Giebelstadt Army Airfield is a closed military airfield located in Germany, southwest of
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 Compa ...
in
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
, approximately 250 miles southwest of
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
. It was turned over to the German government on 23 June 2006 and is now
Giebelstadt Airport
Giebelstadt Airport is a general aviation airport located in Germany, southwest of Giebelstadt in Bavaria. The airport is the only public-use airfield in the Würzburg region. It offers private aircraft and charter operations. It was known as G ...
, a
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 ...
airport.
''Fliegerhorst Giebelstadt'' was one of the first ''
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 ...
'' airfields, being established in 1935. 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 opposing ...
, it was a reserve airfield in the rear area of Central Germany. Later, it was a key defensive airfield as part of the
Defence 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 d ...
campaign where
Messerschmitt Me 262
The Messerschmitt Me 262, nicknamed ''Schwalbe'' (German: "Swallow") in fighter versions, or ''Sturmvogel'' (German: "Storm Bird") in fighter-bomber versions, is a fighter aircraft and fighter-bomber that was designed and produced by the Germ ...
jet fighters assigned to the field intercepted
Allied bombers attacking Germany.
After being captured by the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
in April 1945, it briefly became a combat airfield for the
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 ...
and was used by the
United States Air Forces in Europe
United may refer to:
Places
* United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film
* ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
until 1968 in a variety of missions, from
strategic reconnaissance to air defense interceptors. Turned over to the United States Army in 1968, it was the home of the
Air Defense Artillery
The Air Defense Artillery Branch is the branch of the United States Army that specializes in anti-aircraft weapons (such as surface to air missiles). In the U.S. Army, these groups are composed of mainly air defense systems such as the Patrio ...
and many other units.
History
Origins
The layout for ''Fliegerhorst Giebelstadt'' began in June 1934 with site reconnaissance, and land purchasing began shortly afterwards. Official construction began in the late summer under the code name ''Höhenflugzentrale Deutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule'' (Altitude Flight Central of the German Airline Pilot School).
[ Giebelstadt Airfield](_blank)
/ref> By January 1935 enough construction was completed for the airfield to open. It was, however, a school only in name because the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
, which ended World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, did not permit Germany to have a military air force.[Giebelstadt Army Airfield prepares to closse its gates](_blank)
69th ADA Public Affairs, ''The Monitor'', 6 July 2006.
In addition to the airfield construction, in the village of 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 Compa ...
, many housing units were built for both officers and enlisted men assigned to the airfield. Although the town was damaged significantly 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 opposing ...
, many of these houses and barracks still exist and are in use as private homes and apartments.
The existence of the ''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 ...
'' was revealed by Germany on 3 January 1935, and ''Fliegerhorst Giebelstadt'' was one of its first operational airfields. It first consisted of a turf runway along with two paved launch platforms. The first operational flying unit assigned to Giebelstadt was ''Fliegergruppe Giebelstadt'', activated at the base on 10 January 1935. Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
officially opened the airfield after a review of the troops on 11 September 1936. Major General Albert Kesselring
Albert Kesselring (30 November 1885 – 16 July 1960) was a German '' Generalfeldmarschall'' of the Luftwaffe during World War II who was subsequently convicted of war crimes. In a military career that spanned both world wars, Kesselring beca ...
inspected the base in February 1937 and presented the unit with its colors. Later that year, the people of Giebelstadt held a festival on the airbase as part of the celebration commemorating the town's 1100th year of existence.[History of Giebelstadt Army Airfield](_blank)
/ref>
''Fliegergruppe Giebelstadt'' was later redesignated as '' Kampfgeschwader 155'' (KG 155) and was equipped with an early version of the Heinkel He 111 Bomber (He 111 B / E ).[The Luftwaffe, 1933–45](_blank)
/ref> KG 155 moved to Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
following the Anschluss
The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938.
The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...
in 1938, being reassigned to Wiener Neustadt
Wiener Neustadt (; ; Central Bavarian: ''Weana Neistod'') is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administration of Wiener Neustadt-Land Distr ...
.
KG 155 was replaced by the formation of ''Kampfgeschwader 53
''Kampfgeschwader'' 53 "Legion Condor" (KG 53; English: ''Condor Legion'') was a Luftwaffe bomber wing during World War II.
Its units participated on all of the fronts in the European Theatre until it was disbanded in May 1945. At all times it ...
'' "Legion Condor" (KG 53) in January 1939, being equipped also with He 111s. The bomber unit remained until August 1939, when at the brink 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 opposing ...
it was reassigned to 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, ...
where it engaged in operations over Poland. During the "Phony War" with the British and French, ''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) was based there with 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 ...
