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Heidelberg Army Airfield
USAREUR Aviation
Looking for more information from military/civilian
personnel assigned to or associated with the U.S. Army
in Germany from 1945 to 1989. If you have any
stories or thoughts on the subject, please contact me .
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Heidelberg Army Airfield |
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Heidelberg Army Airfield, 1950s |
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Heidelberg Army Airfield, 2008 |
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| HAAF History |
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Access road to Heidelberg Army Airfield, 1955 |
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Heidelberg Army Airfield, 1960s |
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Heidelberg Army Airfield, 1963 |
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| 1970s/1980s |
An older U-8 SEMINOLE with the TASCOM insignia (Benno Knorr) |
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| 7787th Aviation Detachment |
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| 1952 |
| (Source: STARS & STRIPES, July 31, 1952) |
A ceremony held at the Heidelberg Airfield on July 31 marked the formal issue of the first L-20 liaison aircraft to arrive in theater to the 7787th Army Aviation Det.
The L-20 is a six-passenger. high-wing monoplane that is scheduled to replace the four-passenger L-17 liaison plane currently used throughout EUCOM. |
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| (Source: STARS & STRIPES, Nov 25, 1953) |
The 7787th Aviation Detachment is located at Heidelberg AAF. (Webmaster Note: in 1956, the 7787th was a USAREUR Special Troops unit. It is possible that at the time this article was written, the aviation det was attached to Headquarters Area Command. Does anyone have any information on this?)
The mission of the detachment is to transport security documents, dispatch emergency flights, and transport high ranking officers and VIP's .
CO of the detachment is Maj Robert E. Trigg who commands twelve officer pilots, 40 enlisted men and one CWO.
Aircraft assigned to the detachment include L23 Beechcraft, L20 De Havillands and H13 helicopters. |
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| USAREUR Aviation Detachment |
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Main building and tower, 1963
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 Aviation Detachment, HQ USAREUR pocket patch |
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| 1963 |
| (Source: James R. Sullivan, Avn Det, 1963-65) |
| I was stationed in Heidelberg from 11/1963 to 3/1965 at what was called The Aviation Detachment. I think the address was c/o Aviation Detachment, HQ USAREUR, APO 09403.I was the company clerk. The unit was located outside of town and mainly handled flying for HQ, General Freeman I believe at the time.
I am trying to get some info and find some of the guys. I have found 1 guy on Facebook but would like to find some more. I was 19 in 1964 so most of the guys would be 65-70 or older range as I feel sure I was the youngest. I have an old Company photo of all the enlisted and also one of all the Officers/pilots.
As best as I can remember as you came onto the airfield looking left to right, there were firehouses on the left and facing the runway/tarmac side of the buildings, then you had what we called the AFOF building which housed the weather etc operations handled by the Air Force, then the tower for the Air Traffic Controllers.
At the main entrance to the main building you entered lounge area and on the left were offices for the pilots and reception area and also offices for some German National employees. On the right was the Orderly room/ my office along with the 1st Sergeant (Sgt Sabers) then the Admin (Capt Moser) and Exec (Maj Heitzel)s office. Across the hall was the office of the CO (Col. Pumphery) and joint staffing room. The back lower side of this building also housed the mail room (Tom Gresenz clerk) and Supply section I think Dennis Praig was the clerk can't remember the SGT. At the far end they had a small snack bar area.
Upstairs was the housing for enlisted along with bath/shower etc areas and a large game room. That is where we had the Christmas party. The back right end of the building is where the Air Force enlisted was housed.
I believe the first hangar pictured belonged to the 11th Engr. and then the 2 large hangars belonged to the detachment.
We had daily bus runs to the main post HQ for meals if you wanted to take the ride or if you had money you could stay and eat at the snack bar.
Hope some of this helps. |
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Avn Det
Heidelberg Airfield |
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1. Main building
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2. Det officers
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3. Det enlisted men
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4. Bobby Kennedy |
5. L-19 |
6. U-1A |
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7. Det choppers |
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| (Source: Email from Don Hillard) |
In response to James Sullivan’s contribution -- I served at Heidelberg from November 1963 to May of 1966 as a twin engine fixed wing mechanic and Crew Chief on a U-8D tail number 63718, and was a guidon bearer along with Jim Phebus for the Hail and Farewell ceremonies and Friday parades.
