Münster-Handorf Airfield
Encyclopedia
Münster-Handorf Airfield is a former military airfield located in Germany
about 5 miles east-northeast of Münster
(Nordrhein-Westfalen); approximately 250 miles west of Berlin
.
Fliegerhorst Münster-Handorf was one of the first Luftwaffe
airfields, being established in 1935. After being captured by Allied Forces in April 1945, it briefly became an Allied airfield at the end of the war, then being used as a Garrison for the Royal Air Force
as part of the Army of Occupation until 1949. RAF 469 Signals Unit, a mobile radar and DF station was situated on the intersection of the destroyed runways until at least 1953, with the operator and maintenance crews billeted at Boniburg Schloss near Hahndorf village until 1953 when a new camp was built at the airfield. Abandoned until 1960, the former airfield was used as a Dutch Nike missile base in 1960/61. It was later closed and today little remains except some concreted areas used as roads and some abandoned destroyed buildings in an industrial estate.
and other trainers.
broke out. Kampfgeschwader 54 (KG 54) arrived in September with Heinkel He 111
P medium bombers; and three Messerschmitt Bf 109
E fighter units, Jagdgeschwader 3
(JG 3); Jagdgeschwader 51
(JG 51) and Jagdgeschwader 21 (JG 21) arrived during the Phony War
period with France
and Great Britain
.
In addition, Jagdgeschwader 27
(JG 27) and Kampfgeschwader 1
(KG 1) were formed at Münster-Handorf with Bf 109Es and He 111H's
After the Battle of France
and the war moved west into France and England, Münster-Handorf became an airfield for R&R and re-equipping combat units. Various units moved in and out of the airfield for brief periods of time, JG 77, a Bf 109E fighter unit and KG 3, a Junkers Ju 88
A multirole bomber (KG) unit spent time at the filed. In June 1943, Lehrgeschwader 1, a Ju 88A trining unit used the field through most of the year.
With the increasing Allied bomber attacks on Germany in 1943, Münster-Handorf was assigned to be part of the Defense of the Reich
campaign by the Luftwaffe. Nachtjagdgeschwader 7 (NJG 7), a Ju 88G night fighter unit was formed at the base in February 1944 and flew night interceptor missions until September. It was replaced by Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 (NJG 2), also formed at the base which flew missions until November 1944 and Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (NJG 1), which operated Heinkel He 219
night fighters until April 1945.
Day interceptor units were JG 54 with Focke-Wulf Fw 190
As and also Kampfgeschwader 76 (KG 76) were assigned to the field in late 1944 and early 1945. KG 76 possibly never being operational due to fuel shortages.
Kampfgeschwader 2 (KG 2) flew Dornier Do 217
aircraft with V-1 flying bomb
s attached used the base during September 1944, then moved into northern Holland to be closer to the British targets.
The Luftwaffe interceptors and the V-1 flying bombs at Münster-Handorf drew the attention of the USAAF Eighth Air Force
, with no less than ten heavy bomber attacks on the airfield between December 1943 and March 1945. In addition, as the airfield in range of Ninth Air Force
B-26 Marauder
medium bombers and P-47 Thunderbolt
fighter bombers in eastern France, attacks on the airfield by these tactical units with 500-pound General-Purpose bombs; unguided rockets and .50 caliber machine gun sweeps were frequent. These attacks would take place when Eighth Air Force
heavy bombers (B-17s, B-24s) were within interception range of the Luftwaffe aircraft assigned to the base, with the attacks being timed to have the maximum effect possible to keep the interceptors pinned down on the ground and be unable to attack the heavy bombers.
captured Münster-Handorf Airfield. On 5 April the IX Engineer Command 852d Engineer Aviation Battalion moved in and began patching the bomb craters of the airfield's concrete runway. The airfield was heavily damaged by the Allied bomb attacks and it took a week for the engineers to fill in bomb craters and lay down a 5000' asphalt runway over the concrete runway used by the Luftwaffe. The airfield being designated as Advanced Landing Ground
"Y-94 Handorf" on 12 April.
