Celle Air Base
Encyclopedia
Celle Air Base is a military airbase of the German Army
. The airfield is situated southwest of the city of Celle
, Lower Saxony
, Germany
. It was opened in 1934 and has been in military use ever since. Today the aerodrome is used by a helicopter training school, a helicopter liaison and reconnaissance squadron and a helicopter maintenance unit utilising the type Bölkow Bo-105.
Until the end of World War II
the airfield operated under the name of Fliegerhorst Celle-Wietzenbruch (Air Base Celle-Wietzenbruch). During Allied
occupation it was known as RAF Station Celle
. On 28 July 1967 the base was given the additional name Immelmann
-Kaserne (Immelmann-Barracks).
Celle Air Base is located 2.7 miles (4.5 kilometres) southwest of the city centre of Celle and 18 miles (30 kilometres) northeast of the city centre of Hanover
. To the west the Wietzenbruch is situated, a moor
-like area named after the river Wietze and the surrounding fen
. This geographical feature gave name to the suburb “Wietzenbruch” directly to the north of the air base. To the east and the south it borders on the railway line Hanover-Hamburg
. The field elevation at the reference point, the exact centre of the runway, is 129 feet (39.4 metres) above sea level
.
Celle Air Base can be approached by way of a connecting road to the Landesstraße 310 which is used as a spur route
to the motorways A 7 and A 352
. Apart from by motorway, Celle as well as the air base can be approached by federal highways
B3, B 191 and B 214. Since 2006 a bus stop called "Wietzenbruch Kaserne" is located in front of the main gate of the base.
Organisationally, the air base is separated into barracks
and air field. The entire base is a military security area and completely surrounded by a fence and thus not open to the general public. Admittance to the barracks area is granted to members of the Bundeswehr
and Allied forces. In this part administrative, social, sports and medical facilities, and the quarters are situated. The air field is especially fenced in and contains the movement area, aprons
and hangar
s as well as facilities for operating the airfield (radar
, tower
and point obstruction lights). Like on civil aerodromes access to this part is granted only for employees working there, crew members and passengers.
north of the river Aller
. These trials were carried out not on official but on private initiative by a person named Schlüter. Using an advertisement in the local paper, the population of Celle was invited to watch the spectacle. However, aviation around Celle did not assume any serious forms until the Imperial Navy
decided to chose the location for the construction of an airfield in order to enable intermediate stops for flights between Wilhelmshaven
und Kiel
. The airfield was opened on 3 October 1918 and used extensively until the end of the World War I
in November of the same year when news, spread by pilots, of the sailors' revolt
and the beginning of the German Revolution reached Celle. This in turn lead to revolt within the city of Celle itself on 7 November 1918.
After World War I the airfield was initially abandoned even though some flights took place in the 1920s. The site became more important once the flying school
Celle-Wietzenbruch began to use the area as an external landing site in the mid-1930s. Today, part of this former airfield is incorporated into the civilian airfield Celle-Arloh and used for recreational purposes
.
a leading architect in air base design was put in charge of the building works.
After exhaustive construction works, during which the boggy terrain was drained by creating several ditches, the flying school entered service in 1934. Due to the boggy terrain the airfield had to be mixed with bitumen a few years later to prevent airplanes sinking in. This made the ground elastic and resulted in the pilots calling the airfield rubber meadow (Gummiwiese).
On 9 March 1935 Hermann Göring
officially announced the existence of a German Air Force and the D.L.V. was not needed any longer. The Luftwaffe was officially declared as being the occupant of the air base and its employees revealed themselves as being members of the armed forces by openly wearing uniforms.
In the course of time, the type of aircraft stationed at Celle became larger and larger and crews were trained on almost all current military aircraft. The extent of the training activities necessitated the construction of external landing strips at Hustedt and Scheuen. The training in blind flight, the precursor of instrument flight
, even had to be moved to Wesendorf
.
At the beginning of World War II
the training school was relocated to Leipzig
and Celle Air Base was used by varying units, none of which were stationed there for any longer period of time.
Although some production facilities for the Junker Ju-88
were placed in Hangar V, Celle Air Base played only a secondary role during World War II. This, together with skilful camouflaging
of the hangars, prevented the air base from becoming a serious target for Allied
tactical
or strategic bombing
. Contemporary witnesses reported an American fighter plane
attacking Hangar V in 1944 until the anti-aircraft
fire forced the pilot to abandon his aircraft.
Without having suffered any serious damage the air base was surrendered by a German NCO
to the British Army
on 11 April 1945. A few days previously, members of the last German unit stationed at Celle Air Base, Flying School A/B 6, had destroyed all remaining aircraft and left the base. Furthermore, a last Allied attack on the airfield on 9 April 1945 had not caused any serious damage to the airfield.
After having been taken over by British forces, it came under control of the Royal Air Force Germany
and was renamed RAF Station Celle.
Under British occupation metal plates were laid on the entire airfield in order to enable larger aircraft landing. The airfield retained its secondary role and was mainly used for liaison flights to the United Kingdom
. After some flight movements in 1945 and 1946, no flights were recorded in 1947 and the hangars were instead used as storage facilities for furniture and tank
s.
With the beginning of the Berlin Airlift
in 1948 this, however, changed radically. The Western allies, the United States
, the United Kingdom and France
, were looking for additional air bases that could be utilised for the airlift. Strategically, Celle offered favourable conditions for supply flights being located at the end of the middle air corridor
to Berlin and having the shortest distance to Berlin. Unlike other air bases, Celle was not completely handed over to the United States Air Force
but remained under the control of the Royal Air Force
even though the aircraft using the airfield were American.
After RAF Fassberg
and RAF Wunstorf Celle became the third airfield in the region to serve in the airlift. USAF 317th Troop Carrier Wing (Hvy)
equipped with Douglas C-54 Skymaster
were stationed on the air base at the end of 1948 and transported mostly coal
to Berlin. In order to cope with the enormous traffic the airfield was extended, receiving an unusually long (about 300 metres) rail siding
and, for the first time, a runway
with an asphalt surface.
At the beginning of the airlift a total of 600 tons of freight were transported into the besieged city which increased to 1000 tons of coal and food
each day in the spring of 1949. The American forces were assisted by 5,000 German workers in this undertaking. In order to house them, north of the barracks a huge housing area consisting of Nissen hut
s was built.
At the same time, Celle residents began to complain about the so-called “Veronikas″, German women attracted to the well paid soldiers. A public appeal by the city of Celle denounced the "women and girls who cause offence and outrage" amongst the population. The public outrage and repeated appeals for morality by local politicians in the local press became well-known throughout Germany. Even a Stuttgart
-based newspaper published an article about “Celle - an outraged city” on 14 February 1949.
Next to the road leading to Celle Air Base, a monument in memory of the support given by Celle to the Berlin Airlift was erected by the city of Celle in 1988 .
Following the end of the Berlin Airlift in 1949, the airfield was again used exclusively by British Forces
. Over the years several squadron
s were stationed at Royal Air Force Station Celle which since 1950 were equipped with jet engined fighters of the type Vampire
and Venom
.
The infrastructure for a renewed airlift, however, was kept in place and was constantly improved until German reunification
. The runway was extended in the 1960s and an instrument landing system
(ILS) for runway 26 was installed. At the end of the 1980s, shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall
, the rail siding received an extensive lighting system.
One year after the foundation of the Bundeswehr
the British forces handed over the airfield to the German Army on 29 November 1957. After Niedermendig
and parallel to Fritzlar
Celle was one of the first garrisons of the German Army Aviation Corps, at the time the youngest branch of the German armed forces, that stationed various units and aircraft at Celle Air Base throughout the following years.
Peculiarly, from 1959 until 1967 two transport wings of the German Air Force
were also stationed at Celle. Thus Celle became a mixed base used by Army and Air Force – unique in the Bundeswehr until the 1990s. However, already in 1960 Lufttransportgeschwader 62 (Air Transport Wing 62) was relocated to Cologne Bonn Airport
. Seven years later Lufttransportgeschwader 63 (Air Transport Wing 63) moved to its new base in Hohn
, Schleswig-Holstein
where it is still stationed.
Due to the tense situation during the building of the Berlin Wall a small unit of the National Guard of the United States was stationed at Celle Air Base in 1961 in case of a second Berlin Airlift.
Following the move of its transport wings, the German Air Force did not station any flying units at Celle Air Base. However, air traffic control
(ATC) was provided by a mixed Army/Air Force unit until the 1990s. Apart from the stationary ATC unit, a mobile ATC unit existed in Celle which was equipped with a mobile tower, radar
and other equipment to provide air traffic control services for specially allocated places, for example, on German motorways designed as emergency landing strips during the Cold War
.
From 1959 until 1966, a US Air Force unit equipped with two MSQ-1A radar was stationed at Celle Air Base. This units' tasks was to link into missiles of the type TM-61C (MGM-1 Matador
) and guide them towards their target. For complete air coverage, especially eastwards, the unit at Celle was not necessary. In order to save costs this unit was disbanded in 1966.
Between 1963 and 1981 Celle was home to a test squadron for unmanned aerial vehicles and helicopters. This unit experimented with helicopters and other weapon systems
intended for acquisition by the Bundeswehr. One example for successfully testing and bringing into service is the Bölkow Bo-150 in the version as anti-tank helicopter.
