Eschwege Airfield is a former military airfield located in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in the northwest part of

Eschwege Eschwege (), the district seat of the Werra-Meißner-Kreis, is a town in northeastern Hesse, Germany. In 1971, the town hosted the eleventh ''Hessentag'' state festival. Geography Location The town lies on a broad plain tract of the river Wer ...

(Hessen); approximately 170 miles southwest of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. Fliegerhorst Eschwege was used during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

by the German

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

as a transport and support airfield. It was seized in early April 1945 by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and used as a

Ninth Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint De ...

combat airfield until the end of the war in Europe. It was closed in January 1946 and was used as a

displaced persons camp A refugee camp is a temporary Human settlement, settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for interna ...

until 1949. The airfield/camp was subsequently dismantled and the facility redeveloped into an industrial area.

History

Eschwege was opened as a Luftwaffe airfield in 1937 as a

Junkers Ju 52 The Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed ''Tante Ju'' ("Aunt Ju") and ''Iron Annie'') is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers. Development of the Ju 52 commenced during 1930, headed by German Aeros ...

transport airfield, with Kampfgeschwader 25 (KG 25) being formed at the airfield in April 1937. The airfield was used as a transport and support airfield throughout

, with numerous Luftwaffe ground units being formed there and then moved to combat assignments elsewhere. The Luftwaffe, 1933-45
/ref> The airfield was captured by

forces in early April 1945. The IX Engineering Command 825th Engineering Aviation Brigade moved in about 6 April and cleared mines and other wreckage from the field, declaring it operationally ready for Allied combat aircraft on 7 April. It was designated as

Advanced Landing Ground Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs) were temporary advance airfields constructed by the Allies during World War II during the liberation of Europe. They were built in the UK prior to the invasion and thereafter in northwest Europe from 6 June 19 ...

"R-11 Eschwege". The

67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group 67 may refer to: * 67 (number) * one of the years 67 BC, AD 67, 1967, 2067 * ''67'', a 1992 song by Love Battery from the album ''Between the Eyes'' * 67 (rap group), a drill music group from London See also * 67th Regiment (disambiguation) * 67t ...

moved in on 10 April and remained until July, flying photo-reconnaissance missions from the airfield using a variety of aircraft.Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. .Johnson, David C. (1988), U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO), D-Day to V-E Day; Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center, Maxwell AFB, Alabama. After the end of the war, the airfield was turned over to

Air Technical Service Command The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

, and became a facility for the scrapping of captured Luftwaffe aircraft and other German military equipment. It was closed at the end of 1945. It became a displaced persons (DP) camp in January 1946, housing approximately 1,770 Jews at the time of its opening. At its peak, on October 19, 1946, Eschwege housed roughly 3,355 Jews. The camp closed on April 26, 1949. Today the site is an industrial area, with some of the original structures still remaining.Fliegerhorste.de - Eschwege
(German), site retrieved August 19, 2012.

References

External links

{{USAAF 9th Air Force UK Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Germany Airports established in 1937 Airports in Hesse