Almost immediately, Ninth Air Force
P-47 Thunderbolt
s of the 366th Fighter Group and on 15 April, the 406th Fighter Group moved in to press home the attacks on the encircled German forces trapped in the Pocket. The pocket was made smaller and smaller, eventually forcing the surrender of over 300,000 German troops and their equipment.
The victory in the Rhur essentially eliminated serious opposition by the German Armed forces in Western Germany and afterward American ground forces swept east into Central Germany and Southern Germany, while British and Commonwealth forces moved into northern Germany against little organized resistance.
With the end of combat on 7 May, the combat units moved out in June, the airfield being turned over to Air Technical Service Command. The ATSC 2d Air Depot Group moved in to manage the large number of excess Allied aircraft sent to Handorf, to be returned to the United States, sold to Allied countries, or to be scrapped. The Air Depot operated until the end of 1945, when in December, Münster-Handorf was turned over to the Royal Air Force
as part of the British Occupation Zone of Germany.
, however in 1960 the former airfield was used by the Netherlands as a temporary Nike Anti-Aircraft Missile base for about a year until permanent facilities could be constructed. The base was closed in 1961, and the land turned over to the German government.
In addition, many isolated remains of concrete taxiways, possibly a 2d runway can be viewed in aerial photography. Also the remains of the Dutch Nike missile pads can be seen as round concrete pads connected to single-lane roads.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
about 5 miles east-northeast of Münster
Münster
Münster is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also capital of the local government region Münsterland...
(Nordrhein-Westfalen); approximately 250 miles west of Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
Fliegerhorst Münster-Handorf was one of the first Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
airfields, being established in 1935. After being captured by Allied Forces in April 1945, it briefly became an Allied airfield at the end of the war, then being used as a Garrison for the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
as part of the Army of Occupation until 1949. RAF 469 Signals Unit, a mobile radar and DF station was situated on the intersection of the destroyed runways until at least 1953, with the operator and maintenance crews billeted at Boniburg Schloss near Hahndorf village until 1953 when a new camp was built at the airfield. Abandoned until 1960, the former airfield was used as a Dutch Nike missile base in 1960/61. It was later closed and today little remains except some concreted areas used as roads and some abandoned destroyed buildings in an industrial estate.
History
Fliegerhorst Münster-Handorf was opened in 1935, one of the first Luftwaffe airfields of the reconstituted German Air Force. It was opened as a flight school, with Flugzeugführerschule A/B 12 using Arado Ar 66Arado Ar 66
-See also:-References:* Smith, J.R and Kay, Antony L. German Aircraft of the Second World War. London: Putnam, 1972. ISBN 0-85177-836-4.-External links:*...
and other trainers.
Luftwaffe use during World War II
The base became an operational field in September 1939, shortly after World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
broke out. Kampfgeschwader 54 (KG 54) arrived in September with Heinkel He 111
Heinkel He 111
The Heinkel He 111 was a German aircraft designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter in the early 1930s in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Often described as a "Wolf in sheep's clothing", it masqueraded as a transport aircraft, but its purpose was to provide the Luftwaffe with a fast medium...
P medium bombers; and three Messerschmitt Bf 109
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...
E fighter units, Jagdgeschwader 3
Jagdgeschwader 3
Jagdgeschwader 3 Udet was a Luftwaffe fighter-wing of World War II. The Geschwader operated on all the German fronts in the European Theatre of World War II. It was named after Ernst Udet in 1942.-Campaign in the West :...
(JG 3); Jagdgeschwader 51
Jagdgeschwader 51
Jagdgeschwader 51 Mölders was a Luftwaffe fighter wing during World War II, named after the fighter ace Werner Mölders in 1942. JG 51's pilots won more Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes than any other Jagdgeschwader, and flew combat from 1939 in all major theatres of war. Flying Bf 109s and then...
