Illesheim airfield
| Storck Barracks Illesheim Army Airfield |
|
|---|---|
|
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| Characteristics | |
| ICAO code | ETIK |
| IATA code | ILH |
| Coordinates | |
| Height above MSL | 325 m (1066 ft ) |
| Transport links | |
| Distance from the city center | 4 km southwest of Bad Windsheim |
| Street | B 470 |
| Basic data | |
| opening | 1936 |
| operator | US Army |
| surface | 164 hectares |
| Start-and runway | |
| 06/24 | 861 m × 27 m asphalt |
The Storck Barracks is a military airfield just south of Illesheim , formerly a military airfield of the Air Force of the Armed Forces was. Today the airfield is used as a helipad for the United States Army (US Army). This refers to the base as Illesheim Army Heliport (Illesheim AHP) or since 2015 as Illesheim Army Airfield ; the associated barracks are called Storck Barracks . Like the nearby Ansbach AHP , it belongs to the US Army Garrison (USAG) Ansbach.
The square is the main base of operations from operating in Europe the US Army Aviation regiments ( Combat Aviation Regiment ) which has a mix of AH-64 Apache - helicopter gunships and transport helicopters of the type CH-47 Chinook and UH / HH-60 Blackhawk operate.
history
Air Force Air Base
The air base was built between 1935 and 1936 and opened on October 1, 1936. Initially, the FFS B and FFS C pilot schools were located here until 1939, before the LKS 2 ( Air War School ) used the space from 1941 to 1942 . The following table shows selected active flying units (excluding school and supplementary associations) that were stationed at the Illesheim Air Base between 1937 and 1945.
| From | To | unit | equipment |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 1937 | June 1938 | III./KG 355 ( III.Group des Kampfgeschwaders 355) | |
| November 1938 | December 1938 | I./JG 143 (I. Group of Jagdgeschwader 143) | Arado Ar 68E , Messerschmitt Bf 109D |
| January 1939 | April 1939 | I./ZG 143 (I. Group of Destroyer Wing 143) | Arado Ar 68E, Messerschmitt Bf 109D |
| May 1939 | August 1939 | I./ZG 52 | Messerschmitt Bf 109D |
| March 1940 | May 1940 | III./KG 2 | Dornier Do 17Z |
| December 1940 | April 1941 | III./KG 76 | Dornier Do 17Z, Junkers Ju 88A |
| May 1943 | September 1943 | I./KG 51 | Junkers Ju 88A-14, Messerschmitt Me 410A-1 |
| September 1943 | December 1943 | III./KG 51 | Junkers Ju 88A-4, Messerschmitt Me 410A-1 |
| March 1944 | June 1944 | I./NJG 6 (I. Group of Nachtjagdgeschwader 6) | Messerschmitt Bf 110 |
| May 1944 | June 1944 | III./JG 54 | Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6 |
In mid-April 1945 the airfield cleared by the withdrawing German troops was occupied by the US Army and, after a brief repair, was used as Airfield R.10 for a short time as an operational airfield by the Ninth Air Force of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). The P-47s of the 48th Fighter Group were lying here from the end of April, and from the beginning of May also those of the 362d Fighter Group . The "Thunderbolts" were withdrawn at the end of July 1945.
Illesheim Air Depot / Storck Barracks
After the fighter aircraft had withdrawn , the location was initially a maintenance and logistics location for the USAAF, and in May 1947 it was transferred to the United States Army , which renamed it Storck Barracks. A large number of different units of ground troops used the barracks in the following decades, including an aircraft company in 1957/59 with the 3rd Aviation Company and their U-1A .
In the winter of 1954/55, Illesheim became the location for helicopters of the American Army Aviation . Initially it was the H-19 of the 47th Medical Detachment (HA) , which was stationed here until August 1961. The next user was the H-37 of the 90th Aviation Company , which was stationed here until 1968 and then relocated to Hanau . 175 Aviation Company , which belonged to the 11th Aviation Group , was later located here .
