Bückeburg Air Base (German: ''Heeresflugplatz Bückeburg'',

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...

: ETHB) is a

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

base located northeast of the

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Bückeburg Bückeburg (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Bückeborg'') is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, on the border with North Rhine Westphalia. It is located in the district of Schaumburg close to the northern slopes of the Weserbergland ridge. Bückeburg ha ...

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

British use

The airfield was built in 1946 as a RAF Station, RAF Bückeburg, serving the headquarters of the

Royal Air Force Germany Royal Air Force Germany, commonly known as RAF Germany, and abbreviated RAFG, was a List of Royal Air Force commands, command of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and part of British Forces Germany (BFG). It consisted of units located in Germany, init ...

Bad Eilsen Bad Eilsen (West Low German: ''Ahlsen'') is a municipality in the district of Schaumburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately southwest of Stadthagen, and southeast of Minden. Bad Eilsen is also the seat of the ''Samtgeme ...

. It complemented the nearby headquarters of the

British Army of the Rhine British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) was the name given to British Army occupation forces in the Rhineland, West Germany, after the First and Second World Wars, and during the Cold War, becoming part of NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) tasked ...

Bad Oeynhausen Bad Oeynhausen () is a spa town on the southern edge of the Wiehengebirge in the district of Minden-Lübbecke in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe, East-Westphalia-Lippe region of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The closest larger towns are Bielefeld (39 ki ...

. During the

Berlin Airlift The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, roa ...

it was one of the numerous air fields from where supply flights to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

were carried out. After the building of the British Forces' Joint Headquarters (JHQ) at

Rheindahlen Rheindahlen (called ''Dalen'' from the Early Middle Ages to the Early Modern Period around 1700, and ''Dahlen'' until 1878) is a town in the western and largest borough of the city of Mönchengladbach in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia ...

in 1954, the RAF closed the airfield at the end of the 1950s. ;Units *

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 Janua ...

from 29 June 1950 with

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced conti ...

s and

Gloster Meteor The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneere ...

s *

No. 541 Squadron RAF No. 541 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed as a photographic reconnaissance squadron in World War II. History Formation in World War II The squadron formed at RAF Benson on 19 October 1942 from 'B' and 'F' flights of No. 1 PR ...

operating Gloster Meteor PR.10s * 2nd Tactical Air Force Communication Wing RAF * 2nd Tactical Air Force Communication Squadron RAF * British Air Forces of Occupation Communication Squadron RAF

German use

With the foundation of the

Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...

in 1955, a decision was made that every branch of the Bundeswehr should have their own helicopter units, operating within the framework of the tasks designated to each branch of the armed forces. Thus, the

German Army Aviation Corps The German Army Aviation Corps () is a special unit within the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr). The German Army Aviation Corps is a branch of the German Army (''Heer''), containing all its helicopter units. The German Air Force and the German Na ...

was founded. The first training school, of this newly established branch of the

, the School of Army Aviation, was established in 1959 in

Mendig Mendig () is a small town in the district Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated approximately 6 km north-east of Mayen, and 25 km west of Koblenz. Mendig is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective muni ...

but moved to its current location in Bückeburg in January 1960 and has been there ever since. Its first commanding office was

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Kuno Ebeling. Bückeburg Air Base is used by the German Army's School of Army Aviation as one of the bases for the practical instruction of its flying and non-flying personnel. Basic flying training of helicopter pilots of other components of the German Armed Forces also takes place at Bückeburg Air Base. Apart from the actual flight training, modern high-end

flight simulators A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies, for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they rea ...

are extensively used during the training of future military helicopter pilots. Approximately 70 helicopters are permanently based at the airfield, 30 of which are used on a daily base for training. Initial training begins with the

Eurocopter EC 135 The Airbus Helicopters H135, formerly Eurocopter EC135, is a twin-engine civil light utility helicopter produced by Airbus Helicopters. It is capable of flight under instrument flight rules (IFR) and is outfitted with a digital automatic fligh ...

. During the second stage, prospective pilots are then instructed in flying the Bell UH-1D,

Bölkow Bo 105 The Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Bo 105 is a light, twin-engine, multi-purpose helicopter developed by Bölkow of Ottobrunn, West Germany. It was the first light twin-engine helicopter in the world, and the first rotorcraft that could perform ae ...

, medium transport helicopters

NH-90 The NHIndustries NH90 is a European medium-sized, twin-engine, multirole military helicopter. It was the first production helicopter to feature entirely fly-by-wire flight controls.Perry, Dominic"Rotor club: Our top 10 most influential helico ...

and Sikorsky CH-53G/GS. Flying instruction on the helicopters of the type Bell UH-1D, now being phased out, and Bölkow Bo 105, takes place at Celle Air Base. The tasks of Army Aviators Test Squadron 910 consist not only of trials of new types of helicopters but also of tactical and logistical research aiming at improving and developing the efficiency and concepts under which the German Army Aviators Corps are supposed to fulfil their manifolds tasks. The following units are stationed at Bückeburg Air Base: In October 2011 the German

Federal Ministry of Defence The Federal Ministry of Defence (, ; abbreviated BMVg) is a top-level federal agency, headed by the Federal Minister of Defence as a member of the Cabinet of Germany. The ministry is headquartered at the Hardthöhe barracks itself located at t ...

announced a reorganisation/reduction of the German Armed Forces. As a consequence, all activities of German Army Aviation School will be concentrated at Bückeburg Air Base and the school itself will be renamed International Helicopter Training Centre. The outpost at Celle Air Base will be dissolved.Quoted from , PDF-file "Die Stationierung der Bundeswehr in Deutschland", p. 81, 82

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