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United
States Air Forces, Europe
United States European Command
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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| History |
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| (Source: Forty-Five Years of Vigilance for Freedom, HQ USAFE, (1988?) |
USSTAF Patch
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United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) traces its lineage from 28 January 1942, the day the War Department activated Eighth Air Force at Savannah Army Air Base, Georgia. Advanced echelons of the Eighth Air Force moved to England in late April to prepare for the air offensive against Germany. Eighth Air Force flew day raids over the continent, while Royal Air Force (RAF) crews performed night missions.
On 1 March 1944, Eighth Air Force was redesignated as United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe (USSTAF). (At the same time, VIII Bomber Command was redesignated as Eighth Air Force). Between its first mission on 4 July 1942 and the cessation of hostilities in Europe on 8 May 1945, Eighth Air Force dispatched its crews on over 500,000 operational flights.
By the time Germany surrendered on 8 May 1945, the Army Air Forces (AAF) had developed a network of 241 airfields in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Germany, and Austria. USSTAF was left with the monumental task of redeploying personnel and disposing of wartime AAF equipment and stock. |
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Immediately after V-E Day, United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe (USSTAF) began moving men and equipment from the European theater to the United States and on to the Pacific to join the war against Japan. In late May the War Department ordered USSTAF to send all remaining flyable, heavy bombardment aircraft and their crews back to the United States, except for aircraft earmarked for the occupation. During June, the first full month of the redeployment, over 62,000 men left the European theater.
On 7 August 1945, the War Department deleted the word "strategic" from the command's title, and it became the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE). As the occupation force, USAFE's basic mission was to disarm the German Air Force, assist in the occupation of Germany, and dispose of surplus wartime property. By mid-August the command had redeployed over 1,200 airplanes and 144,000 personnel -- almost one-third of its total force. |
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| to be continued . . . |
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| Installations - Airfield Status 1947 |
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| (Source: United States Air Forces in Europe Installations, 15 March 1947, in author's collection) |
| AIRFIELDS |
| AIRFIELD |
ASSIGNED |
OCCUPIED BY |
ACTIVITY |
COMMENTS |
| ANSBACH |
EAMC |
Hq. 4th AIR VEHICLE REPAIR SQ.
42nd AIR DEPOT |
AIR DEPOT |
EST. RELEASE 1 JUNE 47 |
| BAD KISSINGEN |
XII TAC |
Hq. XII TACTICAL A.C.
Hq. 64th FIGHTER WING |
HQ XII TAC |
. |
| BREMEN |
EATS |
FLIGHT D, 47th A.L.S.
371st AIR SERVICE GROUP
|
 EATS TERMINAL |
C-47 A/C |
| CAPODICHINO (I) |
EATS |
. |
ROME TERMINAL |
EST. RELEASE DATE 1 APRIL 47, C-47 A/C |
| ERDING |
EAMC |
DET B, 4th AIR VEHICLE REPAIR SQ., 43rd AIR DEPOT |
SUPPLY DEPOT (EAD) |
EUROPEAN AIR DEPOT |
| ERLANGEN |
EAMC |
HQ., EAMC |
HQ, EAMC |
EST. RELEASE 1 JULY 47 |
| ESCHBORN |
EATS |
446th AIR SERVICE GROUP |
EATS TERMINAL |
EST. RELEASE 1 MAY 47 |
| FRITZLAR |
XII TAC |
475th AIR SERVICE GROUP
27th FIGHTER GROUP |
FIGHTER GROUP |
P-47 A/C |
| FÜRTH |
XII TAC |
160th PHOTO RECON. SQ.
