Roth 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 Roth'',

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 ...

: ETHR) is located south of the city of Roth in

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 ...

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 ...

History

Planning for a base for the nascent

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 ...

near Roth started in the mid-1930s. Building works not only for an air base but also for regular

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

started in 1937 and were completed in 1938. The first unit to occupy the base was a pilot training school relocated from Landsberg Air Base near Penzing. During

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 ...

, a number of Luftwaffe fighter wings were stationed at Roth. In 1945 the airfield was bombed by aircraft of the

USAAF 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 ...

and surrendered to American forces on 8 April 1945. Subsequently, the base was used as storage facility for ammunition and bombs. In 1954 Roth's Amateur Pilot Club received permission to use the airstrip. This permission has never been revoked and is still valid. In 1956 the air base was handed over to the German military, first to the Luftwaffe, which used it for the

basic training Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which resocializes its subjects for the unique dema ...

of its recruits, and in 1961 to the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

which utilised the facilities to house units of its Army Aviation Corps on the base, extending and improving the already existing structures. The first aircraft to be stationed at Roth Air Base were

Alouette II Alouette or alouettes may refer to: Music and literature * "Alouette" (song), a French-language children's song * Alouette, a character in ''The King of Braves GaoGaiGar'' Aerospace * SNCASE Alouette, a utility helicopter developed in France i ...

and Do 27 and in 1963 Army Aviation Battalion 4 was founded at Roth. In the same year, the air base was given the name Otto Lilienthal Barracks after the pioneer of human

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

. After the phasing out of the Do 27, the battalion received helicopters of the type Bell UH-1D in 1969. During the following decade a number of German Army Aviation Corps' units were stationed at Roth Air Base only to be relocated within a few years or to be renamed. In 1980 Army Aviation Regiment 26 received helicopters of the type

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 ae ...

and in 2004 the regiment was renamed Army Aviation Attack Helicopter Regiment 26 and was given the honorary name ''Franken'' (i.e.

Franconia Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...

), this being a result of the German Army's continuing commitment to the base at the time. Beginning in 2009 Army Aviation Attack Helicopter Regiment 26 was to receive 32 helicopters of the type

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 ...

, replacing the Bo 105. In order to accommodate this new helicopter, extensive construction works to build two hangars for storage and maintenance had started in 2007 and were completed in 2009. However, due to technical problems, the deliveries were delayed and ultimately did not take place. Even though Army Aviation Attack Helicopter Regiment 26 is the air base's main occupant, small units of other parts of the armed forces are also stationed at this location, namely Army Aviation Squadron 269, two squadrons of the Luftwaffe's Air Defence Artillery Group 23 equipped with

Patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot(s) or The Patriot(s) may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American R ...

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-ai ...

s, parts of the Luftwaffe's Training Regiment and its staff, and also parts of

Central Medical Services The Joint Medical Service (, ''short form:'' Zentraler Sanitätsdienst, ) is a part of the ''Bundeswehr'', the armed forces of Germany and serves all three armed services (Army, Navy and Air Force, as well as the Cyber and Information Domain ...

. Approximately 2,800 military and civilian personnel are currently employed at Roth Air Base. In October 2011 the German

Federal Ministry of Defence The Federal Ministry of Defence (, ; abbreviated BMVg) is a top-level federal agency, headed by the Federal Minister of Defence as a member of the Cabinet of Germany. The ministry is headquartered at the Hardthöhe barracks itself located at t ...

announced a reorganisation/reduction of the German Armed Forces. As a consequence, Army Aviation Attack Helicopter Regiment 26 and auxiliary units as well the two squadrons of the Luftwaffe's Air Defence Artillery Group 23 and the Luftwaffe's Training Regiment will be disbanded. The Luftwaffe's Officers Training School will relocate from

Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base ( German: "Fliegerhorst Fürstenfeldbruck" or "Flugplatz Fürstenfeldbruck") is a former German Air Force airfield near the town of Fürstenfeldbruck in Bavaria, near Munich, Germany. Fürstenfeldbruck became famous fir ...

to Roth. The Central Medical Services will be expanded into a regional medical centre. Additionally, a regiment of ''

Feldjäger The ''Feldjäger'' () are Germany's military police. The term ''Feldjäger'', literally meaning field huntsmen or field Jäger, has a long tradition and dates back to the mid-17th century. History The first modern ''Feldjäger'' ...

'' (

Military Police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. Not to be confused with civilian police, who are legally part of the civilian populace. In wartime operations, the military police may supp ...

) will also be moved to Roth. However, after the implementation of these cuts and relocation the number of military personnel based at Roth Air Base will be reduced by more than 80 per cent to 540. With the relocation of the last attack helicopters in 2014, military flying operations at Roth Air Base will cease to exist.

References

External links

Official site of the German Army

Official site of the German Armed Forces
{{Airports in Germany German Army installations German army aviation Buildings and structures in Roth (district) Airports in Bavaria

History

See also

References

External links