Diepholz Air Base

Diepholz Air Base
Characteristics
ICAO code	ETND
Coordinates	52 ° 35 '13 "  N , 8 ° 20' 44"  E Coordinates: 52 ° 35 '13 "  N , 8 ° 20' 44"  E
Height above MSL	39 m (128  ft )
Transport links
Distance from the city center	1.5 km southwest of Diepholz
Street	Local road
Basic data
operator	Bundeswehr airfield Diepholz Betr. GmbH & Co. KG
Start-and runway
08/26	1283 m × 45 m asphalt

The diepholz air base is a military airfield and airfield classified airfield near Diepholz in Lower Saxony .

history

The history of the airfield extends from its planning in 1934 to the present day.

Planning, construction and commissioning 1934–1937

Planning for Diepholz Air Base began in early 1934. The Willenberger Marsch southwest of the city was chosen as a suitable site. The town of Diepholz bought the Junkernhäuser estate belonging to the Falkenhardt manor as a compensation area for expropriated farmers. At the end of 1934, aerial construction battalions and the Reich Labor Service began building the airfield. The runway was laid out as a 1000 m diameter lawn. In 1936 the "Luftpark Diepholz" took over the site as a logistics association and further buildings (barracks, workshops, storage and aircraft hangars) and a siding at Diepholz train station were built.

Pre-war use 1937–1939

After the airfield was completed, a bomber group from Kampfgeschwader 254 was stationed in Diepholz.

War years 1939–1945

At the beginning of the war until 1940, the II./Kampfgeschwader 4 with Heinkel He 111 and the Luftflotten-Nachrichtenenschule 2 were stationed here. In 1939, 14 new barracks were built in the northeast of the facility. At the beginning of 1940 the Luftflotten-Nachrichtenschule 2 was relocated to Bohemia again. Combat Squadron 4 was also relocated due to operations and the air park came to Seerappen in East Prussia. An extensive expansion and renovation was planned from 1940 to 1943. There should be three triangular runways. Only a concrete runway in west-east direction was implemented. For further protection, two flak positions were built in the area. During the years of renovation, there were a total of 13 air strikes by Allied air forces, which dropped 78 bombs in total. From 1943 night fighters were stationed in Diepholz due to the increasing number of Allied bomber units. A combined attack by the USAAF and the RAF on February 21, 1944 with 90 four-engine bombers caused severe damage to buildings, hangars and runway. No formations were deployed from here until the end of the war. British troops occupied the airfield on April 6, 1945.

Allies and post-war use 1945–1956

In 1945 the RAF used Diepholz airfield to return British prisoners of war to their homes. The barracks and barracks were then occupied by so-called displaced persons . After that, the military facilities were demilitarized and the remaining buildings were used by displaced persons from the eastern regions . Individual buildings were used by civil companies.

Military use from 1956 to the present day

In the summer of 1956 the first troops of the Bundeswehr Air Force arrived in Diepholz. The soldiers of the air base group began repairing the destroyed infrastructure and moving civil companies off the airfield. In April 1957, the A 21 supply group from Erding arrived in Diepholz. From it emerged the Air Force Supply Regiment 2 , which operated the airfield as the main user until December 31, 2012. In January 2013, most of the units were placed under Weapon System Support Center 2 .

On September 18, 2018, the Air Base Squadron was dissolved and reorganized as the Diepholz Air Force Support Squadron. The system center 21 was also dissolved and reorganized as a separate maintenance squadron helicopter squadron 64 (AbgInsthStff HSG 64 Diepholz).

In August 2019, the Federal Ministry of Defense announced that, contrary to previous plans, the property would not be given up as part of the trend reversal in personnel and material.

Civil use 1975 to the present day

In 1975 the AERO-Club Diepholz received a joint use contract for sport aviation from the Bundeswehr. This dual use repeatedly led to problems in the following years, since the airfield is a military security area . In 2000, a separate area for civil use was created in the south-east of the site, the Diepholz-Dümmerland airfield . Own parking and storage areas, a separate tower and halls outside the security area defused the situation. Furthermore, the Aero-Club Diepholz eV is active at the Diepholz-Dümmerland airfield with two club machines (Cessna C-172 and Socata TB-9).

Motorsport

A total of eleven racing weekends of the German Touring Car Championship and the International Touring Car Championship were held on the premises of the air base between 1984 and 1996 . The last 2,720 m long course was driven counter-clockwise and included parts of the taxiways, the apron and the runway on which the pit lane and the start-finish straight were.

See also

• List of air bases in Germany

Web links

• Diepholz-Dümmerland airfield
• Diepholz Air Base
• The Aero-Club Diepholz eV
• Diepholzer Luftsportverein eV
• Air base, history and importance for Diepholz

Individual evidence

1. ↑ New structure: "helicopter yard" now in the task force. Kreiszeitung.de, September 18, 2018
2. ↑ Space for the trend reversals. Federal Ministry of Defense - Head of the Press and Information Office, August 1, 2019, accessed on August 5, 2019 . 
3. ↑ motorsport-total.com: DTM> Database> Tracks> Diepholz
4. ↑ theracingline.net: Diepholz