The 3rd Air Division, 13th Tactical Fighter Squadron GrauWespe is an ace air unit belonging to the Belkan Air Force. The unit is widely considered the most active of the BAF 3rd Air Division. Many believe that the unit had large influences from the Raid Party. The squadron was formed somewhere in 1992.
History
Belkan War
The GrauWespe Squadron's only known action in the Belkan War was their involvement in the legendary three-way skirmish between elements of the Osean, Belkan & Ustian air forces known as Operation: Battle-Axe. After most of the action in the Belkan Air Priority One Strategic Airspace B7R had died down, the feared 6th Tactical Fighter Squadron Schwarze, feared even among the BAF as desertee killers, approached the battlezone at high speed in hot pursuit of top ace Wolfgang Buchner, who was fleeing from Belka after refusing to drop nuclear ordnance on a Belkan city, and decided to head straight for the Round Table while escaping, possibly hoping to evade them amidst the chaos. Thanks to the "Mercenary Dream Team", the Schwarze Squadron lost sight of Huckenbein the Raven, and flight lead Dominic "Vulture" Zubov ordered all aircraft to assassinate the Galm Team, whose actions made them lose their original target. When the tensions arised again in the Round Table, the 13th TFS approached the battlefield, after the mayhem had died down. They too engaged Galm Team in combat; however, despite the numeric superiority, Galm managed to come out on top, eliminating all Belkan threats in the area, GrauWespe among them.
After 1995
With only GrauWespe 1 & 2 having survived Operation Battle-Axe, the 13th Tactical Fighter Squadron was presumably disintegrated after the Belkan War.
However, the 13th TFS's legacy lives on in the present: their combat techniques are still in use by the Belkan Air Force. Known as the "GrauWespe Tactics", the maneuver involves the squadron's flight lead acting as a bait for the enemy, while another aircraft opens fire on the enemy aggressors.
Members
Bastian Schneider
More information: List of aces in Ace Combat Zero#079
Eduard Seitz
More information: List of aces in Ace Combat Zero#080
Leopold Klein
More information: List of aces in Ace Combat Zero#081
Steffen Ziege
More information: List of aces in Ace Combat Zero#082
Trivia
- The name "GrauWespe" is German for "Gray Wasp".
Sources
- Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War Assault Records - #079/80/81/82