Giebelstadt Army Airfield - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

For the civil airport use of this facility after 2006, see Giebelstadt Airport
Giebelstadt Airport
Giebelstadt Airport is a general aviation airport located in Germany, southwest of Giebelstadt ; approximately 250 miles southwest of Berlin....

Giebelstadt Army Airfield is a closed military airfield located in 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...

southwest of Giebelstadt

Giebelstadt

Giebelstadt is a municipality in the district of Würzburg in Bavaria in Germany.History of GiebelstadtThe town is the birthplace of Florian Geyer , also known as "Florian Geier from Giebelstadt", a Franconian nobleman who led the Black Company during the Peasants War resulting from the Protestant...

(Bavaria); approximately 250 miles southwest of Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

. It was turned over to the German government on 23 June 2006 and is now a general aviation

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...

airport.

Fliegerhorst Giebelstadt was one of the first Luftwaffe

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....

airfields, being established in 1935. During 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...

, it was a reserve airfield in the rear area of Central Germany Later, it was a key defensive airfield as part of the "Defense of the Reich

Defense of the Reich

The Defence of the Reich is the name given to the strategic defensive aerial campaign fought by the Luftwaffe over German occupied Europe and Germany itself during World War II. Its aim was to prevent the destruction of German military and civil industries by the Western Allies...

" campaign where Messerschmitt Me 262

Messerschmitt Me 262

The Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe was the world's first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft. Design work started before World War II began, but engine problems prevented the aircraft from attaining operational status with the Luftwaffe until mid-1944...

Jet fighters assigned to the field intercepted Allied bombers attacking Germany.

After being captured by the United States Army in April 1945, it briefly became a combat airfield for Ninth Air Force

Ninth Air Force

The Ninth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina....

and after the war was used by the United States Air Forces in Europe

United States Air Forces in Europe

The United States Air Forces in Europe is the United States Air Force component of U.S. European Command, a Department of Defense unified command, and is one of two Air Force Major Commands outside of the continental United States, the other being the Pacific Air Forces...

until 1968 in a variety of missions, from Strategic Reconnaissance to air defense interceptor. Turned over to the United States Army in 1968, it was the home of Air Defense Artillery and many other units.

Giebelstadt Army Airfield was closed by the United States Army on 23 June 2006 as part of the United States restructing its European forces.

Origins

The layout for Fliegerhorst Giebelstadt began in June 1934 with site reconnaissance, and land purchasing began shortly afterwards. Official construction began in the late summer under the code name "Höhenflugzentrale Deutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule" (Mountain Station of German Transportation Pilot School). By January 1935 enough construction was completed for the airfield to open. The school, however, was only in name because the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles

Treaty of Versailles

The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...

, which ended 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...

, did not permit Germany to have a military air force.

In addition to the airfield construction, in the village of Giebelstadt

Giebelstadt

many housing units were built for both officers and enlisted men assigned to the airfield. Although the town was damaged significantly during World War II

World War II

, many of these houses and barracks still exist and are in use as private homes and apartments.

The unmasking of the Luftwaffe

Luftwaffe

by Germany took place on 3 January 1935, and Fliegerhorst Giebelstadt was one of the first operational Luftwaffe stations. The airfield at first consisted of a turf runway along with two paved launch platforms. The first operational flying unit assigned to Giebelstadt was "Fliegergruppe Giebelstadt", activated at the base on 10 January 1935. Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...

officially opened the airfield after a review of the troops on 11 September 1936. Major General Albert Kesselring

Albert Kesselring

Albert Kesselring was a German Luftwaffe Generalfeldmarschall during World War II. In a military career that spanned both World Wars, Kesselring became one of Nazi Germany's most skilful commanders, being one of 27 soldiers awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords...

inspected the base in February 1937 and presented the unit with its colors. Later that year, the people of Giebelstadt held a festival on the airbase as part of the celebration commemorating the town's 1100th year of existence.