Zs between February and March 1940.
Luftwaffe use during World War II
At the beginning of World War II, aircraft from Giebelstadt flew support missions in conjunction with the German Blitzkrieg, flying many missions against various targets in France. As the war moved away from Giebelstadt, the base became a training facility for pilots, observers and radio operators from 1939 until 1941. I/KG 76 used the airfield from October 1940 to April 1941 to upgrade from Do 17s to Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 is a German World War II ''Luftwaffe'' twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called '' Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") that would be too fast ...
As. III/KG 76 was stationed at the airfield during August/September 1941 and from April/May 1942, for rest and rearmament from duty in the Soviet Union. During 1943, Kampfgeschwader 100
''Kampfgeschwader'' 100 (KG 100) was a ''Luftwaffe'' medium and heavy bomber wing of World War II and the first military aviation unit to use a precision-guided munition (the Fritz X anti-ship glide bomb) in combat to sink a warship (the Itali ...
(KG 100) moved in for R&R in May, exchanging He 111H's for newer Dornier Do 217
The Dornier Do 217 was a bomber used by the German ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II as a more powerful development of the Dornier Do 17, known as the ''Fliegender Bleistift'' (German: "flying pencil"). Designed in 1937 and 1938 as a heavy bombe ...
E/K model bombers.
At first, the grass airfield was circular with planes taking off and landing into the wind, whichever direction that happened to be. Beginning in 1944, Giebelstadt received a very long (3000m 9,100 ft) paved runway aligned 08/26 slightly to the east and south of the original 1935 airfield. In addition, other upgrades to facilities were included in the plans for Giebelstadt to be used for jet interceptor aircraft operations such as additional aircraft dispersal sites, an expansion of the fuel dump and other facilities. This in turn made a significant extension of the airfield. With this construction, the expanded air base site was about 250ha in size. Not only was the location of the airbase a closely held secret, the town name itself was banned from all maps of the region and can still be hard to find on some maps today. To hide the airfield from Allied reconnaissance aircraft, workers painted the runway to resemble a grassy field complete with fluffy white sheep.
In April 1944, jet aircraft arrived at Giebelstadt with Kampfgeschwader 54 (KG 54) and the Messerschmitt Me 262
The Messerschmitt Me 262, nicknamed ''Schwalbe'' (German: "Swallow") in fighter versions, or ''Sturmvogel'' (German: "Storm Bird") in fighter-bomber versions, is a fighter aircraft and fighter-bomber that was designed and produced by the Germ ...
A. In addition, testing of the Messerschmitt Me 163
The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet is a rocket-powered interceptor aircraft primarily designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt. It is the only operational rocket-powered fighter aircraft in history as well as ...
A Rocket fighter took place. In March 1945, KG 54 was replaced by Kampfgeschwader 51 (KG 51) with newer model Me 262s, remaining until March 1945 when aircraft operation at the airfield became unsustainable.
The jet aircraft at Giebelstadt drew the attention of the USAAF Eighth Air Force, with no less than five heavy bomber attacks on the airfield between September 1944 and March 1945. In addition, as Giebelstadt came in range of 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 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-bom ...
fighter bombers in eastern France, attacks on the airfield by these tactical units with 500-pound General-Purpose bombs; unguided rockets and .50 caliber machine gun sweeps were frequent. These attacks would take place when Eighth Air Force heavy bombers (B-17
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...
s, B-24
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...
s) were within interception range of the Luftwaffe jets assigned to the base, with the attacks being timed to have the maximum effect possible to keep the interceptors pinned down on the ground and be unable to attack the heavy bombers.
World War II USAAF use
At the end of March 1945, the 12th Armored Division captured Giebelstadt and its airfield shortly before the end of the war in Europe. The airfield had been heavily bombed and Soldiers of the United States Army's 12th Armored Division rolled into Giebelstadt capturing it unopposed. In the fields surrounding the base, the Army Soldiers found the burned out hulks of numerous bombers, night fighters and other military aircraft destroyed by the fleeing German forces, one of many across the former Reich.
On 5 April the IX Engineer Command 819th Engineer Aviation Battalion moved in and began patching the bomb craters of the airfield's concrete runway. Within a day the airfield was usable for C-47 Skytrain
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in f ...
transports for combat resupply and casualty evacuation (S&E) use, with the airfield being designated as Advanced Landing Ground "Y-90 Giebelstadt". Combat units arrived on 20 April when the 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-bom ...
