Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force (4 ATAF) was a NATO

military formation Military organization or military organisation is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. In some countries paramilitary forces are included in a nation ...

under

Allied Air Forces Central Europe Allied Air Forces Central Europe (AAFCE) was the NATO command tasked with air and air defense operations in NATOs Allied Forces Central Europe (AFCENT) area of command. History Allied Air Forces Central Europe was activated on 2 April 1951 at Fon ...

tasked with providing air support to NATO's

Central Army Group Headquarters Allied Force Command Heidelberg (HQ FC Heidelberg) was a formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) responsible for providing deployable joint staff elements (DJSE) in support of NATO operations worldwide. It was hea ...

(CENTAG) in southern

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. 4 ATAF commanded all flying units based within its sector and all reinforcements flying into its sector, as well as ground-based radar systems and stations, air defense units and the airfields in its sector.

History

Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force was formed in 1951 with its area of responsibility covering the Germany south of the city of

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

. Commander of Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force at its inception was the commanding

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

of the American

Twelfth Air Force The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The command is the air component to U ...

based in the southwest of Germany. After Twelfth Air Force returned to the continental United States in 1958, the commander of

Seventeenth Air Force The Seventeenth Expeditionary Air Force (17 EAF) was a numbered air force of the United States Air Force located at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The command served the United States Air Forces in Europe during (1953–1996) and AFAFRICA, United Sta ...

took over command of Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force. Headquarters 4 ATAF moved several times over more than forty years. Established about 1951 at

Trier Air Base Trier Air Base, also known as Trier Euren Airfield, is a former military airfield located in the southwest of Trier, a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It was established in 1910. During World War I it was used by the Deutsche Luftstreitkr� ...

, the headquarters was moved to

Ramstein Air Base Ramstein Air Base or Ramstein AB is a United States Air Force base in Rhineland-Palatinate, a state in southwestern Germany. It serves as headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) and also ...

in November 1957 where it remained until December 1980 when it was moved to

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

where it was colocated with Headquarters

. An operational Air Defence Operations Centre was operated at

Ouvrage Molvange Ouvrage Molvange is a large work, or ''gros ouvrage'' of the Maginot Line. The fortification complex faces the France-Luxembourg border from a height near Entrange in the Moselle department. The complex, armed and occupied in 1935, is located o ...

from 1961 until 1967 when it was moved to a USAF site in

Kindsbach Kindsbach is a municipality in the Kaiserslautern (district), district of Kaiserslautern, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany. Notable people *Paul Westrich (born 1947), insect specialist *Peter Immesberger (born 1960), weight lifter Refere ...

just south of

. The headquarters also operated a number of communications sites which were concerned with secure communications for the release of tactical nuclear weapons through the NATO Quick Reaction Alert Force. In 1985 NATO began with the construction of a new Static War Headquarters bunker in

Ruppertsweiler Ruppertsweiler is a municipality in Südwestpfalz district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany and belongs to the municipal association Pirmasens-Land Pirmasens-Land is a ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") in the Südwestpfalz ...

, Germany. Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force commanded besides Seventeenth Air Force, the U.S.

32nd Army Air Defense Command 3 (three) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cu ...

1 Canadian Air Group , colors = Blue, green, yellow, and silver , colors_label = , march = , mascot = , equipment = , equipment_label = , ...

and two

German Air Force The German Air Force (german: Luftwaffe, lit=air weapon or air arm, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ''Bundeswehr'') was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War a ...

(''Luftwaffe'') divisions, as well as extensive secure communications, air defense and radar installations manned by Germany and the

U.S. 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 ...

. If needed, 4 ATAF would have been reinforced with units from the US

Third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

(UK based), Eighth (reconnaissance and bombing),

Ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

(immediate reinforcements) and

(follow on reinforcements), and with

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

and

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Army; ...

units. At the start of hostilities 4 ATAF would have had immediately around 600 combat aircraft at its disposal. The following units would have come under 4 ATAF in wartime: 4 ATAF was disbanded on 30 June 1993, its duties were taken over by

Wartime organization c.1989

F-4G 480th TFS with F-16C 52nd TFW in flight 1989

* Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force, Heidelberg, FRG ** Air Defence Operations Center (ADOC),

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...