The unit being stationed the longest at Celle was the Heeresfliegerstaffel 7 (Army Aviation Squadron 7). It was relocated from Rheine
to Celle in 1971. In 1968 it had become a battalion but three years later, on its move to Celle, it was redesignated again as a squadron. The unit was equipped with the liaison and reconnaissance helicopter Alouette II and was disbanded in 1994.
At the beginning of the 1970s the strength of the German Army Aviation Corps considerably increased when more manpower and material was allocated to it. In Celle Heeresfliegerregiment 10 (Army Aviation Regiment 10) equipped with Bell UH-1D was the first of these larger units, which would become the new standard.
In 1979 a second regiment, Heeresfliegerregiment 16 (Army Aviation Regiment 16), equipped with anti-tank helicopters was founded at Celle. Since the air base was too small to house two regiments, Heeresfliegerregiment 10 subsequently relocated to Faßberg Air Base
in 1981. Its coat of arms still shows the stylised Celle Castle
.
After the end of the Cold War
Celle Air Base's ability for instrument flights
was removed and the emergency landing strips on the motorways were abandoned. Following the removal of ILS
as well as approach radar and the corresponding reduction within the ATC unit, the German Air Force finally left the base. Several smaller units were disbanded or relocated and only the Heeresfliegerregiment 16 remained as a flying unit at Celle.
Within the framework of the restructuring of the German Army and in preparation of the introduction of the new helicopter types NH-90
and Tiger
in 2002 and 2003, Heeresfliegerregiment 16 was disbanded and parts of the Heeresfliegerwaffenschule (German Army Aviation School), originally located at Bückeburg
, were moved to Celle. At the same time the Heeresfliegerverbindungs- und Aufklärungsstaffel 100 (Army Aviation Liaison and Reconnaissance Squadron 100) and the Heeresfliegerinstandsetzungsstaffel 100 (Army Aviation Maintenance Squadron 100) were founded.
With the commencement of training flights, Celle Air Base regained instrument flight ability and helicopters of the type Bell UH-1D were again stationed on the air base.
Since having been taken over by the German Army Aviation Corps, hardly any new buildings were erected on the air base. Some had to be pulled down due to their dilapidated state or due to environmental issues
: a kitchen and dining room from the time of the Berlin Airlift (the so-called Berlin Küche), the cinema, swimming pool and a petrol depot. Others have been and are being renovated and rebuilt, altering their function completely.
In October 2011 the German Federal Ministry of Defence
announced a reorganisation/reduction of the German Armed Forces. As a result, Army Aviation Training Centre C will be closed and Army Aviation Liaison and Reconnaissance Squadron 100, Army Aviation Maintenance Squadron 100 and Army Aviation Squadron 109 will be disbanded. The Medical Services Squadron will be expanded into a regional medical centre. A battalion of aspirant non-commissioned officer
s will be based at Celle, and a centre for airborne operations will be established. However, the number of military personnel stationed at Celle Air Base will be significantly reduced from 1080 to 400.
Disaster relief
In accordance with the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany
statutory
tasks within the borders of Germany are exclusively reserved for the German police. Only in case of an officially declared civil state of emergency
the German Army is permitted to act within the borders of Germany. Up until now there have been seven cases in which soldiers of Celle Air Base participated in such internal missions.
During the North Sea flood of 1962
evacuation and supply flights particularly in Hamburg
and its surrounding areas were performed using the Sikorsky H-34 of the Heeresfliegertransportstaffel 823 (Army Aviation Transport Squadron 823).
In 1975 during the catastrophic wildfire
on the Lüneburg Heath
the Heeresfliegerregiment 10 used its helicopters Bell UH-1D with “Smokeys”, water-filled containers hung under the helicopters, for fighting the conflagration. The ground forces of the air base, particularly the airfield fire fighters, also came to the assistance of the emergency services.
In the winter of 1978/1979 severe weather conditions resulted in a disastrous blizzard
affecting the whole of northern Germany. Air traffic control at Celle Air Base in particular distinguished itself by providing around the clock radar assistance for the numerous rescue missions flown.
During the huge flood
ing of the river Oder in 1997 and the river Elbe
in 2002 and 2006 several soldiers and equipment from Celle Air Base assisted in securing the dikes although at the air base itself normal business continued.
During the Eschede train disaster
on 3 June 1998 Celle Air Base was given the task of coordinating the German Army's massive rescue and salvage operation by land and air. Two of the wrecked railway carriages, parts of the rails and all relevant bogie
s were stored in an empty hangar at Celle Air Base until the investigation into the cause of the accident was completed.
Celle Air Base is a controlled military airbase where visual
and instrument
flights are allowed. It is surrounded by a control zone
of airspace class
“D” which is active during the hours of operation. The area of responsibility
is classified as “E”.
Since the air base is mainly used as a training site for helicopter pilots, several grassy areas parallel to the runway are used for the training of emergency landing procedures, for example autorotation
and engine failure
.
In order to decrease the noise
level for the inhabitants of Celle, the city having expanded towards the air base over the years, an additional helicopter training site at Scheuen (north of Celle) is used.
Celle Air Base is equipped with a non-directional beacon
(Frequency
: 311 MHz
, Identification: CEL). This is used for approach and departure procedures of Celle as well as for the airports Hanover
and Braunschweig-Wolfsburg and as a waypoint
for two airways
(J803 und T803) in radio navigation
. Additionally, the airfield is equipped with a precision approach radar
(PAR-80) and airport surveillance radar
(ASR-910).
On the air base an Aeronautical Information Service
, a section of the Met Office
and a fire brigade
are located. All services needed for national and international flights are kept available.
Celle Air Base is an airport of entry
and can be flown to directly from abroad.
For parking and maintenance of aircraft five hangars are used. Each hangar may keep up to 24 helicopters. The apron offers space for about 40 aircraft of various types. Additional space is offered in the north-, the southwest- and southeast-spider. These are spider-like platforms for aircraft, partly covered with trees and bushes as during the Cold War. Most of these platforms are no longer in active use but can be activated for military exercises.
Jet fuel
is provided by tank lorries. A subterranean refuelling station with filling abilities close to the taxiway
is available but used only very occasionally.
Arresting gear
is not available.
Heeresfliegerinstandsetzungsstaffel 100 (Army Aviation Maintenance Squadron 100) is a specialised unit and unique within the German Army. It performs the highest grade of maintenance for the helicopter Bölkow Bo-105 and is therefore responsible for all helicopters of this type used in the German Army. In contrast, the other units at Celle may perform only general maintenance for the Bölkow Bo-105 and Bell UH-1D. At present, other types of aircraft cannot be maintained but only served.
The dimensions of the runway generally allow landing and take-off of nearly all existing aircraft. Until now, the largest aircraft to land at and take off from Celle was a Lockheed C-5 Galaxy
in 1972.
but restricted by a so called “PPR” (Prior Permission Request) regulation. This means that pilots intending to approach Celle need a permission prior to departure from their original base. This regulations aims to protect the population living near the airbase from noise pollution made by military aircraft.
For arrival and departure of civilian aircraft a prior request and permission in writing or a contract for using the airfield is needed, the exception being aircraft in distress
.
Additionally to the flying and support units, other military units are based at Celle Air Base, using the military infrastructure but not necessarily need an airfield to perform their tasks.
The Geo-Information Service Unit Celle (Geoinformationsberatungsstelle Celle) functions predominantly as the local Met Office
of Celle Air Base. The unit is responsible for weather information which is passed on to air traffic control, and weather forecasts for pilots. The unit is permanently on duty even when the airfield itself is closed. Around the clock weather observations are fed into a worldwide data system.
Celle Air Base Fire Services (Heeresflugplatzfeuerwehr Celle) is given the task of fire fighting, rescuing and technical assistance on the air base. Celle Air Base Fire Services are on 24 hours stand-by even at times when the airfield is officially closed. In case of aviation accidents
or an emergency situations Celle Air Base Fire Services are responsible for coordinating and instigating the initial actions on the airfield and its immediate surroundings.
When the helicopter training site Scheuen is used for pilot training, a small contingent of fire fighters from Celle Air Base are temporarily stationed there.
Medical Services Squadron
Celle-Wietzenbruch (Sanitätsstaffel Celle-Wietzenbruch) consisting of general practitioner
s and dentists
supported by two flight surgeons, are responsible for the medical care of all soldiers stationed at Celle Air Base.
In case of aviation accidents or emergency situations the flight surgeons together with the fire services are responsible for the rescue of and attendance to victims.
German law stipulates a separation between military tasks and civil administration within the armed forces. The garrisons are administrated by a civilian force which is responsible for the facilities by ensuring technical standards, the general maintenance of the area and its buildings, and putting the base at the disposal of the military. The administrative force (Standortservice) is stationed at the garrison and is subordinate to the German Armed Forces Administrative Service Centre Hanover (Bundeswehrdienstleistungszentrum Hannover).
chapel
is available which is used alternately by a Protestant
minister and a catholic
priest with services being held on a monthly base. The official residence of the military chaplain
s (Militärseelsorger) is Hanover. They are part of the "psychosocial
network of help" in cases of flight accidents and other incidents causing possible psychological trauma to the personnel involved. The network consists of flight surgeons, chaplains and members of the other social services of the German armed forces. The network attends to people affected by stressful situations related to flight incidents, their relatives as well as the rescue teams.