492nd AIR SERVICE GROUP |
EATS LODGERS; RECON GROUP |
F-6 A/C; EST. RELEASE DATE 15 APRIL 47 |
| FÜRSTENFELDBRUCK |
XII TAC |
10th RECON GROUP; 128th REPL BN; 1 TAC RECON; 45th RECON SQ. |
. |
. |
| GIEBELSTADT |
XII TAC |
850th ENGR AVN BN |
. |
STANDBY BASE FOR VHB |
| HÖRSCHING (A) |
XII TAC |
548th AIR SERVICE GROUP
48th TROOP CARRIER SQ. |
FIGHTER GROUP |
P-47 A/C |
| INDUSTRIEHAFEN |
EAMC |
DET A, 42nd AIR REPAIR SQ. |
STORAGE FIELD |
P-51 A/C; EST. RELEASE DATE 1 JUNE 47 |
| KITZINGEN |
XII TAC |
442nd AIR SERVICE GROUP
31st FIGHTER GROUP |
FIGHTER GROUP |
P-51 A/C, P-80 A/C |
| LANDSBERG |
EAMC |
862nd ENGR AVN BN
837th ENGR AVN BN |
ENGINEER DEPOT |
. |
| LECHFELD |
XII TAC |
86th FIGHTER GROUP
486th AIR SERVICE GROUP |
FIGHTER GROUP |
P-47 A/C; EST. RELEASE DATE 1 APRIL 47 |
| MUNICH |
EATS |
464th AIR SERVICE GROUP
60th TROOP CARRIER GROUP |
MUNICH TERMINAL |
C-47 A/C |
| NELLINGEN |
EAMC |
6th AIRDROME SQ. |
TECH. SCHOOL, STORAGE FIELD |
EST. RELEASE DATE 1 APRIL 47 |
| NEUBIBERG |
XII TAC |
33rd FIGHTER GROUP
70th FIGHTER WING |
FIGHTER GROUP |
P-51 A/C |
| OBERPFAFFENHOFEN |
EAMC |
10th AIR DEPOT |
AIR DEPOT MAINTENANCE |
. |
| PISA (I) |
EATS |
29th TROOP CARRIER SQ. |
EATS TERMINAL |
29th T/C Sq. TO MOVE FROM NAPLES |
| RHEIN/MAIN |
EATS |
61st TROOP CARRIER GP. |
FRANKFURT TERMINAL |
C-47 A/C |
| SCHWEINFURT |
XII TAC |
52nd FIGHTER GROUP (ALL WEATHER); 441st AIR SERVICE GROUP |
. |
EST. RELEASE DATE 1 SEPTEMBER 47 |
| STRAUBING |
XII TAC |
487th AIR SERVICE GROUP
78th FIGHTER GROUP |
FIGHTER GROUP |
P-47 A/C |
| TEMPELHOF |
EATS |
47th TROOP CARRIER SQ.
808th AIR ENGR SQ. |
ATC LODGERS; BERLIN TERMINAL |
C-47 A/C |
| TULLN (A) |
EATS |
313th TROOP CARRIER GROUP
81st AIRDROME SQ. |
VIENNA TERMINAL |
C-47 A/C |
| WIESBADEN |
USAFE |
501st AIR SERVICE GROUP
HQS USAFE; HQS. EATS; 5th ACCS;
5th WEATHER GROUP; 7th LIAISON SQ.
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HQ USAFE, TERMINAL |
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| INSTALLATIONS ON WHICH USAFE HAS LODGER RIGHTS |
| AIRFIELD |
ASSIGNED |
OCCUPIED BY |
ACTIVITY |
COMMENTS |
| BOVINGTON (E) |
BR. AIR MINISTRY |
CARGO CONTROL TEAM B, 1 & 2
4th AIR CARGO CONTROL SQ. |
EATS LODGERS |
SPECIAL MISSIONS ONLY |
| KAUFBEUREN |
US CONSTAB |
64th REG. AACS (PEA) |
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EST. RELEASE DATE 1 JUNE 47. |
| NORDHOLZ |
CBS |
DET A, 64th FIGHTER WING |
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LODGER RIGHTS FOR SUMMER GUNNERY TRAINING |
| STUTTGART |
US CONSTAB |
AIR CARGO CONTROL TEAM B, No. 8
4th AIR CARGO CONTROL SQ. |
EATS LODGERS |
US CONSTAB. LIAISON AIRFIELD |
| ILLESHEIM |
CBS |
*23rd MOTOR TRANSPORT SQ. |
USAFE LODGERS |
ENGINEER DEPOT; EST. RELEASE DATE 1 JUNE 47 |
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| AIR FORCE INSTALLATIONS OTHER THAN AIRFIELDS |
| AIRFIELD |
ASSIGNED |
OCCUPIED BY |
ACTIVITY |
COMMENTS |
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.AMMUNITION DEPOTS |
| LANDSBERG AIR AMMUNITION DEPOT |
EAMC |
16th AIR AMMO SQ. |
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| ROTH |
EAMC |
15th AIR AMMO SQ.
