Aachen Merzbrück Airfield
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Aachen Merzbrück Airfield () is an
airfield An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...
located near
Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...
,
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 ...
.


History

The airfield was built about 1914 as a grass airfield, and throughout the 1930s was used by small light aircraft. After the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
in 1919, it was taken over by
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
occupying power and used as a military airfield and expanded accordingly. In 1929, the Belgian soldiers withdrew and the airfield became a civilian airfield. In 1930, the
airship An airship, dirigible balloon or dirigible is a type of aerostat (lighter-than-air) aircraft that can navigate through the air flying powered aircraft, under its own power. Aerostats use buoyancy from a lifting gas that is less dense than the ...
, ''
Graf Zeppelin Graf Zeppelin () may refer to: People * Count Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin (1838–1917), German officer, engineer, and founder of the Zeppelin airship company * * Eberhard von Zeppelin, Eberhard Moritz Adolph Albert Graf von ...
'' landed and took off in Merzbrück as part of a sightseeing flight in the
Rhineland The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...
. In 1931, a line connection to
Cologne Butzweilerhof Airport Butzweilerhof was an airport of Cologne in West Germany. It was established as a training airfield in 1912, and saw airline service from 1922 until the 1950s. It was replaced by the Cologne Bonn Airport. The airport buildings from 1935-36 are ...
was set up, which was operated with the
Junkers G 24 The Junkers G 24 was a German three-engine, all-metal low-wing monoplane passenger aircraft manufactured by Junkers from 1925. Junkers F 24 was the designation for single-engine versions of the same aircraft. Development The increased German ...
until 1935. In 1935, the regular scheduled flight to Cologne was discontinued for economic reasons. In 1932, the world's largest airplane at that time, the
Junkers G 38 The Junkers G.38 was a large German four-engine transport aircraft that first flew in 1929.EADS Two examples were constructed in Germany. Both aircraft flew as a commercial transport within Europe in the years leading up to World War II. Durin ...
, landed in Merzbrück. In
World War II 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 ...
, Merzbrück was used 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 ...
, with IV.(Stuka)/LG 1 and I./St.G. 77 of Lehrgeschwader 1, equipped with
Junkers Ju 87 The Junkers Ju 87, popularly known as the "Stuka", is a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935. The Ju 87 made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's Condor Legion during the ...
s during the first week of the
Battle of Belgium The invasion of Belgium or Belgian campaign (10–28 May 1940), often referred to within Belgium as the 18 Days' Campaign (; ), formed part of the larger Battle of France, an Military offensive, offensive campaign by Nazi Germany, Germany during ...
in May 1940. After the
Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...
in June ended, the airfield was little used by the military or general aviation.The Luftwaffe, 1933-45
/ref> In January 1945, as a result of the
Western Allied invasion of Germany The Western Allied invasion of Germany was coordinated by the Allies of World War II, Western Allies during the final months of hostilities in the European theatre of World War II, European theatre of World War II. In preparation for the Allied ...
,
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
forces moved through the
Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...
area and captured Merzbrück Airport about 29 January. In February, combat engineers of the 818th Engineering Aviation Battalion arrived and laid down a 5000'
Pierced Steel Planking Marston Mat, more properly called pierced (or perforated) steel planking (PSP), is standardized, perforated steel matting material developed by the United States at the Waterways Experiment Station shortly before World War II, primarily for the r ...
metal runway down on the grass airfield aligned 05/23 for use by combat aircraft, and the airport was designated as Advanced Landing Ground "Y-46 Aachen". The Americans used the airport for
P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter, and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...
combat operations until the middle of April 1945, and the airport was closed on 11 May 1945.Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. . After the war, the airfield was used by the
British Forces in Germany British Forces Germany (''BFG'') was the generic name for the three services of the British Armed Forces, made up of service personnel, UK Civil Servants, and dependents (family members), based in Germany. It was established following the World ...
and later by the
Belgian Forces in Germany The Belgian Forces in Germany ( or FBA, , BSD) was the name of Belgium's army of occupation in West Germany after World War II. Lasting between 1946 and 2002, the army corps-strength FBA-BSD formed part of the NATO force guarding Western Europe a ...
. Subsequently, the airfield was rebuilt with an all-weather asphalt runway, taxiways, and both concrete and grass aircraft parking areas. A parallel grass runway is also available.


Usage

There is no scheduled traffic at the airfield. It primarily is used by
general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...
, and also has a large sailplane facility. The
ADAC The ADAC, officially the Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club (), is Europe's largest automobile association. The ADAC is the largest wikt:Verein, ''verein'' (club) in Germany, with around 21 million members. Its headquarters are located i ...
air rescue service provides the air rescue helicopter ''Christoph Europa 1'' for urgent medical rescues and
air ambulance Air medical services are the use of aircraft, including both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters to provide various kinds of urgent medical care, especially prehospital, emergency and critical care to patients during aeromedical evacuation an ...
duties here. A flight school and maintenance facility (Westflug Aachen) is located here since 1967.


See also

*
Transport in Germany As a densely populated country in a central location in Europe and with a developed economy, Germany has a dense transport infrastructure. One of the first limited-access highway systems in the world to have been built, the extensive German ...
*
List of airports in Germany This is a list of airports in Germany, sorted by location. List Airport names shown in bold indicate the facility has scheduled passenger service on a commercial airline. See also * List of airports by ICAO code: E#ED ET - Germany * List ...


References


External links


Official website
* *
Weather station and webcams at EDKA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merzbruck Airport Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Germany Airports established in 1932 Airports in North Rhine-Westphalia Aachen