Second Allied Tactical Air Force (2 ATAF) was a NATO

military formation Military organization ( AE) or military organisation ( BE) is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. Formal military organization tends to use hierarc ...

under Allied Air Forces Central Europe tasked with providing air support to NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG). 2 ATAF commanded all flying units based within its sector and all reinforcements flying into its sector, as well as ground-based radar systems and stations, air defense units and the airfields in its sector.

History

Second Allied Tactical Air Force was formed in 1958. Its area of responsibility covered the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany north of the city of

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

and south of the

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, 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 Ge ...

river. The commander of 2 ATAF was the commanding

Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British i ...

of the British

RAF Second Tactical Air Force The Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force (RAF) during and after the World War II, Second World War. It was made up of Squadron (aviation), squadrons and personnel from the RAF, other Co ...

, which was renamed RAF Germany on 1 January 1959. A Communication Squadron for 2 ATAF was established in February 1952, and disestablished in January 1959 at RAF Wildenrath, by being redesignated RAF Germany Communication Squadron. The peacetime headquarters of 2 ATAF was at RAF Rheindahlen (Mönchengladbach), the command center in the case of war for 2 ATAF. NORTHAG was in the Netherlands at Joint Operations Center Maastricht (JOC Maastricht). In 1983 NATO began with the construction of Static War Headquarters Castlegate in Linnich, Germany, as a replacement for JOC Maastricht. An Alternate War HQ was located at Kanne (

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

) north of Fort Eben-Emael. 2 ATAF commanded RAF Germany, the Belgian Air Force, the

Royal Netherlands Air Force The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF; , "Royal Air Force") is the military aviation branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It was created in 1953 to succeed its predecessor, the ''Luchtvaartafdeling'' () of the Dutch Army, which was founded ...

, two divisions of the

German Air Force The German Air Force (, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ) was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War as the aerial warfare branch of the armed forces of West Ger ...

(''Luftwaffe'') and one

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

Tactical Fighter Group, as well as extensive air defense and radar installations provided by Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. If needed, 2 ATAF would have been reinforced with units from the US

Third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

(UK based), Eighth (reconnaissance and bombing),

Ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

(immediate reinforcements) and

Twelfth Air Force The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The command is the air component to U ...

(follow on reinforcements), and with

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air force, air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the Fr ...

and

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 ...

units. At the start of hostilities, 2 ATAF would have had immediately around 700 combat planes at its disposal. The following units would have come under 2 ATAF in wartime: 2 ATAF was disbanded on 30 June 1993, its duties were taken over by Allied Air Forces Central Europe.

War time structure c. 1989

* Headquarters Second Allied Tactical Air Force, RAF Rheindahlen/JOC Maastricht ** Air Defence Operations Center (ADOC), Kanne *** Sector Operations Center 1 (SOC 1),

Aurich Aurich (; East Frisian Low Saxon: ''Auerk'', West Frisian: ''Auwerk'', ) is a town in the East Frisian region of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Aurich and is the second largest City in East Frisia, both in popula ...

**** 1st Btn, 34th (Luftwaffe) Signal Regiment, Control and Reporting Center Aurich **** 2nd Btn, 34th (Luftwaffe) Signal Regiment, Control and Reporting Center

Visselhövede Visselhövede () is a town in the district of Rotenburg (district), Rotenburg in Lower Saxony, Germany. Nearby towns include the district capital Rotenburg an der Wümme, Rotenburg, Walsrode and Verden, Germany, Verden. Larger cities within a 100&n ...

**** 3rd Btn, 34th (Luftwaffe) Signal Regiment, Control and Reporting Center Brekendorf ****

, Control and Reporting Center Nieuw Milligen, Netherlands ***** No. 225 Squadron, (3× I-Hawk launch stations & 3× Flycatcher/Bofors 40L70 AAA) *** Sector Operations Center 2 (SOC 2), Uedem **** 1st Btn, 33rd (Luftwaffe) Signal Regiment, Control and Reporting Center Uedem **** 3rd Btn, 33rd (Luftwaffe) Signal Regiment, Control and Reporting Center Brakel **** V. Training Group, 2nd Luftwaffe Technical School, Control and Reporting Center Erndtebrück **** Belgian Air Force, Control and Reporting Center Glons, Belgium *** 4th Btn, 33rd (Luftwaffe) Regiment, Faßberg, with 12× mobile Radar systems forward deployed to the inner German border. **

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 ...

