Oldenburg Air Base is a former West German

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 ...

air base in

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

, Germany. During the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

it was used by the British

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 ...

(RAF) as part of

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 ...

until 1957.

Royal Air Force history

The following units were here 1952-59: *

No. 14 Squadron RAF No. 14 Squadron of the Royal Air Force currently operates the Beechcraft Shadow R1 (a modified Beechcraft Super King Air) in the Intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) role from RAF Waddington. The Squadron i ...

between 23 June 1955 and 26 September 1959 when the squadron moved to RAF Ahlhorn. Operated

Hawker Hunter The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet propulsion, jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly dev ...

F.4 & F.6's *

No. 20 Squadron RAF No. 20 Squadron is the Royal Air Force's Operational Conversion Unit (OCU) for ground-based Tactical Air Command and Control, and Air Battle Management. It is part of the RAF's Air Surveillance and Control System (ASACS) and is based at RAF ...

from 28 July 1952 until 23 September 1957. The squadron operated a variety of aircraft including

de Havilland Vampire The de Havilland DH100 Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force, RAF, after the Gloster Meteo ...

FB.5 & FB.9s,

Canadair Sabre The Canadair Sabre is a Jet aircraft, jet fighter aircraft built by Canadair under licence from North American Aviation. A variant of the North American F-86 Sabre, it was produced until 1958 and used primarily by the Royal Canadian Air Force ...

F.4s & Hawker Hunter F.4 & F.6s *

No. 26 Squadron RAF No. 26 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was formed in 1915 and was disbanded for the last time in 1976. The squadron's motto is ''N Wagter in die Lug'' (Afrikaans) (A guard in the sky), and the badge is a springbok's head couped. History 1915 ...

from 12 August 1952 until 10 September 1957 when the squadron disbanded. The unit operated Sabre F.4s and Hunter F.4s * No. 234 Squadron RAF reformed here on 1 August 1952 staying until 8 January 1954 when the squadron moved to

RAF Geilenkirchen Royal Air Force Geilenkirchen more commonly known as RAF Geilenkirchen is a former Royal Air Force station in the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany, built by the British who used the facility mainly as an airfield for RAF fighter squad ...

. The unit operated Vampire FB.5 & FB.9s and Sabre F.4s

West German Luftwaffe

In 1964, the new post-war West German Luftwaffe's Reconnaissance Squadron 54 was disbanded, and at the same time Fighter Squadron 72 was moved back from Leck to Oldenburg. Both formations were merged to form Fighter-Bomber ''Geschwader'' 43 due to the change in the mission's mission (the aircraft were no longer day fighters, but the mission of the formation was now to combat ground targets). The association was subordinate to the 4th Air Force Division and the

North American F-86 Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...

was flown. In 1966 it was converted to Fiat G.91, the following year it was renamed to Leichtes Kampfgeschwader 43, and in 1979 it was renamed back to Fighter Bomber ''Geschwader'' 43. From 1981 the Alpha Jet was flown in Oldenburg. In 1991, 18 Alpha Jets from 2nd Squadron were briefly deployed to Turkey due to the Gulf War. On September 30, 1993, JaboG 43 was decommissioned/dissolved; a year later, on November 1, 1994, the airfield was officially de-dedicated. In addition to the flying unit, Air Force Supply Group 22 was stationed on the air base grounds from 1957 to 1958. In 1959 it was reorganized into Air Force Supply Regiment 6, whose staff moved into the Oldenburg Donnerschwee barracks. The Air Force Medical Squadron of LVR 6 (until 1993), the Saber F-86 field shipyard (until 1966), the Fiat G-91 field shipyard (from 1966 to 1981) and its successor Air Force Shipyard 61 of LVR 6 (from 1981 to 1993) were on the Stationed on the grounds of the air base. From 1968 to 1991, the 3rd battery of the anti-aircraft missile battalion 24 of the Nike air defense force was stationed at the air base, and from 1993 to 2006 (relocation to Bad Sülze) the anti-aircraft missile group 24 of the anti-aircraft missile squadron 2. The base was closed after Jagdbombergeschwader 43 was disbanded on 30 September 1993.

Notes

References

*{{cite book , last1=Jefford , first1=C. G. , title= RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912 , year=1988 , publisher= Airlife , location=

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

, isbn= 1-85310-053-6 Installations of the German Air Force Airports in Lower Saxony Defunct airports in Germany Military installations closed in 1993