*** Sector Operations Center 3 (SOC 3),

Sembach Air Base Sembach Kaserne is a United States Army post in Donnersbergkreis, Germany, near Kaiserslautern, and is about 19 miles (30 km) east of Ramstein Air Base. Prior to 2010, the installation was a United States Air Force installation and prior t ...

**** 1st Btn, 32nd (Luftwaffe) Signal Regiment, Control and Reporting Center

Börfink Börfink is an '' Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Birkenfeld, whose ...

**** 2nd Btn, 32nd (Luftwaffe) Signal Regiment, Control and Reporting Center

Lauda-Königshofen Lauda-Königshofen is a town in the Main-Tauber district in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Tauber, 7 km southeast of Tauberbischofsheim, and 30 km southwest of Würzburg. Most of the roughly 300 houses in the ...

**** 4th Btn, 32nd (Luftwaffe) Regiment, Lauda-Königshofen, with 12x mobile Radar systems forward deployed to the inner German border. *** Sector Operations Center 4 (SOC 4),

Meßstetten Meßstetten () is a town in the Zollernalbkreis district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Overview It is situated in the Swabian Jura, 24 km southeast of Balingen and at an altitude of is the highest city (of more than 10,000 inhabitant ...

**** 1st Btn, 31st (Luftwaffe) Signal Regiment, Control and Reporting Center Meßstetten **** 2nd Btn, 31st (Luftwaffe) Signal Regiment, Control and Reporting Center

Freising Freising () is a university town in Bavaria, Germany, and the capital of the Freising ''Landkreis'' (district), with a population of about 50,000. Location Freising is the oldest town between Regensburg and Bolzano, and is located on the Is ...

Seventeenth Air Force

, (

US 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 ...

)

65th Air Division The 65th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with United States Air Forces in Europe, assigned to Seventeenth Air Force, being stationed at Lindsey Air Station, Germany. It was inactivated o ...

, at

Lindsey Air Station The Europaviertel (European quarter) in Wiesbaden is a former barracks area named ''Gersdorff Kaserne'' at the edge of the city center of the Hessian state capital, approximately 2 kilometers southwest of the Marktkirche. Barracks (1868–1945) ...

*** 52nd Tactical Fighter Wing, at

Spangdahlem Air Base Spangdahlem Air Base (IATA: SPM, ICAO: ETAD, former code EDAD) is a NATO air base with the USAF as a tenant constructed between 1951 and 1953 and located near the small German town of Spangdahlem, approximately 30 km NNE of the city of Trier ...

**** 23rd Tactical Fighter Squadron, with 12x

F-4G Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and B ...

Wild Weasel Wild Weasel is a code name given by the United States Air Force (USAF) to an aircraft of any type equipped with anti-radiation missiles and tasked with the suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD): destroying the radar and surface-to-air mis ...

and 12x F-16C Block 25 Falcon **** 81st Tactical Fighter Squadron, with 12x F-4G Phantom II Wild Weasel and 12x F-16C Block 25 Falcon ****

480th Tactical Fighter Squadron The 480th Fighter Squadron (480th FS), nicknamed the "Warhawks", is an active United States Air Force unit operating the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, General Dynamics F-16CJ Fighting Falcon. The 480 FS assigned to the 52nd Fighter Wing, ...

, with 12x F-4G Phantom II Wild Weasel and 12x F-16C Block 25 Falcon ***

66th Electronic Combat Wing The 66th Air Base Wing is an inactive United States Air Force wing that was last active in September 2010 at Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, where it had served as the host organization since 1994. It was replaced at Hanscom by the small ...

, at Sembach Air Base ****

43rd Electronic Combat Squadron The 43d Electronic Combat Squadron is a United States Air Force unit. Its current assignment is with the 55th Electronic Combat Group, being stationed as a tenant unit at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona as a geographically separated unit ...

, with

EC-130H Compass Call The EC-130H Compass Call is an electronic attack aircraft flown by the United States Air Force. Based on the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, the aircraft is heavily modified to disrupt enemy command and control communications, perform offensive counter ...