, RAF Rheindahlen (Mönchengladbach) *** 4 Wing, administrative control of

RAF Regiment The Royal Air Force Regiment (RAF Regiment) is part of the Royal Air Force and functions as a specialist corps. Founded by Royal Warrant in 1942, the Corps carries-out security tasks relating to the protection of assets and personnel dedicated ...

Rapier squadrons based in West Germany *** 33 Wing, administrative control of RAF Regiment Light Armour squadrons based in West Germany *** RAF Bruggen, FRG **** No. 9 Squadron, 12× Tornado GR.1^{note 1} **** No. 14 Squadron, 12× Tornado GR.1^{note 1} **** No. 17 Squadron, 12× Tornado GR.1^{note 1} **** No. 31 Squadron, 12× Tornado GR.1^{note 1} **** No. 37 Squadron RAF Regiment, (Air Defence, 8×

Rapier A rapier () is a type of sword originally used in Spain (known as ' -) and Italy (known as '' spada da lato a striscia''). The name designates a sword with a straight, slender and sharply pointed two-edged long blade wielded in one hand. It wa ...

launch stations) **** No. 51 Squadron RAF Regiment, (Light Armour, 15×

Spartan Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the valley of Evrotas river in Laconia, in southeastern Pe ...

, 6×

Scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

) *** RAF Gütersloh, FRG **** No. 3 Squadron, 16× Harrier GR.5 **** No. 4 Squadron, 16× Harrier GR.5 **** No. 18 Squadron, 16×

CH-47 Chinook The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem-rotor helicopter originally developed by American rotorcraft company Piasecki Helicopter, Vertol and now manufactured by Boeing Defense, Space & Security. The Chinook is a Military transport helicopter, heav ...

(supporting

British Army of the Rhine British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) was the name given to British Army occupation forces in the Rhineland, West Germany, after the First and Second World Wars, and during the Cold War, becoming part of NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) tasked ...

) **** No. 230 Squadron, 16× Puma HC.1 (supporting

) **** No. 63 Squadron RAF Regiment, (Air Defence, 8× Rapier launch stations) *** RAF Laarbruch, FRG **** No. 2 Squadron, 12× Tornado GR.1A (Reconnaissance) **** No. 15 Squadron, 12× Tornado GR.1^{note 1} **** No. 16 Squadron, 12× Tornado GR.1^{note 1} **** No. 20 Squadron, 12× Tornado GR.1^{note 1} **** No. 1 Squadron RAF Regiment, (Light Armour, 15× Spartan, 6× Scorpion) **** No. 26 Squadron RAF Regiment, (Air Defence, 8× Rapier launch stations) *** RAF Wildenrath, FRG **** No. 19 Squadron, 16x Phantom FGR.2 **** No. 92 Squadron, 16x Phantom FGR.2 **** No. 60 Squadron, Andover CC.2 transport planes **** No. 16 Squadron RAF Regiment, (Air Defence, 8× Rapier launch stations) **

*** 485th Tactical Missile Wing,

Florennes Air Base Florennes Air Base (), also known as Base Jean Offenberg, is a Belgian Air Component (formerly the Belgian Air Force) military airbase, compliant to Standardization agreement, STANAG 3712 category 8 (and category 5 during quick reaction alert op ...

, BE **** 71st Tactical Missile Squadron, 48× BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missiles ***

Soesterberg Air Base Soesterberg Air Base was a Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) military base, military military airbase, air base located in Soesterberg, boxing the compass, east-northeast of Utrecht (city), Utrecht. It was first established as an airfield in ...

