Faßberg Air Base (german: Heeresflugplatz Faßberg) is a

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

base located northeast of the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Faßberg Faßberg (ang. Fassberg) is a municipality in the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 35 km north of Celle, and 30 km west of Uelzen. History :''The pre-war history of Fassberg air base includes a n ...

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

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 ...

. The air base is jointly used by the German Army (''Heer'') and the German Air Force (''Luftwaffe''). Its main user is the

German Army Aviation Corps The German Army Aviation Corps (german: Heeresfliegertruppe) 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 ...

History

An airfield was established in 1934. However, since Germany was not allowed to possess an air force under the rules 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 ...

, the airfield was supposed to serve a future air force. Between 1934 and 1945 various

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 ...

units were based on the air base, flying aircraft as diverse as Junkers Ju 52,

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 ...

, Heinkel He 111, and towards the final stages 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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. In April 1945 the airfield was overrun by the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and subsequently used by the

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) an ...

(RAF). It was renamed first Airfield B 152 and later RAF Fassberg. During the

Berlin Blockade 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, ro ...

RAF Fassberg played an important role as a hub for supplying the city. Whilst being operated by the British Armed Forces several RAF squadrons were based at Fassberg. The first of these was 26 Squadron who arrived on 13 April 1946 and stayed for varying periods during the next 16 months. The squadron initially used the

Hawker Tempest The Hawker Tempest is a British fighter aircraft that was primarily used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Second World War. The Tempest, originally known as the ''Typhoon II'', was an improved derivative of the Hawker Typhoon, intended to a ...

F.5 until June 1946 when it switched to the Tempest F.2. The squadron stayed until 11 August 1947 then moved to

RAF Gutersloh 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 ...

. The next squadron was 14 Squadron which arrived on 1 November 1950 with the de Havilland Mosquito B.35, however only two months later during February 1951 they changed to the

de Havilland Vampire The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the RAF, after the Gloster Meteor, and the first to be powered by ...

FB.5 and further between May 1953 and July 1954 the Venom FB.1 was introduced with the squadron utilising both Vampires and Venom. On 23 June 1955 the squadron moved to RAF Oldenburg. On 1 November 1950 98 Squadron joined with the Vampire FB.5 and changed to the Venom FB.1 during August 1953, the squadron moved to Jever on 19 April 1955. The next squadron to arrive was

118 118 may refer to: *118 (number) *AD 118 *118 BC *118 (TV series) *118 (film) *118 (Tees) Corps Engineer Regiment *118 (Tees) Field Squadron, Royal Engineers See also *11/8 (disambiguation) *Oganesson Oganesson is a synthetic chemical element wi ...

who reformed here on 10 May 1951 with the de Havilland Vampire FB.5. Shortly afterwards on 12 May 1951 112 Squadron also reformed here operating the Vampire FB.5 however it was only a short stay and the squadron moved to RAF Jever on 7 March 1952. The

de Havilland Venom The de Havilland DH 112 Venom is a British post-war single-engined jet aircraft developed and manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. Much of its design was derived from the de Havilland Vampire, the firm's first jet-powered comb ...

FB.1 arrived to 118 Squadron during September 1953 and the squadron operated both the Vampire FB.5 and Venom FB.1 until June 1954 when the last Vampire's had left. The unit moved to Jever on 6 May 1955. On 26 September 1955 11 Squadron arrived with the Venom FB.4 but they only stayed until the following October and moved to

RAF Wunstorf Wunstorf () is a town in the district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 22 km west of Hanover. The following localities belong to the town of Wunstorf: Blumenau (with Liethe), Bokeloh, Großenheidorn, Idensen ...

. Similarly 5 Squadron joined on 10 October 1955 also with the Venom FB.4 and moved to Wunstorf on 9 October 1956. During 15 October 1955 266 Squadron arrived with the Venom FB.4 and moved to Wunstorf exactly a year later. The following units were also here at some point: * No. 23 Light Anti-Aircraft Battery. * No. 3 Armoured Car Squadron RAF Regiment. * No. 22 (LAA) Squadron RAF Regiment also at the handing over of the station to the Luftwaffe. Following the foundation of the ''

'' in 1955 and consequently the establishing of a German air force, Faßberg Air Base was returned to Germany on 1 January 1957. It was home of the Technical School of the ''Luftwaffe'' and for some time the Luftwaffe's Officer Training School. For fifteen years a helicopter pilot training school was also located at Faßberg Air base; this school has since been disbanded. THRgt 10

Current use

Faßberg Air Base is home to the army's Transport Helicopter Regiment 10 (''Transporthubschrauberregiment 10'') which was established in 1971. The regiment was first based at Celle Air Base but was moved to Faßberg in 1981. Transport Helicopter Regiment 10 is equipped with helicopters of the type Bell UH-1D. Other units stationed at the air base are the airforce's training school, a technical-logistical training centre for

rotary wing A rotorcraft or rotary-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft with rotary wings or rotor blades, which generate lift by rotating around a vertical mast. Several rotor blades mounted on a single mast are referred to as a rotor. The Internati ...

aircraft run by both the air force and the army, part of the Franco-German training facilities for the Eurocopter Tiger, a medical services centre, a family support unit and part of the administration of

Bergen-Hohne Training Area Bergen-Hohne Training Area (German: ''NATO-Truppenübungsplatz Bergen'' or ''Schießplatz Bergen-Hohne'') is a NATO military training area in the southern part of the Lüneburg Heath, in the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It covers ...

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

Website of Original agfacolor color photos from Fassberg in 1948 during the Berlin Airlift

Website of Transport Helicopter Regiment 10

Webseite of German Air Force Technical School 3Gallery of images of RAF Fassberg
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ServicePals.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fassberg Air Base Bases of the German Air Force German army aviation Luftwaffe bases Airports in Lower Saxony