316th Air Division The 316th Airlift Division (316th AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the United States Air Forces in Europe, assigned to Seventeenth Air Force, being stationed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It ...

, at

***

86th Tactical Fighter Wing The 86th Airlift Wing (86 AW) is a United States Air Force wing, currently assigned to the Third Air Force, United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa. The 86th AW is stationed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The wing's primary m ...

, at Ramstein Air Base **** 512th Tactical Fighter Squadron, with 24x F-16C Block 30 Falcon ****

526th Tactical Fighter Squadron The 526th Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 86th Operations Group, based at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It was inactivated on 1 July 1994. History World War II Initially activated ...

, with 24x F-16C Block 30 Falcon ** 26th Tactical Reconnaissance Fighter Wing, at

Zweibrücken Air Base Zweibrücken Air Base was a NATO military air base in West Germany . It was located SSW of Kaiserslautern and SE of Zweibrücken. It was assigned to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) during ...

***

38th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron The 38th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron is an inactive unit of the United States Air Force. Its last assignment was with the 26th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing (26 TRW), stationed at Zweibrücken Air Base, Germany. It was inactivated along with ...

, with 22x

RF-4C Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bow ...

36th Tactical Fighter Wing The United States Air Force's 36th Wing is the host wing for Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. It is part of Pacific Air Forces' Eleventh Air Force. The 36th Wing provides day-to-day mission support to more than 9,000 military, civilian, dependent ...

, at

Bitburg Air Base Bitburg (; french: Bitbourg; lb, Béibreg) is a city in Germany, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate approximately 25 km (16 mi.) northwest of Trier and 50 km (31 mi.) northeast of Luxembourg city. The American Spangdahlem A ...

*** 22nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, with 24x

F-15C Eagle The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force selected McDonnell Douglas's ...

*** 53rd Tactical Fighter Squadron, with 24x F-15C Eagle *** 525th Tactical Fighter Squadron, with 24x F-15C Eagle **

50th Tactical Fighter Wing The 50th Space Wing was the United States Space Force's space and cyber warfare wing. The 50th Space Wing was assigned to Space Operations Command and headquartered at Schriever Air Force Base. It was activated in 1949 as the 50th Fighter Win ...

, at

Hahn Air Base Hahn Air Base was a United States Air Force installation near Lautzenhausen in Germany for over 40 years. The major unit was the United States Air Force's 50th Tactical Fighter Wing during most of the years it was active. It was originally buil ...

*** 10th Tactical Fighter Squadron, with 24x F-16C Block 25 Falcon ***

313th Tactical Fighter Squadron The 313th Tactical Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 50th Tactical Fighter Wing and stationed at Hahn Air Base, Germany. History World War II Established under the Northeast Air Distric ...

, with 24x F-16C Block 25 Falcon ***

496th Tactical Fighter Squadron The 496th Tactical Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit, last assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe, 50th Tactical Fighter Wing, being stationed at Hahn Air Base, Germany. The squadron was inactivated on 15 ...

, with 24x F-16C Block 25 Falcon ** 601st Tactical Control Wing, at Sembach Air Base (operating

AN/TPS-43 The AN/TPS-43 is a transportable air search 3D radar produced in the United States originally by Westinghouse Defense and Electronic Division, which was later purchased by Northrop-Grumman. It is used primarily for early warning and tactical con ...

mobile radars)

32nd Army Air Defense Command

, (

US 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 ...

)

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

** Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, Darmstadt ** 11th Signal Battalion (Air Defense), Darmstadt ** 10th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, Darmstadt *** Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, Darmstadt *** 2nd Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery,

Hanau Hanau () is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and is part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its Hanau Hauptbahnhof, station is a ...

, (48x

MIM-104 Patriot The MIM-104 Patriot is a surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, the primary of its kind used by the United States Army and several allied states. It is manufactured by the U.S. defense contractor Raytheon and derives its name from the radar compon ...

) *** 4th Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery,

Giessen Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 univers ...

