Zweibrücken Air Base

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38th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron RF- 4C aerial view of Zweibrücken Air Base, taken on September 18, 1979

Today the Zweibrücken airfield is used for civilian purposes on the site of the former Zweibrücken Air Base .

history

Zweibrücken Air Base was first used by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and then handed over to the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) in 1969 .

Construction of the air base was initiated by French military engineers and German construction companies in 1950 on a section of the former Siegfried Line. The destroyed remains of some of the bunkers of the old fortifications can still be seen today.

Construction work was completed by the end of 1952. The base was financed by the USAF, but from January 6, 1953 under the control of the RCAF.

Active time at Zweibrücken Air Base

Stationed units

The 26th TRW and the 38th TRS were stationed in Zweibrücken; Both were pure reconnaissance units and not combat units. In addition to the flying personnel, several other units were also stationed in Zweibrücken.

  • 26th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing

  • 38th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron

  • 10th Military Airlift Squadron

  • 26th Aircraft Generation Squadron

  • 26th Civil Engineers Squadron

  • 26th Component Repair Squadron

  • 26th Combat Support Group

  • 26th Security Police Squadron

  • 26th Supply Squadron

  • 601st Tactical Control Squadron

  • Zweibrücken AFB fire department

photos

  • Alarm crew at the AFB Zweibrücken

  • The last RF-4Cs left Zweibrücken on April 12, 1991

  • Flugower Zweibrücken

  • Old entrance to the AFB Zweibrücken

Incidents

Crash of an F-4 Phantom near Zweibrücken

On November 6, 1985, a US Air Force RF-4C Phantom with the registration number 69-0364 ZR crashed about 20 km north-east of Zweibrücken. Both inmates were able to save themselves with the ejection seat.

Collision between two F-15s

On January 6, 1986, two F-15 Eagle aircraft collided over Zweibrücken . One pilot died, one machine fell into a garden in Rimschweiler and killed a pensioner, the other machine went down in a forest near Bottenbach . Five other people were injured.

Crash of an F-4 from Zweibrücken near Kaiserslautern

On February 18, 1988, an RF-4C Phantom with the registration number 68-0563 ZR crashed near Iggelbach , 17 km southeast of Kaiserslautern. The crew (CD Finney and SN Kohler) were able to save themselves with an ejection seat.

Crash of an F-4 from Zweibrücken

On May 15, 1990, the RF-4C Phantom (code 72-0151) crashed over the runway after failure of the controls. The crew (DS Irons and JA Moore) were able to save themselves using an ejector seat.

Whereabouts of the aircraft

number Whereabouts
63-7583 F-4C Hermeskeil Museum
64-1001 ZR RF-4C to South Korea 11.1990
67-0469 ZR RF-4C converted to a QRF-4C
68-0555 ZR RF-4C converted to a QRF-4C; shot down 1.4.1997
68-0558 ZR RF-4C Crashed on January 30th, 1975 Beltersrot (near Schwäbisch Hall)
68-0560 ZR RF-4C Crashed on April 27, 1979 in Yorkshire, England
68-0562 ZR RF-4C converted to a QRF-4C
68-0563 ZR RF-4C Crashed on February 18, 1988
68-0564 ZR RF-4C converted to a QRF-4C; shot down 25.3.1998
68-0566 ZR RF-4C Crashed 3/28/1979 South Scotland
68-0567 ZR RF-4C converted to a QRF-4C
68-0568 ZR RF-4C converted to a QRF-4C
68-0570 ZR RF-4C Issued Austin, Texas
68-0571 ZR RF-4C converted to a QRF-4C
68-0580 ZR RF-4C converted to a QRF-4C June 2011; shot down May 12, 2015
68-0587 RF-4C Hermeskeil Museum
68-0588 ZR RF-4C Accident on May 16, 1977
68-0589 ZR RF-4C Used in the Gulf War 1991. Afterwards converted to a QRF-4C June 2011; shot down 7.5.2015
68-0595 ZR RF-4C AMARC, FP170
68-0596 ZR RF-4C AMARC, FP171
68-0599 ZR RF-4C converted to a QRF-4C April 2012, last QRF-4C
68-0602 ZR RF-4C AMARC, FP172
68-0609 ZR RF-4C converted to a QRF-4C April 2012
69-0350 ZR RF-4C Issued Boise, Idaho
69-0356 ZR RF-4C converted to a QRF-4C
69-0361 ZR RF-4C AMARC, FP329
69-0364 ZR RF-4C Crashed on November 6, 1985
69-0365 ZR RF-4C AMARC, FP248
69-0366 ZR RF-4C to South Korea in December 1989
69-0367 ZR RF-4C Issued at Goodfellow AFB, Texas
69-0368 ZR RF-4C AMARC, FP342
69-0369 ZR RF-4C converted to a QRF-4C
69-0370 ZR RF-4C converted to a QRF-4C June 2011; shot down 8/21/2014
69-0371 ZR RF-4C Crashed on July 1st, 1986 near Leimen (Pirmasens)
69-0372 ZR RF-4C Issued Hampton, Virginia
69-0373 ZR RF-4C Crashed on August 18, 1983 in Karup AB, Denmark
69-0374 ZR RF-4C AMARC, FP330
69-0381 ZR RF-4C Crashed September 22, 1987
71-0254 ZR RF-4C AMARC, FP800
72-0146 ZR RF-4C Crashed in July 1986, sea near Wales
72-0151 ZR RF-4C Crashed on May 15, 1990 near Zweibrücken
72-0153 ZR RF-4C AMARC, FP822

Ice rink

An ice rink was built on the site of the Air Base in 1955, which is named after the initiator Peter Cunningham Memorial Arena . The stadium was initially the home of the Royal Canadian Air Force Flyers, an ice hockey team made up of local Canadian soldiers. Today it is the venue of the EHC Zweibrücken Hornet and several hobby teams.

Web links

Commons : Zweibrücken Air Base  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Accident Report RF-4C 69-0364 , Aviation Safety Network WikiBase (English), accessed on 20 June 2016th
  2. ↑ 2 The After 2 US Jets Collide in Germany. In: New York Times . January 8, 1986, accessed June 29, 2013 .
  3. ^ Accident report on the collision of January 7, 1986, here for F-15C 79-0061 , Aviation Safety Network WikiBase , accessed on May 13, 2017.
  4. ^ Accident report on the collision of January 7, 1986, here on F-15C 80-0032 , Aviation Safety Network WikiBase , accessed on May 13, 2017.
  5. ↑ USAF 1968 Serials, Joe Baugher , accessed June 20, 2016.
  6. ↑ Accident Report RF-4C 68-0563 , Aviation Safety Network WikiBase (English), accessed on 20 June 2016th
  7. ↑ ejection-history.org.uk: McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, All Losses in USAF, USN & USMC Service (Part 11) ( Memento of the original from October 25, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ejection-history.org.uk
  8. ↑ Accident Report RF-4C 72-0151 , Aviation Safety Network WikiBase (English), accessed on May 13, 2017th