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RAF Gütersloh

Coordinates:51°55′31.4″N8°18′23.3″E / 51.925389°N 8.306472°E /51.925389; 8.306472
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Former Royal Air Force station in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

RAF Gütersloh
Gütersloh,North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany
A No. 4 Squadron BAe Harrier at RAF Gütersloh in 1987.
Site information
TypeRoyal Air Force station
OwnerMinistry of Defence (UK)
OperatorRoyal Air Force
Controlled byBritish Forces Germany
ConditionClosed
Location
RAF Gütersloh is located in North Rhine-Westphalia
RAF Gütersloh
RAF Gütersloh
Shown within North Rhine-Westphalia
Show map of North Rhine-Westphalia
RAF Gütersloh is located in Germany
RAF Gütersloh
RAF Gütersloh
RAF Gütersloh (Germany)
Show map of Germany
Coordinates51°55′31.4″N8°18′23.3″E / 51.925389°N 8.306472°E /51.925389; 8.306472
Site history
Built1935
In use27 June 1945 (1945-06-27) – 30 June 1993 (1993-06-30)
FateTransferred toBritish Army to become Princess Royal Barracks.
Airfield information
IdentifiersIATA: GUT,ICAO: ETUO,WMO: 10320
Elevation72 metres (236 ft)AMSL
Runways
DirectionLength and surface
09/272,252 metres (7,388 ft) Asphalt
Stadtmuseum Gütersloh

Royal Air Force Gütersloh, more commonly known asRAF Gütersloh, was aRoyal Air Force Germanymilitary airfield, the nearestRoyal Air Force airfield to theEast/West German border, in the vicinity of the town ofGütersloh. It was constructed by the German government prior to theSecond World War. The station was captured by the American forces in April 1945 and was handed over to the RAF in June 1945 as HeadquartersNo. 2 Group RAF.

History

[edit]

The early history of the airfield is largely undetermined. It is known that construction began in 1935 for a paratroop unit usingJunkers Ju 52s then as a radar school,[1] and the station was active in 1944–45 withJunkers Ju 88 Nightfighters of 5./NJG 2 (Nachtjagdgeschwader 2) as part of theDefense of the Reich defensive aerial campaign fought by theLuftwaffe.

The tower of the Officers' Mess contains a room known as Göring's Room. Legend has it thatHermann Göring used this room to relive his wartime exploits with the new generation of flyers. Reportedly a favourite expression of his was "If I should lie, may the beam above my head crack". In response to this a junior officer arranged that the beam be sawn through and, by a system of pulleys, that the beam should appear to crack in response to the Reichmarschall's challenge. An article appearing inFlight magazine in 1946 has the same story with "an elderly station commander" featuring in the Göring role. From interviews with Luftwaffe personnel of the period, it appears that Göring visited the station before and during the war. A photograph of the Reichmarschall supposedly at Gütersloh is displayed in the Officers' Mess.[2]

RAF Gütersloh Officers' Mess 1991

The station was captured by the Americans in April 1945 and designated as "Advanced Landing Ground Y-99". The Americans laid down a 4,000-foot SMT hardened runway and theNinth Air Force operatedLockheed P-38 Lightning andNorth American P-51 Mustang reconnaissance aircraft of the363d Tactical Reconnaissance Group in late April. The P-38 Lightning-equipped370th Fighter Group also operated from Gütersloh until theGerman capitulation on 8 May 1945. The 370th remained until the airfield was turned over to the RAF as part of the formation of theBritish occupation zone in Germany on 27 June 1945.

RAF Control

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The RAF established Headquarters No. 2 Group RAF after the Americans moved south. From 1958 RAF Gütersloh fell under the operational command of2 ATAF, like all other RAFG stations. The RAF initially built a 1,830 metre-long runway in 1946, which was later lengthened to 2,252 metres.