, (48x MIM-104 Patriot) *** 3rd Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery,

Wildflecken Wildflecken is a municipality in the Bad Kissingen district, at the border of northwestern Bavaria and southern Hesse. In 2005, its population was 3,285; the postal code is 97772 (US Forces used APO NY 09026 until July 15, 1991, when APO/FPO/DPO ...

, (24x

MIM-23 Hawk The Raytheon MIM-23 HAWK ("Homing all the way killer") is an American medium-range surface-to-air missile. It was designed to be a much more mobile counterpart to the MIM-14 Nike Hercules, trading off range and altitude capability for a much sm ...

, 8x

FIM-92 Stinger The FIM-92 Stinger is an American man-portable air-defense system (MANPADS) that operates as an infrared homing surface-to-air missile (SAM). It can be adapted to fire from a wide variety of ground vehicles, and from helicopters as the Air-to- ...

) **

69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade The 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade is an air defense artillery brigade of the United States Army. Subordinate units include: * 4th Battalion, 5th Air Defense Artillery. * 1st Battalion, 44th Air Defense Artillery * 1st Battalion, 62nd Air De ...

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

*** Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, Würzburg *** 6th Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery,

Ansbach Ansbach (; ; East Franconian: ''Anschba'') is a city in the German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränkische Rezat, a ...

, (48x MIM-104 Patriot) *** 8th Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery,

Giebelstadt Giebelstadt is a municipality in the district of Würzburg in Bavaria in Germany. History The town is the birthplace of Florian Geyer (1490–1525), also known as "Florian Geier from Giebelstadt", a Franconian nobleman who led the Black Company ...

, (48x MIM-104 Patriot) *** 6th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery, Würzburg, (24x MIM-23 Hawk, 8x

) *** 3rd Battalion, 60th Air Defense Artillery,

Grafenwöhr Grafenwöhr (, Northern Bavarian: ''Groafawehr'') is a town in the district of Neustadt an der Waldnaab, in the region of the Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz) in eastern Bavaria, Germany. It is widely known for the United States Army militar ...

, (24x MIM-23 Hawk, 8x

, disbanded November 1989) ** 94th Air Defense Artillery Brigade,

Kaiserslautern Kaiserslautern (; Palatinate German: ''Lautre'') is a city in southwest Germany, located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate Forest. The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfur ...

*** Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, Kaiserslautern *** 4th Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery, Neubrücke, (24x MIM-23 Hawk, 8x

) *** 1st Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery, Kaiserslautern, (48x MIM-104 Patriot) *** 3rd Battalion, 44th Air Defense Artillery, Ramstein, (24x

MIM-72 Chaparral The MIM-72A/M48 Chaparral is an American-made self-propelled surface-to-air missile system based on the AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile system. The launcher is based on the M113 family of vehicles. It entered service with the United States A ...

, 24x M163 VADS Vulcan, 15x

) **

108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

Spangdahlem Spangdahlem is a municipality in the district of Bitburg-Prüm, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany. It is part of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Speicher. The USAF Spangdahlem Air Base is nearby. Spang Spang is a village in Germany, north of ...

*** Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, Spangdahlem *** 1st Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery, Spangdahlem, (24x MIM-23 Hawk, 8x

) *** 4th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery,

Dexheim Dexheim is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Location Dexheim lies between Mainz and Worm ...

, (48x MIM-104 Patriot) *** 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery, Bitburg, (48x MIM-104 Patriot) *** 5th Battalion, 44th Air Defense Artillery, Spangdahlem, (24x

, 24x M163 VADS Vulcan, 15x

) ** 32nd Support Command (Air Defense),

Worms Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany, a city **Worms (electoral district) *Worms, Nebraska, U.S. *Worms im Veltlintal, the German name for Bormio, Italy Arts and entertainme ...

*** Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Worms *** 334th Ordnance Company, Wildflecken *** 565th Ordnance Company, Pirmasens *** 569th Ordnance Company, Würzburg *** 574th Ordnance Company, Grafenwöhr *** 576th Ordnance Company, Neubrücke *** 606th Ordnance Company,

*** 611th Ordnance Company, Bruchmühlbach-Miesau (Miesau Ammunition Depot) *** 820th Ordnance Company, Bitburg Air Base *** 19th Maintenance Company, Bitburg Air Base *** 57th Maintenance Company,

Giebelstadt Army Airfield Giebelstadt Army Airfield is a closed military airfield located in Germany, southwest of Giebelstadt in Bavaria, approximately 250 miles southwest of Berlin. It was turned over to the German government on 23 June 2006 and is now Giebelstadt Airpo ...