, NL **** 32d Tactical Fighter Group ***** 32d Tactical Fighter Squadron, 24×

F-15C Eagle The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force (USAF) selected McDonnell Douglas's desi ...

**** No. 221 (Dutch) Squadron, (3× I-Hawk launch stations) *** Nörvenich Air Base **** Forward deployed detachment of the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing, 8×

A-10A Thunderbolt II The Fairchild Republic A-10 , also infamously known under the nickname , is a single-seat, twinjet, twin-turbofan, straight wing, straight-wing, Subsonic aircraft, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Aircraft, Fairchild Republic ...

*** Ahlhorn air base **** Forward deployed detachment of the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing, 8×

*** Jever Air Base **** Forward deployed detachment of the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing, 8×

** Belgian Air Force *** 1st Wing, Beauvechain Air Base **** 349th Squadron, 24× F-16A Fighting Falcon **** 350th Squadron, 24× F-16A Fighting Falcon *** 2nd Wing,

**** 1st Squadron, 24× F-16A Fighting Falcon **** 2nd Squadron, 24× F-16A Fighting Falcon *** 3rd Wing, Bierset Air Base **** 8th Squadron, 36× Mirage 5BA **** 42nd Squadron, 22× Mirage 5BR (Reconnaissance) *** 9th Wing, Sint-Truiden Air Base **** 7th Squadron, 16× Alpha Jet's **** 11th Squadron, 16× Alpha Jets *** 10th Wing^{note 2}, Kleine Brogel Air Base **** 23rd Squadron, 24× F-16A Fighting Falcon **** 31st Squadron, 24× F-16A Fighting Falcon *** Missile Wing,

Düren Düren (; Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: Düre) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between Aachen and Cologne, on the river Rur (river), Rur. History Roman era The area of Düren was part of Gallia Belgica, more specifically the ter ...

, FRG **** Wing Staff, Düren **** 9th Operations Group, Grefrath, FRG ***** 54th Squadron,

Xanten Xanten (, Low Rhenish: ''Santen'') is a town in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the district of Wesel. Xanten is known for the Archaeological Park, one of the largest archaeological open air museums in the ...

, (9x MIM-14 Nike Hercules launch stations, disbanded 1989) ***** 56th Squadron, Grefrath, (9x MIM-14 Nike Hercules launch stations) **** 13th Operations Group,

, FRG ***** 50th Squadron, Düren, (9x MIM-14 Nike Hercules launch stations) ***** 51st Squadron,

Blankenheim Blankenheim may refer to: Places * Blankenheim, North Rhine-Westphalia, a municipality in western Germany * Blankenheim, Saxony-Anhalt, a municipality in eastern Germany *Blankenheim Castle Blankenheim Castle () is a ''schloss'' above the village ...

, (9x MIM-14 Nike Hercules launch stations, disbanded 1989) **** Missile Support Group,

, FRG **

Belgian Army The Land Component (, ), historically and commonly still referred to as the Belgian Army (, ), is the Land warfare, land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land ...

*** 43rd Artilleriebataljon, Brakel **** A/43rd Company, Beverungen with 6×

MIM-23 Hawk The Raytheon MIM-23 HAWK ("Homing All the Way Killer") is an American medium-range surface-to-air missile. It was designed to be a much more mobile counterpart to the MIM-14 Nike Hercules, trading off range and altitude capability for a much sm ...

stations **** B/43rd Company, Höxter with 6× Hawk launch stations **** C/43rd Company, Brakel with 6× Hawk launch stations **** D/43rd Company, Bad Driburg 6× Hawk launch stations *** 62nd Artilleriebataljon, Essentho **** A/62nd Company,

Korbach Korbach (), officially the Hanseatic City of Korbach (German language, German: Hansestadt Korbach), is the district seat of Waldeck-Frankenberg in northern Hesse, Germany. It is over a thousand years old and is located on the German Timber-Frame Ro ...

with 6×

stations **** B/62nd Company, Wolfhagen with 6× Hawk launch stations **** C/62nd Company, Essentho with 6× Hawk launch stations **** D/62nd Company, Diemelstadt 6× Hawk launch stations **

***

Eindhoven Air Base Eindhoven Airport is an international airport located west of Eindhoven, Netherlands. In terms of the number of served passengers, it is the second largest airport in the Netherlands, with 6.8 million passengers in 2023. The airport is used by ...

