Giebelstadt airfield
| Giebelstadt airfield | |
|---|---|
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| Characteristics | |
| ICAO code | EDQG |
| Coordinates | |
| Height above MSL | 299 m (981 ft ) |
| Transport links | |
| Distance from the city center | 16 km south of Würzburg |
| Street |
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| Basic data | |
| opening | September 17, 1936 |
| operator | Flugplatz Giebelstadt GmbH |
| surface | 280 ha |
| Start-and runway | |
| 08/26 | 1982 m × 30 m concrete |
The airfield Giebelstadt is an airfield 16 km south of Wurzburg .
History of the airfield
Wehrmacht air base
The airfield was in 1935 as a military airfield built by the Air Force and at a military parade by on September 17, 1936 Adolf Hitler opened. The first aircraft to be stationed were Heinkel He 111 bombers belonging to Kampfgeschwader 53 , which was stationed in Giebelstadt at the beginning of World War II. Several missions were flown to the front in France from the Giebelstadt airfield during World War II; In addition, the first tests with the jet-powered Messerschmitt Me 262 and the rocket- powered Messerschmitt Me 163 were started here under strict secrecy . In order to keep these tests secret, the name "Giebelstadt" was deleted from all German maps. The Giebelstadt airfield was the target of heavy bombing attacks towards the end of the war. The damage to the air base was then repaired in 1944 by prisoners from the Flossenbürg concentration camp and they were also used to expand the air base. Even before the surrender of the German troops, the airfield was taken by the American 12th Armored Division and was used as Airfield Y.90 for a short time by the Ninth Air Force of the United States Army Air Forces .
The following table shows the complete list of all active flying units (excluding school and supplementary units) of the Wehrmacht Air Force that were stationed here between 1937 and 1945.
| From | To | unit | equipment |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 1935 | April 1936 | Fliegergruppe Giebelstadt | |
| April 1936 | October 1938 | I./KG 155 (I. Gruppe des Kampfgeschwader 155) | |
| July 1938 | May 1939 | III./KG 355 | |
| May 1939 | February 1940 | III./KG 53 | Heinkel He 111 |
| February 1940 | May 1940 | I./KG 2 | Dornier Do 17Z |
| October 1940 | March 1941 | I./KG 76 | Dornier Do 17Z, Junkers Ju 88A |
| June 1941 | June 1941 | III./KG 1 | Junkers Ju 88A |
| December 1941 | January 1942 | Staff, I./KG 77 | Junkers Ju 88A-4 |
| April 1942 | May 1942 | II./KG 76 | Junkers Ju 88A-4, Ju 88C-6 |
| August 1944 | September 1944 | III./KG 100 | Dornier Do 217K-2 , Do 217K-3, Do 217M-1, Do 217E-5 |
| August 1944 | March 1945 | Stab, I./KG(J) 54 | Messerschmitt Me 262A-2 , Me 262B-1 |
| March 1945 | March 1945 | Staff, I./KG 51 | Messerschmitt Me 262A-1, Me 262A-2 |
Giebelstadt Airfield / Air Base / Army Airfield
After the Second World War, the airfield was taken over by the United States Army Air Forces and was called "Giebelstadt Airfield" from then on. In 1947 the runway was extended to its current length. U2 spy planes were stationed here . From January 15, 1948 to 1950, the airport was closed and only manned by a guard. The United States Air Forces in Europe used the space until 1968.
The airfield was later used by missile units of the US Army and the German Armed Forces . From 1981 helicopter units of the United States Army were stationed in Giebelstadt .
Civil (shared) use
Various races were held on the airfield as early as the 1980s. These were motorcycle races in different classes, organized by the ADAC- Ortscub Würzburg , but also dragster races that were organized by the Hanau Auto Racing Association (HARA).
In 1994, the civilian joint use of the airfield was allowed by the Americans, who finally withdrew in 2006. By 2003 the runway was renovated by the Free State of Bavaria. From 2009 to 2011, 16 tons of duds from World War II were disposed of. In the period from 2006 to 2009, sport and business aviation operations were maintained by the resident aviation clubs, at times through voluntary activities.
The airfield was then acquired by a holding company consisting of the Giebelstadt market and the Knauf company .
The use of the airfield is also possible for "Zivile Mitbenutzen Flugplatz Giebelstadt GmbH", a merger of the companies Knauf, s.Oliver and Südzucker AG.
During the soccer world championship 2006 the team was transferred to various venues. The national team of Ghana , which was based in Würzburg during the World Cup , flew from Giebelstadt to their games. The Ecuadorian national team, based in Bad Kissingen , also used this facility.
In January 2010, the Northern Bavaria Aviation Authority granted approval for the operation of the Giebelstadt airfield as a commercial airfield. A maximum of 7500 aircraft movements may take place per year; flight operations are only permitted between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. In January 2012, an instrument approach procedure (GPS) was introduced for both approach directions.
The airfield became famous, among other things, through a weather balloon ascent by students from the Friedrich-Koenig-Gymnasium , who made video recordings from the stratosphere .
In 2006, and again in December 2012, it became known that the low-cost airline Ryanair wanted to include Giebelstadt in its flight schedule. Corresponding requests from Ryanair were repeatedly rejected by the operators of the Giebelstadt airfield. Among other things, it was found that such flights are technically and aviation law not possible.
literature
- Tustin, Joseph P .: From the Horse to the Jet Plane, a short history of Giebelstadt , 1947
- Decker, Karl-Heinz: History of the Giebelstadt Air Base 1933-1945, Verlag JH Röll, Dettelbach 2010, ISBN 978-3-89754-357-7
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Henry L. deZeng IV: Air Force Airfields 1935-1945 Germany (1937 Borders) , pp 218-220 , accessed on August 29, 2014
- ^ NATO airfield Giebelstadt; Renovation of the runway, accessed on April 25, 2018
- ↑ Christiane Gläser: The bomb search comes to an end . In: Wertheimer Zeitung of January 3, 2012
- ↑ Balloon rises into the stratosphere (Main-Post)
- ↑ SAT.1 report on the balloon launch by Lukas Maderner, Alexander Berndt, Gerd Biedermann, Marco Grimm, Timon Schmitt and Paul Reinhart ( Memento of the original from May 5, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ No, thank you - Ryanair airport undesirable ( memento from December 14, 2015 in the web archive archive.today ) Mainfranken24.de, accessed on December 14, 2015
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