Facilities for other religious denomination
s are not available.
The garrison commander (Standortältester Celle) is the official representative of the garrison of Celle towards the city and district of Celle as well as the local press. He functions as the contact person for the civil authorities particularly in cases where assistance from the armed forces is required and for disaster relief. The garrison commander supervises all units and barracks of the German Army at Celle Air Base and its immediate surroundings. He coordinates affairs of common interest, for example the use of military exercise
areas and shooting range
s.
Army Aviation Squadron 109 (Heeresfliegerstaffel 109) is the basic military training unit for volunteers and conscripts
. Additionally, the squadron provides specialist military courses for soldiers destined for missions abroad.
Soldiers of NCO rank intended to be used for guard duty receive their theoretical and practical training in order to qualify as guard commander at Army Aviation Squadron 109.
Regardless of their previous driving qualifications
members of the German armed forces need an additional driver's licence before being allowed to use a military vehicle. The Driving Instruction Centre (Kraftfahrausbildungszentrum Celle) provides training for vehicles of the classes B and BCE as well as training for driving instructors
.
On 31 December 2010 the Driving Instruction Centre Celle will be disbanded. Its task will be taken over by other training centres.
This is a small unit consisting of only one NCO (Feldwebel
für Reservistenangelegenheiten). His responsibility is the liaison between the army and the army's reservists living in the districts Celle
and Soltau-Fallingbostel
, particularly the organisation of information and training events for former army personnel and to support them during reserve exercises. He keeps in close contact with the Association of Reservists of the German Armed Forces (Verband der Reservisten der Deutschen Bundeswehr).
The NCO for Reservist Liaisons is subordinate to Military Command Lower Saxony (Landeskommando Niedersachen).
The Association of Reservists of the German Armed Forces (Verband der Reservisten der Deutschen Bundeswehr) is supported and financed by the state of Germany and attends to all matters concerning reservists on behalf of the German federal parliament
. The association's office on the air base is responsible for the district of Celle. It works in close contact with the NCO for Reservist Liaisons and offers regular events for its members and publishes a biannual newsletter.
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
in 1965, Queen Elizabeth II
in 1967 and 1984, Prince Charles
and Diana
in 1987 as well as Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands
in 1965.
Today Celle is only occasionally used by members of the British Royal Family
for visits to the British troops stationed in Celle and Bergen
or for cultivating the traditional relationship between the House of Windsor
and Celle originating in Sophia Dorothea of Celle
.
Due to the massive reduction of British forces in Germany and their redeployment out of Germany the importance of Celle for such visits has been decreasing since the 1990s. On average there are about three visits of this kind per year. Heads of states have not landed at Celle Air Base since 1984.
annually on building and maintenance works and an additional 3 Million Euro per year on facility management (2006). More than 2000 soldiers, civil servants
and ancillary staff are employed at the base.
Nearly all of the younger generation of the German armed forces' helicopter pilots have at some stage during their training passed through Celle Air Base. This will continue in future as all prospective helicopter pilots of the armed forces are destined to receive their training here.
Training flights as well as missions throughout Germany are flown from Celle Air Base. Due to the role of Army Aviation Maintenance Squadron 100 helicopter units from all over Germany head for Celle Air Base.
Combined with areas controlled by the military air bases Bückeburg, Wunstorf and Faßberg (southwest to northeast) the airspace surrounding Celle is part of a larger area of responsibility which represents one of the largest connected military air spaces near the ground in Germany. This enables military flights inside this area to remain solely under military control.
Due to its proximity to the large military training areas
Bergen and Munster
Celle Air Base occasionally participates national and international manoeuvres
when military aircraft are involved.
In contrast to other air bases like Ramstein Air Base
, Celle Air Base is relatively unknown within Germany. Apart from local newspapers and internal media of the German Army it is rarely mentioned in the press. Civil aviation
does not take place at Celle Air Base.
Due to an increase in costs and in order to decrease the noise pollution for the population flight simulators are increasingly used. Only the essential elements of flight training are practised by using actual helicopters. By 2012 the German armed forces intend to have implemented the new helicopters Tiger and NH-90. Consequently, training on the Bell UH-1D was reduced and terminated in September 2010. The remaining helicopters of the type Bell UH-1D were handed over to Faßberg Air Base where they will be flown until the delivery of the new helicopter NH-90. The practicing of autorotation, however, will be continued at Celle as this cannot be trained on the standard helicopter for initial flight training, the Eurocopter EC-135
stationed at the main base of Army Aviation School at Bückeburg.
Army Aviation Maintenance Squadron 100 will remain responsible for the entire fleet of Bölkow Bo-105 of the German armed forces. Apart from missions flown by Army Aviation Liaison and Reconnaissance Squadron 100, training flights of the Army Aviation School will also continue at Celle since, in view of cost-effectiveness and noise pollution, this task cannot be managed by a single airfield alone.
In the course of time the city of Celle has expanded towards the actual air base, a development which occurred at other military airfields too. Since the inception of the air base the attitude of the public towards the military and its training facilities has changed significantly. The first complaints about aircraft noise were published in the local newspapers shortly after the German Army Aviation Corps took control of the air base. The complaints reached a climax in 1965 when plans were made public to have a second runway, leading from the northeast to the southwest, built at Celle Air Base and to have a wing
of strike fighter
s stationed at the airfield. Residents, mostly from Wietzenbruch, founded a voluntary association
and petitioned the federal parliament. The plans were abandoned and after the Federal Ministry
had given assurances that only helicopters would be stationed at Celle Air Base the association dissolved. The noise produced by the helicopters, however, remained a subject of contention in local newspapers.
Since the 1990s areas directly to the north of the air base have been demarcated for land development
, namely Westercelle, and Altencelle. These areas are situated directly beneath the approach path of runway 26. Even though developers and prospective buyers were previously informed regarding the proximity of the airfield and also benefited from reduced house prices, some did not realise the actual effects of living close to an active airfield, particularly during periods of night flight training, which has led to numerous complaints.
Following German reunification
Army Aviation Regiment 16 equipped with helicopters of the type Bölkow Bo-105 remained the only flying unit at Celle. The disbandment of this regiment in 2002 and the subsequent establishment of the helicopter training school from 2003 onwards resulted in a significant increase in air traffic and brought the issue of noise pollution back on the agenda. When helicopters of the type Bell UH-1D were relocated to Celle Air Base in the spring of 2005 it caused additional protest by the population living in the vicinity of the airfield. The sound made by the rotor blades (colloquially called "carpet beater
") is perceived as particularly noisy in comparison with the Bölkow Bo-105. Many residents who had bought houses or had them built during the relatively silent years were surprised by this new intensity of aircraft noise.
As a reaction to this criticism units based at Celle voluntarily restrict themselves to circle the aerodrome only over the mostly uninhabited area to the south of the air base and to avoid training approaches over Westercelle as much as possible. Flight movements at lunch time are kept to a minimum. Approach as well as departure over densely populated areas is prohibited. These restrictions relieve the built-up areas surrounding the air base of noise pollution to a certain degree. They have, however, the effect that flight movements are now channelled along the remaining routes permitted leading to an increase of noise and of annoyance to the population affected. Since many retired soldiers and staff formerly working at the base still live in and around Celle there are not only critics of the air base but also supporters who voice their opinion in various forums and letters to the editor
stressing the economic factor of the air base and the fact that the air base had existed since 1934 so that the opponents were in full knowledge of its existence when they bought property at reduced prices in its vicinity.
German Army
The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
. The airfield is situated southwest of the city of Celle
Celle
Celle is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the River Aller, a tributary of the Weser and has a population of about 71,000...
, Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It was opened in 1934 and has been in military use ever since. Today the aerodrome is used by a helicopter training school, a helicopter liaison and reconnaissance squadron and a helicopter maintenance unit utilising the type Bölkow Bo-105.
Until the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the airfield operated under the name of Fliegerhorst Celle-Wietzenbruch (Air Base Celle-Wietzenbruch). During Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
occupation it was known as RAF Station Celle
RAF Celle
The former Royal Air Force Station Celle , more commonly known as RAF Celle , was a Royal Air Force station, a military airbase, in Germany, situated in the south-western suburbs of Celle, Lower Saxony...
. On 28 July 1967 the base was given the additional name Immelmann
Max Immelmann
Max Immelmann was the first German World War I flying ace. He was a great pioneer in fighter aviation and is often mistakenly credited with the first aerial victory using a synchronized gun...
-Kaserne (Immelmann-Barracks).
Location and approach
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
. To the west the Wietzenbruch is situated, a moor
Moorland
Moorland or moor is a type of habitat, in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, found in upland areas, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils and heavy fog...
-like area named after the river Wietze and the surrounding fen
Fen
A fen is a type of wetland fed by mineral-rich surface water or groundwater. Fens are characterised by their water chemistry, which is neutral or alkaline, with relatively high dissolved mineral levels but few other plant nutrients...
. This geographical feature gave name to the suburb “Wietzenbruch” directly to the north of the air base. To the east and the south it borders on the railway line Hanover-Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
. The field elevation at the reference point, the exact centre of the runway, is 129 feet (39.4 metres) above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
.
