In November 2021, the German naval sailing training ship Gorch Fock set sail again after an extremely long layover and expensive repairs. Now the air force had to help out in order to fly soldiers suffering from Covid-19 home to Germany.

The Gorch Fock has been in service with the German Navy as a training ship since 1958. As of December 2015, it was in the process of being repaired. The costs really got out of hand, but the work was completed in September 2021, so that the Gorch Fock was able to set sail again. The Navy plans to use this sailing ship until at least 2023.

However, something went wrong on the training trip, because a larger corona cluster formed under the regular crew. As a result, the Gorch Fock is in the port of Santa Cruz for an indefinite period. A spokesman for the German Navy said, among other things, that the soldiers who tested positive were doing well and would show mild symptoms at best.

In the middle of last week, around 100 officer cadets were due to begin their training on this ship. Nothing will come of that, because the Navy decided, due to the corona cluster that broke out on the Gorch Fock, to train the junior officers on the frigate Saxony-Anhalt. This is currently in Bremerhaven and should expire on Monday.

Under the call sign GAFMED1, the air force flew with the Airbus A310 with the registration 10 + 25 from Cologne / Bonn to Tenerife to take sick marine soldiers of the Gorch Fock on board. The Air Force confirmed that the purpose of using the 10 + 25 was to retrieve the soldiers.

Airbus A310 in use as a flying hospital

The 10 + 25 flew as GAFMED1 on Saturday first to Hamburg and then back to the base, which is located on the military part of Cologne / Bonn Airport. There were a total of 14 sick soldiers on board who are now being treated in the Federal Republic of Germany. The other crew members of the Gorch Fock will remain on the ship, but should be tested regularly.

It was originally planned that around 220 junior officers should receive their basic training on this sailing ship. The ship would have been used for this purpose for the first time after the repair. It is currently unclear whether those naval soldiers who are now being trained on the "Sachsen-Anhalt" can complete the second part of their training on the Gorch Fock.

For some time now, the German Air Force has also been using the Airbus A310 fleet, which has since shrunk significantly, for so-called MedEvac missions. As a so-called flying intensive care unit, this type of machine can transport a maximum of 25 patients. There are up to 25 crew members available, mainly medical personnel from the Bundeswehr.

The Air Force has been using this type of machine for medical transport since 2000. The 10 + 25 has been increasingly used for so-called MedEvac flights since the beginning of the corona pandemic and is currently permanently provided with the necessary equipment. This Airbus A310, which is around 33 years old, has its home base on the military part of Cologne / Bonn Airport.