Second Allied Tactical Air Force (2 ATAF) was a NATO military formation under

Allied Air Forces Central Europe Allied Air Forces Central Europe (AAFCE) was the NATO command tasked with air and air defense operations in NATOs Allied Forces Central Europe (AFCENT) area of command. History Allied Air Forces Central Europe was activated on 2 April 1951 at Fon ...

tasked with providing air support to NATO's

Northern Army Group The Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) was a NATO military formation comprising four Western European Army Corps, during the Cold War as part of NATO's forward defence in the Federal Republic of Germany. The Army Group headquarters was established on ...

(NORTHAG). 2 ATAF commanded all flying units based within its sector and all reinforcements flying into its sector, as well as ground-based radar systems and stations, air defense units and the airfields in its sector. Second Allied Tactical Air Force was formed in 1958 with its area of responsibility covering the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany north of the city of

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

and south of the

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Re ...

river. Commander of 2 ATAF was the commanding

Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer originating from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. An air chief marshal is equivalent to an Admi ...

of the British

RAF Second Tactical Air Force The RAF Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force (RAF) during and after the Second World War. It was made up of squadrons and personnel from the RAF, other British Commonwealth air forces, ...

, which was renamed

RAF Germany The former Royal Air Force Germany (RAFG) was a command of the Royal Air Force and part of British Forces Germany. It consisted of units located in Germany, initially as part of the occupation following the Second World War, and later as part o ...

on 1 January 1959. A Communication Squadron for 2 ATAF was established in February 1952, and disestablished on 1 January 1959 at

RAF Wildenrath Royal Air Force Wildenrath, commonly known as RAF Wildenrath, was a Royal Air Force (RAF) military airbase near Wildenrath in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, that operated from 1952 to 1992. Wildenrath was the first of four 'clutch' stations ...

, by being redesignated RAF Germany Communication Squadron. The peacetime headquarters of 2 ATAF were at

RAF Rheindahlen The former Royal Air Force Rheindahlen, more commonly known as RAF Rheindahlen, was a non-flying Royal Air Force (RAF) military administrative base, becoming part of the Rheindahlen Military Complex ( JHQ Rheindahlen) in North Rhine-Westphalia, ...

, the command center in the case of war for 2 ATAF and NORTHAG was in the Netherlands at Joint Operations Center Maastricht (JOC Maastricht). In 1983 NATO began with the construction of Static War Headquarters Castlegate in

Linnich Linnich is a town in the district of Düren in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the River Rur (Roer river), approx. 10 km north-west of Jülich. Economy Linnich is the home of SIG Combibloc, the specialist fo ...

, Germany, as a replacement for JOC Maastricht. Alternate War HQ was located at

Kanne Kanne (Limburgish: ''Kan'') is a village in the municipality of Riemst in the southeastern part of the Belgian province of Limburg. as of 2021, the village has 1,162 inhabitants of which a significant part have the Dutch nationality. Locatio ...

(

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

) north of

Fort Eben-Emael Fort Eben-Emael (french: Fort d'Ében-Émael, ) is an inactive Belgian fortress located between Liège and Maastricht, on the Belgian-Dutch border, near the Albert Canal, outside the village of Ében-Émael. It was designed to defend Belgium ...

. 2 ATAF commanded RAF Germany, the

Belgian Air Force The Belgian Air Component ( nl, Luchtcomponent, french: Composante air) is the air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces, and until January 2002 it was officially known as the Belgian Air Force ( nl, Belgische Luchtmacht; french: Force aérienne belg ...

, the

Royal Netherlands Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = ''Parade March of the Royal Netherlands Air Force'' , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

, two divisions of the

German Air Force The German Air Force (german: Luftwaffe, lit=air weapon or air arm, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ''Bundeswehr'') was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War as ...

(''Luftwaffe'') and one

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air 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 of the United States Army Sig ...