*** 91st Maintenance Company, Ansbach *** 178th Maintenance Company, Dexheim *** 518th Maintenance Company, Giessen *** 549th Maintenance Company, Kaiserslautern *** 555th Maintenance Company, Hanau *** 247th Chemical Detachment, Darmstadt

1. Luftwaffendivision

* 1. Luftwaffendivision (

Fürstenfeldbruck Fürstenfeldbruck () is a town in Bavaria, Germany, located 32 kilometres west of Munich. It is the capital of the district of Fürstenfeldbruck. it has a population of 35,494. Since the 1930s, Fürstenfeldbruck has had an air force base. Th ...

** Bremgarten Air Base ***

Aufklärungsgeschwader 51 ''Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 51'' "Immelmann" (Tactical Air Force Wing 51 "Immelmann"), formerly known as ''Aufklärungsgeschwader 51'' (Reconnaissance Wing 51), is a tactical reconnaissance wing of the German Air Force. In the beginning o ...

, 2 x squadrons with 15 x RF-4E (Reconnaissance) **

Landsberg am Lech Landsberg am Lech (Landsberg at the Lech) is a town in southwest Bavaria, Germany, about 65 kilometers west of Munich and 35 kilometers south of Augsburg. It is the capital of the district of Landsberg am Lech. Overview Landsberg is situated o ...

*** Flugkörpergeschwader 1, 4 x squadrons with 9 x

Pershing 1a The MGM-31A Pershing was the missile used in the Pershing 1 and Pershing 1a field artillery missile systems. It was a solid-fueled two-stage theater ballistic missile designed and built by Martin Marietta to replace the PGM-11 Redstone missile as ...

Lechfeld Air Base Lechfeld Air Base is a German Air Force (''Luftwaffe'') base located 1 km east of Lagerlechfeld in Bavaria, about 20 km south of Augsburg on the Bundestrasse 17. It was the home of Training Division A of the School of Management Assist ...

***

Jagdbombergeschwader 32 ''Jagdbombergeschwader 32'' (Fighter-Bomber Wing 32; abbreviated as: ''JaBoG 32'') was a fighter-bomber wing of the German Air Force (''Luftwaffe''). The wing was based in the south of Germany at Lechfeld Airbase and flew Panavia Tornado, Tornado ...

, 2 x squadrons with 16 x

Tornado IDS The Panavia Tornado is a family of Twinjet, twin-engine, variable-sweep wing multirole combat aircraft, jointly developed and manufactured by Italy, the United Kingdom and West Germany. There are three primary #Variants, Tornado variants: the ...

each, and 6x Tornado IDS in reserve **

Büchel Air Base Büchel Air Base is a military air base of the Luftwaffe in Büchel (Germany), near the city of Cochem and at about 70 km from Spangdahlem Air Base. It is home to the Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 33 (Tactical Air Force Wing 33; abbreviat ...

***

Jagdbombergeschwader 33 ''Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 33'' (Tactical Air Force Wing 33; abbreviated as: ''TaktLwG 33''), formerly known as ''Jagdbombergeschwader 33'' (Fighter-Bomber Wing 33; abbreviated as: ''JaBoG 33'') is a fighter-bomber wing of the German Air Fo ...

^{note 1}, 2x squadrons with 16x Tornado IDS each, and 6x Tornado IDS in reserve **

Memmingen Air Base Memmingen Airport , also known as ''Allgäu Airport Memmingen'', is an international airport in the town of Memmingerberg near Memmingen, the third-largest city in the Swabia region of Bavaria. It is the smallest of the three commercial airpor ...

