Liebherr mobile crane lifts military history exhibit

To set the helicopter on the three pre-prepared foundation points, Rieger und Moser deployed its Liebherr LTM 1350-6.1 mobile crane. The company purchased the crane directly from the crane manufacturer as a pre-owned model one year ago. Crane driver Michael Rost reports: "The crane is in an excellent condition, and it's a pleasure to drive. I'm very happy."

With a counter-weight of 40 tonnes, the LTM 1350-6.1 from Rieger & Moser lifted the nine-tonne helicopter by its main rotor using a special lifting beam. The CH-53 took around ten minutes to make its final "flight" to its location in front of the barracks. Using guy ropes on two sides, soldiers secured the museum piece and guided into the required position. The subsequent manoeuvring onto the concrete supports was a lengthy process, because the helicopter had to be moved into a position similar to the one it would adopt in flight. This is where an LTM 1095-5.1 from Rieger and Moser came in. Minor corrections had to be made to the supports before the crane driver Michael Rost was able to position his unusual load with millimetre precision.

The decommissioned CH-53 is an exhibit from the military history collection. "The helicopter's special paintwork has a specific background", explains Lieutenant Colonel Manderscheid, adding: "The helicopter was produced in Germany. The grey paint on the tail and the Pegasus painted on the side denotes its previous ownership by the army. The various deployments that the helicopter was involved in are also marked on it. Since January 2013, the helicopter has been owned by Helicopter Squadron 64 of the German Air Force, as symbolised by the blue colouring on the nose." The CH-53 was brought into the service of the German Army in May 1972. By the time of its final flight on the 14th of April 2016, it had spent a total of 6,370 hours in the air.

Rieger & Moser GmbH und Co. KG has been part of the global Schmidbauer Group since 1985. At its site in Ulm, Rieger & Moser has a workforce of just over 40 operating 20 mobile cranes with load capacities ranging from 30 t to 350 t. The fleet also includes various heavy goods transport vehicles. The company has been growing steadily over the last few years and now provides everything from CAD-based site planning and transport logistics to crane work.