| If you do NOT see the Table of Contents frame to the left of this page, then Click here to open 'USArmyGermany' frameset |
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| MAPS | ||||
| Installation Maps | ||||
| Looking for installation maps and information on US Army kasernes in and around Kassel. If you have any, please contact the webmaster. | ||||
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| TELEPHONE DIRECTORIES | ||||
| NOTE: I plan to post extracts from the "Troop Units" section of the telephone directories sometime in the near future - if I see that there is any interest. | ||||
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| PHOTOS | ||||
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| HISTORIES & MISC. INFORMATION | ||||
| HISTORY
OF FRITZLAR KASERNE Source: The Front Line, March 16, 1946 |
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| Fritzlar Army Air
Base, Island of Birdmen In Third Area, Alert To Occupation Duties By Tom Brown Front Line Staff Patrolling, aerial photography and the maintenance of a well-equipped fighter squadron is the peacetime function of the 366th Fighter Group and the 475th Service Group stationed at the Fritzlar Army Air Base about 10 miles from Division Headquarters at Bad Wildungen. To accomplish its peacetime mission the fighter group has scores of fighters ready for flight and a further number of planes in reserve. The 300 men assigned to the base form a skeleton crew of the 1400 required by the T/O for the organization. First Fighters in Normandy The 366th Fighter group moved onto the Fritzlar field in September 1945 [1][2] after fighting in six campaigns. The group was the first fighter unit to enter Normandy after D-day. Fritzlar Airfield, which was once a Luftwaffe fighter base, has been designated a permanent occupational installation and may soon become a European Air Transport Service Terminal. The runway, 5,000 feet long and 120 feet wide, is made of pierce planking and was built over the original German strip destroyed by the retreating Nazis. Three hangars are being used as repair shops. At present there is one theater, a swimming pool and a Red Cross Club on the base. The Red Cross Club, designed to serve all military personnel in the Fritzlar area, offers a craft shop, photographer's dark room and a snack bar which serves cake and cookies as well as coffee and donuts. Provisions For Families Elaborate plans for the arrival of American families are now being made. Living quarters for 60 or more families will be in seven apartment houses in Fritzlar, for which the Army is now negotiating. Two additional mess halls, a commissary to supply the families, another theater, a large gymnasium, two swimming pools, a recreation hall and a bowling alley are to be built soon. A church and a primary school are also planned for this spring. [1] Before arriving at Fritzlar, the Group had served at two other German air bases: Münster/Handorf, Germany, from 11 April to 24 June, 1945; and at Bayreuth/Bindlach, Germany, from 25 June to 13 September, 1945. [2] The Group consisted of the following fighter squadrons: 389th, 390th, and 391st. The Group and the subordinated squadrons were inactivated at Fritzlar on August 20, 1946. |
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| Related Links: Rothwesten Kaserne - in German - Bernhard Weiss has just posted his Rothwesten Page as part of his very comprehensive coverage of German Fliegerhorste (air bases). The page includes photos and some information from the US-period Rothwesten Konversion - German page with some recent aerial shots of the Kaserne; page is from a commercial real estate company. |
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