Fliegergruppe Giebelstadt was later redesignated as "Kampfgeschwader 155" (KG 155) and was equipped with an early version of the Heinkel He 111

Heinkel He 111

The Heinkel He 111 was a German aircraft designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter in the early 1930s in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Often described as a "Wolf in sheep's clothing", it masqueraded as a transport aircraft, but its purpose was to provide the Luftwaffe with a fast medium...

Bomber (He 111A-0). KG 155 moved to Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

following the Anschluss

Anschluss

The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....

in 1938, being reassigned to Wiener Neustadt

Wiener Neustadt

-Main sights:* The Late-Romanesque Dom, consecrated in 1279 and cathedral from 1469 to 1785. The choir and transept, in Gothic style, are from the 14th century. In the late 15th century 12 statues of the Apostles were added in the apse, while the bust of Cardinal Melchior Klesl is attributed to...

.

KG 155 was replaced by the formation of Kampfgeschwader 53 "Legion Condor" (KG 53) in January 1939, being equipped also with He 111s. The bomber unit remained until August 1939, when at the brink of World War II

World War II

it was reassigned to Ansbach

Ansbach

Ansbach, originally Onolzbach, is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is situated southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the Fränkische Rezat, a tributary of the Main river. As of 2004, its population was 40,723.Ansbach...

where it engaged in operations over Poland. During the "Phony War" with the British and French, Kampfgeschwader 2 (KG 2), with Dornier Do 17

Dornier Do 17

The Dornier Do 17, sometimes referred to as the Fliegender Bleistift , was a World War II German light bomber produced by Claudius Dornier's company, Dornier Flugzeugwerke...

Zs between February and March 1940.

Luftwaffe use during World War II

At the beginning of World War II, aircraft from Giebelstadt flew support missions in conjunction with the German Blitzkrieg

Blitzkrieg

For other uses of the word, see: Blitzkrieg Blitzkrieg is an anglicized word describing all-motorised force concentration of tanks, infantry, artillery, combat engineers and air power, concentrating overwhelming force at high speed to break through enemy lines, and, once the lines are broken,...

, flying many missions against various targets in 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...

. As the war moved away from Giebelstadt, the base became a training facility for pilots, observers and radio operators from 1939 until 1941. I/KG 76 used the airfield from October 1940 to April 1941 to upgrade from Do 17s to Junkers 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...

As. III/KG 76 was stationed at the airfield during August/September 1941 and from April/May 1942, for rest and rearmament from duty in the Soviet Union. During 1943, Kampfgeschwader 100 (KG 100) moved in for R&R in May, exchanging He 111H's for newer Dornier Do 217

Dornier Do 217

The Dornier Do 217 was a bomber used by German Luftwaffe during World War II as a more powerful version of the Dornier Do 17, known as the Fliegender Bleistift . Designed in 1937 and 1938 as a heavy bomber, its design was refined during 1939 and production began in late 1940...

E/K model bombers.

At first, the sod airfield was circular with planes taking off and landing into the wind, whichever direction that happened to be. Beginning in 1944, Giebelstadt received a very long (3000m 9,100 ft) paved runway aligned 08/26 slightly to the east and south of the original 1935 airfield. In addition, other upgrades to facilities were included in the plans for Giebelstadt to be used for jet interceptor aircraft operations such as additional aircraft dispersal sites, an expansion of the fuel dump and other facilities. This in turn made a significant extension of the airfield. With this construction, the expanded air base site was about 250ha in size. Not only was the location of the airbase a closely held secret, the town name itself was banned from all maps of the region and can still be hard to find on some maps today. To hide the airfield from Allied reconnaissance aircraft, workers painted the runway to resemble a grassy field complete with fluffy white sheep.

In April 1944, jet aircraft arrived at Giebelstadt with Kampfgeschwader 54 (KG 54) and the Messerschmitt Me 262

Messerschmitt Me 262

A. In addition, testing of the Messerschmitt Me 163

Messerschmitt Me 163

The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet, designed by Alexander Lippisch, was a German rocket-powered fighter aircraft. It is the only rocket-powered fighter aircraft ever to have been operational. Its design was revolutionary, and the Me 163 was capable of performance unrivaled at the time. Messerschmitt...