868th CHEM CO, AC
*449th SIG CONST BN. |
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2nd AIR AMMO DEPOT
CLASS V SUPPLY; EST. RELEASE 1 APRIL 47 |
| ZEPPELINHEIM |
EAMC |
*17th AIR AMMO SQ.
*14th AIR AMMO SQ.
*27th MOTOR TRANSPORT SQ. (AVN)
907th CHEM CO, AC |
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CLASS V SUPPLY
(ORDNANCE RAILHEAD - CWS RAILHEAD) |
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.INTRANSIT DEPOTS |
| BREMERHAVEN |
EAMC |
87th ORD BOMB DISP. SQ. |
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.VHF FIXER STATIONS |
| FREISING |
XII TAC |
604th TAC CONTROL SQ. |
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C/S RACECARD, CHANNEL D |
| NEUSTADT (ERLANGEN) |
XII TAC |
603rd TAC CONTROL SQ.
DET A, 11th SIG RADIO MAINT TEAM |
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C/S PLANTER, CHANNEL D. |
| SIMMERINGEN (KASSEL) |
XII TAC |
601st TAC CONTROL SQ. |
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C/S GUNPOST, CHANNEL D |
| NEUSTADT (BAD KISSINGEN) |
XII TAC |
438th SIG CONTR. SQ
4th TAC AIR CONTR. SQ. |
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| DARMSTADT |
XII TAC |
602nd TAC CONTROL SQ. |
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C/S CORNBEEF, CHANNEL D |
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.SIGNAL DEPOTS |
| OBERWIESENFELD |
EAMC |
19th MOTOR TRANSPORT SQ.
11th SIG RADIO MAINT TEAM |
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EST. RELEASE DATE 1 JULY 47 |
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.BOMB RANGES |
| TRENDELBERG |
XII TAC |
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| FRESIAN ISLANDS |
XII TAC |
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| LECHFELD |
XII TAC |
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| NORDHOLZ |
XII TAC |
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.OTHER INSTALLATIONS |
| BRUCK |
EAMC |
5th AIR VEHICLE REPAIR SQ. |
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ORD. GENERAL AUTOMOTIVE SUPPLY AND MAINTENANCE; EST. RELEASE DATE 1 JULY 47
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| MUNICH |
EAMC |
6th AIR VEHICLE REPAIR SQ. |
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CLASS II & IV SUPPLY ORD.
GENERAL AUTOMOTIVE SUPPLY & MAINTENANCE
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| HEIDELBERG |
US CONSTAB |
14th LIAISON SQ. |
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| REBSTOCK |
USFET |
47th LIAISON SQ. (LESS "D" FLIGHT) |
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| WOLFGANG |
EAMC |
7th AIR VEHICLE REPAIR SQ. |
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VEHICLE REPAIR; EST. RELEASE DATE 1 JULY 47 |
| BAD WISSEE |
EAMC |
2027th LABOR SUPR. CO. |
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RECREATIONAL AREA. |
| MARBURG |
US CONSTAB |
134th REPL. BN. |
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LEGEND/ABBREVIATIONS:
* |
all-black segregated unit |
EAMC |
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EATS |
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A.L.S. |
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LODGER |
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| Joint Air Attack Team |
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 81st Tactical Fighter Wing Patch |
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(Source: Port Reporter, Feb 10, 1984) |
Joint Air Attack Team
By Vince Crawley
Flying at 1,500 miles an hour, artillery shells took nearly half a minute to cross the sky in Oksbol, Denmark.
For the 2nd AD (Fwd) gunners, the view from six miles behind the front lines is always the same: trees and sky and an unseen target somewhere over the horizon. And silence that is broken only by the blast of an 8-inch Howitzer. Its sound leaves their ears ringing and adrenaline flowing.
"These guys live for that sound," said Capt. Lee Carrel, commander of A Btry., 4th Bn., 3rd Field Artillery.
"For artillerymen, the job's kind of standard," said SP4 Jeff Watkins of A Btry's ammo section. "I pick up the round and deliver them to the Howitzers. It's mostly cold weather training for us."
Though Watkins was too far from the action to see the results, the shells he helped launch became the Artillery side of the first Joint Air Attack Team to fire in Denmark.
Called JAAT, the team is a "Fast, furious, destructive method of stopping an enemy advance," according to 2nd AD (Fwd) officials.
Battalion commanders who need more firepower than their ground troops can muster summon a JAAT to call air and artillery strikes on the opposition.