Between 1985 and 1987, a flight simulator was built and in the same year, the first hit AH-64A Apache - combat helicopter of the newly prepared 2nd Squadron, 6th Cavalry in Illesheim one. In August 1988 Illesheim became the headquarters of the 11th Aviation Brigade (11th Avn Bde) previously stationed in Schwäbisch Hall and from 1990 a second "Apache" squadron came to Franconia with the 6th Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment .
The conversion to the AH-64D was completed in July 2002 for the 6th and 2004 for the 2nd season. After a reorganization that resulted in the deactivation of the 11th Avn Bde, the base housed two battalions of the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade (12th CAB), the 2-159th and the 3-159th, from 2006 to 2015, each with 24 AH- 64Ds Attack Reconnaissance Battalion (ARB).
On April 29, 2015, the United States Army announced an extensive troop reduction in connection with the restructuring of the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade ( 12th CAB ). The reduction began as early as the following August when the first Apaches were transported to Alaska and the 3-159th ARB in a row was disbanded. The 2-159th ARB was 2,015 in October 1-3rd ARB renamed and relocated some time later to Ansbach.
Todays use
Since the departure of the airborne units of the 12th CAB since 2016, the airfield has served as the main base of so-called "rotation units" of other combat brigades, which are temporarily relocated from the USA to Europe for a few months and also operate from other bases, mainly in eastern Central Europe.
Contingents
| date | Association (home base) | Number of helicopters | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 9, 2017 to November 7, 2017 | 10th CAB ( Fort Drum / NY), 1-501st ARB ( Fort Bliss / TX) | 85 | |||
| November 7, 2017 to July 2, 2018 | 1st Cavalry Division ( Fort Hood / TX) | 95, including the first AH-64 of the E series in Europe | |||
| July 2, 2018 to February 21, 2019 | 4th CAB ( Fort Carson / CO) | 89 | |||
| February 21 to November 1, 2019 | 1st CAB ( Fort Riley / KS) | 80 | |||
| November 1, 2019 to July 17, 2020 | 3rd CAB ( Fort Stewart / GA) | ||||
| since July 17, 2020 | 101st CAB ( Fort Campbell / KY) |
Web links
- Homepage of the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade
- Information about the 12th Aviation Brigade on the website of the city of Ansbach
- Private homepage about the US Army in Illesheim
Individual evidence
- ↑ Henry L. deZeng IV: Air Force Airfields 193,545 Germany (1937 Borders). Pp. 301-302. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
- ^ US Army Europe Public Affairs: Restructuring of the 12th Combat Helicopter Brigade. In: www.army.mil. Retrieved May 2, 2015 .
- ↑ First Apaches arrive in Alaska as Army reorganizes, Defense News, August 18, 2015 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as broken. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ 2-159th ARB Redesignation Ceremony, Army Aviation Magazine, accessed December 6, 2016
- ↑ Army Europe leaders want more helicopters to fill 'aviation deficit', Defense News, December 1, 2015 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ US Army is massively upgrading combat brigade in Franconia, Northern Bavaria, September 23, 2016
- ↑ Ramping up: US Army Europe building forces and capability, Janes, September 2017
- ^ Fort Hood-based air cavalry arrives in Europe for Atlantic Resolve rotation, Stripes, October 20, 2017
- ↑ Latest Apache Helicopters Arrive with 1st Air Cavalry in Europe, Military.com, November 9, 2017
- ↑ USAREUR, USAG Ansbach leaders welcome 4th Air Cavalry Brigade Soldiers to Europe, US Army homepage, July 2, 2018
- ↑ 1st Combat Aviation Brigade rotation to arrive in Europe, Stars and Stripes, January 25, 2019
- ^ Army rotational aviation forces transfer authority for Atlantic Resolve, US Army press release, November 4, 2019
- ↑ 101st CAB receives Operation Atlantic Resolve from 3rd CAB, DVIDS News Portal, July 22, 2020