**** No. 316 Fighter/Bomber Squadron, 18× NF-5A Freedom Fighter **** No. 422 Squadron, (3× I-Hawk launch stations & 3× Flycatcher/Bofors 40L70 AAA) *** Gilze-Rijen Air Base **** No. 314 Fighter/Bomber Squadron, 18× NF-5A Freedom Fighter **** No. 121 Squadron, (3x I-Hawk launch stations & 3× Flycatcher/Bofors 40L70 AAA) *** Leeuwarden Air Base **** No. 322 Fighter/Bomber Squadron, 24× F-16A Fighting Falcon **** No. 323 Fighter/Bomber Squadron, 24× F-16A Fighting Falcon **** No. 119 Squadron, (3x I-Hawk launch stations & 3× Flycatcher/Bofors 40L70 AAA) *** Twente Air Base **** No. 313 Fighter/Bomber Squadron, 24× F-16A Fighting Falcon **** No. 315 Fighter/Bomber Squadron, 24× F-16A Fighting Falcon **** No. 222 Squadron, (3× I-Hawk launch stations & 3× Flycatcher/Bofors 40L70 AAA) *** Volkel Air Base **** No. 306 Reconnaissance Squadron, 18× F-16A F-16A Fighting Falcon (Reconnaissance) **** No. 311 Fighter/Bomber Squadron, 24× F-16A F-16A Fighting Falcon^{note 2} **** No. 312 Fighter/Bomber Squadron, 24× F-16A F-16A Fighting Falcon^{note 2} **** No. 420 Squadron, (3× I-Hawk launch stations & 3× Flycatcher/Bofors 40L70 AAA) *** De Peel Air Base (for reinforcements) **** No. 421 Squadron, (3× I-Hawk launch stations & 3× Flycatcher/Bofors 40L70 AAA) *** 3rd Guided Weapons Group, Blomberg **** No. 324 Squadron, Aerzen with 6× I-Hawk launch stations **** No. 326 Squadron, Horn-Bad Meinberg with 6× I-Hawk launch stations **** No. 327 Squadron, Schwelentrup with 5×

MIM-104 Patriot The MIM-104 Patriot is a mobile interceptor missile surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, the primary such system used by the United States Army and several allied states. It is manufactured by the U.S. defense contractor Raytheon and derives it ...

launch stations **** No. 328 Squadron, Schwalenberg with 5× Patriot launch stations *** 5th Guided Weapons Group, Stolzenau **** No. 500 Squadron, Borstel with 6× I-Hawk launch stations **** No. 501 Squadron, Winzlar with 6× I-Hawk launch stations **** No. 502 Squadron, Hoysinghausen with 5× Patriot launch stations **** No. 503 Squadron, Reinsdorf with 5× Patriot launch stations **

*** 3rd Luftwaffendivision,

Kalkar Kalkar () is a municipality in the district of Kleve, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located near the Rhine, approx. 10 km south-east of Cleves. The catholic church St. Nicolai has preserved one of the most significant sacral inv ...

