Mainz-Finthen Airport ''(German: Flugplatz Mainz-Finthen)'' is an airport 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 ...

, located about southwest of

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

and approximately 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 ...

. The airport serves the

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

community, with no commercial airline service available. There are also a large number of

sailplane A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the leisure activity and sport of gliding (also called soaring). This unpowered aircraft can use naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to gain altitude. Sailplan ...

s at the airfield. The airport operator is holding Flugplatz Mainz Betriebsgesellschaft mbH on behalf of the former operator of the Mainz Aviation Club.

Facilities

In addition to the airfield operations, Mainz Finthen offers instructional training for helicopters, ultralight aircraft and

gyrocopters An autogyro (from Greek and , "self-turning"), also known as a ''gyroplane'', is a type of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. Forward thrust is provided independently, by an engine-driven propeller. Whi ...

. Powered flight and gliding training are also offered. The airport has a modern refueling system offering AvGas, Jet-A1 and premium gasoline. 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 ...

operates a

SIGINT Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ( ...

station at the airport. The geographically closest US Army unit is the

66th Military Intelligence Brigade The 66th Military Intelligence Brigade ("Six-Six-M-I" and 66th MIB) is a United States Army brigade, subordinate to United States Army Intelligence and Security Command and based at Wiesbaden Army Airfield, Wiesbaden, Germany. After years of histo ...

Wiesbaden Army Airfield Lucius D. Clay Kaserne (german: Flugplatz Wiesbaden-Erbenheim) , commonly known as Clay Kaserne, is an installation of the United States Army in Hesse, Germany. The ''kaserne'' is located within Wiesbaden-Erbenheim. Named for General Lucius D. C ...

. US Army also maintains an urban-warfare training facility consisting of a few houses at the Mainz Finthen airport. The airport has a commercial café and snack bar (open during summer flight season). The viewing platform offers a view over the airport operations.

History

The airport was first opened in 1939 as a

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 ...

military airfield (Fliegerhorst Ober-Olm). It was seized by the

in 1945, and used by the United States as a

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

facility (Finthen Army Airfield) until the end of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

. In 1992, the military airfield was returned to the Federal German government, which made it available to private operators as a civil airport. A

Radar station and a training facility remained at the airport.

Luftwaffe use 1939-1945

Originally named Fliegerhorst Ober-Olm, the airfield was built as a Luftwaffe military airfield, which opened in 1939. It was constructed by the Reich Labor Service from 1939 to 1942 as maintained by conscript laborers of the SS special camp

Hinzert Hinzert was a concentration camp in Nazi Germany, in what is now Rhineland-Palatinate, from the border with Luxembourg. Between 1939 and 1945, 13,600 political prisoners between the ages of 13 and 80 were imprisoned at Hinzert. Many were in tr ...

from 1942 until its capture by the United States Army in 1945. During the early part of

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 ...

, the Luftwaffe stationed several combat units at Ober-Olm during April and May 1940 in preparation for the attack in the West, those being: *

Jagdgeschwader 52 ''Jagdgeschwader'' 52 (JG 52) was a German World War II fighter ''Geschwader'' (wing) that exclusively used the Messerschmitt Bf 109 throughout the war. The unit originally formed near Munich in November 1938, then moved to a base near Stuttga ...

(JG 52),

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

E fighters *

Jagdgeschwader 76 ''Jagdgeschwader'' 76 (JG 76) was a Luftwaffe fighter-wing of World War II. JG 76 was first formed in 1939 in Wien-Aspern with only I. ''Gruppe'' (1st group). The ''Geschwader'' was renamed II./ Jagdgeschwader 54 on 4 July 1940. The ''Geschwad ...

(JG 76),

E fighters *

Kampfgeschwader 2 ''Kampfgeschwader'' 2 " Holzhammer " (KG 2) (Battle Wing 2) was a Luftwaffe bomber unit during the Second World War. The unit was formed in May 1939. The unit operated the Dornier Do 17 light bomber, Dornier Do 217 and Junkers Ju 188 heavy bo ...

(KG 2),

Dornier Do 17 The Dornier Do 17 is a twin-engined light bomber produced by Dornier Flugzeugwerke for the German Luftwaffe during World War II. Designed in the early 1930s as a ''Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") intended to be fast enough to outrun opposing a ...

