Giebelstadt, West Germany
Photographs

Prior to WWII, the German Air Ministry chose a site near the town of Giebelstadt for the construction of an air base. The year was 1935 and the construction progressed rapidly. In 1936, flight operations began at the base with the arrival of Luftwaffe Heinkel III bombers. On September 17, 1936, Adolf Hitler officially opened the base by reviewing the troops assigned there. Major General Albert Kesselring inspected the base in February 1937 and presented the unit with its colors. Later that year, in June, the people of Giebelstadt held a festival at the airbase as part of the celebration commemorating the town's 1,100th year of existence.

At the beginning of WWII the KG-53 Squadron, equipped with Heinkel-11 bombers, was stationed at the airfield as part of the air support arm of the Blitzkrieg. The bombers flew many missions against various targets located in France. As the war moved away from Giebelstadt, the base was converted into a training facility, and from 1939 to 1941 German pilots, observers and radio operators were trained at Giebelstadt. Between 1941 and 1945, the base was used for experimentation and development of secret aircraft, including the jet-powered Messerschmitt ME-262 and the rocket powered Messerschmitt ME-163. The base was placed "off-limits" to all personnel except those specifically authorized by the Air Ministry.

In order to maintain the utmost in secrecy, the name of Giebelstadt was deleted from all German maps. The secrecy surrounding the base was successful and although many missions were flown against the base only two ever found their mark.

Most of the ground support was hidden in underground bunkers that could not be detected from the air during the war. The runway itself was designed to look like a road and the hangars were designed to look like farm buildings from the air.

In April 1945, Giebelstadt was captured by the 12th Armored Division, and shortly thereafter, the war in Europe came to an end.

A year later the base was again operational, but this time as a U.S. base with the assignment of the 55th Fighter Group, transferred from Kaufbeuren. General Carl A Spatz, Commanding General of the Army Air Force visited the base in July 1946 and witnessed an aerial review of the newly acquired P-80s of the 55th Group. On August 20 of that year, the 55th Group was replaced by the 31st Group which remained at Giebelstadt until 1946.

The 850th Engineer Aviation Battalion arrived in February 1947 to extend the runway to 7200 feet in preparation for bomber operations. Upon completion of the runway program, the base was then used as a training base and a temporary support for B-29s of the Strategic Air Command during temporary deployments to Europe. Then the base was completely closed and all U.S. personnel were reassigned.

The years between 1950 and 1956 found the base used to billet transient units. These units practiced implementing a dispersal program to Europe. During one of these temporary stays, the Duke of Edinburg visited the airbase.

When the 603rd Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was permanently assigned to Giebelstadt in 1956, that started the longest stay any of the U.S. forces ever to be assigned to the base. What started as a temporary affair was made permanent in August 1956 and the unit remained active as the 602nd AC&W Squadron on the base until 1968, a stay lasting 12 years.

The following photos depict the remains of some of the WWII underground facilities as they existed in March 1966.