**** Geilenkirchen ***** Missile Wing 2, 4× squadrons with 9× Pershing 1a each **** Nörvenich Air Base ***** Jagdbombergeschwader 31^{note 2}, 2× squadrons with 16× Tornado IDS each, and 6× Tornado IDS in reserve **** Rheine-Hopsten Air Base ***** Jagdbombergeschwader 36, 2x squadrons with 15× F-4F Phantom II each, and 15× F-4F in reserve **** Jever Air Base ***** Jagdbombergeschwader 38, 1st squadron with 24× Tornados IDS (Tornado Weapons Training Sqn.), 2nd squadron with 16× Tornado ECR, and 4× Tornado IDS in reserve **** Oldenburg Air Base ***** Jagdbombergeschwader 43, 2x squadrons with 18× Alpha Jet's each, and 8× Alpha Jets in reserve *** 4th Luftwaffendivision,

****

Wittmundhafen Air Base Wittmundhafen Air Base (, ) is a military air base in Germany. It is home to Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 71 "Richthofen", Tactical Air Force Wing 71 (''Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 71'') of the German Air Force (''Luftwaffe''). Since May ...

***** Jagdgeschwader 71, 2× squadrons with 15× F-4F Phantom II each, and 4× F-4F in reserve **** 1st Air Defense Missile Command, Heide ***** 26th Air Defense Missile Wing, Heide, with 6×

squadrons; each with 1× Engagement Control Station, 1× Radar Set, 8× launch stations ***** 37th Air Defense Missile Wing,

Cuxhaven Cuxhaven (; ) is a town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven has a footprint o ...

, with 4×

squadrons; each with 6× launch stations ***** 39th Air Defense Missile Wing, Eckernförde, with 4×

squadrons; each with 6× launch stations **** 2nd Air Defense Missile Command, Bremervörde ***** 24th Air Defense Missile Wing,

Delmenhorst Delmenhorst (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Demost'') is an urban district (''List of German urban districts, Kreisfreie Stadt'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It has a population of 74,500 and is located west of downtown Bremen (city), Bremen with which ...

, with 6×

squadrons; each with 1× Engagement Control Station, 1× Radar Set, 8× launch stations ***** 31st Air Defense Missile Wing, Westertimke, with 4×

squadrons; each with 6× launch stations ***** 36th Air Defense Missile Wing, Bremervörde, with 4×

squadrons; each with 6× launch stations **** 3rd Air Defense Missile Command, Oldenburg ***** 25th Air Defense Missile Wing, Eydelstedt, with 6×

squadrons; each with 1× Engagement Control Station, 1× Radar Set, 8× launch stations ***** 35th Air Defense Missile Wing, Delmenhorst, with 4×

squadrons; each with 6× launch stations ***** 41st Air Defense Missile Group,

Wangerland Wangerland () is a municipality in the district of Friesland, Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the North Sea coast, approximately 20 km northwest of Wilhelmshaven, and 10 km north of Jever Jever () is the capital of the distr ...

, with 16× Roland systems guarding

Jever Jever () is the capital of the district of Friesland (district), Friesland in Lower Saxony, Germany. The name Jever is usually associated with a major brand of beer, Jever Pilsener, which is produced there. The city is also a popular holiday res ...

, Hopsten and

**** 33rd Signal Regiment,

Goch Goch (; archaic spelling: Gog) is a town in the Kleve (district), Kleve district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, close to the border with the Netherlands, south of Kleve and southeast of Nijmegen. History Goch is at least 750 years old: th ...

**** 34th Signal Regiment, Alt Duvenstedt
Note 1: Royal Air Force unit with nuclear strike role with 18x WE.177

tactical nuclear weapon A tactical nuclear weapon (TNW) or non-strategic nuclear weapon (NSNW) is a nuclear weapon that is designed to be used on a battlefield in military situations, mostly with friendly forces in proximity and perhaps even on contested friendly territ ...

s. Note 2: Nuclear sharing unit capable of delivering B61

References

{{reflist * O. W. Dragoner, ''Die Bundeswehr 1989'' Volume 2.1, availabl
here
* O. W. Dragoner, ''Die Bundeswehr 1989'' Volume 3, availabl
here
Structures of military commands and formations in 1989 Formations of the NATO Military Command Structure 1952–1994 Military units and formations established in 1958 Military units and formations disestablished in 1993 Tactical air forces Multinational air units and formations Military history of Europe

History

War time structure c. 1989

See also

References