Kaufbeuren Air Base
| Kaufbeuren Air Base | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Characteristics | |
| ICAO code | ETSK |
| Coordinates | |
| Height above MSL | 728 m (2388 ft ) |
| Transport links | |
| Distance from the city center | 1 km south of Kaufbeuren |
| Street | Apple Tranger Street |
| Local transport | bus |
| Basic data | |
| opening | 1935 |
| operator | armed forces |
| surface | 231 ha |
| Start-and runway | |
| 02/20 | 1833 m × 30 m asphalt with anti-skid surface |
The air base Kaufbeuren is a military airfield of the air force of the Wehrmacht and later of the air force of the German armed forces on the outskirts of the city of Kaufbeuren in Bavaria.
location
The air base is located on a hill above Kaufbeuren. Of its 231 hectares, 216 hectares are in Kaufbeuren, 15 hectares belong to the area of the municipality of Ruderatshofen . There are around 190 buildings with an area of around 160,000 m² on the site. In addition to 16 lecture halls and 25 accommodation buildings, there are 15 training halls, 30 storage halls, 17 administration and 6 support buildings. In addition, there are a large number of small and medium-sized buildings that are typical of the airport. Outside the fenced area there are further accommodation and social buildings on Apfeltranger Straße, which are currently used by Bundeswehr personnel.
history
In 1934 the city of Kaufbeuren sold the property on Apfeltrangerstraße to the German Reich, on which the "Tänzelhölzle", a small wooded area with the Tänzelfest dance area with a labyrinth, was previously located. Construction began in 1934 and the Reich Labor Service was busy, among other things . The first recruits were officially welcomed on October 29, 1935 by Mayor Hans Wildung and other town officials. The first permanent staff of the newly established aviation training center in Kaufbeuren arrived at the facility on September 16, 1935. The first commander of an aviator replacement department was the later mayor of Kaufbeur, Karl David (from 1938: Karl Deinhardt) , who had only been appointed lieutenant colonel a few weeks earlier. From October 1, 1936, Flieger-Ersatz -teilung 25 was stationed and became Flieger-Ersatz -teilung 23 on November 1, 1938, both under the direction of Deinhardt. On April 1, 1939, the Aviator Training Regiment 23 was formed, which consisted of the 1st Training Battalion of the Aviator Replacement Department 23 and the Kaufbeuren pilot school.
In the pre-war period, international training was provided at the Kaufbeuren air base: in 1938 there were Spaniards and Romanians, and in 1939 there were Bulgarians for training at the air base. In addition to the training unit, an air base company was stationed at the air base for guarding, earth defense, air defense and supplying the flying forces. In November 1939 the pilot training unit and the pilot school were relocated. The training battalion was relocated to Döberitz-Elsgrund, the pilot school to Jüterbog-Damm , instead a transport unit was stationed at the air base . From May 1940 until the end of the war the pilot school was again stationed in Kaufbeuren. The flight training battalion returned to Kaufbeuren in June 1940 and was relocated to Belfort and Montbéliard in the summer of 1942. The successor was now a replacement battalion, which was responsible for supplementing material and personnel of the Africa Corps. At the same time soldiers from the North African front came to Kaufbeuren to relax. From April to June 1942, liaison squadron 62, which was dissolved in November 1941, was reorganized in Kaufbeuren and flew to the southern Russian front on June 14, 1942. From August to October 1944 the III./KG 26 (III. Gruppe of Kampfgeschwader 26) was based here.
The air base was marked on the maps of the Allied air forces, but was only indicated as a substitute target throughout the course of the war and, together with the city, was spared major air raids. The air surveillance was controlled from the "ski hut" in Oberbeuren, about a kilometer away . The flight reporting and evaluation center was stationed in the building, which was raised on a slope. This was to warn the air base crew of approaching enemy aircraft. In this case, the air base was evacuated and the ski hut was used as the command post for the commanding officers.
End of the war and takeover by the US Air Force
The pilot school was officially closed on April 2, 1945, and a combat battalion was formed from the soldiers who were still present. On the morning of April 27, 1945, the air base was completely cleared. The American ground forces found an abandoned but largely intact air base.
After the Second World War, Airfield R.70 was used as the "Kaufbeuren Air Base" by the United States Army Air Forces (from 1947 United States Air Force ), the original Allied code designation after it was occupied by the Americans . The facility was handed over to the Federal Republic of Germany on December 14, 1957 and continued to be used as an air base for the newly founded Bundeswehr .
Continued operation as a technical school for the Bundeswehr
The Technical School "K" in Kaufbeuren started training as early as 1956 , and on November 22, 1956 it was renamed Technical School of the Air Force 1 ( TSLw 1 ). With an appeal in Faßberg, Lower Saxony, on December 18, 2013, TSLw 1 was dissolved and merged with TSLw 3 to form the Air Force Technical Training Center (TAusbZLw). The Kaufbeuren Air Base and its staff will function as the "South Office" of the TAusbZLw from January 1, 2014.
The planning provided for the branch office to move to Lagerlechfeld , which was postponed several times, and last for 2028.
In August 2019, the Federal Ministry of Defense announced that the property would not be given up as part of the trend reversal in terms of personnel and material.
In addition, the location is now to become the basis of a medical regiment and a military police company.
use
The facility currently houses the Air Force Technical Training Center , South Department, and is used by the local Luftsportverein Kaufbeuren eV for sport flying, glider flying and as a helicopter base. Military flight operations only take place in exceptional cases.
Concept for future use
Air traffic control training for the Bundeswehr: The training for military air traffic control (tower and radar, as well as flight advice and flight operations) was given on January 1, 2017 by the Air Force Technical Training Center at Kaufbeuren Air Base to the newly founded Kaufbeuren ATM Training GmbH (subsidiary of DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH ), which has since carried out the training and further education of all military air traffic control personnel as part of a public-private partnership in cooperation with the Bundeswehr.
literature
- Peter M-. Roese: Allgäu Sixties . INFO Verlag, 2011, ISBN 3-88190-630-4 .
- 50 years of Kaufbeuren Air Base 1935–1985, Festschrift, Kaufbeuren 1985
- Luftwaffe, Richard Drexl (Ed.): Chronicle: Technical School of the Air Force 1 . Luftwaffe, Kaufbeuren 2013.
- Christiane Amann: Kaufbeuren in the Second World War (1939–1945), approval work d. University of Augsburg (holdings: Stadtarchiv Kaufbeuren)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original dated February 3, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.ww2.dk/ground/infanterie/flausb23.html
- ↑ http://www.ww2.dk/air/misc/ver62.html
- ↑ Henry L. deZeng IV: Luftwaffe Airfields 1935-45 Germany (1937 Borders) , pp. 330–331 , accessed on September 19, 2014
- ↑ US ARMY AIR Forces Continental Airfields (ETO) D-DAY TO VE DAY ( Memento of the original from September 29, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 2.4 MB) p. 40
- ^ The year 1956. In: Chronicle. bundeswehr.de, August 7, 2012, accessed on August 30, 2012 : "The technical school" K "is starting training in Kaufbeuren."
- ↑ Restructuring of the technical schools. In: Chronicle. bundeswehr.de, August 7, 2012, accessed on March 21, 2015 : "The technical school" K "is renamed the Technical School of the Air Force 1 (TSLw 1)."
- ↑ Space for the trend reversals. Federal Ministry of Defense - Head of the Press and Information Office, August 1, 2019, accessed on August 5, 2019 .
- ^ Bundeswehr stays in Kaufbeuren. Süddeutsche Zeitung, July 14, 2019
