Nordholz Naval Airbase
Encyclopedia
Nordholz Naval Airbase is a German Naval Air base located near the town of Nordholz in Lower Saxony
, 25 km north of Bremerhaven
, and 12 km southwest of Cuxhaven.
It is the home of Marinefliegergeschwader 3 (MFG 3), equipped with the Dornier
Do 28 D-2M Skyservant and Dornier Do 228-212 LM/LT. It also flies the NHIndustries MH 90 helicopter
Its aircraft fly predominantly over the North Sea on antisubmarine patrols.
During World War I, Nordholz served as an airship port for the German Imperial Navy. The first "Zeppelin" (L3) landing on 2 September 1914 marked the beginning of flight operations. A month later, the Marine-Luftschiff-Abteilung moved from Hamburg-Fuhlsbuettel to Nordholz, with the first anti-aircraft batteries arriving four days later on 18 October the same year. According to the Treaty of Versailles
, all airport installations were dismantled in 1919.
Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 2/77 "Herz As") stationed Messerschmitt Bf 109
E fighters at the airfield. These were supplemented by several groups of JG 1, tasked with defending the North Sea shores against British RAF attacks.
During the occupation of Denmark
and Norway
, Kampfgeschwader 100 (KG 100) flew attacks from Nordholz with their Heinkel He 111
medium bombers.
Between 1941 and 1943 Nordholz was not used, but the Luftwaffe returned in March 1943, as 3/JG 54 ("Gruenherz") moved to Nordholz. 3/JG 26 "Schlageter" followed in June and 2/JG 11 in August. All units, flying Bf 109F/G stayed only a few weeks in northern Germany, before moving to the Eastern Front or the along the English Channel.
The bases role changed in October 1943 when it was turned into a nightfighter base with 7/NJG 3 moved from Stade to Nordholz. At the end of the war, between January and April 1945, Nordholz had the honor of hosting the Messerschmitt Me 163
Komet rocket-powered fighter aircraft coming from parts of 2/JG 400.
area. The United States Army Air Force moved into the airfield on 5 June and it served as home for P-47 Thunderbolts of 86th Fighter Group 512th and 513th Fighter Squadrons, flying air defense missions from the base over the Bremen area. initially given the designation of Advanced Landing Ground
"R-66", it was renamed Army Air Force Station Nordholtz, or simply Nordholz Air Base. In 1947 the airfield was handed over to the Royal Air Force
, who began dismantling the airport installations and destroying the three concrete runways.
In 1959 construction of the current airbase began. This time a single runway airfield was constructed according to NATO standards, which was to serve as a Naval Air Station. Building ended in 1962, with the first parts of MFG 2 arriving in Auly. On 26 April 1963 the airfield was officially put into service, though the usability of the base was still limited.
A year later the subhunting component of MFG 2 moved from Westerland/Sylt to Nordholz. In 1965 the airfield was officially handed over to the planning staffs of MFG 3.
Since 1966, the Breguet Br.1150 Atlantic has been the German Navy's anti submarine warfare and long range maritime patrol asset. The type replaced the British supplied Fairey Gannets used for a few years during the 1960's. The Atlantic is unique in that it has been designed specifically from scratch. The other western types with the same mission, the American P-3 Orion and the British Nimrod, found their origins in respectively the Electra and Comet civil transports. A total of 20, exluding a non-flying prototype, were deliverd to MFG 3 during 1966 and 1967.
MFG 3 was left as the only unit at Nordholz, when the final two Noratlas of "Passon" left the airbase in 1981. The civil airgroup provided aerial targets over the North and Baltic Sea since 1964.
Nordholz was used for several Cold War NATO deployments of USAF/ANG units during the annual "Reforger" exercises.
Out of the 20 Atlantics, five were converted during 1969 and 1970 into SIGINT (SIGnals INTelligence) aircraft, specialized in electronic reconnaissance of hostile radar systems and communications of what used to be the Eastern Bloc. Under the code name of Peace Peek, the conversions were done by E-systems in the United States. Today, three of these machines survive, among them 61+06 depicted left. One of these has already been scrapped, the other has been broken up for spares. They can easily be distinguished by their differing radome under the fuselage. The SIGINT machines proved especially useful during the NATO operations around Kosovo during 1999. It may be that the SIGINT Atlantics will be replaced with a variant of the Northrop-Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk UAV, if funds can be found.
Out of the 15 standard Atlantics, only eight survived. One was lost in a crash in April 1978, the others have already been scrapped or relegated to ground instructional duties. Nevertheless, the type was kept busy until just a few years ago. From early 2002 a detachment of Atlantics flew lengthy patrol missions from Mombasa, Kenya over the Indian Ocean looking for suspected shipping in the war on terror. In September 2003, the detachment, than known as 15. Einsatzgruppe der Marinefliegerflottille (EinsGrpMFlgFltl) or 15th Operations Group Naval Air Forces moved north to Djibouti. The detachment was terminated in March 2005.
