37+16 50 Jahre Manching WTD-61 asseen in 2007 at Manching
Photo credited to © 2021 Mick Balter/MBAviationImages
Faced with the need to evaluate the aircraft of the future Luftwaffe, Wehrtechnische Dienststelle 61 (WTD 61) , literally "military technical center" was created in 1957. It is the dedicated flight test and development center for all German military aircraft, based in Manching in Bavaria.
For the 50th anniversary of the WTD-61, an F-4F Phantom and a Tornado received a similar decoration, decorated entirely in orange (flight tests), sporting a "50" and "TEST" on the back, the mathematical and physical formulas on the mechanics of flight on the fuselage, the German colors at the ends of the wings. The Phantom wears "spooky" juggling with unit insignias on its belly, while the Tornado wears the insignia of the WTD-61 through which a Tornado passes.