Tactical Fighter Group, as well as extensive air defense and radar installations provided by Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. If needed 2 ATAF would have been reinforced with units from the US

Third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hi ...

(UK based), Eighth (reconnaissance and bombing),

Ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

(immediate reinforcements) and

Twelfth Air Force The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The command is the air component to ...

(follow on reinforcements), and with

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Ar ...

and

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 ...

units. At the start of hostilities 2 ATAF would have had immediately around 700 combat planes at its disposal. The following units would have come under 2 ATAF in wartime: 2 ATAF was disbanded on 30 June 1993, its duties were taken over by

War time structure c. 1989

Dassault-Dornier Alpha Jet 1B, Belgium - Air Force AN1840465

* Headquarters Second Allied Tactical Air Force,

/JOC Maastricht ** Air Defence Operations Center (ADOC),

*** Sector Operations Center 1 (SOC 1),

Aurich Aurich (; East Frisian Low Saxon: ''Auerk'', West Frisian: ''Auwerk'', stq, Aurk) is a town in the East Frisian region of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Aurich and is the second largest City in East Frisia, both i ...

**** 1st Btn, 34th (Luftwaffe) Signal Regiment, Control and Reporting Center Aurich **** 2nd Btn, 34th (Luftwaffe) Signal Regiment, Control and Reporting Center

Visselhövede Visselhövede () is a town in the district of Rotenburg in Lower Saxony, Germany. Nearby towns include the district capital Rotenburg, Walsrode and Verden. Larger cities within a 100 km radius are Bremen, Hanover and Hamburg. Visselhövede b ...

**** 3rd Btn, 34th (Luftwaffe) Signal Regiment, Control and Reporting Center

Brekendorf Brekendorf is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in E ...

****

Royal Netherlands Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = ''Parade March of the Royal Netherlands Air Force'' , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

, Control and Reporting Center Nieuw Milligen, Netherlands ***** No. 225 Squadron, (3× I-Hawk launch stations & 3× Flycatcher/Bofors 40L70 AAA) *** Sector Operations Center 2 (SOC 2),

Uedem Uedem is a municipality in the district of Cleves, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located near the border with the Netherlands. Division of the town Uedem consists of 4 districts * Uedem * Uedemerfeld * Keppeln * Uedemerbruch * Bru ...

**** 1st Btn, 33rd (Luftwaffe) Signal Regiment, Control and Reporting Center Uedem **** 3rd Btn, 33rd (Luftwaffe) Signal Regiment, Control and Reporting Center

Brakel Brakel () is a municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders in the Denderstreek and the Flemish Ardennes. The name is derived from a Carolingian villa ''Braglo'' first mentioned in 866 and located in the center of Opbrakel. Since 1970, t ...

**** V. Training Group, 2nd Luftwaffe Technical School, Control and Reporting Center

Erndtebrück Erndtebrück is a municipality in the Siegen-Wittgenstein district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Location Erndtebrück situated on the river Eder in the Rothaargebirge, approx. 20 km northeast of Siegen. Neighbouring com ...

****

, Control and Reporting Center

Glons Glons (; ) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Bassenge, located in the province of Liège, Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern ...

, Belgium *** 4th Btn, 33rd (Luftwaffe) Regiment,

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 ...

, with 12× mobile Radar systems forward deployed to the inner German border. **

Royal Air Force Germany The former Royal Air Force Germany (RAFG) was a command of the Royal Air Force and part of British Forces Germany. It consisted of units located in Germany, initially as part of the occupation following the Second World War, and later as part o ...

*** 4 Wing, administrative control of

RAF Regiment The Royal Air Force Regiment (RAF Regiment) is part of the Royal Air Force and functions as a specialist corps. Founded by royal warrant in 1942, the Corps carries out soldiering tasks relating to the delivery of air power. Examples of such ta ...