Along with the artillery and battalion ground fire, the team simultaneously pits Air Force jets and UH-1 attack helicopters against enemy forces.
"The JAAT has a long history. In some ways, it goes back to Vietnam," said Capt. Jan Ithian, a Cobra helicopter pilot of the 2nd Armored Cav Regiment from Nurnberg.
Acting as the air battle commander for the exercise, Ithian orchestrated the closely spaced moves of A-10 jets and helicopters.
"An error in timing would be catastrophic," he said.
In the perfect JAAT, artillery and ground fire would hit the target and Air Force A-10 Thunderbolts would be called in.
Five seconds before their arrival, the artillery stops and Cobra helicopters rise above the treetops to hold down the enemy while the Thunderbolts fire armor-piercing rounds.
"If we can see the target, we can make rubble of it," said Lt. Col. Steve Stephenson, an A-10 pilot for Det. 3, 81st Tactical Fighter Wing in Ahlhorn.
"We can take out APCs from 6,000 feet," Stephenson said. "Anything inside 6,000 feet is a mobility kill (unable to move).
"But for us to be totally catastrophic, when the vehicle ceases to be a vehicle, we have to be inside 3,000 feet."
The A-10s fly from 300 to 800 feet off the ground, at 400 miles an hour.
"That's only for safety's sake," the Thunderbolt pilot said. "In combat we'd be picking the antennas off the tops of vehicles."
With Howitzer shells and anti-armor rounds competing for their air space, helicopter pilot Ithian's role as a battlefield air traffic controller can be hectic. But Stephenson explained that in real warfare, his planes would fly with the "Big Sky, Little Bullet Theory."
"A hit by friendly fire is almost unknown. If you look at the air as something three-dimensional, you see that the artillery rounds fly up over us until they drop right on the target. One hundred feet and down belongs to the Cobras, and 100 to 1,000 feet belongs to the Hogs," (Thunderbolt pilots' nickname for their ungainly looking aircraft.)
Taking place in sub-freezing temperatures on Jan. 22-23, it was the first JAAT conducted in Northern Europe and the first known JAAT in USAREUR to use helicopters, jets and artillery at once.
Because Danish forces do not have attack helicopters, and because airborne firing of the TOW has never before been conducted at Oksbol, the exercise was closely watched by Danish Army and Air Force personnel, as well as officials from 2nd AD (Fwd).
All major elements from Garlstedt's staff and battalion commanders took part in the exercise.
The soldiers of the 4-3rd Field Artillery were the only actual ground troops. |
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| 1141 Special Activities Squadron |
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| Detachment 6, Stuttgart |
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| (Source: Email from Ben Sawbridge, Det 6, 1141 SAS, 1979-82) |
Det. 6 1141st SAS was located in Stuttgart, GE. They were responsible for orders, assignment, all necessary paperwork for personnel assigned to
  Peacetime headquarters HQ Allied Forces Central Europe, Ramstein AB,
Peacetime Headquarters HQ 4th Allied Tactical Air Force, Ramstein AB, and the
Static War Headquarters HQ 4th ATAF Kindsbach Underground Facility.
I was assigned as a Flight Chief at Kindsbach providing security for the facility working 6 days on 2 days off.
The Security of the Static War Headquarters was handled by Lt. Col. Gill USAF, Security Superintendent SMSGT Stewart USAF, NCOIC German Military Police/German Army equivalent of MSGT Raabe, Training NCO German Military Police/German Army equivalent of a SSGT Hoffmann, two American flight chiefs and two German Flight Chiefs rank of SSGT unit.
HQ 4th ATAF/HSG-7 or HSSY was a combination of American and German Air Force.
The Security Police personnel provided security at the war headquarters, peacetime headquarters at AAFCE and HQ 4th ATAF at Ramstein, until the peacetime headquarters moved to Heidelberg at which time we rode in the moving vans to Heidelberg to provide security on the contents inside with CID -- leading the way doing the sweep of the route from Ramstein AB to Patton Barracks Heidelberg.
I worked swings and mids.
The orderly room for the personnel was named Det 6 1141st Special Activities Squadron.
Vogelweh Armed Forces Police was a combination I believe US Army MP's, USAF Law Enforcement and German personnel. The 86th Security Police Squadron and Vogelweh Armed Forces Police would help if the KUF requested it along with the German civilian police.
At the time I served, 1979 to 1982, everything was classified. |
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