Celle Air Base can be approached by way of a connecting road to the Landesstraße 310 which is used as a spur route
Spur route
A spur route is a short road forming a branch from a longer, more important route . A bypass or beltway is never considered a true spur route as it typically reconnects with the major road...
to the motorways A 7 and A 352
Bundesautobahn 352
is an autobahn spur north of Hanover in northwestern Germany. It is an important bypass for traffic from the A 7 to the A 2, avoiding the Hannover-Ost interchange between the two autobahns...
. Apart from by motorway, Celle as well as the air base can be approached by federal highways
Bundesstraße
Bundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
B3, B 191 and B 214. Since 2006 a bus stop called "Wietzenbruch Kaserne" is located in front of the main gate of the base.
Organisationally, the air base is separated into barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
and air field. The entire base is a military security area and completely surrounded by a fence and thus not open to the general public. Admittance to the barracks area is granted to members of the Bundeswehr
Bundeswehr
The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...
and Allied forces. In this part administrative, social, sports and medical facilities, and the quarters are situated. The air field is especially fenced in and contains the movement area, aprons
Airport ramp
The airport ramp or apron is part of an airport. It is usually the area where aircraft are parked, unloaded or loaded, refueled or boarded. Although the use of the apron is covered by regulations, such as lighting on vehicles, it is typically more accessible to users than the runway or taxiway...
and hangar
Hangar
A hangar is a closed structure to hold aircraft or spacecraft in protective storage. Most hangars are built of metal, but other materials such as wood and concrete are also sometimes used...
s as well as facilities for operating the airfield (radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
, tower
Control tower
A control tower, or more specifically an Air Traffic Control Tower , is the name of the airport building from which the air traffic control unit controls the movement of aircraft on and around the airport. Control towers are also used to control the traffic for other forms of transportation such...
and point obstruction lights). Like on civil aerodromes access to this part is granted only for employees working there, crew members and passengers.
Prehistory of aviation around the city of Celle
In 1910 flight trials were undertaken on the Scheuener Heide, a heathHeath (habitat)
A heath or heathland is a dwarf-shrub habitat found on mainly low quality acidic soils, characterised by open, low growing woody vegetation, often dominated by plants of the Ericaceae. There are some clear differences between heath and moorland...
north of the river Aller
Aller
The Aller is a river, long, in the states of Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony in Germany. It is a right-hand, and hence eastern, tributary of the River Weser and is also its largest tributary. Its last form the Lower Aller federal waterway...
. These trials were carried out not on official but on private initiative by a person named Schlüter. Using an advertisement in the local paper, the population of Celle was invited to watch the spectacle. However, aviation around Celle did not assume any serious forms until the Imperial Navy
Kaiserliche Marine
The Imperial German Navy was the German Navy created at the time of the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the small Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine, which primarily had the mission of coastal defense. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded...
decided to chose the location for the construction of an airfield in order to enable intermediate stops for flights between Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea.-History:...
und Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
. The airfield was opened on 3 October 1918 and used extensively until the end of the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in November of the same year when news, spread by pilots, of the sailors' revolt
Wilhelmshaven mutiny
The Kiel mutiny was a major revolt by sailors of the German High Seas Fleet on 3 November 1918. The revolt triggered the German revolution which was to sweep aside the monarchy within a few days. It ultimately led to the end of the First World War and to the establishment of the Weimar Republic.-...
and the beginning of the German Revolution reached Celle. This in turn lead to revolt within the city of Celle itself on 7 November 1918.
After World War I the airfield was initially abandoned even though some flights took place in the 1920s. The site became more important once the flying school
Flight training
Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills....
Celle-Wietzenbruch began to use the area as an external landing site in the mid-1930s. Today, part of this former airfield is incorporated into the civilian airfield Celle-Arloh and used for recreational purposes
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
.
Wehrmacht 1933 until 1945
The Treaty of Versailles in 1919 prohibited the German Reich to have her own air force. To get around this prohibition, the Nazi Party founded the Deutscher Luftsportverband (DLV or “German Air Sports Association”) in 1933 as a disguise to accelerate the building of an air force. Therefore, throughout Germany possible locations for air bases were sought. One of these locations was close to the Celle district of Wietzenbruch. According to official information the Deutsche Verkehrs-Fliegerschule GmbH (“German General Aviation School Ltd.“) would become the airport holder. Ernst SagebielErnst Sagebiel
Ernst Sagebiel was a German architect.- Life :Sagebiel was a sculptor's son, and after his Abitur in 1912, he began his studies in architecture in Braunschweig...
a leading architect in air base design was put in charge of the building works.
After exhaustive construction works, during which the boggy terrain was drained by creating several ditches, the flying school entered service in 1934. Due to the boggy terrain the airfield had to be mixed with bitumen a few years later to prevent airplanes sinking in. This made the ground elastic and resulted in the pilots calling the airfield rubber meadow (Gummiwiese).
On 9 March 1935 Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
officially announced the existence of a German Air Force and the D.L.V. was not needed any longer. The Luftwaffe was officially declared as being the occupant of the air base and its employees revealed themselves as being members of the armed forces by openly wearing uniforms.
In the course of time, the type of aircraft stationed at Celle became larger and larger and crews were trained on almost all current military aircraft. The extent of the training activities necessitated the construction of external landing strips at Hustedt and Scheuen. The training in blind flight, the precursor of instrument flight
Instrument flight rules
Instrument flight rules are one of two sets of regulations governing all aspects of civil aviation aircraft operations; the other are visual flight rules ....
, even had to be moved to Wesendorf
Wesendorf
Wesendorf is a municipality in the district of Gifhorn, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approx. 12 km north of Gifhorn.Wesendorf is also the seat of the Samtgemeinde Wesendorf . The municipality consists of the following villages:* Wesendorf* Westerholz...
.
At the beginning of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the training school was relocated to Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
and Celle Air Base was used by varying units, none of which were stationed there for any longer period of time.
Although some production facilities for the Junker Ju-88
Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...
were placed in Hangar V, Celle Air Base played only a secondary role during World War II. This, together with skilful camouflaging
Camouflage
Camouflage is a method of concealment that allows an otherwise visible animal, military vehicle, or other object to remain unnoticed, by blending with its environment. Examples include a leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier and a leaf-mimic butterfly...
of the hangars, prevented the air base from becoming a serious target for Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
tactical
Tactical bombing
Tactical bombing is the aerial bombing aimed at targets of immediate military value, such as troops, military installations or equipment. This is in contrast to strategic bombing, attacking enemy's cities and factories to debilitate the enemy's capacity to wage war, the enemy's future military...
or strategic bombing
Strategic bombing
Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in a total war with the goal of defeating an enemy nation-state by destroying its economic ability and public will to wage war rather than destroying its land or naval forces...
. Contemporary witnesses reported an American fighter plane
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
attacking Hangar V in 1944 until the anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
fire forced the pilot to abandon his aircraft.
Without having suffered any serious damage the air base was surrendered by a German NCO
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
to the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
on 11 April 1945. A few days previously, members of the last German unit stationed at Celle Air Base, Flying School A/B 6, had destroyed all remaining aircraft and left the base. Furthermore, a last Allied attack on the airfield on 9 April 1945 had not caused any serious damage to the airfield.
Allied occupation 1945 until 1957
Royal Air Force Germany
The former Royal Air Force Germany was a command of the Royal Air Force and part of British Forces Germany, consisting of those units located in Germany initially as part of the occupation following World War II, and later as part of the RAF's commitment to the defence of Europe during the Cold...
and was renamed RAF Station Celle.
Under British occupation metal plates were laid on the entire airfield in order to enable larger aircraft landing. The airfield retained its secondary role and was mainly used for liaison flights to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. After some flight movements in 1945 and 1946, no flights were recorded in 1947 and the hangars were instead used as storage facilities for furniture and tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s.
With the beginning of the Berlin Airlift
Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War and the first resulting in casualties. During the multinational occupation of post-World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway and road access to the sectors of Berlin under Allied...
in 1948 this, however, changed radically. The Western allies, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the United Kingdom and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, were looking for additional air bases that could be utilised for the airlift. Strategically, Celle offered favourable conditions for supply flights being located at the end of the middle air corridor
Air corridor
An air corridor is a designated region of airspace that an aircraft must remain in during its transit through a given region. Air corridors are typically imposed by military or diplomatic requirements...
to Berlin and having the shortest distance to Berlin. Unlike other air bases, Celle was not completely handed over to the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
but remained under the control of the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
even though the aircraft using the airfield were American.
After RAF Fassberg
RAF Fassberg
The former Royal Air Force Station Fassberg, more commonly known as RAF Fassberg, was a Royal Air Force airbase in Germany situated in the northern suburbs of Fassberg, Lower Saxony...
and RAF Wunstorf Celle became the third airfield in the region to serve in the airlift. USAF 317th Troop Carrier Wing (Hvy)
317th Airlift Group
The 317th Airlift Group is a United States Air Force unit, stationed at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. Assigned to Air Mobility Command Eighteenth Air Force, the 317 AG operates as a tenant unit to the 7th Bomb Wing, Air Combat Command ....
equipped with Douglas C-54 Skymaster
C-54 Skymaster
The Douglas C-54 Skymaster was a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces and British forces in World War II and the Korean War. Besides transport of cargo, it also carried presidents, British heads of government, and military staff...
were stationed on the air base at the end of 1948 and transported mostly coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
to Berlin. In order to cope with the enormous traffic the airfield was extended, receiving an unusually long (about 300 metres) rail siding
Rail siding
A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line or branch line or spur. It may connect to through track or to other sidings at either end...
and, for the first time, a runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
with an asphalt surface.