Rapier squadrons based in West Germany *** 33 Wing, administrative control of RAF Regiment Light Armour squadrons based in West Germany ***

RAF Bruggen Royal Air Force Brüggen, more commonly known as RAF Brüggen, in Germany was a major station of the Royal Air Force until 15 June 2001. It was situated next to the village of Elmpt, approximately west of Düsseldorf on the Dutch-German bo ...

, FRG **** No. 9 Squadron, 12× Tornado GR.1^{note 1} **** No. 14 Squadron, 12× Tornado GR.1^{note 1} **** No. 17 Squadron, 12× Tornado GR.1^{note 1} **** No. 31 Squadron, 12× Tornado GR.1^{note 1} **** No. 37 Squadron RAF Regiment, (Air Defence, 8×

Rapier A rapier () or is a type of sword with a slender and sharply-pointed two-edged blade that was popular in Western Europe, both for civilian use (dueling and self-defense) and as a military side arm, throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. Impo ...

launch stations) ****

No. 51 Squadron RAF Regiment No. 51 Squadron RAF Regiment is a field squadron of the RAF Regiment in the Royal Air Force. Its mission is protection of RAF bases from ground attack. History The history of No. 51 Squadron goes back to 1947 when it was formed at RAF Celle nea ...

, (Light Armour, 15×

Spartan Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta refe ...

, 6×

Scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always en ...

) ***

RAF Gütersloh Royal Air Force Gütersloh, more commonly known as RAF Gütersloh, was a Royal Air Force Germany military airfield, the nearest Royal Air Force airfield to the East/West German border, in the vicinity of the town of Gütersloh. It was constr ...

, FRG **** No. 3 Squadron, 16× Harrier GR.5 **** No. 4 Squadron, 16× Harrier GR.5 **** No. 18 Squadron, 16×

CH-47 Chinook The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter developed by American rotorcraft company Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol. The Chinook is a heavy-lift helicopter that is among the heaviest lifting Western helicopters. Its name, C ...

(supporting

British Army of the Rhine There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Both formations had areas of responsibility located ...

) **** No. 230 Squadron, 16× Puma HC.1 (supporting

) ****

No. 63 Squadron RAF Regiment The numero sign or numero symbol, №, (also represented as Nº, No, No. or no.), is a typographic abbreviation of the word ''number''(''s'') indicating ordinal numeration, especially in names and titles. For example, using the numero sign, t ...

, (Air Defence, 8× Rapier launch stations) ***

RAF Laarbruch Royal Air Force , more commonly known as RAF ICAO EDUL (from 1 January 1995 ETUL) was a Royal Air Force station, a military airfield, located in Germany on its border with the Netherlands. The Station's motto was (). The site now operates ...

, FRG **** No. 2 Squadron, 12× Tornado GR.1A (Reconnaissance) **** No. 15 Squadron, 12× Tornado GR.1^{note 1} **** No. 16 Squadron, 12× Tornado GR.1^{note 1} **** No. 20 Squadron, 12× Tornado GR.1^{note 1} ****

No. 1 Squadron RAF Regiment No. 1 Squadron RAF Regiment is a field squadron of the RAF Regiment in the Royal Air Force. Its mission is protection of RAF bases from ground attack, and patrolling a large area around main operating bases abroad, in order to defend aircraft o ...

, (Light Armour, 15× Spartan, 6× Scorpion) ****

No. 26 Squadron RAF Regiment No. 26 Squadron RAF Regiment was an RAF Regiment Field Squadron between 1951 and 2008. It was reformed in 2010 as a specialist Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Squadron initially based at RAF Honington in Suffolk. When it w ...

, (Air Defence, 8× Rapier launch stations) ***

, FRG **** No. 19 Squadron, 16x Phantom FGR.2 **** No. 92 Squadron, 16x Phantom FGR.2 **** No. 60 Squadron, Andover CC.2 transport planes ****

No. 16 Squadron RAF Regiment No. 16 Squadron RAF Regiment was a field squadron of the Royal Air Force Regiment. The squadron operated mostly outside the United Kingdom since its formation in 1948 until 2006 when it was disbanded. It started out as a field squadron before bec ...