*** Jagdbombergeschwader 34^{note 1}, 2x squadrons with 16x Tornado IDS each, and 6x Tornado IDS in reserve ** Pferdsfeld Air Base *** Jagdbombergeschwader 35, 2x squadrons with 15x F-4F each, and 4x F-4F in reserve ** Leipheim Air Base *** Jagdbombergeschwader 44, 1st squadron permanently deployed to

Beja Airbase Beja Air Base ( pt, Base Aérea de Beja; ), officially designated as Air Base No. 11 ( pt, Base Aérea Nº 11, BA11) is one of the most important military airbases in Portugal, northwest of Beja, north of Algarve. It is used by the Portuguese ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

with 18x

Alpha Jets The Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet is a light attack jet and advanced jet trainer co-manufactured by Dassault Aviation of France and Dornier Flugzeugwerke of Germany. It was developed specifically to perform trainer and light attack missions, as ...

for weapons training **

Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base (German: "Fliegerhorst Fürstenfeldbruck" or "Flugplatz Fürstenfeldbruck") is a former German Air Force airfield near the town of Fürstenfeldbruck in Bavaria, near Munich, Germany. Fürstenfeldbruck became famous firs ...

*** Jagdbombergeschwader 49, 2x squadrons with 18x Alpha Jets each, and 24x Alpha Jets in reserve (18x for 2nd squadron Jagdbombergeschwader 44)

2. Luftwaffendivision

* 2. Luftwaffendivision (German Air Force),

Birkenfeld Birkenfeld () is a town and the district seat of the Birkenfeld district in southwest Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is also the seat of the like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde''. The town itself has approximately 7,000 inhabitants. Geography ...

Neuburg Air Base Neuburg Air Base is a military air base in Germany. It is located in the district of Neuburg on the Danube, approximately 20 km west-southwest of Ingolstadt. Its primary user is Jagdgeschwader 74 (JG 74 for short, Fighter Wing 74 in Englis ...

***

Jagdgeschwader 74 Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 74 (74th Tactical Air Force Wing), formerly known as Jagdgeschwader 74 (JG 74) (74th Fighter Wing), is an aviation unit of the German Air Force, based on Neuburg Air Base in Bavaria since 1961. On 1 October 2013, t ...

, 2x squadrons with 15x F-4F each, and 4x F-4F in reserve ** 4th Air Defense Missile Command,

Lich In fantasy fiction, a lich (; from the Old English , meaning "corpse") is a type of undead creature. Various works of fantasy fiction, such as Clark Ashton Smith's "The Empire of the Necromancers" (1932), had used ''lich'' as a general term fo ...

*** 21st Air Defense Missile Wing,

Möhnesee Möhnesee is a municipality in the district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography The Möhnesee municipality is situated around the Möhne Reservoir (hence the name), approx. 10 km south of Soest. History On the night of ...

, with 6x

squadrons; each with 1x Engagement Control Station, 1x Radar Set, 8x launch stations *** 38th Air Defense Missile Wing,

Burbach Burbach is a name meaning "farmer's brook" (from Old High German ''bur'' "farmer" + ''bach'' "brook"). It can refer to: Places in Germany * Burbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, municipality in Siegen-Wittgenstein district * Burbach, Rhineland-Palati ...

, with 4x

squadrons; each with 1x Hawk battery (6x launch stations) *** 42nd Air Defense Missile Group, Schöneck, with 42x Roland systems guarding Rhein-Main,

Sembach Sembach is a municipality in the district of Kaiserslautern in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It forms part of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Enkenbach-Alsenborn. The town is nestled in the Palatinate Forest Nature Park between Kaiser ...

Nörvenich Nörvenich is a municipality in the district of Düren in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located about east of Düren. See also *Nörvenich Air Base Nörvenich Air Base (Fliegerhorst Nörvenich) is a German Air Force ...

, Pferdsfeld and Büchel air bases and

** 5th Air Defense Missile Command,

Erding Erding () is a town in Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the rural district of the same name. It had a population of 36,469 in 2019. The original Erdinger Weissbier is a well-known Bavarian specialty. Erding is located around 31 kilometers nor ...

*** 23rd Air Defense Missile Wing,

Manching Manching is a municipality in the district of Pfaffenhofen, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Paar, 7 km southeast of Ingolstadt. In the late Iron Age, there was a Celtic settlement, the Oppidum of Manching, on the location of ...

