Rheine-Bentlage Air Base (german: Heeresflugplatz Rheine-Bentlage) was an air base of the

German Armed Forces The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

and located near the village of Bentlage, 2 km northwest of the city of

Rheine Rheine () is a city in the district of Steinfurt (district), Steinfurt in Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest city in the district and the location of Rheine Air Base. Geography Rheine is on the river Ems (river), Ems, approx. north of Münst ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhab ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

History

In 1939 work to build an air base for the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

began. These preparations were completed in 1940. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

extensive use was made of the air base, particularly by night and day fighter squadrons. After the war the air base was abandoned. In 1960, following the founding of the Bundeswehr in 1955 and the establishing of a new branch within the German Army, the Aviation Corps, completely new military installations, hangars and a small

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...

made of

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...

, were constructed on the grounds of the former German Air Force base. Since 1960 various units of the German Army Aviation Corps have been stationed at Rheine Air Base. Initially, these units flew

Sikorsky H-34 The Sikorsky H-34 "Choctaw" (company designation S-58) is an American piston-engined military helicopter originally designed by Sikorsky as an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft for the United States Navy. It has seen extended use when ad ...

helicopters, which were used extensively during relief operations following the disastrous

North Sea flood of 1962 The North Sea flood of 1962 was a natural disaster affecting mainly the coastal regions of West Germany and in particular the city of Hamburg in the night from 16 February to 17 February 1962. In total, the homes of about 60,000 people wer ...

. Another type of helicopter stationed at Rheine-Bentlage was the Alouette II. In 1974, the Sikorsky CH-53 replaced the by now obsolete H-34 and has been in service at Rheine-Bentlage ever since, along with a small number of Bo 105VBH. In 1975, the air base was officially named '' Theodor Blank Barracks'' after the first Federal Minister of Defence of Germany. Helicopters from Rheine-Bentlage have carried out humanitarian operations in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

and the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

, offering help and logistic support after natural disasters. Since unification of Germany in 1990, units from Rheine-Bentlage were deployed in as various part as the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...

under the auspices of either

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

, the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

or the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...

. All units stationed at Rheine-Bentlage were incorporated into Army Aviation Medium Transport Regiment 15 in 2003. In 2004, after a further restructuring of the Bundeswehr, during which many bases were closed, Army Aviation Medium Transport Regiment 15 was given the honorary name ''Münsterland'', this being the result of the German Army's continuing commitment to the base at the time. Army Aviation Medium Transport Regiment 15 was part of Airmobile Operations Division.

Closure and further use

In October 2011 the German Federal Ministry of Defence announced a reorganisation/reduction of the German Armed Forces. As a consequence, Army Aviation Medium Transport Regiment 15 and all auxiliary units were formally disbanded on 31 December 2012. The remaining military personnel are employed at the defence depot. The number of military personnel at the base will be reduced by almost 94 per cent to 120. A number of helicopters stationed at Rheine-Bentlage were relocated to either Laupheim Air Base in Southern Germany or Holzdorf Air Base in

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...

where they were integrated into Helicopter Wing 64. The rest were decommissioned. On 31 December 2017, the last military personnel left the air base which was subsequently closed. Some of the air base's facilities are used by amateur Aeroclub Rheine.

Civil protection Civil defense ( en, region=gb, civil defence) or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from man-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency operations: Hazard prevention, ...

organisation Technisches Hilfswerk (Federal Agency for Technical Relief) provisionally utilises buildings on the former air base while their dilapidated buildings in Rheine are being renovated. In July 2019 the Federal Ministry of Defence announced that the former air base's

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are ...

will be home to Medical Regiment 4 which is to be established and planned to be operational in April 2020. Approximately 350 military personnel will be stationed at Rheine-Bentlage.

References

External links

Official site of the German Armed Forces

Official site of the German Army

Helicopter museum in Bückeburg
{{authority control German airbases Defunct airports in Germany German army aviation Buildings and structures in Steinfurt (district) Rheine Airports in North Rhine-Westphalia

History

Closure and further use

See also

References

External links