, (Air Defence, 8× Rapier launch stations) **

***

485th Tactical Missile Wing 485th may refer to: *485th Aero Construction Squadron, part of the 27th Special Operations Wing at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico *485th Air Expeditionary Wing, provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command *485th B ...

Florennes Air Base Florennes Air Base is a Belgian Air Component military airfield located east southeast of Florennes, a Walloon municipality of Belgium. It is home to the 2nd Tactical Wing, operating F-16 Fighting Falcons. It also used to be the home to the T ...

, BE ****

71st Tactical Missile Squadron The 71st Tactical Missile Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 485th Tactical Missile Wing at Florennes Air Base, Belgium, where it was inactivated on 30 September 1989 with the implementation of the ...

, 48×

BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missile The Ground Launched Cruise Missile, or GLCM, (officially designated BGM-109G Gryphon) was a ground-launched cruise missile developed by the United States Air Force in the last decade of the Cold War and disarmed under the INF Treaty. Overview ...

s ***

Soesterberg Air Base Soesterberg Air Base was a Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) military air base located in Soesterberg, east-northeast of Utrecht. It was first established as an airfield in 1911, and in 1913, the Dutch Army bought the field and established ...

, NL **** 32d Tactical Fighter Group *****

32d Tactical Fighter Squadron The 32nd Air Operations Squadron, nicknamed ''the Wolfhounds'', is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with 32nd Air Operations Group, based at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It was inactivated on 1 November 2005. Bet ...

, 24×

F-15C Eagle The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force selected McDonnell Douglas's ...

**** No. 221 (Dutch) Squadron, (3× I-Hawk launch stations) ***

Nörvenich Air Base Nörvenich Air Base (Fliegerhorst Nörvenich) is a German Air Force air base in Germany . It is the home of Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 31 "Boelcke". The squadron flies the Eurofighter Typhoon. History It was built for the RAF Germany i ...

**** Forward deployed detachment of the

81st Tactical Fighter Wing The 81st Training Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force and the host wing at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi. The 81st Training Wing has the Air Force's largest Technical Training Group and trains more than 40,000 students annually. ...

, 8×

A-10A Thunderbolt II The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat, twin-turbofan, straight-wing, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Republic for the United States Air Force (USAF). In service since 1976, it is named for the Republic ...

*** Ahlhorn air base **** Forward deployed detachment of the

, 8×

***

Jever Air Base Jever Air Base is a former German Air Force military air base, located 4.3 km west-southwest of Schortens in Lower Saxony, Germany. It was the home of parts of the German Air Force Regiment. Military flying ceased in September 2013. History ...

**** Forward deployed detachment of the

, 8×

*** 1st Wing,

Beauvechain Air Base Beauvechain Air Base is a Belgian Air Component military airfield in Belgium, located south of Beauvechain in Wallonia (Walloon Brabant Province); east-southeast of Brussels. It is home to the 1st Wing, operating A109BA helicopters, and the ...

**** 349th Squadron, 24×

F-16A Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful ...

**** 350th Squadron, 24× F-16A Fighting Falcon *** 2nd Wing,

**** 1st Squadron, 24× F-16A Fighting Falcon **** 2nd Squadron, 24× F-16A Fighting Falcon *** 3rd Wing, Bierset Air Base **** 8th Squadron, 36× Mirage 5BA **** 42nd Squadron, 22× Mirage 5BR (Reconnaissance) *** 9th Wing,

Sint-Truiden Air Base Sint-Truiden / Brustem Airfield ( nl, Vliegveld Sint Truiden, ) is an airfield located in , southeast of Sint-Truiden (Limburg) and approximately east of Brussels. Formerly known as Sint-Truiden Air Base ( nl, Luchtmachtbasis Sint-Truiden, frenc ...