, with 6x

squadrons; each with 1x Engagement Control Station, 1x Radar Set, 8x launch stations *** 32nd Air Defense Missile Wing,

, with 4x MIM-23 Hawk squadrons; each with 1x Hawk battery (6x launch stations) *** 34th Air Defense Missile Wing,

Rottenburg an der Laaber Rottenburg an der Laaber is a town in the district of Landshut, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Große Laber, 21 km northwest of Landshut. Notable residents/natives * Max Ritter von Müller (1887–1918), World Wa ...

, with 4x MIM-23 Hawk squadrons; each with 1x Hawk battery (6x launch stations) ** 6th Air Defense Missile Command,

Lenggries Lenggries is a municipality and a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is the center of the Isarwinkel, the region along the Isar between Bad Tölz and Wallgau. The town has about 9,500 inhabitants. By area, it is the largest rural municipality ("Gemeinde" ...

*** 22nd Air Defense Missile Wing, Penzing, with 6x

squadrons; each with 1x Engagement Control Station, 1x Radar Set, 8x launch stations *** 33rd Air Defense Missile Wing, Lenggries, with 4x MIM-23 Hawk squadrons; each with 1x Hawk battery (6x launch stations) *** 43rd Air Defense Missile Group,

Leipheim Leipheim is a town in the district of Günzburg, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the Danube, west of Günzburg, and northeast of Ulm. The village Riedheim and the hamlet Weissingen are districts of Leipheim. Since 1993, Leipheim has bee ...

, with 26x Roland systems guarding

Lechfeld The Battle of Lechfeld was a series of military engagements over the course of three days from 10–12 August 955 in which the Kingdom of Germany, led by King Otto I the Great, annihilated the Hungarian army led by ''Horka (title), Harka ''Bulcs ...

Memmingen Memmingen (; Swabian: ''Memmenge'') is a town in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is the economic, educational and administrative centre of the Danube-Iller region. To the west the town is flanked by the Iller, the river that marks the Baden-Wü ...

, Neuburg and Bremgarten air bases

1 Canadian Air Division

1 Canadian Air Division , colors = Blue, green, yellow, and silver , colors_label = , march = , mascot = , equipment = , equipment_label = , ...

^{note 2} (

Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

), CFB Baden-Söllingen ** 1 Wing

CFB Lahr Canadian Forces Base Lahr (IATA:LHA, ICAO: EDTL, former code EDAN) was a military operated commercial airport located in Lahr, Germany. It was operated primarily as a French air force base, and later as a Canadian army base, beginning in the late ...

***

416 Tactical Fighter Squadron 416 "City of Oshawa" Tactical Fighter Squadron (416 TFS) was a unit of the Canadian Forces and the Royal Canadian Air Force. The squadron operated the CF-18 Hornet fighter jet from CFB Cold Lake in Alberta, Canada. In 2006, 416 TFS stood down ...

441 Tactical Fighter Squadron 441 Tactical Fighter Squadron was a unit of the Canadian Forces. It was originally formed as a unit of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) during the Second World War. The squadron operated the McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet fighter jet from CFB ...

from

CFB Cold Lake Canadian Forces Base Cold Lake , abbreviated as CFB Cold Lake, is a Canadian Forces Base in the City of Cold Lake, Alberta. The facility is operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and is approximately south of the ...

, 18x

CF-18 The McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet (official military designation CF-188) is a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) variant of the American McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet fighter aircraft. In 1980, the F/A-18 was selected as the winner of the New ...

***

425 Tactical Fighter Squadron 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

433 Tactical Fighter Squadron 433 Squadron is a unit of the Royal Canadian Air Force. It operates CF-18 Hornet fighter jets from CFB Bagotville in Quebec, Canada. Its Commanding Officer is Lieutenant Colonel Tom "''Banger''" Lawrence. History No. 433 Squadron formed at RA ...

from

CFB Bagotville Canadian Forces Base Bagotville , commonly referred to as CFB Bagotville, and also known as Bagotville Airport or Saguenay-Bagotville Airport, is a Canadian Forces base located west of Bagotville in the city of Saguenay. Located in the centre ...

