Bad Kissingen Airfield is an airfield in

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 ...

, located about 1 mile north of

Bad Kissingen Bad Kissingen () is a German spa town in the Bavarian region of Lower Franconia and County town, seat of the Bad Kissingen (district), district Bad Kissingen. Situated to the south of the Rhön Mountains on the Franconian Saale, Franconia ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. It supports

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 light aircraft up to by planes of up to 3,000 kg.

History

Bad Kissingen had two different aerodromes.

Military airfield

The origins of the first airfield, located 3 km east of the city, are in August 1936 when the German Army "Baron von Manteuffel" Kaserne was constructed, parallel to the opening of an airfield as a component of the garrison. During World War II, Bad Kissingen was declared an "open city" and escaped Allied bombing. With all of its sanatoriums, hotels and nursing homes, the city served as a rest center for sick and injured German soldiers. On 7 April 1945, Third US Army troops entered the city without a fight. The aerodrome was taken over by the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

in April 1945 as a liaison airfield for the United States occupation forces in the Bad Kissingen area. On 6 June 1945 the Headquarters of

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 ...

moved from Chantilly, France to Bad Kissingen. On 1 November 1945, the

XII Tactical Air Command The XII Tactical Air Command was a formation of the United States Army Air Forces. Its last assignment was with the United States Air Forces in Europe at Bad Kissingen, Germany, where it was inactivated on 10 November 1947. History The 12th Gr ...

moved to Bad Kissingen from Erlangen and replaced the Ninth Air Force. Originally constructed with a

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 ...

runway, the steel was removed in 1948 and transported to the

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 ...

area for use in the construction of

Tegel Airport Berlin Tegel "Otto Lilienthal" Airport () was the primary international airport of Berlin, the capital of Germany. The airport was named after aviation pioneer Otto Lilienthal and was the fourth busiest airport in Germany, with over 24 millio ...

. On 10 November 1947 the XII Tactical Air Command was inactivated at Bad Kissingen. In early 1948, the airfield was turned over to the

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 ...

. During 1949, an additional 30 acres of land were requisitioned and added to the Kaserne. The PX, Commissary, EM Club, Gym, Bowling Alley were constructed as parts of this addition. Another section was used for an ammunition storage area. In 1950, the grass runway was replaced with a bitumen runway. In 1953, another 23 acres were added to the Kaserne. The additional land was used for construction of dependent housing. On 17 February 1953, pursuant to GO #1, Hqs USAREUR, Manteuffel Kaserne was redesignated as Daley Barracks in honor of Technician Fifth Grade William T. Daley, HHB, 94th Rcn Sq (Mecz), who was awarded posthumously the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism during World War II. Daley Barracks was part of the Manteuffel-Kaserne/Daley Barracks NATO facilities until 1993 when the Americans withdrew from Bad Kissingen after the Cold War ended. Since the closure of the airfield, the area has been used by the

German Federal Police The Federal Police (, , BPOL) is the national and principal Federal police, federal law enforcement agency of the German Federal Government, subordinate to the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community. The Federated Police is meant to be r ...

as a training area.''Information on AAF/EDEG''
/ref> The ICAO-Code EDEG had been assigned to this airfield.

Civil airfield

The local glider club ''Segelfluggemeinschaft Bad Kissingen'' constructed a civil airfield approximately 1 km north of the City. A control tower was added to an existing spa building, constructed around 1900, and two hangars were erected. The ICAO-Code EDFK was assigned to the civil airfield. Until 2017, the aerodrome was regularly used by the Helicopter Rescue Squadron of the State of Bavaria. Today, the airfield is used primarily by local light aircraft and gliders.

References

IX Engineer Command ETO Airfields
* Johnson, David C. (1988), U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO), D-Day to V-E Day; Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center, Maxwell AFB, Alabama. * Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. .
Great Circle Mapper

External links

* {{ASN, EDFK Airports in Bavaria Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Germany Bad Kissingen Airports established in 1945

History

Military airfield

Civil airfield

See also

References

External links