**** 7th Squadron, 16× Alpha Jet's **** 11th Squadron, 16× Alpha Jets *** 10th Wing^{note 2}, Kleine Brogel Air Base **** 23rd Squadron, 24× F-16A Fighting Falcon **** 31st Squadron, 24× F-16A Fighting Falcon *** Missile Wing,

Düren Düren (; ripuarian: Düre) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between Aachen and Cologne on the river Rur. History Roman era The area of Düren was part of Gallia Belgica, more specifically the territory of the Eburones, a peopl ...

, FRG **** Wing Staff, Düren **** 9th Operations Group,

Grefrath Grefrath () is a municipality in the district of Viersen, in the western part of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated in the Lower Rhineland region (''German: Niederhein''), which is located between the river Rhine and the borderli ...

, FRG ***** 54th Squadron,

Xanten Xanten (, Low Rhenish: ''Santen'') is a town in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the district of Wesel. Xanten is known for the Archaeological Park, one of the largest archaeological open air museums in the wo ...

, (9x MIM-14 Nike Hercules launch stations, disbanded 1989) ***** 56th Squadron,

, (9x MIM-14 Nike Hercules launch stations) **** 13th Operations Group,

, FRG ***** 50th Squadron, Düren, (9x MIM-14 Nike Hercules launch stations) ***** 51st Squadron,

Blankenheim Blankenheim may refer to: Places *Blankenheim, North Rhine-Westphalia, a municipality in western Germany * Blankenheim, Saxony-Anhalt, a municipality in eastern Germany *Blankenheim Castle, a schloss above the village of Blankenheim in the Eifel mo ...

, (9x MIM-14 Nike Hercules launch stations, disbanded 1989) **** Missile Support Group,

, FRG **

Belgian Army The Land Component ( nl, Landcomponent, french: Composante terre) is the land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land Component is Major-General Pierre Gérard. ...

*** 43rd Artilleriebataljon,

**** A/43rd Company,

Beverungen Beverungen () is a town in Höxter district in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Location Beverungen lies in the Weser Uplands on the side of the Weser opposite Solling roughly 10 km south of Höxter. In parts of the eastern mu ...

with 6×

MIM-23 Hawk The Raytheon MIM-23 HAWK ("Homing all the way killer") is an American medium-range surface-to-air missile. It was designed to be a much more mobile counterpart to the MIM-14 Nike Hercules, trading off range and altitude capability for a much ...

stations **** B/43rd Company,

Höxter Höxter () is a town in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany on the left bank of the river Weser, 52 km north of Kassel in the centre of the Weser Uplands. The main town's population is around 15,000, and with outlying centres, about 30,0 ...

with 6× Hawk launch stations **** C/43rd Company, Brakel with 6× Hawk launch stations **** D/43rd Company,

Bad Driburg Bad Driburg () is a town and spa in Höxter district in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, situated on the river Aa and the Altenbeken–Kreiensen railway. Geography Bad Driburg lies on the eastern slopes of the Eggegebirge which is roughly 20& ...

6× Hawk launch stations *** 62nd Artilleriebataljon, Essentho **** A/62nd Company,

Korbach Korbach (pronunciation: ˈkoːɐˌbax), officially the Hanseatic City of Korbach (German: Hansestadt Korbach), is the district seat of Waldeck-Frankenberg in northern Hesse, Germany. It is over a thousand years old and is located on the German Tim ...

with 6×

stations **** B/62nd Company,

Wolfhagen Wolfhagen () is a town in the district of Kassel, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 12 km southeast of Bad Arolsen, and 23 km west of Kassel on the German Timber-Frame Road. In 1992, the town hosted the 32nd Hessentag state festival. ...

with 6× Hawk launch stations **** C/62nd Company, Essentho with 6× Hawk launch stations **** D/62nd Company,

Diemelstadt Diemelstadt is a small town in Waldeck-Frankenberg district in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Diemelstadt lies in a small "bay" of Hesse that thrusts into, and is surrounded on three sides by, North Rhine-Westphalia. The River Diemel, the to ...