, 18x CF-18 *** 444 Tactical Helicopter Squadron (detached to

4 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group 4 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (4CMBG; french: 4e Groupe-brigade mécanisé du Canada, 4GBMC) was a formation of the Canadian Army, then Mobile Command of the unified Canadian Forces. It was part of the European formation known as Canadian ...

), ( CH136 Kiowa, UH1N) *** Detachment Lahr,

412 Transport Squadron No. 412 Transport Squadron is one of three Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) transport squadrons attached to Ottawa, Ontario. The squadron operates with a strength of about 29 out of the ''Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee, Jr. Annex.'' ''The A ...

, 2x

CC-142 Dash 8 The De Havilland Canada DHC-8, commonly known as the Dash 8, is a series of turboprop-powered regional airliners, introduced by de Havilland Canada (DHC) in 1984. DHC was later bought by Boeing in 1988, then by Bombardier in 1992; then by ...

*** 129 Air Defence Battery (detached from 4 Air Defence Regiment,

Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery , colors = The guns of the RCA themselves , colors_label = Colours , march = * Slow march: "Royal Artillery Slow March" * Quick march (dismounted parades): "British Grenadiers/ The ...

, 4x ADATS, 8x 35mm Skyguard) ** 4 Wing CFB Baden-Söllingen ***

409 Tactical Fighter Squadron 409 Tactical Fighter Squadron (French: ) is a unit of the Royal Canadian Air Force. The squadron operates the CF-18 Hornet from CFB Cold Lake in Alberta, Canada. History The cross-bow in front of the dark cloak represents a weapon used under co ...

, 18x CF-18 CF-18A 439 sq (23780173449)

***

421 Tactical Fighter Squadron No. 421 Squadron RCAF was a unit of the Royal Canadian Air Force. It was the last RCAF fighter squadron to be formed in the UK during World War II. Establishment Initially established at RAF Digby in April 1942 with Supermarine Spitfire Mk VA ...

, 18x CF-18 *** 439 Tactical Fighter Squadron, 18x CF-18 *** Training Flight, 5x

CT-133 Silver Star The Canadair CT-133 Silver Star (company model number CL-30) is the Canadian license-built version of the Lockheed T-33 jet trainer aircraft, in service from the 1950s to 2005. The Canadian version was powered by the Rolls-Royce Nene 10 turboj ...

*** 128 Air Defence Battery (detached from 4 Air Defence Regiment,

, 4x ADATS, 8x 35mm Skyguard) Canadair CT-133 Silver Star 3 (CL-30) AN2287793

note 1:

Nuclear sharing Nuclear sharing is a concept in NATO's policy of nuclear deterrence, which allows member countries without nuclear weapons of their own to participate in the planning for the use of nuclear weapons by NATO. In particular, it provides for the arm ...

unit capable of delivering

tactical nuclear weapon A tactical nuclear weapon (TNW) or non-strategic nuclear weapon (NSNW) is a nuclear weapon that is designed to be used on a battlefield in military situations, mostly with friendly forces in proximity and perhaps even on contested friendly territo ...

s.
note 2: The Canadian Forces NATO reinforcement units were two Fighter Squadrons rotated from

with

and

, and from

with

and

each with 18x CF-18. These forces represented the complete combat-capable assets of Canadian Forces Air Command. The units marked as reinforcements were nominally assigned to the NORAD Canada East and Canada West regions, the plan being that once the two squadrons were deployed to NATO there would be two squadrons remaining with NORAD (one squadron in each region).

References

* Dragoner, O.W. ''Die Bundeswehr 1989'' Volume 2.1, availabl
here
* Dragoner, O.W. ''Die Bundeswehr 1989'' Volume 3, availabl
here
* Pedlow, Gregory W. ''The Evolution of NATO’s Command Structure, 1951–2009'' availabl

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Formations of the NATO Military Command Structure 1952–1994 1951 establishments in Germany Military units and formations disestablished in 1993 Tactical air forces Multinational air units and formations Military history of Europe