Bitburg Airport (german: Flugplatz Bitburg) is a commercial airport serving Bitburg, a city in the

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 ...

state 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 ...

. It is located 2 miles (3 km) southeast of Bitburg, 32 km (20 mile) north of

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

, and 217 km (135 miles) west of

Wiesbaden 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 ...

History

From 1952 until 1994, Bitburg Air Base was a front-line

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 ...

air base. It was the home of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, 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 ...

's 36th Tactical Fighter Wing for over 40 years as part of 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 ...

( USAFE). Under contract with the United States Air Force, the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...

began construction of what would become the base in Western Germany's Eifel Mountains in early 1951. Located in the

French occupation zone The French occupation zone in Germany (, ) was one of the Allied-occupied areas in Germany after World War II. Background In the aftermath of the Second World War, Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin met at the Yalta ...

, construction began on farm land that had been a

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

tank staging and supply area for the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

in late 1944. The air base and its housing area occupied nearly , with a long runway (with overruns at each end, total length would be 10,200 ft). In July 1952, the 53rd Fighter-Bomber Squadron from the

36th 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, depe ...

moved from

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 ...

a few miles west of

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

and arrived at the newly built base. Throughout the summer, elements of the 36th FBW moved into Bitburg, with the wing officially arriving in November 1952. With the end of the Cold War, it was deemed that Bitburg AB was no longer needed as a military base and it was turned over to the German government on 1 October 1994. Between June and September 1997, it was necessary to repair the Spangdahlem Air Base runway and that called for a temporary location to accommodate the

52d Fighter Wing The 52nd Fighter Wing (52 FW) is a wing of the United States Air Force stationed at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. It flies the F-16CJ fighter aircraft. It was activated in 1948, but derives significant elements of its history from the predeces ...

's three squadrons of F-15s and F-16s. Bitburg Airport was the most logical place—only 10 miles (16 km) down the road. The USAF departed for the second time in September 1997 and Bitburg Airport was returned to use by the civil aircraft which now call it home. On September 15, 2008, the Ministry of Transport of Rhineland-Palatinate granted the airport contractor landing rights for aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of more than 14 tonnes. The airport contracting company is currently evaluating plans to develop the airport into a regional freight airport.

Airlines and destinations

There are no scheduled airline services to and from Bitburg Airport.

Nearby Air Force support community

Although the airport was officially returned to the German government the United States held on to the land annexed for housing soldiers and their families. This land was designated to extra housing for airmen and their families, numerous support facilities, such as schools, a commissary, and hospital. The intention to return these facilities was always the plan, but unknown when it would take place. In May 2017 the Bitburg base's high school was officially closed after over 60 years in operation. This marked the beginning the return of the land to Germany. The task of preparing the base was put to the U.S. armed forces. After families were relocated and buildings prepared to be returned in November 2017 the base had a small ceremony to commemorate the end of United States military presence since 1952. After the ceremony the last military personnel left the base officially handing over the community back to the German Government.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Donald, David (2004) Century Jets: USAF Frontline Fighters of the Cold War. AIRtime * Fletcher, Harry R. (1989) Air Force Bases Volume II, Active Air Force Bases outside the United States of America on 17 September 1982. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. * Martin, Patrick (1994). Tail Code: The Complete History of USAF Tactical Aircraft Tail Code Markings. Schiffer Military Aviation History. . * Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. . * Menard, David W. (1998). Before Centuries: USAFE Fighters, 1948–1959. Schiffer Military Books * Mueller, Robert (1989). Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982. USAF Reference Series, Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. * Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. . * Rogers, Brian (2005). United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978. Hinkley, England: Midland Publications. .
USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers--1908 to present
* Mindling, George and Bolton, Robert (2008). US Air Force Tactical Missiles 1949-1969 The Pioneers. Lulu Press .

External links

Bitburg Barons Alumni Association

Reunion Website for the 36th TFW and Bitburg Air Base

F-100s of 36th TFW (via F-100.org

Bitburg F-4s

TAC Missileers - Matador and Mace Missileers
* {{Airports in Germany Airports established in 1952 Airports in Rhineland-Palatinate 1952 establishments in West Germany