6× Hawk launch stations **

Royal Netherlands Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = ''Parade March of the Royal Netherlands Air Force'' , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

***

Eindhoven Air Base Eindhoven Airport is an airport located west of Eindhoven, Netherlands. In terms of the number of served passengers it is the second largest airport in the Netherlands, with 6.2 million passengers in 2018 (well behind Schiphol, which serves ...

**** No. 316 Fighter/Bomber Squadron, 18× NF-5A Freedom Fighter **** No. 422 Squadron, (3× I-Hawk launch stations & 3× Flycatcher/Bofors 40L70 AAA) ***

Gilze-Rijen Air Base Gilze-Rijen Air Base ( nl, Vliegbasis Gilze-Rijen, ) is a military base, military military airbase, airbase in the south of Netherlands. It is located between the cities of Breda and Tilburg, which are both in North Brabant. The airport is mainly, ...

**** No. 314 Fighter/Bomber Squadron, 18× NF-5A Freedom Fighter **** No. 121 Squadron, (3x I-Hawk launch stations & 3× Flycatcher/Bofors 40L70 AAA) ***

Leeuwarden Air Base Leeuwarden Air Base ( nl, Vliegbasis Leeuwarden) is a military airbase used by the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) - nl, Koninklijke Luchtmacht (''KLu''), . The airbase was formerly one of the two F-16 Fighting Falcon bases of the RNLAF. ...

**** No. 322 Fighter/Bomber Squadron, 24×

**** No. 323 Fighter/Bomber Squadron, 24× F-16A Fighting Falcon **** No. 119 Squadron, (3x I-Hawk launch stations & 3× Flycatcher/Bofors 40L70 AAA) *** Twente Air Base **** No. 313 Fighter/Bomber Squadron, 24× F-16A Fighting Falcon **** No. 315 Fighter/Bomber Squadron, 24× F-16A Fighting Falcon **** No. 222 Squadron, (3× I-Hawk launch stations & 3× Flycatcher/Bofors 40L70 AAA) ***

Volkel Air Base Volkel Air Base ( nl, Vliegbasis Volkel) is a military airbase used by the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) - Dutch: ''Koninklijke Luchtmacht (KLu)'', and is located near the village of Volkel in North Brabant, Netherlands. It is home to two F ...

**** No. 306 Reconnaissance Squadron, 18× F-16A F-16A Fighting Falcon (Reconnaissance) **** No. 311 Fighter/Bomber Squadron, 24× F-16A F-16A Fighting Falcon^{note 2} **** No. 312 Fighter/Bomber Squadron, 24× F-16A F-16A Fighting Falcon^{note 2} **** No. 420 Squadron, (3× I-Hawk launch stations & 3× Flycatcher/Bofors 40L70 AAA) ***

De Peel Air Base Lieutenant General Best Barracks ( nl, Luitenant-generaal Bestkazerne), formerly De Peel Air Base ( nl, Luchtmachtbasis De Peel), is a Royal Netherlands Army guided missile base in the Netherlands. It currently has only one, though not actively us ...

(for reinforcements) **** No. 421 Squadron, (3× I-Hawk launch stations & 3× Flycatcher/Bofors 40L70 AAA) *** 3rd Guided Weapons Group, Blomberg **** No. 324 Squadron,

Aerzen Aerzen is a municipality in the Hamelin-Pyrmont district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated southwest of Hamelin, and north of Bad Pyrmont. Economy One of the biggest employers in the region is Aerzener Maschinenfabrik GmbH., a manufac ...

with 6× I-Hawk launch stations **** No. 326 Squadron,

Horn-Bad Meinberg Horn-Bad Meinberg (; Low German: '' Häoern-Möomag '') is a German city in the Lippe district in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia on the edge of the Teutoburg forest. The district Bad Meinberg is a spa resort. It has 17,263 inhabitan ...

