Fritzlar Air Base (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: ''Heeresflugplatz Fritzlar'',

IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...

: FRZ,

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...

: ETHF) is a military air field of the German Army Aviation Corps. It is located near the town of

Fritzlar Fritzlar () is a small town (pop. 15,000) in the Schwalm-Eder-Kreis, Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, Germany, north of Frankfurt, with a storied history. The town has a medieval center ringed by a wall with numerous watch towers. high ...

in northern

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

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 ...

. The airfield is part of the Georg-Friedrich-Kaserne (Georg-Friedrich-Barracks). Fritzlar is the home of Kampfhubschrauberregiment 36 "

Kurhessen The Electorate of Hesse (), also known as Hesse-Kassel or Kurhessen, was the title used for the former Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel after an 1803 reform where the Holy Roman Emperor elevated its ruler to the rank of Elector, thus giving him ...

" (Attack Helicopter Regiment 36 "Kurhessen"), which is flying the

MBB Bo 105 The Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Bo 105 is a light, twin-engine, multi-purpose helicopter developed by Bölkow of Ottobrunn, West Germany. It was the first light twin-engine helicopter in the world, and the first rotorcraft that could perform ...

in anti-tank (PAH-1 & PAH-1A1) and light transport (VBH) version. Currently the PAH version is going to be replaced by the

Eurocopter Tiger The Eurocopter Tiger is a four-blade, twin-engine attack helicopter which first entered service in 2003. It is manufactured by Airbus Helicopters (formerly Eurocopter), which arose from the merger of Aérospatiale's and DASA's respective helico ...

.Website of the German Army
Replacement was to be finished in 2012 but is much delayed.

History

Construction of the airfield began in September 1935, although the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...

prohibited Germany to have an air force. The roofing ceremony was held on 17 September 1937.

Luftwaffe use

On 14/16 March 1939, the Staff and the first Group of the Kampfgeschwader 54 "Totenkopf" were established at Fritzlar Airfield. It was equipped with Heinkel He 111 P. With the start of

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 ...

, the KG 54 left Fritzlar in September 1939. It never returned to its home base. In August 1941, the hangars of the airfield were used by

Junkers Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG (JFM, earlier JCO or JKO in World War I, English language, English: Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works) more commonly Junkers , was a major German aircraft manufacturer, aircraft and aircraft engine manufactu ...

as maintenance and production site. They constructed barracks between the airfield and the town to house the forced laborers. The bombing of the Eder Dam on 17 May 1943 had no significant effect on the production lines. Only light buildings like barracks were damaged, and a few weeks later the production lines were working like before. In November 1943, the Junkers Ju 352 plane was designed and produced in the hangars. In 1944, after completing 44 planes, production was discontinued because of lack of material. Junkers left the airfield in October 1944. Between September 1944 and March 1945, the III. Group of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (III./NJG 1) were based at Fritzlar airfield. The group was equipped with Messerschmitt Bf 110 G and Junkers Ju 88 G. In March 1945, a training squadron of Nachtjagdgeschwader 101 (NJG 101) was based in Fritzlar. The lack of fuel made the school unable to train new pilots, and so the aviation trainers were assigned for combat duty.

USAAF use

The barely damaged

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 ...

airfield was captured by parts of the 9th Infantry Division of the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary 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 the United Stat ...

on 30 March 1945. A few grounded planes were captured undamaged. On 12/13 April 1945, parts of the 404th Fighter Group and 365th Fighter Group Hellcats of 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 ...

(USAAF) moved to Fritzlar and supported ground troops with their P-47 Thunderbolts until they reached the

Elbe river The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper and , ) 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 Republic), then Germany and flo ...

. After

V-E Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations ...

, both groups became part of the IX Air Defense Command. In the postwar years, the following known USAAF units were assigned to Army Air Force Station Fritzlar: * HQ,

IX Fighter Command The IX Fighter Command was a United States Army Air Forces formation. Its last assignment was with the Ninth Air Force, based at Erlangen, Germany, where it was inactivated on 16 November 1945. IX Fighter Command was the primary tactical fight ...

, July–September 1945 * HQ, IX Tactical Air Command, 26 June – September 1945 * 27th Fighter Group, 20 August 1946 – 25 June 1947,

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 ...

* 332d Bombardment Group, June–September 1945,

B-26 Marauder The Martin B-26 Marauder is an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II. The B-26 was built at two locations: Baltimore, Maryland, and Omaha, Nebraska, by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in t ...