At the beginning of the airlift a total of 600 tons of freight were transported into the besieged city which increased to 1000 tons of coal and food
Food
Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...
each day in the spring of 1949. The American forces were assisted by 5,000 German workers in this undertaking. In order to house them, north of the barracks a huge housing area consisting of Nissen hut
Nissen hut
A Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure made from a half-cylindrical skin of corrugated steel, a variant of which was used extensively during World War II.-Description:...
s was built.
At the same time, Celle residents began to complain about the so-called “Veronikas″, German women attracted to the well paid soldiers. A public appeal by the city of Celle denounced the "women and girls who cause offence and outrage" amongst the population. The public outrage and repeated appeals for morality by local politicians in the local press became well-known throughout Germany. Even a Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
-based newspaper published an article about “Celle - an outraged city” on 14 February 1949.
Next to the road leading to Celle Air Base, a monument in memory of the support given by Celle to the Berlin Airlift was erected by the city of Celle in 1988 .
Following the end of the Berlin Airlift in 1949, the airfield was again used exclusively by British Forces
British Army of the Rhine
There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine . Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War, and the other after the Second World War.-1919–1929:...
. Over the years several squadron
Squadron (aviation)
A squadron in air force, army aviation or naval aviation is mainly a unit comprising a number of military aircraft, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, depending on aircraft type and air force...
s were stationed at Royal Air Force Station Celle which since 1950 were equipped with jet engined fighters of the type Vampire
De Havilland Vampire
The de Havilland DH.100 Vampire was a British jet-engine fighter commissioned by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Following the Gloster Meteor, it was the second jet fighter to enter service with the RAF. Although it arrived too late to see combat during the war, the Vampire served...
and Venom
De Havilland Venom
The de Havilland DH 112 Venom was a British postwar single-engined jet aircraft developed from the de Havilland Vampire. It served with the Royal Air Force as a single-seat fighter-bomber and two-seat night fighter....
.
The infrastructure for a renewed airlift, however, was kept in place and was constantly improved until German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
. The runway was extended in the 1960s and an instrument landing system
Instrument Landing System
An instrument landing system is a ground-based instrument approach system that provides precision guidance to an aircraft approaching and landing on a runway, using a combination of radio signals and, in many cases, high-intensity lighting arrays to enable a safe landing during instrument...
(ILS) for runway 26 was installed. At the end of the 1980s, shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
, the rail siding received an extensive lighting system.
Bundeswehr 1957 until the present
Bundeswehr
The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...
the British forces handed over the airfield to the German Army on 29 November 1957. After Niedermendig
Mendig
Mendig is a municipality in the district Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated approx. 6 km north-east of Mayen, and 25 km west of Koblenz.Mendig is the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde Mendig....
and parallel to Fritzlar
Fritzlar
Fritzlar is a small German town in the Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, north of Frankfurt, with a storied history. It can reasonably be argued that the town is the site where the Christianization of northern Germany began and the birthplace of the German empire as a political entity.The...
Celle was one of the first garrisons of the German Army Aviation Corps, at the time the youngest branch of the German armed forces, that stationed various units and aircraft at Celle Air Base throughout the following years.
Peculiarly, from 1959 until 1967 two transport wings of the German Air Force
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
were also stationed at Celle. Thus Celle became a mixed base used by Army and Air Force – unique in the Bundeswehr until the 1990s. However, already in 1960 Lufttransportgeschwader 62 (Air Transport Wing 62) was relocated to Cologne Bonn Airport
Cologne Bonn Airport
Cologne/Bonn Airport is an international airport located in the district of Porz in the city of Cologne, Germany, and is surrounded by the Wahner Heide nature reserve. The airport is centrally located in the Cologne/Bonn Region southeast of Cologne city centre and northeast of Bonn...
. Seven years later Lufttransportgeschwader 63 (Air Transport Wing 63) moved to its new base in Hohn
Hohn, Schleswig-Holstein
Hohn is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.The location of Hohn is south of the municipality of Königshügel or Lohe-Föhrden, but north of Friedrichsgraben or Sophienhamm or Elsdorf-Westermühlen, and west of Fockbek....
, Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
where it is still stationed.
Due to the tense situation during the building of the Berlin Wall a small unit of the National Guard of the United States was stationed at Celle Air Base in 1961 in case of a second Berlin Airlift.
Following the move of its transport wings, the German Air Force did not station any flying units at Celle Air Base. However, air traffic control
Air traffic control
Air traffic control is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. The primary purpose of ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other...
(ATC) was provided by a mixed Army/Air Force unit until the 1990s. Apart from the stationary ATC unit, a mobile ATC unit existed in Celle which was equipped with a mobile tower, radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
and other equipment to provide air traffic control services for specially allocated places, for example, on German motorways designed as emergency landing strips during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
.
From 1959 until 1966, a US Air Force unit equipped with two MSQ-1A radar was stationed at Celle Air Base. This units' tasks was to link into missiles of the type TM-61C (MGM-1 Matador
MGM-1 Matador
The Martin MGM-1 Matador was the first operational surface-to-surface cruise missile built by the United States. It was similar in concept to the German V-1, but the Matador included a radio link that allowed in-flight course corrections. This allowed accuracy to be maintained over greatly extended...
) and guide them towards their target. For complete air coverage, especially eastwards, the unit at Celle was not necessary. In order to save costs this unit was disbanded in 1966.
Between 1963 and 1981 Celle was home to a test squadron for unmanned aerial vehicles and helicopters. This unit experimented with helicopters and other weapon systems
Weapon
A weapon, arm, or armament is a tool or instrument used with the aim of causing damage or harm to living beings or artificial structures or systems...
intended for acquisition by the Bundeswehr. One example for successfully testing and bringing into service is the Bölkow Bo-150 in the version as anti-tank helicopter.
The unit being stationed the longest at Celle was the Heeresfliegerstaffel 7 (Army Aviation Squadron 7). It was relocated from Rheine
Rheine
Rheine is a city in the district of Steinfurt in Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest city in the district and the location of Rheine Air Base.-Geography:Rheine is located on the river Ems, approx. north of Münster, approx...
to Celle in 1971. In 1968 it had become a battalion but three years later, on its move to Celle, it was redesignated again as a squadron. The unit was equipped with the liaison and reconnaissance helicopter Alouette II and was disbanded in 1994.
At the beginning of the 1970s the strength of the German Army Aviation Corps considerably increased when more manpower and material was allocated to it. In Celle Heeresfliegerregiment 10 (Army Aviation Regiment 10) equipped with Bell UH-1D was the first of these larger units, which would become the new standard.
In 1979 a second regiment, Heeresfliegerregiment 16 (Army Aviation Regiment 16), equipped with anti-tank helicopters was founded at Celle. Since the air base was too small to house two regiments, Heeresfliegerregiment 10 subsequently relocated to Faßberg Air Base
Faßberg Air Base
Faßberg Air Base is located 2 km northeast of the municipality of Faßberg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The air base is jointly used by the German Army and the German Air Force . Its main user is the German Army Aviation Corps.- History :An airfield was established in 1934...
in 1981. Its coat of arms still shows the stylised Celle Castle
Celle Castle
Celle Castle or, less commonly, Celle Palace, in the German town of Celle in Lower Saxony was one of the residences of the House of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
.
After the end of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
Celle Air Base's ability for instrument flights
Instrument flight rules
Instrument flight rules are one of two sets of regulations governing all aspects of civil aviation aircraft operations; the other are visual flight rules ....
was removed and the emergency landing strips on the motorways were abandoned. Following the removal of ILS
Instrument Landing System
An instrument landing system is a ground-based instrument approach system that provides precision guidance to an aircraft approaching and landing on a runway, using a combination of radio signals and, in many cases, high-intensity lighting arrays to enable a safe landing during instrument...
as well as approach radar and the corresponding reduction within the ATC unit, the German Air Force finally left the base. Several smaller units were disbanded or relocated and only the Heeresfliegerregiment 16 remained as a flying unit at Celle.
Within the framework of the restructuring of the German Army and in preparation of the introduction of the new helicopter types NH-90
NHI NH90
The NHIndustries NH90 is a medium sized, twin-engine, multi-role military helicopter manufactured by NHIndustries. The first prototype had its maiden flight in December 1995...
and Tiger
Eurocopter Tiger
The Eurocopter Tiger is an attack helicopter manufactured by Eurocopter. In Germany it is known as the Tiger; in France and Spain it is called the Tigre.-Origins:...
in 2002 and 2003, Heeresfliegerregiment 16 was disbanded and parts of the Heeresfliegerwaffenschule (German Army Aviation School), originally located at Bückeburg
Bückeburg
Bückeburg is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, on the border with North Rhine Westphalia. It was once the capital of the tiny principality of Schaumburg-Lippe and is today located in the district of Schaumburg close to the northern slopes of the Weserbergland ridge...
, were moved to Celle. At the same time the Heeresfliegerverbindungs- und Aufklärungsstaffel 100 (Army Aviation Liaison and Reconnaissance Squadron 100) and the Heeresfliegerinstandsetzungsstaffel 100 (Army Aviation Maintenance Squadron 100) were founded.
