat Sukhoi Su-22M4 Fitter, via the Su-22UM3K dual trainer, both optimised for the offensive role but with limited air defence capabilities. With 24,000lb of thrust from their Lyulka turbojets, a âcleanâ Su-22 with variable air intakes could achieve Mach 2.2 at height. The Su-22M4, with its fixed air intake could âonlyâ manage Mach 1.7 at height, and in their predominately low-level roles they could boast speeds of up to 760kts.
They could carry a prodigious weapons load, typically with the laser-guided âKarenâ, anti-radar TV-guided missiles, âdumbâ bombs, napalm and unguided rockets. Frank enthused over the pilot-friendly electronics, navigation and weapons aiming system which drew on the best inputs from several sources for ten waypoints. He said: âIt was a dream to us. We could deliver our weapons with great accuracies âblindâ at night and in all weather, and [had] an excellent autopilot to take the aircraft down to 200ft for landing.â
He found the aircraft âeasy to handle and pleasant to flyâ, with a steady, comfortable ride at high speeds and low level carrying heavy loads. All this, coupled with good cockpit ergonomics, simplified pilot conversion to the Fitter, Frank going solo after around 12 very short sorties in a mere two flying hours.
Su-22 pilots were well trained to carry out a variety of long range maritime or overland tasks. Most types of mission could be rehearsed locally, but for longer range options there were detachments to Russia and with eight pylons several mixed options could be practiced throughout single sorties without refuelling. Moreover, the East German pilots were used to carrying and delivering heavy, fully operational weapons, opportunities rarely available to RAF pilots during the Cold War.
Demo mishap
In any air force, firepower demonstrations, however well planned, tend to go awry just when they are needed most to impress VIPs. Frank remembered one at the Nochten army range near Weisswasser when he was taking his turn as range safety officer there. Eight flights of MiG-23BNs from JBG-37 at Drewitz opened the display with a very noisy low-level delivery of their 250kg parachute retarded bombs. Unfortunately, these impacted short of their target, causing chaos and showering soil over an impressive banquet being prepared for the guests.
This was quickly followed by two flights of MiG-17Fs which added to the confusion with multiple salvos of 57mm unguided rockets â which were right on targetâŠ
This did not deter a select group of âpolitically soundâ NVA majors and lieutenant colonels, destined for higher command, being given a three-year in-depth course on politics, combined with management of operational flying, at the Friedrich Engles Academy in Dresden. For a chosen few, there was the alternative or addition of a four-year course at the very prestigious Monino or the Lenin Political Military Academy in Moscow.
RAF pilots might wonder how this comprehensive staff training for those destined for command of flying units might affect their proficiency in the air, or their understanding of life and work at the âsharp endâ â but Frank saw no problems. Every six months he returned to his wing for one monthâs flight simulator and intensive flying, which he found adequate, and while in Moscow he flew 350 hours in the Su-22 at Laage, together with many hours in the MiG-23ML simulator before the end of the Cold War.
Perhaps RAF officers on lengthy ground appointments might, in certain circumstances, find this a preferable alternative to the lengthy, disruptive and expensive refresher flying system currently practiced in the RAF?
The demands on EGAF pilots were, nevertheless, very high. Their flying was generally limited to three days a week and ten hours flying a month, but every minuteâs flying time was well planned, rehearsed and exhaustively debriefed. From our wide-ranging research into the lives of RAF and EGAF fast jet pilots in the Cold War I could not support such facile claims that our 20 hours flying a month rendered us twice as good!
We found many similarities and differences in the initial and ongoing approach to training within the Royal Air Force and the East German Air Force. How good we might have been against each other in combat did not of course depend solely on our personal skills, but on a myriad of other factors under the overarching threat of nuclear Armageddon. Fortunately, we will never know. âDeterrenceâ won the day in the Cold War â and I did not have to meet Frank Born in the air.