A Rocket fighter took place. In March 1945, KG 54 was replaced by Kampfgeschwader 51 (KG 51) with newer model Me 262s, remaining until March 1945 when aircraft operation at the airfield became unsustainable.

The Jet aircraft at Giebelstadt drew the attention of the USAAF Eighth Air Force

Eighth Air Force

The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....

, with no less than five heavy bomber attacks on the airfield between September 1944 and March 1945. In addition, as Giebelstadt came in range of Ninth Air Force

Ninth Air Force

The Ninth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina....

B-26 Marauder

The Martin B-26 Marauder was a World War II twin-engine medium bomber built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in the Pacific Theater in early 1942, it was also used in the Mediterranean Theater and in Western Europe....

medium bombers and P-47 Thunderbolt

P-47 Thunderbolt

Republic Aviation's P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as the "Jug", was the largest, heaviest, and most expensive fighter aircraft in history to be powered by a single reciprocating engine. It was heavily armed with eight .50-caliber machine guns, four per wing. When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to...

fighter bombers in eastern France, attacks on the airfield by these tactical units with 500-pound General-Purpose bombs; unguided rockets and .50 caliber machine gun sweeps were frequent. These attacks would take place when Eighth Air Force

Eighth Air Force

The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....

heavy bombers (B-17s, B-24s) were within interception range of the Luftwaffe jets assigned to the base, with the attacks being timed to have the maximum effect possible to keep the interceptors pinned down on the ground and be unable to attack the heavy bombers.

World War II USAAF use

At the end of March 1945, the 12th Armored Division captured Giebelstadt and its airfield shortly before the end of the war in Europe. The airfield had been heavily bombed and Soldiers of the United States Army’s 12th Armored Division rolled into Giebelstadt capturing it unopposed. In the fields surrounding the base, the Army Soldiers found the burned out hulks of numerous bombers destroyed by the fleeing German forces.

On 5 April the IX Engineer Command 819th Engineer Aviation Battalion moved in and began patching the bomb craters of the airfield's concrete runway. Within a day the airfield was usable for C-47 Skytrain

C-47 Skytrain

The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...

transports for combat resupply and casualty evacuation (S&E) use, with the airfield being designated as Advanced Landing Ground

Advanced Landing Ground

Advanced Landing Ground was the term given to the temporary advance airfields constructed by the Allies during World War II in support of the invasion of Europe...

"Y-90 Giebelstadt". Combat units arrived on 20 April when the P-47 Thunderbolt

P-47 Thunderbolt

-equipped 50th Fighter Group began using the airfield, and the 417th Night Fighter Squadron arrived for night fighter defensive interceptor missions against any rogue Luftwaffe aircraft still in the skies.

Postwar USAF use

With the end of combat in Germany on 7 May, the combat units were withdrawn and Giebelstat became a garrison for the Army of Occupation, designated Army Air Force Station Giebelstadt. Repairing the damage to the airfield and the support area was performed, in large part, by German Prisoners of War, into 1946 and turning the airfield into a usable, long term facility to be used by the Air Force. The last POW was released from Giebelstadt on 20 August 1946.. Then, for nearly a decade after the war Giebelstadt airfield was used periodically by the Air Force until it was made a permanent United States Air Forces in Europe

United States Air Forces in Europe

airbase in 1956.

With the base and facilities undergoing repair, USAFE moved the 55th Fighter Group to Giebelstadt in April 1946 from Kaufbeuren Air Base

Kaufbeuren Air Base

Kaufbeuren Air Base is a German Air Force military airbase. It is currently the home of the Luftwaffe Technical School 1.-History:...