With the commencement of training flights, Celle Air Base regained instrument flight ability and helicopters of the type Bell UH-1D were again stationed on the air base.
Since having been taken over by the German Army Aviation Corps, hardly any new buildings were erected on the air base. Some had to be pulled down due to their dilapidated state or due to environmental issues
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
: a kitchen and dining room from the time of the Berlin Airlift (the so-called Berlin Küche), the cinema, swimming pool and a petrol depot. Others have been and are being renovated and rebuilt, altering their function completely.
In October 2011 the German Federal Ministry of Defence
Federal Ministry of Defence (Germany)
The Federal Ministry of Defence is a top-level federal agency, headed by the Federal Minister of Defence as a member of the Cabinet of Germany...
announced a reorganisation/reduction of the German Armed Forces. As a result, Army Aviation Training Centre C will be closed and Army Aviation Liaison and Reconnaissance Squadron 100, Army Aviation Maintenance Squadron 100 and Army Aviation Squadron 109 will be disbanded. The Medical Services Squadron will be expanded into a regional medical centre. A battalion of aspirant non-commissioned officer
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
s will be based at Celle, and a centre for airborne operations will be established. However, the number of military personnel stationed at Celle Air Base will be significantly reduced from 1080 to 400.
Disaster relief
Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany
The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany is the constitution of Germany. It was formally approved on 8 May 1949, and, with the signature of the Allies of World War II on 12 May, came into effect on 23 May, as the constitution of those states of West Germany that were initially included...
statutory
Statute
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law, decided by courts, and regulations...
tasks within the borders of Germany are exclusively reserved for the German police. Only in case of an officially declared civil state of emergency
State of emergency
A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend some normal functions of the executive, legislative and judicial powers, alert citizens to change their normal behaviours, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can also be used as a rationale...
the German Army is permitted to act within the borders of Germany. Up until now there have been seven cases in which soldiers of Celle Air Base participated in such internal missions.
During the North Sea flood of 1962
North Sea flood of 1962
The North Sea flood of 1962 was a natural disaster affecting mainly the coastal regions of Germany and in particular the city of Hamburg in the night from 16 February to 17 February 1962...
evacuation and supply flights particularly in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
and its surrounding areas were performed using the Sikorsky H-34 of the Heeresfliegertransportstaffel 823 (Army Aviation Transport Squadron 823).
In 1975 during the catastrophic wildfire
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
on the Lüneburg Heath
Lüneburg Heath
The Lüneburg Heath is a large area of heath, geest and woodland in northeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It forms part of the hinterland for the cities of Hamburg, Hanover, and Bremen and is named after the town of Lüneburg. Most of the area is a nature reserve...
the Heeresfliegerregiment 10 used its helicopters Bell UH-1D with “Smokeys”, water-filled containers hung under the helicopters, for fighting the conflagration. The ground forces of the air base, particularly the airfield fire fighters, also came to the assistance of the emergency services.
In the winter of 1978/1979 severe weather conditions resulted in a disastrous blizzard
Blizzard
A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong winds. By definition, the difference between blizzard and a snowstorm is the strength of the wind. To be a blizzard, a snow storm must have winds in excess of with blowing or drifting snow which reduces visibility to 400 meters or ¼ mile or...
affecting the whole of northern Germany. Air traffic control at Celle Air Base in particular distinguished itself by providing around the clock radar assistance for the numerous rescue missions flown.
During the huge flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
ing of the river Oder in 1997 and the river Elbe
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
in 2002 and 2006 several soldiers and equipment from Celle Air Base assisted in securing the dikes although at the air base itself normal business continued.
During the Eschede train disaster
Eschede train disaster
The Eschede train disaster was the world's deadliest high-speed train accident. It occurred on 3 June 1998, near the village of Eschede in the Celle district of Lower Saxony, Germany. The toll of 101 people dead and 88 injured surpassed the 1971 Dahlerau train disaster as the deadliest accident in...
on 3 June 1998 Celle Air Base was given the task of coordinating the German Army's massive rescue and salvage operation by land and air. Two of the wrecked railway carriages, parts of the rails and all relevant bogie
Bogie
A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...
s were stored in an empty hangar at Celle Air Base until the investigation into the cause of the accident was completed.
Equipment
Visual flight rules
Visual flight rules are a set of regulations which allow a pilot to operate an aircraft in weather conditions generally clear enough to allow the pilot to see where the aircraft is going. Specifically, the weather must be better than basic VFR weather minimums, as specified in the rules of the...
and instrument
Instrument flight rules
Instrument flight rules are one of two sets of regulations governing all aspects of civil aviation aircraft operations; the other are visual flight rules ....
flights are allowed. It is surrounded by a control zone
Control zone
A control zone is an aviation term that describes a volume of controlled airspace, normally around an airport, which extends from the surface to a specified upper limit, established to protect air traffic operating to and from that airport...
of airspace class
Airspace class
The world's navigable airspace is divided into three-dimensional segments, each of which is assigned to a specific class. Most nations adhere to the classification specified by the International Civil Aviation Organization and described below...
“D” which is active during the hours of operation. The area of responsibility
Controlled airspace
Controlled airspace is an aviation term used to describe airspace in which ATChas the authority to control air traffic, the level of which varies with the different classes of airspace. Controlled airspace is established mainly for three different reasons:...
is classified as “E”.
Since the air base is mainly used as a training site for helicopter pilots, several grassy areas parallel to the runway are used for the training of emergency landing procedures, for example autorotation
Autorotation (helicopter)
Autorotation is the state of flight where the main rotor system of a helicopter is being turned by the action of air moving up through the rotor rather than engine power driving the rotor...
and engine failure
Turbine engine failure
A turbine engine failure refers to an incident wherein a turbine engine in an aircraft unexpectedly stops producing power because of a part malfunction, in the absence of circumstances such as fuel exhaustion.-Nature of failures:...
.
In order to decrease the noise
Aircraft noise
Aircraft noise is noise pollution produced by any aircraft or its components, during various phases of a flight: on the ground while parked such as auxiliary power units, while taxiing, on run-up from propeller and jet exhaust, during take off, underneath and lateral to departure and arrival paths,...
level for the inhabitants of Celle, the city having expanded towards the air base over the years, an additional helicopter training site at Scheuen (north of Celle) is used.
Celle Air Base is equipped with a non-directional beacon
Non-directional beacon
A non-directional beacon is a radio transmitter at a known location, used as an aviation or marine navigational aid. As the name implies, the signal transmitted does not include inherent directional information, in contrast to other navigational aids such as low frequency radio range, VHF...
(Frequency
Frequency
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency...
: 311 MHz
Hertz
The hertz is the SI unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. One of its most common uses is the description of the sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications....
, Identification: CEL). This is used for approach and departure procedures of Celle as well as for the airports Hanover
Hanover/Langenhagen International Airport
Hannover-Langenhagen Airport is located in Langenhagen, 11 km north of the centre of Hanover, the capital of the German state of Lower Saxony. It is the ninth largest airport in Germany.- History :...
and Braunschweig-Wolfsburg and as a waypoint
Waypoint
A waypoint is a reference point in physical space used for purposes of navigation.-Concept:Waypoints are sets of coordinates that identify a point in physical space. Coordinates used can vary depending on the application. For terrestrial navigation these coordinates can include longitude and...
for two airways
Airway (aviation)
In aviation, an airway is a designated route in the air. Airways are laid out between navigational aids such as VORs, NDBs and Intersections ....
(J803 und T803) in radio navigation
Radio navigation
Radio navigation or radionavigation is the application of radio frequencies to determine a position on the Earth. Like radiolocation, it is a type of radiodetermination.The basic principles are measurements from/to electric beacons, especially...
. Additionally, the airfield is equipped with a precision approach radar
Precision Approach Radar
Precision approach radar is a type of radar guidance system designed to provide lateral and vertical guidance to an aircraft pilot for landing, until the landing threshold is reached. After the aircraft reaches the decision height or decision altitude , guidance is advisory only...
(PAR-80) and airport surveillance radar
Airport Surveillance Radar
An airport surveillance radar is a radar system used at airports to detect and display the position of aircraft in the terminal area.-Digital Airport Surveillance Radar :...
(ASR-910).
On the air base an Aeronautical Information Service
Aeronautical Information Service
One of the least known and most vital roles in support of international civil aviation is filled by the Aeronautical Information Service . The objective of the Aeronautical Information Service is to ensure the flow of information necessary for the safety, regularity and efficiency of international...
, a section of the Met Office
Met Office
The Met Office , is the United Kingdom's national weather service, and a trading fund of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills...
and a fire brigade
Firefighter
Firefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...
are located. All services needed for national and international flights are kept available.
Celle Air Base is an airport of entry
Airport of Entry
An airport of entry is an airport that provides customs and immigration services for incoming flights. These services allow the airport to serve as an initial port of entry for foreign visitors arriving in a country.-Africa:-Americas:-Asia:...
and can be flown to directly from abroad.
For parking and maintenance of aircraft five hangars are used. Each hangar may keep up to 24 helicopters. The apron offers space for about 40 aircraft of various types. Additional space is offered in the north-, the southwest- and southeast-spider. These are spider-like platforms for aircraft, partly covered with trees and bushes as during the Cold War. Most of these platforms are no longer in active use but can be activated for military exercises.