(JG 51) and Jagdgeschwader 21 (JG 21) arrived during the Phony War
Phony War
The Phoney War was a phase early in World War II – in the months following Britain and France's declaration of war on Germany in September 1939 and preceding the Battle of France in May 1940 – that was marked by a lack of major military operations by the Western Allies against the German Reich...
period with France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
.
In addition, Jagdgeschwader 27
Jagdgeschwader 27
Jagdgeschwader 27 Afrika was a World War II Luftwaffe Geschwader. It was most famous for service in the North African Campaign, supporting the Deutsches Afrikakorps.- Formation:...
(JG 27) and Kampfgeschwader 1
Kampfgeschwader 1
Kampfgeschwader 1 was a Luftwaffe bomber unit during the Second World War. Heinkel He 111 and later Heinkel He 177 bombers.-History:...
(KG 1) were formed at Münster-Handorf with Bf 109Es and He 111H's
After the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
and the war moved west into France and England, Münster-Handorf became an airfield for R&R and re-equipping combat units. Various units moved in and out of the airfield for brief periods of time, JG 77, a Bf 109E fighter unit and KG 3, a Junkers Ju 88
Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...
A multirole bomber (KG) unit spent time at the filed. In June 1943, Lehrgeschwader 1, a Ju 88A trining unit used the field through most of the year.
With the increasing Allied bomber attacks on Germany in 1943, Münster-Handorf was assigned to be part of the Defense of the Reich
Defense of the Reich
The Defence of the Reich is the name given to the strategic defensive aerial campaign fought by the Luftwaffe over German occupied Europe and Germany itself during World War II. Its aim was to prevent the destruction of German military and civil industries by the Western Allies...
campaign by the Luftwaffe. Nachtjagdgeschwader 7 (NJG 7), a Ju 88G night fighter unit was formed at the base in February 1944 and flew night interceptor missions until September. It was replaced by Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 (NJG 2), also formed at the base which flew missions until November 1944 and Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (NJG 1), which operated Heinkel He 219
Heinkel He 219
The Heinkel He 219 Uhu was a night fighter that served with the German Luftwaffe in the later stages of World War II. A relatively sophisticated design, the He 219 possessed a variety of innovations, including an advanced VHF-band intercept radar...
night fighters until April 1945.
Day interceptor units were JG 54 with Focke-Wulf Fw 190
Focke-Wulf Fw 190
The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Würger was a German Second World War single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank in the late 1930s. Powered by a radial engine, the 190 had ample power and was able to lift larger loads than its well-known counterpart, the Messerschmitt Bf 109...
As and also Kampfgeschwader 76 (KG 76) were assigned to the field in late 1944 and early 1945. KG 76 possibly never being operational due to fuel shortages.
Kampfgeschwader 2 (KG 2) flew Dornier Do 217
Dornier Do 217
The Dornier Do 217 was a bomber used by German Luftwaffe during World War II as a more powerful version of the Dornier Do 17, known as the Fliegender Bleistift . Designed in 1937 and 1938 as a heavy bomber, its design was refined during 1939 and production began in late 1940...
aircraft with V-1 flying bomb
V-1 flying bomb
The V-1 flying bomb, also known as the Buzz Bomb or Doodlebug, was an early pulse-jet-powered predecessor of the cruise missile....
s attached used the base during September 1944, then moved into northern Holland to be closer to the British targets.
The Luftwaffe interceptors and the V-1 flying bombs at Münster-Handorf drew the attention of the USAAF Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
, with no less than ten heavy bomber attacks on the airfield between December 1943 and March 1945. In addition, as the airfield in range of Ninth Air Force
Ninth Air Force
The Ninth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina....