, equipped first with P-47s, then, due to the long runway, upgraded the unit to P-80 Shooting Star

P-80 Shooting Star

The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star was the first jet fighter used operationally by the United States Army Air Forces. Designed in 1943 as a response to the German Messerschmitt Me-262 jet fighter, and delivered in just 143 days from the start of the design process, production models were flying but...

jet aircraft later in 1946. General Carl A "Tooey" Spatz, Commanding General of the Army Air Forces, visited the base in July 1946, witnessing an aerial review of the newly acquired P-80 jet fighters. The 55th was inactivated in August due to budget reductions, the P-80s being reassigned to the incoming 31st Fighter Group which replaced the 55th. Giebelstadt was placed on "Standby" status due to budget reductions in September, with the 31st and its jets being moved to Kitzingen Air Base

Kitzingen Army Airfield

Harvey Barracks/Kitzingen Army Airfield is a former United States Army 1st Infantry Division facility in Germany, located about 2 miles east-northeast of Kitzingen , about 240 miles southwest of Berlin....

.

During 1947, with the airfield inactive, the war damaged and repaired German jet runway was replaced with a new, 7,200' runway, and additional facilities were upgraded and brought into service. New hangars were constructed along with a large concrete parking apron and in late 1947 was redesignated as Giebelstadt Air Base The new Strategic Air Command

Strategic Air Command

The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...

dispatched nine B-29 Superfortress

B-29 Superfortress

The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...

very heavy bombers of the 97th Bombardment Group to Giebelstadt to conduct training during temporary deployments to Europe. The last SAC personnel returned to the United States in January 1948, and afterward the facility was closed and placed on standby status due to budget reductions in the postwar era.

The US Air Force returned in April 1950, when the 603rd Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron

603rd Air Control Squadron

The 603rd Air Control Squadron is part of the 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano Air Base, Italy.-Mission:The specified mission of the 603rd ACS is to operate a mobile unit capable of providing radar control and surveillance within a designated area, to collect, display, and disseminate information of...

, stationed at Hof

Hof, Germany

Hof is a city located on the banks of the Saale in the northeastern corner of the German state of Bavaria, in the Franconia region, at the Czech border and the forested Fichtelgebirge and Frankenwald upland regions....

arrived at Giebelstadt AB as part of an Operational Readiness Test. In May they were placed on temporary status and finally in August 1950, Giebelstadt was made the home of the 603d, with the main mission of Giebelstadt becoming an Air Defense Radar Station, equipped with the Bendix AN/FPS-3.3A search RADAR. With the breakout 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...

, the usefulness of the airfield by the Air Force became limited, as Giebelstadt was simply too close to the East German border to station tactical aircraft. The flight time for jet aircraft from the border was less than 15 minutes, which meant little or no time was available to launch aircraft from the field before it coming under attack. The airfield, however, remained active as various MATS

MATS

MATS is an acronym standing for Measurements with an Advanced Trapping System, which is a Helmholtz research group for young investigators...

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...

transport units used the base during 1951-1952; then it was used by various transient transport aircraft throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

In July 1956 the 603d ACW departed for Langerkopf AS, and the RADAR station was taken over by the 602d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, which moved in from Birkenfeld AS. With the arrival, Giebelstat was upgraded to the AN/FPS-20 General Surveillance Radar and the AN/FPS-6 Long-Range Height Finder Radar.

Starting in 1956 Central Intelligence Agency

Central Intelligence Agency

The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...

Lockheed U-2

The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "Dragon Lady", is a single-engine, very high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency . It provides day and night, very high-altitude , all-weather intelligence gathering...

reconnaissance aircraft flew from the airfield. Detachment "A", with four U-2 aircraft, arrived at Giebelstadt from Wiesbaden Air Base in October 1956, the reason being that U-2 operations from the relatively isolated Giebelstadt would draw much less attention than from Wiesbaden. Towards the end of the year, Detachment A flew U-2s three times over Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

, Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

, Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

and Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....

. The Detachment was operational at Giebelstadt until 15 November 1957, when it was closed down, and U-2 operations were moved to Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

.

