Niederstetten Air Base (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

: ''Heeresflugplatz Niederstetten'', ICAO: ETHN) is located east of the

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

Niederstetten Niederstetten () is a town and a municipality in the Main-Tauber district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 14 km southeast of Bad Mergentheim, and 19 km west of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Sights The main attraction is ...

in Northern

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

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

. In 1936 construction of an air field for 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 completed. However, no permanent buildings and structures were erected, indicating that there were no plans for a permanent air field. The base was used during

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

by several Luftwaffe units including night fighters. After the end of World War II the air field was abandoned. Beginning in 1957 works started to convert the former air force base into an air base to house units of the recently formed German Army's Aviation Corps, utilising the facilities of the previous occupant. These final works were completed in 1962 after which numerous units were stationed at Niederstetten Air Base. Currently, the air base is home of Army Aviation Transport Helicopter Regiment 30 of the German Army. The regiment, which was relocated to Niederstetten in 1980, was part of German Army's

Airmobile Operations Division __NOTOC__ Airmobile Operations Division (''Division Luftbewegliche Operationen'') was a division of the German Army. The division was founded on 1 July 2002 and reported for duty 8 October 2002. Airmobile Operations Division consisted of approxim ...

, the division's headquarters being in

Veitshöchheim Veitshöchheim is a municipality in the district of Würzburg, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Main, northwest of Würzburg. Veitshöchheim has a population just under 10,000. It includes two villages: Veitshöchhei ...

. The division was dissolved in 2014, and Army Aviation Transport Helicopter Regiment 30 was subsequently integrated into

Rapid Forces Division The ''Division Schnelle Kräfte'' (Rapid Forces Division) formerly ''Division Spezielle Operationen'' (Special Operations Division) is an airborne division of the German Army. Its headquarters staff is based at Stadtallendorf. It was created as 1s ...

. Approximately 750 members of the armed forces are at present employed at the air base. However, due to further restructuring within the German Army Aviation Corps this number was increased by 600 in 2011. Army Aviation Transport Helicopter Regiment 30 is equipped with helicopters of the type Bell UH-1D. These helicopters are being replaced by medium-sized

NH90 The NHIndustries NH90 is a medium-sized, twin-engine, multi-role military helicopter. It was developed in response to NATO requirements for a battlefield helicopter which would also be capable of being operated in naval environments. The NH90 ...

s, 32 of which will be stationed at Niederstetten Air Base. To accommodate the new aircraft an extensive building program started in 2007, the first result of which was the completion of a hangar to house 8 helicopters of the type NH90 in February 2008. The air base is also used for civilian purposes, particularly for business flights and recreational purposes. In order to comply with EU regulations and to retain permission for civilian use, the

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concre ...

was extended by 200 metres in 2011. To accommodate the new aircraft an extensive building program started in 2007.

References

External links

Official site of the German Armed Forces

Official site of the German Army

Helicopter museum in Bückeburg
{{authority control German airbases German army aviation Buildings and structures in Baden-Württemberg Airports in Baden-Württemberg

See also

References

External links