Z light bombers From Ober-Olm JG 52 and 76 were involved in the air fighting during the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

, both units moving west along with the advancing German forces. (KG 2) (Battle Wing 2) fielded 36 Dornier Do 17s, with 22 aircraft serviceable. KG2 supported German Army Group A's crossing of the Meuse. It supported Heinz Guderian's Panzerkorps in the vicinity of Sedan during the battle of the 12–14 May. It also hit French Air Force airfields in Amiens, Reims, Champagne and Arras. It moved into France in early June. After the combat in France ended, Ober-Olm became a "

Defense of the Reich The Defence of the Reich (german: Reichsverteidigung) is the name given to the strategic defensive aerial campaign fought by the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany over German-occupied Europe and Germany during World War II. Its aim was to prevent the ...

" airfield, with numerous night fighter units (NJG) moving in and out until the spring of 1945. Allied Army units moved into the

area in mid-March 1945 as part of the

Western Allied invasion of Germany The Western Allied invasion of Germany was coordinated by the Allies of World War II, Western Allies during the final months of hostilities in the European theatre of World War II, European theatre of World War II. In preparation for the Allied ...

and Ober-Olm airfield was attacked by

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 ...

B-26 Marauder The Martin B-26 Marauder is an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II. The B-26 was built at two locations: Baltimore, Maryland, and Omaha, Nebraska, by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in t ...

medium bombers and

P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...

fighter-bombers to deny the retreating German forces use of the facility.

American wartime use 1945

P-51D 354FG Ober-Olm Fw190D wreck Apr1945

The airfield was taken by elements of the XII Corps, 90th Division, of the

Third United States Army Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hig ...

under the command of General George S. Patton, Jr. on 22 March 1945. Combat engineers from IX Engineer command moved in with the 832d Engineering Aviation Battalion arriving on 25 March 1945, to repair the runway for use by combat aircraft. The engineers laid down a 5000' Square Mesh (SMT) all-weather runway over the existing east–west (07/25) bomb-cratered concrete runway, and laid out a second 4000' sod runway aligned 08/26. The engineers also performed minimal repairs to the facility to make it operational. On 27 March, the airfield was declared ready for Allied use and 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 ...

"Y-64 Ober Olm". Once repaired, the

10th Reconnaissance Group 010 may refer to: * 10 (number) * 8 (number) in octal numeral notation * Motorola 68010, a microprocessor released by Motorola in 1982 * 010, the telephone area code of Beijing * 010, the Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the R ...

moved in, with photo-reconnaissance

P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive tw ...

(F-4) and

P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...

(F-5) aircraft to provide forward tactical reconnaissance to Army ground units moving into central Germany. On 8 April,

s of the

354th Fighter Group The 354th Fighter Group was an element of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Ninth Air Force during World War II. The unit was known as the Pioneer Mustang Group and was the first to fly the P-51B Mustang in combat. The group served as bombe ...

moved in and attacked German army units, bridges and other ground targets of opportunity throughout Germany. In addition to the combat units,

C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (Royal Air Force, RAF, Royal Australian Air Force, RAAF, Royal Canadian Air Force, RCAF, Royal New Zealand Air Force, RNZAF, and South African Air Force, SAAF designation) is a airlift, military transport ai ...

transports used the grass runway for combat resupply and casualty evacuation (S&E) missions constantly, moving munitions and supplies up to the battlefield and evacuating wounded to rear areas.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. With the end of the war, Ober Olm Airfield was closed on 20 June 1945. United States Army forces moved out of Ober Olm, as French forces moved into the Rhineland as part of their occupation zone of Germany.

Postwar/Cold War use

The airport was taken over by the French military in July 1945, and engineers moved in to clear the wartime wreckage and rebuild the facility. The wartime runways were removed and a new, 1,000-meter-long asphalt runway was laid down. In the spring of 1949, the French withdrew from the Rhineland (

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

after 30 August 1946) as part of the establishment of the

Federal Republic of 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 between ...