Jet fuel
Jet fuel
Jet fuel is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by gas-turbine engines. It is clear to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for commercial aviation are Jet A and Jet A-1 which are produced to a standardized international specification...
is provided by tank lorries. A subterranean refuelling station with filling abilities close to the taxiway
Taxiway
A taxiway is a path on an airport connecting runways with ramps, hangars, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have hard surface such as asphalt or concrete, although smaller airports sometimes use gravel or grass....
is available but used only very occasionally.
Arresting gear
Arresting gear
Arresting gear, or arrestor gear, is the name used for mechanical systems designed to rapidly decelerate an aircraft as it lands. Arresting gear on aircraft carriers is an essential component of naval aviation, and it is most commonly used on CATOBAR and STOBAR aircraft carriers. Similar systems...
is not available.
Heeresfliegerinstandsetzungsstaffel 100 (Army Aviation Maintenance Squadron 100) is a specialised unit and unique within the German Army. It performs the highest grade of maintenance for the helicopter Bölkow Bo-105 and is therefore responsible for all helicopters of this type used in the German Army. In contrast, the other units at Celle may perform only general maintenance for the Bölkow Bo-105 and Bell UH-1D. At present, other types of aircraft cannot be maintained but only served.
C-5 Galaxy
The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large military transport aircraft built by Lockheed. It provides the United States Air Force with a heavy intercontinental-range strategic airlift capability, one that can carry outsize and oversize cargos, including all air-certifiable cargo. The Galaxy has many...
in 1972.
Use
Being a military airbase within NATO Celle is generally available for aircraft of the German armed forces, Allied forces and the German PoliceLaw enforcement in Germany
Law enforcement in Germany is constitutionally vested solely with the states, which is one of the main features of the German political system. Therefore, unlike France, Italy, the United States, Canada or many other countries, Germany has no federal police force comparable to the Italian...
but restricted by a so called “PPR” (Prior Permission Request) regulation. This means that pilots intending to approach Celle need a permission prior to departure from their original base. This regulations aims to protect the population living near the airbase from noise pollution made by military aircraft.
For arrival and departure of civilian aircraft a prior request and permission in writing or a contract for using the airfield is needed, the exception being aircraft in distress
Mayday (distress signal)
Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice procedure radio communications. It derives from the French venez m'aider, meaning "come help me"....
.
Additionally to the flying and support units, other military units are based at Celle Air Base, using the military infrastructure but not necessarily need an airfield to perform their tasks.
Army Aviation Training Centre C
Celle Air Base is mainly used as a training airfield for prospective helicopter pilots and therefore part of the German Army Aviation School whose headquarters is in Bückeburg. The training by Army Aviation Training Centre C (Heeresfliegerausbildungszentrum C) is performed on Bell UH-1D and Bölkow Bo-105 and contains the following tasks:- training of prospective pilots in simulated emergency situations such as engine failure, autorotation, failure of rear rotor and failure of hydraulic or other systems
- retraining of pilots who had piloted only other helicopter systems
- training of prospective flight instructors
- special helicopter courses
- training of own pilots
- disaster relief
Army Aviation Liaison and Reconnaissance Squadron 100
Army Aviation Liaison and Reconnaissance Squadron 100 (Heeresfliegerverbindungs- und Aufklärungsstaffel 100) performs liaison flights mainly throughout north and east Germany and takes part in national and international exercises. Its tasks are:- liaison flights between units of Airmobile Brigade 1 (Luftbewegliche Brigade 1) and other units of the German Army
- VIPVery Important PersonA Very Important Person, or VIP is a person who is accorded special privileges due to his or her status or importance.Examples include celebrities, heads of state/heads of government, major employers, high rollers, politicians, high-level corporate officers, wealthy individuals, or any other...
-flights of military personnel and politicians - performing own exercises and taking part in exercises of other units
- rescue and reconnaissance flights
- training of own pilots
- disaster relief
Army Aviation Maintenance Squadron 100
Army Aviation Maintenance Squadron 100 (Heeresfliegerinstandsetzungsstaffel 100) is a specialised unit for maintenance of the Bölkow Bo-105. The squadron is unique within the German armed forces in that it is responsible for the entire fleet of this type of helicopter. Costly maintenance work, overhauls and repairs which units equipped with the Bölkow Bo-105 are not capable of carrying out, due to lack of either equipment or knowledge, are flown to Celle where the necessary repairs will be performed. Afterwards the aircraft will be returned to their home base.Geo-Information Service Unit Celle
Met Office
The Met Office , is the United Kingdom's national weather service, and a trading fund of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills...
of Celle Air Base. The unit is responsible for weather information which is passed on to air traffic control, and weather forecasts for pilots. The unit is permanently on duty even when the airfield itself is closed. Around the clock weather observations are fed into a worldwide data system.
Celle Air Base Fire Services
Aviation accidents and incidents
An aviation accident is defined in the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft which takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight and all such persons have disembarked, in which a...
or an emergency situations Celle Air Base Fire Services are responsible for coordinating and instigating the initial actions on the airfield and its immediate surroundings.
When the helicopter training site Scheuen is used for pilot training, a small contingent of fire fighters from Celle Air Base are temporarily stationed there.
Medical Services Squadron Celle-Wietzenbruch
Central Medical Services
The Bundeswehr's Joint Medical Service is a part of the German Armed Forces but explicitly no new branch of arms. Medical personnel of all three branches were assigned to a centralized authority which was installed to concentrate their capabilities. However these troops remain members of their...
Celle-Wietzenbruch (Sanitätsstaffel Celle-Wietzenbruch) consisting of general practitioner
General practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
s and dentists
Dentistry
Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...
supported by two flight surgeons, are responsible for the medical care of all soldiers stationed at Celle Air Base.
In case of aviation accidents or emergency situations the flight surgeons together with the fire services are responsible for the rescue of and attendance to victims.
Garrison Administrative Services
Military chaplaincy
For spiritual welfare an ecumenicalEcumenism
Ecumenism or oecumenism mainly refers to initiatives aimed at greater Christian unity or cooperation. It is used predominantly by and with reference to Christian denominations and Christian Churches separated by doctrine, history, and practice...
chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
is available which is used alternately by a Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
minister and a catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
priest with services being held on a monthly base. The official residence of the military chaplain
Military chaplain
A military chaplain is a chaplain who ministers to soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and other members of the military. In many countries, chaplains also minister to the family members of military personnel, to civilian noncombatants working for military organizations and to civilians within the...
s (Militärseelsorger) is Hanover. They are part of the "psychosocial
Psychosocial
For a concept to be psychosocial means it relates to one's psychological development in, and interaction with, a social environment. The individual needs not be fully aware of this relationship with his or her environment. It was first commonly used by psychologist Erik Erikson in his stages of...
network of help" in cases of flight accidents and other incidents causing possible psychological trauma to the personnel involved. The network consists of flight surgeons, chaplains and members of the other social services of the German armed forces. The network attends to people affected by stressful situations related to flight incidents, their relatives as well as the rescue teams.
Facilities for other religious denomination
Religious denomination
A religious denomination is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name, tradition, and identity.The term describes various Christian denominations...
s are not available.
Garrison commander
Military exercise
A military exercise is the employment of military resources in training for military operations, either exploring the effects of warfare or testing strategies without actual combat...
areas and shooting range
Shooting range
A shooting range or firing range is a specialized facility designed for firearms practice. Each facility is typically overseen by one or more supervisory personnel, called variously a range master or "RSO – Range Safety Officer" in the United States or a range conducting officer or "RCO" in the UK...
s.
Army Aviation Squadron 109
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
. Additionally, the squadron provides specialist military courses for soldiers destined for missions abroad.
Soldiers of NCO rank intended to be used for guard duty receive their theoretical and practical training in order to qualify as guard commander at Army Aviation Squadron 109.
Driving Instruction Centre Celle
European driving licence
The European driving licence is a driving licence replacing the many driving licence styles already in use in the member states of the European Union. It has the credit card-style with a photograph and possibly a microchip. They were introduced to replace the 110 different plastic and paper driving...
members of the German armed forces need an additional driver's licence before being allowed to use a military vehicle. The Driving Instruction Centre (Kraftfahrausbildungszentrum Celle) provides training for vehicles of the classes B and BCE as well as training for driving instructors
Approved Driving Instructor
Approved Driving Instructor is a UK term for a trainer of car driving who has been tested and registered by the Driving Standards Agency...
.
On 31 December 2010 the Driving Instruction Centre Celle will be disbanded. Its task will be taken over by other training centres.
NCO for Reservist Liaisons
Feldwebel
Feldwebel is a German military rank which has existed since at least the 18th century with usage as a title dating to the Middle Ages. The word Feldwebel is usually translated as sergeant being rated OR-6 in the NATO rank comparison scale, equivalent to the British Army Sergeant and the US Army...
für Reservistenangelegenheiten). His responsibility is the liaison between the army and the army's reservists living in the districts Celle
Celle (district)
Celle is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Uelzen, Gifhorn, Hanover and Heidekreis.- Geography :...
and Soltau-Fallingbostel
Soltau-Fallingbostel
Heidekreis is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Harburg, Lüneburg, Uelzen, Celle, Hanover, Nienburg, Verden and Rotenburg.-History:...
