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

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 ...

military airfield An airbase (stylised air base in American English), sometimes referred to as a military airbase, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base, is an aerodrome or airport used as a mi ...

, the nearest

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

airfield to the East/West German border, in the vicinity of the town of

Gütersloh Gütersloh () is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, in the region of Ostwestfalen-Lippe and the administrative region of Detmold (administrative region), Detmold. Gütersloh is the administrative centre for a Gütersloh (distric ...

. It was constructed by the German government prior to the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The station was captured by the American forces in April 1945 and was handed over to the RAF in June 1945 as Headquarters No. 2 Group RAF.

History

The early history of the airfield is largely undetermined. It is known that construction began in 1935 for a paratroop unit using

Junkers Ju 52 The Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed ''Tante Ju'' ("Aunt Ju") and ''Iron Annie'') is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers. First introduced during 1930 as a civilian airliner, it was adapted int ...

s then as a radar school, and the station was active in 1944–45 with

Junkers Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a twin-engined multirole combat aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works. It was used extensively during the Second World War by the ''Luftwaffe'' and became one o ...

Nightfighters of 5./ NJG 2 (Nachtjagdgeschwader 2) as part of the

Defense of the Reich The Defence of the Reich () is the name given to the strategic defensive aerial campaign fought by the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany over German-occupied Europe and Germany during World War II against the Allied strategic bombing campaign. Its aim ...

defensive aerial campaign fought by the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

. The tower of the Officers' Mess contains a room known as Göring's Room. Legend has it that

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...

used this room to relive his wartime exploits with the new generation of flyers. Reportedly a favourite expression of his was "If I should lie, may the beam above my head crack". In response to this a junior officer arranged that the beam be sawn through and, by a system of pulleys, that the beam should appear to crack in response to the Reichmarschall's challenge. An article appearing in ''Flight'' magazine in 1946 has the same story with "an elderly station commander" featuring in the Göring role. From interviews with Luftwaffe personnel of the period, it appears that Göring visited the station before and during the war. A photograph of the Reichmarschall supposedly at Gütersloh is displayed in the Officers' Mess. The station was captured by the Americans in April 1945 and designated as "Advanced Landing Ground Y-99". The Americans laid down a 4,000-foot SMT hardened runway and the

Ninth Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint D ...

operated

Lockheed P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinc ...

and

North American P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by a team headed by James H. Kin ...

reconnaissance aircraft of the

363d Tactical Reconnaissance Group 363rd or 363d may refer to: * 363d Expeditionary Operations Group, inactive United States Air Force unit * 363d Bombardment Squadron or 19th Antisubmarine Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit * 363d Fighter Squadron or 164th Airlift Squa ...

in late April. The P-38 Lightning-equipped 370th Fighter Group also operated from Gütersloh until the German capitulation on 8 May 1945. The 370th remained until the airfield was turned over to the RAF as part of the formation of the

British occupation zone in Germany The British occupation zone in Germany (German: ''Britische Besatzungszone Deutschlands'') was one of the Allied-occupied areas in Germany after World War II. The United Kingdom, along with the Commonwealth, was one of the three major Allied po ...

on 27 June 1945.

RAF Control

The RAF established Headquarters No. 2 Group RAF after the Americans moved south. From 1958 RAF Gütersloh fell under the operational command of 2 ATAF, like all other RAFG stations. The RAF initially built a 1,830 metre-long runway in 1946, which was later lengthened to 2,252 metres. During its history as an RAF station, the base was home to two squadrons of the

English Electric Lightning The English Electric Lightning is a British fighter aircraft that served as an interceptor during the 1960s, the 1970s and into the late 1980s. It is capable of a top speed above Mach 2. The Lightning was designed, developed, and manufactured ...

F2/F2A – No. 92 Squadron RAF and

No. 19 Squadron RAF No. 19 Squadron (sometimes written as No. XIX Squadron) is a Squadron (aviation), squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was the first squadron to operate the Supermarine Spitfire. It currently operates the UK's Control and Reporting Centre from RAF ...

from 1968 to 1976. These provided two aircraft for the Quick Response Alert, able to scramble within minutes. It then became home to No. 3 Squadron RAF and No. 4 Squadron RAF which flew successive variants of the

British Aerospace Harrier II The British Aerospace Harrier II is a second-generation vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) jet aircraft used previously by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and, between 2006 and 2010, the Royal Navy (RN). The aircraft was the latest developme ...

. After the Harriers departed, the RAF continued to operate helicopters, No. 18 Squadron RAF with the Boeing Chinook and

No. 230 Squadron RAF Number 230 Squadron Royal Air Force is a Royal Air Force (RAF) flying squadron, currently based at Medicina Lines in Brunei Darussalam, part of British Forces Brunei. The squadron was previously part of Royal Air Force Germany (RAFG), opera ...

with the Westland Puma HC1. The base was also used by No. 63 Squadron RAF Regiment with

Rapier A rapier () is a type of sword originally used in Spain (known as ' -) and Italy (known as '' spada da lato a striscia''). The name designates a sword with a straight, slender and sharply pointed two-edged long blade wielded in one hand. It wa ...

and HQ No. 33 Wing RAF Regiment. RAF Gütersloh closed and was transferred to the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

on 30 June 1993.

RAF units and aircraft

Gütersloh under the British Army

Following the withdrawal by the

in 1993, the base became a

Garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

, called the Princess Royal Barracks, Gütersloh, a base for British Army

helicopters A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribu ...

and

Royal Logistic Corps The Royal Logistic Corps provides logistic support functions to the British Army. It is the largest Corps in the Army. History The Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) was formed on 5 April 1993, by the union of five British Army corps: * Royal Engine ...

Regiments. * HQ Gütersloh Garrison * HQ 102 Logistic Brigade * 1 Regiment Army Air Corps ** No. 652 Squadron AAC ** No. 661 Squadron AAC * 1 Logistic Support Regiment,

** 74 HQ Squadron ** 2 Close Support Squadron ** 12 Close Support Squadron ** 23 General Support Squadron, * 2 Logistic Support Regiment,

** 27 HQ Squadron ** 22 Close Support Squadron ** 45 Close Support Squadron ** 76 General Support Squadron * 6 Regiment,

** 600 HQ Squadron ** 62 Material Squadron ** 61 Ammo Squadron **LAD REME * 8 Regiment,

** 64 Fuel Squadron *30 Squadron (part of 24 Regiment,

) * 5 Regiment,

Royal Military Police The Royal Military Police (RMP) is the corps of the British Army responsible for the policing of army service personnel, and for providing a military police presence both in the UK and while service personnel are deployed overseas on operations ...

** 114 Provost Company (now a Det. of 110 Provost Company, 1 RMP) * 262 Brigade Signal and HQ Squadron,

Royal Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...

In September 2016 the final Soldiers left Princess Royal Barracks for the last time.

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

Spotting Group Royal Air Force Güterslohaerial photo of RAF Gütersloh
tersloh]
Gutersloh – From ARRSEpedia
The British Military Open Encyclopedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Gutersloh Military installations established in 1945 Royal Air Force stations in Germany Barracks in Germany Buildings and structures in Gütersloh (district) Military installations closed in 1993 Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Germany Gütersloh Airports established in 1935 Airports in North Rhine-Westphalia