Royal Air Force Geilenkirchen, more commonly known as RAF Geilenkirchen, was a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

station in the

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

region 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 betwe ...

, built by the British who used the facility mainly as an airfield for RAF fighter squadrons from May 1953 until 21 January 1968.

History

Geilenkirchen squadrons

No 2 Squadron RAF Number 2 Squadron, also known as No. II (Army Co-operation) Squadron, is the most senior squadron of the Royal Air Force. It is currently equipped with the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 at RAF Lossiemouth, Moray, since reforming there on 12 January ...

– 1955–1957; operated the Gloster Meteor FR.9 and later the Supermarine Swift FR.5. *

No. 3 Squadron RAF Number 3 Squadron, also known as No. 3 (Fighter) Squadron, of the Royal Air Force operates the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 from RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, since reforming on 1 April 2006. It was first formed on 13 May 1912 as one of the first squ ...

– 1953–1957 and 1959–1961, 1961–68; operated the Hawker Hunter F.4, the Gloster Javelin FAW.4 and the English Electric Canberra B(I).8 (1961–68). *

No. 5 Squadron RAF Number 5 (Army Co-operation) Squadron (although His Majesty the King awarded No. V (Army Cooperation) Squadron) was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It most recently operated the Raytheon Sentinel R1 Airborne STand-Off Radar (ASTOR) aircraf ...

– 1962–1965; operated the Gloster Javelin FAW.9. * No. 11 Squadron RAF – 1959–1965; operated the Gloster Meteor NF.11 and later the Gloster Javelin FAW.4, FAW.5, FAW.9. *

No. 59 Squadron RAF No. 59 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force, based in Norfolk, England. History No.59 Squadron was formed at Narborough Airfield in Norfolk on 1 August 1916 as a squadron of the Royal Flying Corps. On 13 February 1917, the Squadro ...

– 1957–1961; operated the Canberra B.2 and B(I).8 (1957–61). *

No. 92 Squadron RAF Number 92 Squadron, also known as No. 92 (East India) Squadron and currently as No. 92 Tactics and Training Squadron, of the Royal Air Force is a test and evaluation squadron based at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire. It was formed as part of the R ...

– 1965–1968; operated the English Electric Lightning F.2, F.2A. * No. 96 Squadron RAF – 1958–1959; operated the Gloster Javelin FAW.4. *

No. 234 Squadron RAF No. 234 Squadron RAF had a long career within the RAF, being operational on flying boats in World War I and on fighter aircraft in World War II. After the war it remained a fighter unit till 1957. In its last incarnation the squadron was in turn ...

– 1954–1957; operated the Canadair Sabre F.4 and later the Hawker Hunter F.4. *

No. 256 Squadron RAF No. 256 Squadron RAF was a flying squadron of the Royal Air Force which operated during the First and Second World Wars. Initially equipped with Dh6 and Kangaroo aircraft, it operated Defiant Mk IIs, Beaufighters, and Mosquitoes in the Second W ...

– 1958-1958; operated the Gloster Meteor NF.11.

Post RAF history

The RAF handed over the station to

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 **Ger ...

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 ...

in March 1968. The Germans used the airfield as home for a Surface-to-Surface Missile Wing equipped with Pershing missiles with support from 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 ...

Current use

In 1980, the station became

NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen (E-3A Component) is located near Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the main operating base of the NATO Boeing E-3 Sentry Component, one of two operational elements of the NATO Airborne Early Warnin ...

, the main operating base for

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 ...

Airborne Early Warning and Control Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...

force, operating 14 Boeing E-3A Sentry aircraft.

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

Silent Sentinel – brief history of 92 Sqn Lightning F2s

"Miss Demeanour", a (now famous) former RAF Geilenkirchen Hunter F.4NATO AWACS Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geilenkirchen Military units and formations established in 1953 Royal Air Force stations in Germany Military units and formations disestablished in 1968 Airports in North Rhine-Westphalia