I’m the Beetle Bailey looking guy with the big ears in the back row standing in front of the front of the prop beneath the pilot’s window. Master Sergeant Duddey was the Maintenance honcho. SP5 David Keau was my mentor.
The guy with the s**t eatin’ grin on the right in the picture of the four guys is Don Hubbard and I believe the guy in the fatigues is Sullivan.
We had some pretty sweet duty at Heidelberg…it was like a regular job. I’d sure like to have one of our pocket patches if anyone has a line on them…or even a decent .jpg or .eps file that I can use to have a local embroidery shop make some up. |
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| 207th Aviation Company |
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USAREUR U-8D SEMINOLE
(57-3087), probably at Heidelberg AAF |
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USAREUR U-8F SEMINOLE (62-3843), probably 207th Avn Co |
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 207th Avn Co, HQ USAREUR pocket patch |
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Group photo of the 207th Aviation Company at Heidelberg AAF, 1968 (Rance Pinao)
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| 1968 |
| (Email: Rance Pinao) |
After hunting through all my photos, I finally found the 207th Aviation Company (see above). The photo was taken in 1968.
While being assign to this unit I was a Sp5, 67B20 (U6-A Beaver Crew Chief). From what I can remember we had two Beavers, two UH-1D, 5 U8-D, & 4 U8-F.
Seems to me we had a CWO3 who was in that unit for 10 years....he must have known some.... |
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| 2nd Half of 1970 |
The 207th Avn Co went through several transitions: from U-8 to U-21 to C-12 aircraft.
The U-21 to C-12 transition occurred in 1978. |
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Group photo, 207th Avn Co, Heidelberg AAF, 1978 (Chuck Lee)
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207th Avn Co flight line at night, 1978
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| 1974 |
| (Source: Email from Charles "Chuck" Lee) |
I was assigned to the 207th Aviation Co, 1974 - 1979. Got lots of pics.
I was a crew chief on 21s, then 12s. In fact, ferried one from the Beechcraft factory to Heidelberg, as all were flown in (from the States).
I still visit HD often. The former airfield is now designated HELIPAD. The runway is a storage site now. |
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207th Avn Co
Heidelberg Airfield |
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Annual group photos of company officers, 207th Avn Co, Heidelberg AAF |
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| 1978 |
| (Source: Email from Tom Simonian) |
I am a retired CW4 pilot who flew with the 207th Aviation Co from 1979 until 1984. I flew the CINC in both rotor and fixed wing aircraft.
One of my additional duties was as the company Public Affairs Officer. I have many company and individual pictures from that era and would be happy to pass them along if you are interested.
I also wrote a few articles about the airfield operations for the "Stars and Stripes" which I will also scan for you.
You know, it was quite a job to organize aircraft placement and to get everyone to dress and show-up on a weekend to take the annual company pictures (see 1978 Chuck Lee's picture) but I was hoping that someday it would prove well worth it. Maybe this is it. |
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| 1990 |
| (Source: STARS & STRIPES, Jan 5, 1990) |
The 207th Aviation Company is located at Heidelberg Army Airfield. The unit supports the USAREUR commander and his staff.
The 207th flies seven C-12 BEECHCRAFT airplanes, ten UH-1 HUEY helicopters and two UH-60 BLACKHAWK utility helicopters. |
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| Detachment 3, 7th Weather Squadron (USAFE) |
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AAF Operations building (center) and weather station with AFOF (left)
(Fred Schenk)
(Click here to read the directional sign) |
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Heidelberg AAF in 1963
(Fred Schenk) |
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| 1962 |
| (Source: Email from Horst (Fred) Schenk, Det 3, 7th Weather Sq, Heidelberg AAF, 1961-64) |
I became aware of your website while participating in several so-called "Fireside Chats" where longtime Heidelberg, Germany, Military Community residents were interviewed about their recollections of their time in Heidelberg. The occasion for the interviews is the move of HQ USAREUR to Wiesbaden and closure of all the facilities in Heidelberg.