with 6× I-Hawk launch stations **** No. 327 Squadron, Schwelentrup with 5×

MIM-104 Patriot The MIM-104 Patriot is a surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, the primary of its kind used by the United States Army and several allied states. It is manufactured by the U.S. defense contractor Raytheon and derives its name from the radar comp ...

launch stations **** No. 328 Squadron, Schwalenberg with 5× Patriot launch stations *** 5th Guided Weapons Group,

Stolzenau Stolzenau is a municipality in the district of Nienburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the left bank of the Weser, approx. 20 km southwest of Nienburg, and 25 km northeast of Minden. During the second half of the 20th c ...

**** No. 500 Squadron, Borstel with 6× I-Hawk launch stations **** No. 501 Squadron, Winzlar with 6× I-Hawk launch stations **** No. 502 Squadron, Hoysinghausen with 5× Patriot launch stations **** No. 503 Squadron, Reinsdorf with 5× Patriot launch stations **

*** 3rd Luftwaffendivision, Kalkar ****

Geilenkirchen Geilenkirchen (, Ripuarian: ) is a town in the district Heinsberg, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated near the border with the Netherlands, on the river Wurm, approx. 15 km (9.3 mi) north-east of Heerlen and 20&nb ...

***** Missile Wing 2, 4× squadrons with 9×

Pershing 1a The MGM-31A Pershing was the missile used in the Pershing 1 and Pershing 1a field artillery missile systems. It was a solid-fueled two-stage theater ballistic missile designed and built by Martin Marietta to replace the PGM-11 Redstone missile as ...

each ****

*****

Jagdbombergeschwader 31 ''Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 31'' " Boelcke" (Tactical Air Force Wing 31; abbreviated as ''TaktLwG 31 "B"''), formerly known as ''Jagdbombergeschwader 31'' (Fighter-Bomber Wing 31; abbreviated as: ''JaBoG 31''), is a fighter-bomber wing of th ...

^{note 2}, 2× squadrons with 16×

Tornado IDS The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing multirole combat aircraft, jointly developed and manufactured by Italy, the United Kingdom and West Germany. There are three primary Tornado variants: the Tornado IDS (interd ...

each, and 6× Tornado IDS in reserve ****

Rheine-Hopsten Air Base Rheine-Hopsten Air Base is a former German Air Force military airfield, located 9.3 km north east of Rheine in Westphalia, Germany. The runway was closed in 2005 with the retirement of the F-4F Phantom II aircraft. History In 1939 works t ...

***** Jagdbombergeschwader 36, 2x squadrons with 15×

F-4F Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and ...

each, and 15× F-4F in reserve ****

***** Jagdbombergeschwader 38, 1st squadron with 24× Tornados IDS (Tornado Weapons Training Sqn.), 2nd squadron with 16× Tornado ECR, and 4× Tornado IDS in reserve ****

Oldenburg Air Base Oldenburg Air Base is a former German Air Force air base within Lower Saxony, Germany. During the Cold War it was used by the British Royal Air Force (RAF) as part of Royal Air Force Germany until 1957. Royal Air Force history The following unit ...

***** Jagdbombergeschwader 43, 2x squadrons with 18× Alpha Jet's each, and 8× Alpha Jets in reserve *** 4th Luftwaffendivision,

**** Wittmundhafen Air Base ***** Jagdgeschwader 71, 2× squadrons with 15× F-4F Phantom II each, and 4× F-4F in reserve **** 1st Air Defense Missile Command,

Heide Heide (; Holsatian: ''Heid'') is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) Dithmarschen. Population: 21,000. The German word ''Heide'' means "heath". In the 15th century four adjoining villages decided ...

***** 26th Air Defense Missile Wing, Heide, with 6×

squadrons; each with 1× Engagement Control Station, 1× Radar Set, 8× launch stations ***** 37th Air Defense Missile Wing,

Cuxhaven Cuxhaven (; ) is an independent town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven ...