* 365th Fighter Group, 13 April – 29 July 1945, P-47 Thunderbolt * 366th Fighter Group, 14 September 1945 – 20 August 1946, P-47 Thunderbolt * 370th Fighter Group, 6 August – September 1945, P-47 Thunderbolt * 404th Fighter Group, 12 April – 23 June 1945, P-47 Thunderbolt * 417th Night Fighter Squadron, 10 April - 19 August 1946,

P-61 Black Widow The Northrop P-61 Black Widow is a twin-engine United States Army Air Forces fighter aircraft of World War II. It was the first operational U.S. warplane designed specifically as a night fighter. Named for the North American spider ''Latrodect ...

USAAF operations were phased out on 14 September 1947, and the air base was transferred from the USAAF to other branches of the United States Army.

US Army use

In 1946, parts of the

14th Armored Cavalry Regiment The 14th Cavalry Regiment is a cavalry regiment of the United States Army. It has two squadrons that provide reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition for Stryker brigade combat teams. Constituted in 1901, it has served in conflicts ...

(USCON) were based at Fritzlar Kaserne. The 14th ACR (USCON): *Headquarters, Fritzlar *Headquarters Troops, Fritzlar *1st Battalion, Fritzlar *2nd Battalion,

Schweinfurt Schweinfurt ( , ; ) is a town#Germany, city in the district of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the surrounding Schweinfurt (district), district (''Landkreis'') of Schweinfurt and a major industrial, cultur ...

*3rd Battalion,

Coburg Coburg ( , ) is a Town#Germany, town located on the Itz (river), Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Ernestine duchies, Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only ...

*24th Constabulary Squad, Hersfeld The 1st Battalion left Fritzlar in 1951 and moved to Bad Hersfeld. In 1952, the HQ of the 14th ACR moved to

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the city hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. Histor ...

, and the presence of US Forces at Fritzlar Kaserne came to an end.

Berlin Blockade

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, roa ...

in 1948/49, Fritzlar Air Base served as

radio beacon In navigation, a radio beacon or radiobeacon is a kind of beacon, a device that marks a fixed location and allows direction finding, direction-finding equipment to find relative Bearing (navigation), bearing. But instead of employing visible lig ...

and emergency airfield on route back to

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

and

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

French Army use

As replacement of the US Forces, the French 5th Hussar Regiment with AMX 13 tanks was based at Fritzlar. They renamed the barracks ''Quartier General Lasalle''. With deployment of the

Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...

, the French

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

forces left Fritzlar in 1956.

German Army use

In October 1956, the barracks were transferred to the

and renamed ''Flugplatz Kaserne''. In 1964, they were renamed ''Georg-Friedrich-Kaserne'', after the Fieldmarshal Prince Georg Friedrich of Waldeck.

Non-flying units

The following non-flying units were based in Fritzlar: *1956 Panzergrenadierbataillon 22 (

Mechanized Infantry Mechanized infantry are infantry units equipped with Armoured personnel carrier, armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also armoured corps). As defined by the United States Army, me ...

Battalion 22) *1958–1972 Feldjägerdienstkommando Fritzlar ( MP Command Fritzlar) *1959–1992 Panzergrenadierbataillon 53 (former Panzergrenadierbataillon 22) (5th Brigade, 2nd Panzergrenadier Division (Bundeswehr)) *1961–1971 Flugabwehrbataillon 2 (

Anti-Aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...

Battalion 2) *1963–1967/1979–1996 Fernspähkompanie 300 (Long Range Reconnaissance Company 300) *1967–1994 Verteidigungskreiskommando 441 ( Territorial Defense District Command 441) *1981–1994 Panzerpionierkompanie 50 (Armored

Engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

Company 50) *1993–1996 3./Instandsetzungsbattalion 310 (3rd company of Maintenance Battalion 310) Currently the following non-flying units are based in Fritzlar: *Standortsanitätszentrum Fritzlar (Local Medic Center Fritzlar), since 1996 *Facharztzentrum Fritzlar (Medical Specialist Center Fritzlar), since 2001

References

External links

Military Airfield Directory

Allied footage of captured Luftwaffe aircraft at Fritzlar in May 1945
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fritzlar Air Base German airbases German army aviation Buildings and structures in Schwalm-Eder-Kreis Airports in Hesse Airports established in 1939 1939 establishments in Germany