Nike firing position Oedingen
 Nike firing position Oedingen
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| country | Germany | ||
| local community |
Lennestadt and Finnentrop , Olpe district |
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| Coordinates : | 51 ° 11 ' N , 8 ° 6' E | ||
| Opened | 1962, 1987 end of the Nike position |
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| Formerly stationed units | |||
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1./FlaRakBtl 22 52nd USAAD (Team B) |
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Location of the Nike firing position in Oedingen in North Rhine-Westphalia |
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The Nike fire position in Oedingen was a 16.08 hectare anti-aircraft missile position of the Federal Air Force during the Cold War . As part of the nuclear sharing of NATO tactical US would be in an emergency nuclear warheads were mounted on the missiles that were kept in a high-security bunker depot on the site of the fire position. The position belonged to NATO's air defense as part of the so-called Nike belt and was near Lennestadt - Oedingen in the Olpe district .
history
The 1st battery of the anti-aircraft missile battalion 22 (military short: 1./FlaRakBtl 22) was moved here from Cologne-Wahn in 1962. The other batteries of FlaRakBtl 22 were in Burbach ⊙ , Waldbröl ⊙ and Marienheide ⊙ ( deployment , see gallery). The LA (Launching Area) firing position was west of the hamlet of Obervalbert . The IFC (Integrated Fire Control) fire control and radar display was located approx. 1,700 meters northeast on the summit of the 583 m high Buchhagen in the municipality of Finnentrop . The soldiers who were not in the LA and IFC were housed in the Sauerland barracks about 1,100 meters to the east .
Map of the Nike position with launch area, radar position and Sauerland barracks
Three erect Nike Hercules rockets in the launch area of 1./FlaRakBtl 22, 1980
Aerial photo of the former Nike firing position in Oedingen, 2015
Earlier deployment (distribution) of FlaRakBtl 22
From 1962 to 1987 there were anti-aircraft missiles of the Nike Hercules type stationed there. Some of the missiles were equipped with nuclear weapons. The maximum number of W31 atomic warheads present at the same time was ten pieces, with an explosive force of two or 40 kilotons. In the 1970s the warheads with 40 kilotons were exchanged for those with 20 kilotons. The nuclear warheads were designed for surface-to-air and surface-to-ground missions up to a distance of 180 kilometers. The US Army , which withdrew in 1987, had control of the nuclear warheads . So the nuclear warheads were in US possession, while missiles etc. were in German possession. The 1987 US withdrawal also marked the end of the nuclear weapons storage facility.
From 1987 to 1992 the IFC (fire control station) was extensively converted into a Patriot FAST (peace training position). In the FAST 8 launchers of the Patriot anti-aircraft missiles were stationed in 6 launch positions, 2 launchers did not have their own launch position. The LA (fire position) was only used as a storage area by the German armed forces from 1987 to 2002.
The Patriot is a ground-based medium-range anti-aircraft missile system for defense against aircraft, cruise missiles and tactical medium-range ballistic missiles. From 1990 the battery in Oedingen became the 5th battery of FlaRakGrp 21 . In 2002 the unit was relocated to East Germany.
In the launch position there were three rocket hangars with three rocket launch pads for Nike Hercules each until 1987. Next to each rocket hall there was a bunker for the service teams. The rocket halls were normal halls which were used in a similar form in industry. These halls were only protected against attacks by earth walls. In addition to the three missile halls, there was also an assembly hall for work on the missiles and the warheads. There were also accommodation buildings for German and US soldiers. The position was secured by two fences, powerful searchlights and four bulletproof watchtowers. A dog handler with a sheepdog was patrolling between the two fences . In the inner area, excluding the operating teams, work could only be carried out in the company of one German and one US guard. The inner area comprised two halls with launch sites at the southwest end of the position.
To protect against attacking low-flying aircraft, 20 mm twin guns were available in the Sauerland barracks, which were only brought into the firing position and fire control position during exercises or would have been brought in in the event of war.
The firing position was manned and ready for use day and night in shifts. There were also three combat crews in Oedingen for the fire control and launch area. These combat crews took turns in a system of 48-hour shifts during the week and 72-hour shifts at the weekend. The four batteries of the FlaRakBtl 22 were in different readiness levels. One battery each had a response time of a maximum of 30 minutes, a maximum of three hours, a maximum of twelve hours and more than twelve hours. The reaction time meant the time in which a first missile could be launched.
Post-military use
The firing position had lay fallow since the Bundeswehr left. The fire control station on the Buchhagen is used by the Olpe district police for training purposes. Today the Sauerland Barracks industrial area is located on the site of the Sauerland Barracks . A wood processing company has settled in this industrial area.
In 2017, a 10 mega watt photovoltaic system was planned on the site of the fire position. For this purpose, the investor IBC Solar AG wants to lease the site from the Federal Agency for Real Estate Tasks , which administers the area for the Federal Republic, for 20 years. The State Office for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection of North Rhine-Westphalia raised an objection to the use, as there are poor meadow areas in the area which are a legally protected biotope according to § 30 BNatSchG and § 62 of the Landscape Act NRW. This low-growth, species-rich and lean grassland complex, which is worthy of protection, is particularly located in the steeper, south-facing embankments of the earth walls. There are species like Kleiner Wiesenknopf , Kleiner Odermennig , Tuberous Buttercup and Upright Trespe . The area was assigned great importance as a habitat for butterflies, grasshoppers and birds. The area is also a hunting ground for bats.
See also
- Nike firing position Albach
- Nuclear weapons in Germany
- Special ammunition depot
- Nike Hercules anti-aircraft missile
- Nike missile
- W31 nuclear warhead
Web links
literature
- Wilhelm von Spreckelsen, Wolf-Jochen Vesper: Blazing Skies: The history of the air defense missile troops of the Air Force. Isensee Verlag, Oldenburg 2004. ISBN 3-89995-054-2
Individual evidence
- ↑ If Magerwiesen switch off green electricity in Lennestadt Westfalenpost from March 30, 2017, accessed on March 30, 2017