RAF Wildenrath
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Royal Air Force Station Wildenrath ICAO : EDUW | |||||||
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Motto | Immer Bereit (German) Always ready / ever prepared |
Royal Air Force Station Wildenrath, commonly known as RAF Wildenrath, was a
RAF service
RAF Wildenrath opened on 15 January 1952, and was followed by
In 1953, the Station Commander was
On 15 January 1956, 88 Squadron reformed with B(I).8 Canberras at Wildenrath, and was renumbered 14 Squadron on 17 December 1962.
From the late 1950s to 1970, Wildenrath was home to
In 1960, the Station Commander was Group Captain 'Bats' Barthold, and 17 Squadron was commanded by Wing Commander Dugald 'Buster' Lumsden, who accepted the squadron's
In the 1970s, Wildenrath served as the initial home of the RAF '
1976-77 saw Wildenrath's role within RAF Germany change, as it became home to the command's
While nominally a communication and light transport squadron, 60 Squadron also had a secondary, covert, role. Initially using the Hunting Percival Pembrokes, and later the Hawker Siddeley Andover from the mid-to-late 1980s, they were employed to take photographs of Soviet and East German armed forces while flying along the Berlin air corridors. It also operated DH Devon and DH Heron aircraft. In addition to its other overt and covert functions, 60 Squadron also acted as visiting aircraft flight for Wildenrath, hosting almost every type of RAF and NATO aircraft and civilian 'trooper' BAC-111s and Boeing 737s.
Wildenrath was also home to an
On 1 May 1988, two airmen from the RAF Regiment squadron based at RAF Wildenrath were attacked by IRA armed assailants whilst sitting in a car in the nearby Dutch town of Roermond. One of the airmen died from gunshot wounds, the other was seriously injured.[citation needed]
In October 1989, an RAF corporal and his infant daughter were shot dead at the petrol station in Wildenrath village, outside the RAF airbase. The IRA claimed that it was responsible for the murders.[7]
Wildenrath had five separate dispersal areas around its single runway. Alpha and Echo were not used in the normal flying operations of the station. No 19 Squadron operated from one of the three dispersals on the far (south) side of the airfield, designated 'Bravo Dispersal'. It also housed the two operational 'Battle Flights' for both fighter squadrons. No 92 Squadron flew from 'Delta Dispersal', with both squadrons using the hardened aircraft shelters in 'Charlie Dispersal' for spare space to house Phantoms when necessary. Charlie Dispersal was also used by cross-trained 60 Squadron ground crew to turn around visiting aircraft during station exercises. The taxiway that ran parallel to the main runway and linked the three dispersals was used as the alternate runway for emergencies if the main runway was compromised. Alpha Dispersal was the site used for the Bloodhound launchers, and Echo Dispersal housed the fuel and lubricants storage section. 60 Squadron operated from the hangar close to the main Squadron Servicing hangar on the 'soft side' (northern) of the airbase.
Wildenrath closed as a flying base on 1 April 1992
Wildenrath units
- Harrier GR1 / T2 - later converted to GR3 / T4
- No. 4 Squadron RAF;[10] Harrier GR1 / T2 - later converted to GR3 / T4
- No. 14 Squadron RAF; English Electric Canberra B(I)8 (62–70),[11] T4
- No. 17 Squadron RAF; English Electric Canberra PR7,[12] T4
- F-4 Phantom II FGR2[13]
- No. 20 Squadron RAF;[14] Harrier GR1 / T2 - later converted to GR3 / T4
- No. 60 Squadron RAF;[15] Percival Pembroke C1 / C(PR)1, Hawker Siddeley Andover C1 / CC2
- No. 67 Squadron RAF; Canadair Sabre F4 1952/5[16]
- No. 71 Squadron RAF; Canadair Sabre F4, 1952/5[16]
- No. 88 Squadron RAF; English Electric Canberra B(I)8, 1956/62 renumbered to 14 Sqn[17]
- No. 92 Squadron RAF; F-4 Phantom II FGR2[18]
- Flight of Bristol Bloodhound surface to air missiles sometime between 1971/83[19]
- 2TAF Communications Squadron; Percival Pembroke C1 passenger duties and photo recon.
- No. 16 Squadron RAF Regiment with Rapier missiles[20]
- No. 4 Wing RAF Regiment[20]
- RAFG Freight Distribution Centre[20]
- 21 Signal Regiment (Air Support) (1943-)[2]
RAF Wildenrath today
Since 1997, the original
The housing areas of the former RAF Wildenrath were originally used as overspill housing for RAF Bruggen, and then used to accommodate other UK military personnel until the end of September 2012, when the land was formally handed back to German local authorities. Since 2015, the former married quarters have been used as temporary accommodation for refugees, under the name 'Siedlung Petersholz' (Petersholz Estate) within the 'Zentrale Unterbringseinrichtung Wegberg' (Wegberg Central Accommodation Facility).[23][24]
See also
References
Citations
- ^ Jackson 1986, p. 26.
- ^ a b Jackson 1986, p. 30.
- ^ "Wildenrath". www.ForgottenAirfields.com. Forgotten Airfields. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
- ^ "Service Aviation: Airlift to Hungary" (PDF). Flight. Reed Business Information Limited: 836. 23 November 1956. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
- ^ "Air Chief Marshal Sir Patrick Hine" (PDF). The Journal of the Royal Air Force Historical Society (16): 99. 1996. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
- ^ "Army Air Corps in Germany - 31 Flight/ RASC and 131 Flight, Wildenrath". QRA-Magazin.de. Spotting Group Gütersloh. 4 August 2013. Archived from the original on 12 July 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
- The Associated Press. 27 October 1989. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ Pietsch, Folkmar (22 December 2018). "Das Ende der RAF-Air-Base kam 1992" [The end of the RAF airbase came in 1992]. RP-online.de (in German). Rheinische Post. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 24.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 25.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 29.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 30.
- ISBN 9781526704085. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 31.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 44.
- ^ a b Jefford 1988, p. 46.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 51.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 52.
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 33.
- ^ a b c Jackson 1986, p. 29.
- ^ "Test- and Validationcenter Wegberg-Wildenrath". www.Mobility.Siemens.com. Siemens Mobility. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
- ^ Kondruss, Bert. "Wildenrath: Royal Air Force Base". www.Mil-Airfields.de. Military Airfield Directory. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
- ^ Wichlatz, Helmut (18 September 2015). "Wegberg-Petersholz: Die ersten Flüchtlinge haben Quartier bezogen". www.Aachener-Zeitung.de (in German). Zeitungsverlag Aachen GmbH. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
- ^ Backhaus, Anke (4 December 2015). "Bis zu 1200 Menschen sollen in Petersholz unterkommen". Rheinische Post (in German). RP Digital GmbH. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
Bibliography
- Jackson, P. (1986). Britain's Armed Forces Today: 4 RAF Germany. ISBN 0-7110-1579-1.
- Jefford, C.G. (1988). RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.