allies. Therefore, on 9 January 1956, a new German Air Force called Luftwaffe was founded as a branch of the new [[Bundeswehr]].

Many well-known fighter pilots of the [[Wehrmacht]]s Luftwaffe joined the new post-war air force and underwent refresher training in the US before returning to West Germany to upgrade on the latest U.S.-supplied hardware. These included Erich Hartmann, Gerhard Barkhorn, Günther Rall