Alten-Buseck special ammunition depot
 SAS Alten-Buseck / Daubringen
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| country | Germany | ||
| local community |
Buseck , district of Giessen |
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| Coordinates : | 50 ° 38 ' N , 8 ° 45' E | ||
| Opened | 1960, 1988 withdrawal of US nuclear weapons |
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| Formerly stationed units | |||
| 30th USAAD Artillery Escort Battery 5 |
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Location of the Alten-Buseck special ammunition depot in Hesse |
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The special ammunition storage Alten-Buseck , during the operating period as special ammunition storage Daubringen referred (English: Special Ammunition Storage - SAS ), was a custodian of NATO for tactical nuclear weapons . It was built in the early 1960s and was located in the district of Alten-Buseck in the municipality of Buseck , 8 km northeast of the city of Gießen . The next village was Daubringen, 1 km northwest, a district of Staufenberg after it was named. Directly south-east of the camp there was a munitions depot of the Bundeswehr (Corps Depot 354) with 45 ammunition warehouses. The teams were housed in the Steuben barracks . While the special ammunition depot was cleared by the Americans in the 1980s shortly before the end of the Cold War , the Bundeswehr depot and barracks remained in place until 1993.
Structure of the depot
The outlying depot was developed like a fortress, had a triple fence and fighting stalls that could only be reached via concrete trenches (partly underground). Microwave sensors monitored the surrounding area, and at night the area around the fence was lit as bright as day by strong spotlights. Large signs in English and German indicated that the restricted area around the depot may not be entered and that taking photos or making sketches is prohibited (see gallery). Even the few buildings had the character of a fortress: doors were secured by kinking concrete walls or sandbags and additional alarms, and there were loopholes everywhere .
There were two bulletproof watchtowers on which rotating searchlights were installed, and the towers had bulletproof windows and notch flaps through which firing could be made if an attack was attempted. Thus it was impossible to take the depot in one fell swoop, e.g. B. from a terrorist group, who also had to expect that reinforcements would be summoned from a nearby barracks near Gießen (7 km as the crow flies) within a very short time. Every now and then there was false alarm, mostly triggered by rabbits or other game that came too close to the microwave sensors (see gallery).
Atommunition
The two Special Weapon bunkers for the nuclear explosive devices were secured three times: once by a kind of wire cage front structure, which was supposed to take away armor-piercing weapons, then by a bunker-standard steel bulkhead and inside again by a solid steel bulkhead. The entire atomic ammunition of the 5th Panzer Division of the Bundeswehr , based in Diez (60 km southwest) , was stored there . Specifically, these were the nuclear weapons for Artillery Regiment 5 in Diez an der Lahn, to which the FArtLBtl 51 (teaching battalion at the Artillery School in Idar-Oberstein ) and the RakArtBtl 52 in Giessen were subordinate. The FArtLBtl 51 had a battery of M110 self-propelled howitzers with a caliber of 203 mm for nuclear projectiles with W33 warheads. From 1960 the RakArtBtl 52 had 3 batteries and a total of 6 rocket launchers of the Honest John short-range rocket . In addition, from 1972 Panzer Brigade 6 in Neustadt (35 km northeast) had a battery with M109 self-propelled howitzers of 155 mm caliber for W48 nuclear projectiles. The nuclear warheads for these three weapon systems were stored in the Alten-Buseck special ammunition depot at different times.
The fact that the weapons of the Bundeswehr were equipped with nuclear warheads or nuclear projectiles from the US Army happened within the framework of nuclear participation within NATO . The Americans always retained control of their nuclear explosives until the weapons were shot down. While the Germans checked the area around the depot, kept every visitor away and also patrolled between the fences, the inside was exclusively guarded by the US Army and the nuclear weapons were maintained by it. In the event of an emergency, the transport to and assembly of the respective weapon system was carried out solely by the Americans, who also had the activation codes for the nuclear weapons or were informed by a higher authority if an attack by Warsaw Pact troops had occurred. The nuclear weapons were usually transported by helicopter, for which there was a large free space in the inner area of the depot where two CH-47 Chinook transport helicopters could land next to each other (see photos on www.geschichtsspuren.de).
Location of the former special ammunition dump between Daubringen and Alten-Buseck
Walled-up bunker for nuclear ammunition as today's accommodation for bats (2019)
Warning signs in the vicinity of the depot (no longer available)
A long-range microwave sensor at the Giessen special ammunition depot, 5 km south
Self-propelled howitzers M110 suitable for firing atomic projectiles, east of Giessen in 1985
True to the original model of a W48 nuclear projectile used by the US Army for the M109 self-propelled howitzer
Former facilities of the US Army and the Bundeswehr near Giessen
Guard service
Both the German escort battery 5 (BGL 5), which was responsible for the external security of the camp, and the US guard teams in the inner area were housed in the Steuben barracks . The Americans had the so-called Security Alert Team (SAT) within the camp for the immediate guard duty and the Backup Alert Force (BAF1) on standby. The SAT consisted of two crew ranks and one non-commissioned officer; Usually these were the soldiers who had previously been on duty for two hours on the main tower, which was adjacent to the guard building. The SAT had to be ready for action within 30 seconds and everyone at his post. The BAF1 joined this in the event of an alarm and consisted of soldiers from the free watch. The BAF2 was located in the Steuben barracks and could be called in if necessary. Additional forces could be requested from Gießen ( US Army ) and Wetzlar ( Spilburg and Sixt-von-Armin barracks of the Bundeswehr ).
The roster for the SAT team ranks was structured as follows:
- 2 hours guard at the main tower
- 2 hours of SAT
- 4 hours off watch
- 2 hours guard side tower
- 6 hours off watch
Photos before demolition
- April 2015
Entrance gate, next to it unbridled vegetation of about 25 years
Front watchtower with bulletproof panes and shooting openings
Guard building in the entrance area and front watchtower
Concrete trenches, partly underground, today under water
One of several fighting stalls, once secured with sandbags
Free space in the inner area, served as a helipad
Triple fencing and powerful headlights in the rear
The two bunkers for atommunition in the inner area
Open standing nuclear weapons bunker with wire mesh protection
Inside a bunker, this is where nuclear ammunition was once stored
- May 2016
Second smaller watchtower in the rear area, overgrown
The "small" watchtower stood directly on the fence on a steel frame ...
... with loopholes, bulletproof discs and steel base plates
Demolition of the depot
At the beginning of 2018, the buildings and watchtowers were demolished and the rubble removed on behalf of the Buseck municipality . The concrete fighting stalls have also been demolished and the trenches have been filled with debris. Only the two bunkers for atommunition are still there, but the steel doors have been removed and the open bunkers walled up again, except for an entry and exit hole for bats and a "normal" lockable door. Originally one wanted to leave the front watchtower made of concrete as a nesting place for birds of prey, but since it was attached to the guard building, because it was accessed from there, its stability could no longer be guaranteed after its demolition and it had to be demolished as well. The entire area was then renatured.
See also
Neighboring former military facilities:
- Nike firing position Albach
- Giessen special ammunition depot
- Casting US depot
- Steuben barracks (Giessen)
- Casting Patriot missile position