, with 4×

squadrons; each with 6× launch stations ***** 39th Air Defense Missile Wing,

Eckernförde Eckernförde ( da, Egernførde, sometimes also , nds, Eckernför, sometimes also ) () is a German town in Schleswig-Holstein, Rendsburg-Eckernförde, on the coast of the Baltic Sea approximately 30 km north-west of Kiel. The population is ...

, with 4×

squadrons; each with 6× launch stations **** 2nd Air Defense Missile Command, Bremervörde ***** 24th Air Defense Missile Wing,

Delmenhorst Delmenhorst (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Demost'') is an urban district ('' Kreisfreie Stadt'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It has a population of 74,500 and is located west of downtown Bremen with which it forms a contiguous urban area, whereas the ...

, with 6×

squadrons; each with 1× Engagement Control Station, 1× Radar Set, 8× launch stations ***** 31st Air Defense Missile Wing,

Westertimke Westertimke is a municipality in the district of Rotenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Westertimke belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, established in 1180. In 1648 the Prince-Archbishopric was transformed into the Duchy of Bremen, whi ...

, with 4×

squadrons; each with 6× launch stations ***** 36th Air Defense Missile Wing, Bremervörde, with 4×

squadrons; each with 6× launch stations **** 3rd Air Defense Missile Command, Oldenburg ***** 25th Air Defense Missile Wing, Eydelstedt, with 6×

squadrons; each with 1× Engagement Control Station, 1× Radar Set, 8× launch stations ***** 35th Air Defense Missile Wing, Delmenhorst, with 4×

squadrons; each with 6× launch stations ***** 41st Air Defense Missile Group,

Wangerland Wangerland is a municipality in the district of Friesland, Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the North Sea coast, approximately 20 km northwest of Wilhelmshaven, and 10 km north of Jever. Its seat is in the village Hohenkirc ...

, with 16× Roland systems guarding

Jever Jever () is the capital of the district of Friesland in Lower Saxony, Germany. The name Jever is usually associated with a major brand of beer, Jever Pilsener, which is produced there. The city is also a popular holiday resort. Jever was granted c ...

Hopsten Hopsten is a municipality in the district of Steinfurt, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after ...

and Wittmundhafen Air Base **** 33rd Signal Regiment, Goch **** 34th Signal Regiment,

Alt Duvenstedt Alt Duvenstedt is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde Rendsburg-Eckernförde (; da, Rendsborg-Egernførde) is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise) the city of Kiel, the d ...

Note 1: Royal Air Force unit with nuclear strike role with 18x

WE.177 The WE.177, originally styled as WE 177, and sometimes simply as WE177, was a series of tactical and strategic nuclear weapons with which the Royal Navy (RN) and the Royal Air Force (RAF) were equipped. It was the primary air-dropped nuclear we ...

tactical nuclear weapon A tactical nuclear weapon (TNW) or non-strategic nuclear weapon (NSNW) is a nuclear weapon that is designed to be used on a battlefield in military situations, mostly with friendly forces in proximity and perhaps even on contested friendly territo ...

s. Note 2:

Nuclear sharing Nuclear sharing is a concept in NATO's policy of nuclear deterrence, which allows member countries without nuclear weapons of their own to participate in the planning for the use of nuclear weapons by NATO. In particular, it provides for the ar ...

unit capable of delivering B61

References

{{reflist * O. W. Dragoner, ''Die Bundeswehr 1989'' Volume 2.1, availabl
here
* O. W. Dragoner, ''Die Bundeswehr 1989'' Volume 3, availabl
here
Formations of the NATO Military Command Structure 1952–1994 Military units and formations established in 1958 Military units and formations disestablished in 1993 Tactical air forces Multinational air units and formations Military history of Europe

War time structure c. 1989

See also

References