I was stationed at the Heidelberg Army Airfield (AAF) from December 1961 to December 1964. My unit was Detachment 3, 7th Weather Squadron, a US Air Force unit that ran the weather station at the Heidelberg AAF and provided weather support to the Army Flight Operations Facility (AFOF), later called Army Flight Operations Detachment (AFOD), a Europe-wide US Army flight clearance facility.
I happen to have written down my recollections from my time in the US Air Force as well as from other parts of my life. Attached is an excerpt of my time at Det. 3, 7WS, 1961 to 1964. Also attached are some photographs from that time, maybe you can use some of them. Furthermore, I have scanned in my 7WS patch (you already have a graphic of it, this is an original patch) and a subdued AWS patch which we wore on our fatigue pockets in the 70's and 80's.
As my narrative states, my first permanent assignment in the US Air Force was at Det. 3, 7WS, Heidelberg AAF, and my last assignment was at Headquarters 7WS at Campbell Barracks (HQ USAREUR), Heidelberg, first as Scientific Services Officer and then as Current Operations Officer.
I retired on 31 October 1983 and remained in Heidelberg.
For some information on the detachment's weather instruments, see comments of the Photo #1 page.
To read Fred's great personal recollections of his time with Det 3, click here (PDF file).
To read Fred's recollections of his time at 7WS headquarters (1980--1983), click here (PDF file) |
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Detachment 3
Heidelberg Airfield |
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1. A2C Schenk in front of weather instruments |
2. Retirement ceremony in 1983
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3. View towards Heidelberg
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4. Looking north
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5. Flight line, Jan 1962
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6. Ops Bldg
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7. Schenk & Holland
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8. Weather Station & AFOF
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Don (front) and Dale (back) Hall at Heidelberg AAF, early 1960s
(Marcus Hall) |
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| (Source: Email from Marcus Hall) |
I am writing to offer a small contribution to your website. What brought me here is, I think, an interesting story.
Since my mother’s passing in 2020 I have been sifting through her papers, photos and other effects accumulated over the course of her 93 years. I came across a small photograph (2"x 2") of my father and uncle in their USAF uniforms briefing a couple of pilots as was their responsibility as weather forecasters.
I had seen pictures like this one all my life and since it was so small I didn’t examine it closely. Later scanning the photo at high resolution allowed me a detailed examination of the scene.
I immediately realized why the picture was taken and why my mother preserved it. It showed a set of twin forecasters, my father and uncle, briefing a set of twin pilots. It has to bring a smile to anyone’s face. You see, my father, Dale Hall and his brother Don, had always, since their enlistment in the USAF in 1947, been stationed together. The Defense Dept. didn’t know what to do with twins. Should they be deliberately kept together or deliberately stationed apart? Apparently they opted for the former. So, throughout my childhood wherever Dad was stationed my Uncle Don and his family were there as well. It was like I had two sets of parents and eight siblings! It seemed normal to me.
Anyway, back to the picture. My mother had written on the back of the photo, “Dale – Don in England weather station 1955.” OK, we were in England (RAF Woodbridge) in 1955. But something didn’t seem right about what I was seeing. Then it struck me. The stripes on my Uncle Don’s uniform show him to be a Senior Master Sergeant. I seemed to recall that he had achieved that rank some time later in his Air Force career.
Using Photoshop I zoomed in to search for clues. The map on the wall clearly shows eastern France, the Low Countries and Germany. Next to it, displayed on a placard, was “DET. 3, 7th WEA. SQDN.” I did a Google search and came across your website and information therein confirmed my suspicion. My mother had misdated the photo as 1955 England when in fact it was taken when my father was stationed in Germany at Heidelberg Army Airfield sometime between 1962 -1964.
But the story doesn’t end there. As I perused the website I was pleasantly surprised to find at the bottom of the “Det. 3, 7th WS” page a contribution by Horst (Fred) Schenk. Fred was stationed at Heidelberg AAF during the same period as my father, my uncle and our families. He became a great friend to all of us at that time and remains so to this day. Fred has written a great account of his time at Heidelberg AAF (and his whole life) in his book “My Five Lives,” a portion of which, that pertaining to this subject matter, has a link in his contribution to your website.
Thanks and I enjoyed looking through your site. |
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