-equipped 50th Fighter Group
5 (five) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typ ...
began using the airfield, and the 417th Night Fighter Squadron arrived for night fighter defensive interceptor missions against any rogue Luftwaffe aircraft still in the skies.[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.]
Postwar USAF use
With the end of combat in Germany on 7 May, the combat units were withdrawn and Giebelstadt became a garrison for the Army of Occupation, designated Army Air Force Station Giebelstadt. Repairing the damage to the airfield and the support area was performed, in large part, by German Prisoners of War, into 1946 and turning the airfield into a usable, long-term facility to be used by the Air Force. The last POW was released from Giebelstadt on 20 August 1946.USAFHRA Document 00017136
/ref> Then, for nearly a decade after the war, Giebelstadt airfield was used periodically by the Air Force until it was made a permanent United States Air Forces in Europe
United may refer to:
Places
* United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film
* ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
airbase in 1956.
With the base and facilities undergoing repair, USAFE moved the 55th Fighter Group to Giebelstadt in April 1946 from Kaufbeuren Air Base, equipped first with P-47s, then, due to the long runway, upgraded the unit to P-80 Shooting Star
The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star was the first jet fighter used operationally by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II. Designed and built by Lockheed in 1943 and delivered just 143 days from the start of design, prod ...
jet aircraft later in 1946. General Carl A "Tooey" Spaatz, Commanding General of the Army Air Forces, visited the base in July 1946, witnessing an aerial review of the newly acquired P-80 jet fighters. The 55th was inactivated in August due to budget reductions, the P-80s being reassigned to the incoming 31st Fighter Group
31 (thirty-one) is the natural number following 30 and preceding 32. It is a prime number.
In mathematics
31 is the 11th prime number. It is a superprime and a self prime (after 3, 5, and 7), as no integer added up to its base 10 digits ...
which replaced the 55th. Giebelstadt was placed on "Standby" status due to budget reductions in September, with the 31st and its jets being moved to Kitzingen Air Base.
During 1947, with the airfield inactive, the war-damaged and repaired German jet runway was replaced with a new, 7,200' runway, and additional facilities were upgraded and brought into service. New hangars were constructed along with a large concrete parking apron, and in late 1947 was redesignated as Giebelstadt Air Base The new Strategic Air Command dispatched nine B-29 Superfortress
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 F ...
very heavy bombers of the 97th Bombardment Group to Giebelstadt to conduct training during temporary deployments to Europe. The last SAC personnel returned to the United States in January 1948, and afterward the facility was closed and placed on standby status due to budget reductions in the postwar era.
The US Air Force returned in April 1950, when the 603rd Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, stationed at Hof arrived at Giebelstadt AB as part of an Operational Readiness Test. In May they were placed on temporary status and finally in August 1950, Giebelstadt was made the home of the 603d, with the main mission of Giebelstadt becoming an Air Defense Radar Station, equipped with the Bendix AN/FPS-3.3A search RADAR. With the breakout of the Cold War, the usefulness of the airfield by the Air Force became limited, as Giebelstadt was simply too close to the East German
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
border to station tactical aircraft. The flight time for jet aircraft from the border was less than 15 minutes, which meant little or no time was available to launch aircraft from the field before it coming under attack. The airfield, however, remained active as various MATS C-54 Skymaster
The Douglas C-54 Skymaster is a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and the Korean War. Like the Douglas C-47 Skytrain derived from the DC-3, the C-54 Skymaster was derived from a civilian a ...
transport units used the base during 1951–1952; then it was used by various transient transport aircraft throughout the 1950s and 1960s.
In January and February 1956, Giebelstadt Army Airfield was one of the two West German launch sites for Project Genetrix
Project Genetrix, also known as WS-119L, was a United States Air Force program designed to launch General Mills manufactured surveillance balloons over Communist China, Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union to take aerial photographs and collect ...
surveillance balloons, which were targeted to obtain aerial photographs over Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union.
In July 1956 the 603d ACW departed for Langerkopf Air Station, and the radar station was taken over by the 602d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, which moved in from Birkenfeld AS. With the arrival, Giebelstat was upgraded to the AN/FPS-20 General Surveillance Radar and the AN/FPS-6 Long-Range Height Finder Radar.
Starting in 1956 Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
Lockheed U-2
The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "''Dragon Lady''", is an American single-jet engine, high altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It provides day ...
reconnaissance aircraft flew from the airfield in support of operation AQUATONE/ OILSTONE. Detachment "A", with four U-2 aircraft, arrived at Giebelstadt from Wiesbaden Air Base
Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...
in October 1956, the reason being that U-2 operations from the relatively isolated Giebelstadt would draw much less attention than from Wiesbaden. Towards the end of the year, Detachment A flew U-2s three times over Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
, Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
and Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
. The detachment was operational at Giebelstadt until 15 November 1957, when it was closed down, and U-2 operations were moved to Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
.