B-26 Marauder
B-26 Marauder
The Martin B-26 Marauder was a World War II twin-engine medium bomber built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in the Pacific Theater in early 1942, it was also used in the Mediterranean Theater and in Western Europe....
medium bombers and P-47 Thunderbolt
P-47 Thunderbolt
Republic Aviation's P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as the "Jug", was the largest, heaviest, and most expensive fighter aircraft in history to be powered by a single reciprocating engine. It was heavily armed with eight .50-caliber machine guns, four per wing. When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to...
fighter bombers in eastern France, attacks on the airfield by these tactical units with 500-pound General-Purpose bombs; unguided rockets and .50 caliber machine gun sweeps were frequent. These attacks would take place when Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
heavy bombers (B-17s, B-24s) were within interception range of the Luftwaffe aircraft assigned to the base, with the attacks being timed to have the maximum effect possible to keep the interceptors pinned down on the ground and be unable to attack the heavy bombers.
USAAF use
At the end of March 1945, United States Army units moving to close the Ruhr PocketRuhr Pocket
The Ruhr Pocket was a battle of encirclement that took place in late March and early April 1945, near the end of World War II, in the Ruhr Area of Germany. For all intents and purposes, it marked the end of major organized resistance on Nazi Germany's Western Front, as more than 300,000 troops were...
captured Münster-Handorf Airfield. On 5 April the IX Engineer Command 852d Engineer Aviation Battalion moved in and began patching the bomb craters of the airfield's concrete runway. The airfield was heavily damaged by the Allied bomb attacks and it took a week for the engineers to fill in bomb craters and lay down a 5000' asphalt runway over the concrete runway used by the Luftwaffe. The airfield being designated as Advanced Landing Ground
Advanced Landing Ground
Advanced Landing Ground was the term given to the temporary advance airfields constructed by the Allies during World War II in support of the invasion of Europe...
"Y-94 Handorf" on 12 April.
Almost immediately, Ninth Air Force
Ninth Air Force
The Ninth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina....
P-47 Thunderbolt
P-47 Thunderbolt
Republic Aviation's P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as the "Jug", was the largest, heaviest, and most expensive fighter aircraft in history to be powered by a single reciprocating engine. It was heavily armed with eight .50-caliber machine guns, four per wing. When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to...
s of the 366th Fighter Group and on 15 April, the 406th Fighter Group moved in to press home the attacks on the encircled German forces trapped in the Pocket. The pocket was made smaller and smaller, eventually forcing the surrender of over 300,000 German troops and their equipment.
The victory in the Rhur essentially eliminated serious opposition by the German Armed forces in Western Germany and afterward American ground forces swept east into Central Germany and Southern Germany, while British and Commonwealth forces moved into northern Germany against little organized resistance.
With the end of combat on 7 May, the combat units moved out in June, the airfield being turned over to Air Technical Service Command. The ATSC 2d Air Depot Group moved in to manage the large number of excess Allied aircraft sent to Handorf, to be returned to the United States, sold to Allied countries, or to be scrapped. The Air Depot operated until the end of 1945, when in December, Münster-Handorf was turned over to the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
as part of the British Occupation Zone of Germany.
Postwar use
The destroyed base had little value to the RAF as an airfield, and the facility was used as a Garrison as part of the Army of Occupation until 1949 when it was closed. Most of Münster-Handorf Airfield was removed during the 1950s as part of the reconstruction effort in West GermanyWest Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, however in 1960 the former airfield was used by the Netherlands as a temporary Nike Anti-Aircraft Missile base for about a year until permanent facilities could be constructed. The base was closed in 1961, and the land turned over to the German government.
Current
Today, Münster-Handorf Airfield is used as agricultural fields. However there are many relics of the former wartime airfield which can be found. Former maintenance area with several destroyed buildings left as rubble. Aircraft dispersal parking with several destroyed buildings left as rubble. Aircraft dispersal parking Main runway, removed and today a thick vegetative area. Dispersal area, probably remains of destroyed hangars in thick vegetation area. The former Luftwaffe ground station (Also used by the British during their occupation) can be seen just to the northeast of the airfield, with several barracks, administrative buildings, an athletic field and large grass areas (probably the locations of destroyed buildings).In addition, many isolated remains of concrete taxiways, possibly a 2d runway can be viewed in aerial photography. Also the remains of the Dutch Nike missile pads can be seen as round concrete pads connected to single-lane roads.
See also
- Advanced Landing Ground