(German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland, BRD) on 23 May 1949. As part of their commitment to

, US Armed forces returned to the Mainz area and took over the airfield, which was renamed Finthen Army Airfield. As a result of the establishment of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

in 1947, the Army could use the airfield for helicopters, light LSO and observation aircraft only. Former stationed US Army units: 1960-1963 - 41 Transportation Battalion/245th Transport Company (medium helicopter) - 91st Transport Company (light helicopter) operating OH-13's and OH-23's - 7th Army Transportation Depot 1964-1977 - 8th Infantry Division/8th Aviation Battalion operating CH-34's, UH-1B's and OH-13's. Fixed-wing aircraft at the airfield included U-1A Otter and the Bearcat. 1973-1987 - F-Detachment 62nd Aviation Company operating 4x UH-1H and 2x OH-58 1969-1987 295th Aviation Company (10x CH-54 Heavy Helicopter and 1x UH-1H) and its support unit 326th Transportation Detachment. 1978-1987 - 8 Combat Aviation Battalion operating AH-1's activated on September 21, 1978 at Finthen Army Airfield with 5 companies and 116 helicopters. The battalion had 2 Attack Companies, 1 Combat Support Company and 1 Aviation Intermediate Maintenance Company (AVIM). Battalion HQ, attack and maintenance companies were located at Finthen Army Airfield. The Combat Support Company was dislocated at Bad Kreuznach and Baumholder Army Airfields. The CSC, with 41 aircraft, was the largest company in the battalion. Its mission was to support the divisional brigades, the Division Support Command, Division Artillery and the Division Command Group. The 2 attack companies, with 42x AH-1S Cobra/Tow, 6x UH-1 Utility, and 28x OH-58's observation helicopters, gave the division a mobile and flexible anti-armor capability. The OH58's and Cobras worked as teams, using Nap of the Earth flight techniques. The division's anti-armor capability was increased with the highly maneuverable asset when integrated with armor and infantry. The AVIM kept all the aircraft mechanically combat ready to perform the missions. 1973-1988 - TRANSCOM/4th Transportation Brigade/205th Aviation Company (assault support) operating 16x CH-47 cargo helicopters and 2x UH-1H's. Primary mission was providing air transportation of sensitive cargo (special weapons) in Europe. Secondary mission was providing air transportation support to USAFE. Supporting units: - US Army 66th Aviation Company Air Traffic Control - USAF 7th Weather Squadron, Detachment 12 On 16 and 17 November 1980, Holy Mass was celebrated by Pope John Paul II during his first major pastoral visit to Germany on the airfield with thousands of believers attending. In the course of the war of the United States against Libya in 1986/87, the area was cordoned off because of the increased need for security fencing and militarily.

Current use

With the end of the

and the subsequent reorganization of U.S. forces, Finthen Army Airfield began to be closed down beginning in December 1991. In September 1992 the airfield was decommissioned and the facility turned over the Federal Republic of Germany. Today however there is a small unit remaining which is being operated by the US Army 1st Military Intelligence Battalion. This TENCAP unit relocated in 2005 from Bad Aibling and is a SIGINT and IMINT gathering detachment which is operational from 2006. 1st Mil Intel Btn is under command of 66th Military Intelligence Brigade at the Lucius D.Clay Kaserne, Wiesbaden. Since the withdrawal of the US Army, the airfield has been operated by the Mainz Aviation Club beginning in 1994, and on 1 August 2008, turned over to a commercial airport operator. The airport has numerous World War II relics, the largest being the wartime German hangar. Several concrete dispersal hardstands can be found to the north side of the runway, along with the wartime parking apron. On the south side of the runway the wartime grass runway is still in use, along with the outline many dispersal pads and taxiways still visible in the grass area south of the runway. In addition to the airfield, many of the buildings in the former support area date back to their German wartime origins.

Mainz-Finthen Circuit

From 1964 to 1990, the airport hosted some car races, e.g. ″Internationales HMSC-Flugplatz-Rennen 1964″. From 1972 to 1983, the

Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft (translated as ''German Racing Championship'') or simply DRM as it was known, was a touring car and Sportscar racing series. It is regarded as a predecessor of the current DTM as Germany's top national series. Hist ...

raced in this circuit. The circuit also hosted the

Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft The Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) was a touring car racing series held from 1984 to 1996. Originally based in Germany, it held additional rounds elsewhere in Europe and later worldwide. The original DTM had resumed racing with producti ...

races from 1984 to 1990.

Lap records

The fastest official race lap record at the Mainz-Finthen Airport circuit are listed as:

References

External links

*
Flugplatz Mainz-Finthen (EDFZ)
Website of airport operator (in German). {{DTM circuits Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Germany Airports established in 1939 Transport in Mainz Defunct motorsport venues in Germany Sports venues in Rhineland-Palatinate Airports in Rhineland-Palatinate