During its history as an RAF station, the base was home to twosquadrons of theEnglish Electric Lightning F2/F2A –No. 92 Squadron RAF andNo. 19 Squadron RAF from 1968 to 1976. These provided two aircraft for theQuick Response Alert, able to scramble within minutes. It then became home toNo. 3 Squadron RAF andNo. 4 Squadron RAF which flew successive variants of theBritish Aerospace Harrier II. After the Harriers departed, the RAF continued to operate helicopters,No. 18 Squadron RAF with theBoeing Chinook andNo. 230 Squadron RAF with theWestland Puma HC1.[citation needed] The base was also used byNo. 63 Squadron RAF Regiment withRapier and HQNo. 33 Wing RAF Regiment.[3]

RAF Gütersloh closed and was transferred to theBritish Army on 30 June 1993.[4]

RAF units and aircraft

[edit]
English Electric Lightning in theNational Museum of Flight inEast Fortune, Scotland. It is displayed in the colours of No 92 Squadron, located at RAF Gütersloh with whom it served until 1977.
UnitDatesAircraftVariantNotes
No. 2 Squadron RAF1952–1953
1961–1970		Gloster Meteor
Hawker Hunter		PR.10
FR.10
No. 3 Squadron RAF1948–1952
1977–1992		de Havilland Vampire
Hawker Siddeley Harrier		FB.1, FB.4
GR.3, GR.5, GR.7
No. 4 Squadron RAF1961–1970
1977–1992		Hawker Hunter
Hawker Siddeley Harrier		FR10
GR.3, GR.5, GR.7
No. 14 Squadron RAF1958–1962Hawker HunterF.4
No. 16 Squadron RAF1947
1948
1948		Hawker TempestF.2
No. 18 Squadron RAF1965–1968
1970–1980
1983–1993		Westland Wessex
Westland Wessex
Boeing Chinook		HC.2
HC.2
HC.1		1992/1993 also with Puma HC.1
No. 19 Squadron RAF1965–1976English Electric LightningF.2, F.2A
No. 20 Squadron RAF1958–1960Hawker HunterF.6
No. 21 Squadron RAF1945
1946		de Havilland MosquitoVIBased three times in 1946
No. 26 Squadron RAF1947
1948
1958–1960		Hawker Tempest
Hawker Tempest
Hawker Hunter		F.2
F.2
F.6		Based three times in 1948
No. 33 Squadron RAF1947
1948
1948		Hawker TempestF2
No. 59 Squadron RAF1956–1957English Electric CanberraB.2, B(I).8
No. 67 Squadron RAF1950–1952de Havilland VampireFB.5
No. 69 Squadron RAF1954English Electric CanberraPR.3
No. 71 Squadron RAF1950–1952de Havilland VampireFB.5
No. 79 Squadron RAF1951–1954
1956–1960		Gloster Meteor
Supermarine Swift		FR.9
FR.5
No. 80 Squadron RAF1948Supermarine SpitfireF.24Based twice
No. 92 Squadron RAF1968–1977English Electric LightningF.2, F.2A
No. 102 Squadron RAF1954–1956English Electric CanberraB.2
No. 103 Squadron RAF1954–1956English Electric CanberraB.2
No. 104 Squadron RAF1955–1956English Electric CanberraB.2
No. 107 Squadron RAF1945
1946
1946
1947		de Havilland MosquitoVIBased three times in 1947
No. 149 Squadron RAF1954–1956English Electric CanberraB.2
No. 230 Squadron RAF1963–1964
1980–1992		Westland Whirlwind
Westland Puma		HC.10
HC.1
No. 541 Squadron RAF1952
1954		Gloster Meteor
Gloster Meteor		PR.10
PR.10

Gütersloh under the British Army

[edit]

Following the withdrawal by theRoyal Air Force in 1993, the base became aBritish ArmyGarrison, called thePrincess Royal Barracks, Gütersloh, a base for British Armyhelicopters andRoyal Logistic Corps Regiments.

In September 2016 the final Soldiers left Princess Royal Barracks for the last time.[8][9]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]

Public Domain This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

Citations

[edit]
  1. ^Jackson 1986, p. 22.
  2. ^'Flugplatz Gütersloh 1937–1987 A Short History' by Gerry Lewis
  3. ^Jackson 1986, p. 23.
  4. ^March, Peter R. (1998).Brace by Wire to Fly-By-Wire – 80 Years of the Royal Air Force 1918–1998. RAF Fairford: Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund Enterprises. p. 160.ISBN 1-899808-06-X.
  5. ^British Army: Gütersloh GarrisonArchived 1 October 2007 at theWayback Machine
  6. ^1 Regt Army Air CorpsArchived 14 October 2007 at theWayback Machine
  7. ^6 Regt Royal Logistic Corps
  8. ^"Soldiers Bid Farewell To Germany After Half A Century". Forces.net. 10 June 2015.
  9. ^"Deployments: Germany". British Army. Retrieved11 May 2018.

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Jackson, P. (1986).Britain's Armed Forces Today: 4 RAF Germany. Shepperton, UK: Ian Allan.ISBN 0-7110-1579-1.

External links

[edit]
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