, particularly the organisation of information and training events for former army personnel and to support them during reserve exercises. He keeps in close contact with the Association of Reservists of the German Armed Forces (Verband der Reservisten der Deutschen Bundeswehr).
The NCO for Reservist Liaisons is subordinate to Military Command Lower Saxony (Landeskommando Niedersachen).
Association of Reservists of the German Armed Forces
Bundestag
The Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
. The association's office on the air base is responsible for the district of Celle. It works in close contact with the NCO for Reservist Liaisons and offers regular events for its members and publishes a biannual newsletter.
Other uses
Until the 1980s, members of the aristocracy, particularly of British provenience, as well as other persons of the public life used the possibility to land on a military airfield where journalists and photographers have no access. The most famous of these were the "Queen Mum"Queen mother
Queen Mother is a title or position reserved for a widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since at least 1577...
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
in 1965, Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
in 1967 and 1984, Prince Charles
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
and Diana
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
in 1987 as well as Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands
Beatrix of the Netherlands
Beatrix is the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands comprising the Netherlands, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and Aruba. She is the first daughter of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. She studied law at Leiden University...
in 1965.
Today Celle is only occasionally used by members of the British Royal Family
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
for visits to the British troops stationed in Celle and Bergen
Bergen, Lower Saxony
Bergen is a town in the north of Celle district on the Lüneburg Heath, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Administratively it acts as a municipal borough divided into 12 subordinate parishes based on the town and its surrounding villages: Becklingen, Belsen, Bergen, Bleckmar, Diesten, Dohnsen, Eversen,...
or for cultivating the traditional relationship between the House of Windsor
House of Windsor
The House of Windsor is the royal house of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded by King George V by royal proclamation on the 17 July 1917, when he changed the name of his family from the German Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the English Windsor, due to the anti-German sentiment in the United Kingdom...
and Celle originating in Sophia Dorothea of Celle
Sophia Dorothea of Celle
Sophia Dorothea of Brunswick and Lunenburg was the wife and cousin of George Louis, Elector of Hanover, later George I of Great Britain, and mother of George II through an arranged marriage of state, instigated by the machinations of Duchess Sophia of Hanover...
.
Due to the massive reduction of British forces in Germany and their redeployment out of Germany the importance of Celle for such visits has been decreasing since the 1990s. On average there are about three visits of this kind per year. Heads of states have not landed at Celle Air Base since 1984.
Significance and future development
Celle Air Base is an important economic factor in the structurally weak Celle region. The air base spends approximately 3.5 Million EuroEuro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
annually on building and maintenance works and an additional 3 Million Euro per year on facility management (2006). More than 2000 soldiers, civil servants
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
and ancillary staff are employed at the base.
Nearly all of the younger generation of the German armed forces' helicopter pilots have at some stage during their training passed through Celle Air Base. This will continue in future as all prospective helicopter pilots of the armed forces are destined to receive their training here.
Training flights as well as missions throughout Germany are flown from Celle Air Base. Due to the role of Army Aviation Maintenance Squadron 100 helicopter units from all over Germany head for Celle Air Base.
Combined with areas controlled by the military air bases Bückeburg, Wunstorf and Faßberg (southwest to northeast) the airspace surrounding Celle is part of a larger area of responsibility which represents one of the largest connected military air spaces near the ground in Germany. This enables military flights inside this area to remain solely under military control.
Due to its proximity to the large military training areas
Proving ground
A proving ground is the US name for a military installation or reservation where weapons or other military technology are experimented or tested, or where military tactics are tested...
Bergen and Munster
Munster, Lower Saxony
Munster, also called Munster , is a small town in the district of Heidekreis, in Lower Saxony, Germany almost equidistant from Hamburg and Hanover. The town is home to the German Army's largest garrison and is situated between the two training areas of Munster North and Munster South. It is also...
Celle Air Base occasionally participates national and international manoeuvres
Military exercise
A military exercise is the employment of military resources in training for military operations, either exploring the effects of warfare or testing strategies without actual combat...
when military aircraft are involved.
In contrast to other air bases like Ramstein Air Base
Ramstein Air Base
Ramstein Air Base is a United States Air Force base in the German state of Rheinland-Pfalz. It serves as headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe and is also a North Atlantic Treaty Organization installation...
, Celle Air Base is relatively unknown within Germany. Apart from local newspapers and internal media of the German Army it is rarely mentioned in the press. Civil aviation
Civil aviation
Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying, representing all non-military aviation, both private and commercial. Most of the countries in the world are members of the International Civil Aviation Organization and work together to establish common standards and recommended practices...
does not take place at Celle Air Base.
Due to an increase in costs and in order to decrease the noise pollution for the population flight simulators are increasingly used. Only the essential elements of flight training are practised by using actual helicopters. By 2012 the German armed forces intend to have implemented the new helicopters Tiger and NH-90. Consequently, training on the Bell UH-1D was reduced and terminated in September 2010. The remaining helicopters of the type Bell UH-1D were handed over to Faßberg Air Base where they will be flown until the delivery of the new helicopter NH-90. The practicing of autorotation, however, will be continued at Celle as this cannot be trained on the standard helicopter for initial flight training, the Eurocopter EC-135
Eurocopter EC 135
The Eurocopter EC135 is a twin-engine civil helicopter produced by Eurocopter, widely used amongst police and ambulance services and for executive transport. It is capable of flight under instrument flight rules .-Development:...
stationed at the main base of Army Aviation School at Bückeburg.
Army Aviation Maintenance Squadron 100 will remain responsible for the entire fleet of Bölkow Bo-105 of the German armed forces. Apart from missions flown by Army Aviation Liaison and Reconnaissance Squadron 100, training flights of the Army Aviation School will also continue at Celle since, in view of cost-effectiveness and noise pollution, this task cannot be managed by a single airfield alone.
Criticism
Wing (air force unit)
Wing is a term used by different military aviation forces for a unit of command. The terms wing, group or Staffel are used for different-sized units from one country or service to another....
of strike fighter
Strike fighter
In a current military parlance, a strike fighter is a multi-role combat aircraft designed to operate primarily in the air-to-surface attack role while also incorporating certain performance characteristics of a fighter aircraft. As a category, it is distinct from fighter-bombers...
s stationed at the airfield. Residents, mostly from Wietzenbruch, founded a voluntary association
Voluntary association
A voluntary association or union is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement as volunteers to form a body to accomplish a purpose.Strictly speaking, in many jurisdictions no formalities are necessary to start an association...
and petitioned the federal parliament. The plans were abandoned and after the Federal Ministry
Federal Ministry of Defence (Germany)
The Federal Ministry of Defence is a top-level federal agency, headed by the Federal Minister of Defence as a member of the Cabinet of Germany...
had given assurances that only helicopters would be stationed at Celle Air Base the association dissolved. The noise produced by the helicopters, however, remained a subject of contention in local newspapers.
Since the 1990s areas directly to the north of the air base have been demarcated for land development
Land development
Land development refers to altering the landscape in any number of ways such as:* changing landforms from a natural or semi-natural state for a purpose such as agriculture or housing...
, namely Westercelle, and Altencelle. These areas are situated directly beneath the approach path of runway 26. Even though developers and prospective buyers were previously informed regarding the proximity of the airfield and also benefited from reduced house prices, some did not realise the actual effects of living close to an active airfield, particularly during periods of night flight training, which has led to numerous complaints.
Following German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
Army Aviation Regiment 16 equipped with helicopters of the type Bölkow Bo-105 remained the only flying unit at Celle. The disbandment of this regiment in 2002 and the subsequent establishment of the helicopter training school from 2003 onwards resulted in a significant increase in air traffic and brought the issue of noise pollution back on the agenda. When helicopters of the type Bell UH-1D were relocated to Celle Air Base in the spring of 2005 it caused additional protest by the population living in the vicinity of the airfield. The sound made by the rotor blades (colloquially called "carpet beater
Carpet beater
A carpet beater or carpetbeater is a housecleaning tool that was in common...
") is perceived as particularly noisy in comparison with the Bölkow Bo-105. Many residents who had bought houses or had them built during the relatively silent years were surprised by this new intensity of aircraft noise.
As a reaction to this criticism units based at Celle voluntarily restrict themselves to circle the aerodrome only over the mostly uninhabited area to the south of the air base and to avoid training approaches over Westercelle as much as possible. Flight movements at lunch time are kept to a minimum. Approach as well as departure over densely populated areas is prohibited. These restrictions relieve the built-up areas surrounding the air base of noise pollution to a certain degree. They have, however, the effect that flight movements are now channelled along the remaining routes permitted leading to an increase of noise and of annoyance to the population affected. Since many retired soldiers and staff formerly working at the base still live in and around Celle there are not only critics of the air base but also supporters who voice their opinion in various forums and letters to the editor
Letter to the editor
A letter to the editor is a letter sent to a publication about issues of concern from its readers. Usually, letters are intended for publication...
stressing the economic factor of the air base and the fact that the air base had existed since 1934 so that the opponents were in full knowledge of its existence when they bought property at reduced prices in its vicinity.
See also
- List of former units and aircraft of Celle Air Base
- Army AviationArmy aviationArmy Aviation refers to aviation-related units of a nation's army, often described as an air corps. These units are generally separate from a nation's dedicated air force, and usually comprise helicopters and light support fixed-wing aircraft....