During the 1960s, F-102 Delta Dagger interceptors of the 86th Air Division
The 86th Air Division (86 AD) is a former designation of the 86th Airlift Wing, a United States Air Force organization. It was assigned to United States Air Forces in Europe at Ramstein Air Base, West Germany. It was inactivated on 14 November ...
used the base frequently as a forward base from their home bases west of the Rhine. The departure of the F-102 from USAFE and budget reductions in the Air Force led to the departure of the 602nd ACW in July 1968. Giebelstadt Air Base and all of its facilities were transferred to United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
control in August 1968.
United States Army use
Many Army units came and went over the years, but in recent time the airfield hosted the 4th Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized) flying mostly AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters, UH-1 Huey and UH-60 Blackhawk transport helicopters. The 4th Brigade left Giebelstadt in early 1992, replaced by AH-64 Apache attack helicopters of the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, and UH-60 Blackhawk and OH-58 Kiowas of the 12th Aviation Brigade. Air Defense Artillery (ADA) continued to play a major role on the airfield with the presence of "C" Battery of the 6th Battalion, 52nd ADA Regiment, with its Hawk missile batteries and the senior officer on post commanding the 69th ADA Brigade. In 1993, the Apache helicopter and Hawk ADA units deactivated and a CH-47 Chinook company (A Co. 5–159th Aviation Regiment – "Big Windy") arrived from Schwaebisch Hall Army Airfield. In 1994, the OH-58 Kiowa units disbanded as the aircraft returned to the states for conversion to armed OH-58 Kiowa Warriors.
Also in 1994, tragedy struck the Giebelstadt military community in April when two Blackhawk helicopters of the 5th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment, assigned to Giebelstadt were mistakenly shot down by USAF F-15's over Iraq. All 26 people were killed, including eight Giebelstadt crew members.
In 1995, the primary units on Giebelstadt Army Airfield were: the 69th ADA Brigade, the 5th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (UH-60s); A Company, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment (Big Windy CH-47s); C Company 6th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment (War Eagles UH-60s); C Company 7th Battalion 158th Aviation Regiment (Blue Stars UH-60s) and B Company, 7th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment (Third Corps Support Command aircraft maintenance). US Air Force units on Giebelstadt AAF were Det. 10, 617th Weather Squadron, providing weather support for the airfield and to the 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized) headquartered in Wuerzburg; and OL-C, 617th Comm Squadron, providing maintenance support for meteorological and navigation equipment in the area.
The Department of Defense announced on 29 July 2005 plans for the return of eleven Army bases to Germany in fiscal year 2007. These installation returns were scheduled as part of plans for the 1st Infantry Division headquarters' return to the United States with its divisional flag in the summer of 2006.
As part of this redeployment, Giebelstadt Army Airfield was closed by the United States Army on 23 June 2006.
Current use
After being turned over to the German government in 2006, Giebelstadt Airfield has become a commercial airport used by general aviation aircraft.
Due to the frequent wartime bombing attacks, much of the wartime airfield was destroyed. Almost all of the buildings on the airfield are of postwar vintage, although the modern buildings are constructed in a traditional German style. In the town of Giebelstadt, many of the buildings used for personnel barracks and housing still exist and still are being used. The original circular airfield still exists, in part, and some wartime concrete hardstands remain. A pre-war Luftwaffe hangar which was repaired remains to the west side of the original airfield, connected to an enclosing taxiway and some aircraft parking hardstands. The 1944 extension with the extended length jet runway remains, with the taxiways and hardstands for Me 262 use remaining. The runway, reduced in length in 1947 still has part of its wartime concrete remaining between the Bundesstraße
''Bundesstraße'' (German for "federal highway"), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.
Germany
Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km.
German ''Bundesstraßen'' ...
19 (B-19) highway and the current runway 20 (west) end. Remains of the original B-19 highway, which was cut in 1944 when the jet runway was built, still remain to the south of the airfield, today being a single lane farm road running north–south that intersects the airfield about midway between the runway ends. In the neighboring town of Wolkshausen, south of the airfield, the old B-19 is still known as ''Giebelstadter Straße''.
See also
* Advanced Landing Ground#Y-72 to Y-99
References
External links
Giebelstadt Airfield
(In German – Many photographs over the years)
{{USAAF 9th Air Force UK
Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Germany
Airports established in 1935
Airports in Bavaria