During the 1960s, F-102 Delta Dagger

F-102 Delta Dagger

The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was a US interceptor aircraft built as part of the backbone of the United States Air Force's air defenses in the late 1950s. Entering service in 1956, its main purpose was to intercept invading Soviet bomber fleets...

interceptors of the 86th Air Division

86th Air Division

The 86th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the United States Air Forces in Europe, being stationed at Ramstein Air Base, West Germany...

used the base frequently as a forward base from their home bases west of the Rhine. The departure of the F-102 from USAFE and budget reductions in the Air Force led to the departure of the 602nd ACW in July 1968. Giebelstadt Air Base and all of its facilities were transferred to United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

control in August 1968.

United States Army use

Many Army units came and went over the years, but in recent time the airfield hosted the 4th Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized) flying mostly AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters and UH-60 Blackhawk transport helicopters.The 4th Brigade left Giebelstadt in early 1992, replaced by AH-64 Apache attack helicopters of the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, and UH-60 Blackhawk and OH-58 Kiowas of the 12th Aviation Brigade. Air Defense Artillery (ADA) continued to play a major role on the airfield with the presence of the 6th Battalion, 52nd ADA Regiment, with its Hawk missile batteries and the senior officer on post commanding the 69th ADA Brigade. In 1993, the Apache helicopter and Hawk ADA units deactivated and a CH-47 Chinook company arrived from Schwaebisch Hall Army Airfield. In 1994, the OH-58 Kiowa units disbanded as the aircraft returned to the states for conversion to armed OH-58 Kiowa Warriors.

Also in 1994, tragedy struck the Giebelstadt military community in April when two Blackhawk helicopters of the 5th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment, assigned to Giebelstadt were mistakenly shot down by USAF F-15's over Iraq. All 26 people were killed, including eight Giebelstadt crew members.

In 1995, the primary units on Giebelstadt Army Airfield are: the 69th ADA Brigade, the 5th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment(UH-60's); A Company, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment (CH-47s; and B Company, 7th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment (Third Corps Support Command aircraft maintenance), US Air Force units on Giebelstadt AAF are Det. 10, 617th Weather Squadron, providing weather support for the airfield and to the 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized) headquartered in Wuerzburg, and OL-C, 617th Comm Squadron, providing maintenance support for meteorological and navigation equipment in the area.

The Department of Defense announced on 29 July 2005 plans for the return of eleven Army bases to Germany in fiscal year 2007. These installation returns were scheduled as part of plans for the 1st Infantry Division headquarters' return to the United States with its divisional flag in the summer of 2006.

As part of this redeployment, Giebelstadt Army Airfield was closed by the United States Army on 23 June 2006.

Current use

After being turned over to the German government in 2006, Giebelstadt Airfield has become a commercial airport used by general aviation aircraft (see Giebelstadt Airport

Giebelstadt Airport

Giebelstadt Airport is a general aviation airport located in Germany, southwest of Giebelstadt ; approximately 250 miles southwest of Berlin....

).

Due to the frequent wartime bombing attacks, much of the wartime airfield was destroyed. Almost all of the buildings on the airfield are of postwar vintage, although the modern buildings are constructed in a traditional German style. In the town of Giebelstadt, many of the buildings used for personnel barracks and housing still exist and still are being used. The original circular airfield still exists, in part, and some wartime concrete hardstands remain. A pre-war Luftwaffe hangar which was repaired remains to the west side of the original airfield, connected to an enclosing taxiway and some aircraft parking hardstands. The 1944 extension with the extended length jet runway remains, with the taxiways and hardstands for Me 262 use remaining. The runway, reduced in length in 1947 still has part of its wartime concrete remaining between the Bundesstraße

Bundesstraße

Bundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...

19 (B-19) highway and the current runway 20 (west) end. Remains of the original B-19 highway, which was cut in 1944 when the jet runway was built, still remain to the south of the airfield, today being a single lane farm road running north-south that intersects the airfield about midway between the runway ends. In the neighboring town of Wolkshausen, south of the airfield, the old B-19 is still known as "Giebelstadter Straße"

External links

Giebelstadt Airfield (In German - Many photographs over the years)

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Origins

Luftwaffe use during World War II

World War II USAAF use

Postwar USAF use

United States Army use

Current use

See also

External links