MFG-3 currently operates a mix of Lockheed P-3C Orions, Breguet Atlantics, Westland Sea Lynx and the Dornier Do.228LM. Some 2,000 civilian and military personnel are based at Nordholz, with the wing providing surveillance & reconnaissance, anti-submarine search, SAR, pollution control and Signal Intelligence (SIGINT) operations. Soon to join the currently based aircraft will be the Westland Sea Kings from MFG-5 at Kiel/Holtenau Naval Air Station. However they are sanctioned to be replaced in the next few years by the NH.90 helicopters which are currently on order for the German Navy.
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
, 25 km north of Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the free city-state of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms an enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the River Weser on its eastern bank, opposite the town of Nordenham...
, and 12 km southwest of Cuxhaven.
It is the home of Marinefliegergeschwader 3 (MFG 3), equipped with the Dornier
Do 28 D-2M Skyservant and Dornier Do 228-212 LM/LT. It also flies the NHIndustries MH 90 helicopter
Its aircraft fly predominantly over the North Sea on antisubmarine patrols.
History
Nordholz Naval Airbase is one of the oldest airports in Germany, dating to 17 December 1912. Construction of the airport installations started a year later and was finished in 1914.During World War I, Nordholz served as an airship port for the German Imperial Navy. The first "Zeppelin" (L3) landing on 2 September 1914 marked the beginning of flight operations. A month later, the Marine-Luftschiff-Abteilung moved from Hamburg-Fuhlsbuettel to Nordholz, with the first anti-aircraft batteries arriving four days later on 18 October the same year. According to the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
, all airport installations were dismantled in 1919.
Luftwaffe use
Flying returned to Nordholz in 1938, when the Luftwaffe decided to rebuild the airfield. At the outbreak of 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...
Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 2/77 "Herz As") stationed 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 fighters at the airfield. These were supplemented by several groups of JG 1, tasked with defending the North Sea shores against British RAF attacks.
During the occupation of Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Kampfgeschwader 100 (KG 100) flew attacks from Nordholz with their 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...
medium bombers.
Between 1941 and 1943 Nordholz was not used, but the Luftwaffe returned in March 1943, as 3/JG 54 ("Gruenherz") moved to Nordholz. 3/JG 26 "Schlageter" followed in June and 2/JG 11 in August. All units, flying Bf 109F/G stayed only a few weeks in northern Germany, before moving to the Eastern Front or the along the English Channel.
The bases role changed in October 1943 when it was turned into a nightfighter base with 7/NJG 3 moved from Stade to Nordholz. At the end of the war, between January and April 1945, Nordholz had the honor of hosting the Messerschmitt Me 163
Messerschmitt Me 163
The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet, designed by Alexander Lippisch, was a German rocket-powered fighter aircraft. It is the only rocket-powered fighter aircraft ever to have been operational. Its design was revolutionary, and the Me 163 was capable of performance unrivaled at the time. Messerschmitt...
Komet rocket-powered fighter aircraft coming from parts of 2/JG 400.
Postwar use
The airfield was occupied by American forces on 16 May 1945 as part of the American Zone of Occupation in the BremenBremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
area. The United States Army Air Force moved into the airfield on 5 June and it served as home for P-47 Thunderbolts of 86th Fighter Group 512th and 513th Fighter Squadrons, flying air defense missions from the base over the Bremen area. initially given the designation of 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...
"R-66", it was renamed Army Air Force Station Nordholtz, or simply Nordholz Air Base. In 1947 the airfield was handed 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...
, who began dismantling the airport installations and destroying the three concrete runways.
NATO use
Situated to the north of Bremen, Marinefliegerhorst (Naval Air Station) Nordholz is the home of the German Navy's Marinefliegergeschwader 3 "Graf Zeppelin". Named in honour of Germany's pioneer of lighter than air airships, the MFG 3 operates both the service's long range maritime patrol and shipborne helicopter fleets. Additionally, MFG 3 also flies the Dornier Do.228 environmental patrol aircraft which belong to the Department of Transport. The slogan "fliegen wo die Flotte fährt (to fly where the fleet sails) is taken seriously by this unit.In 1959 construction of the current airbase began. This time a single runway airfield was constructed according to NATO standards, which was to serve as a Naval Air Station. Building ended in 1962, with the first parts of MFG 2 arriving in Auly. On 26 April 1963 the airfield was officially put into service, though the usability of the base was still limited.
A year later the subhunting component of MFG 2 moved from Westerland/Sylt to Nordholz. In 1965 the airfield was officially handed over to the planning staffs of MFG 3.
Since 1966, the Breguet Br.1150 Atlantic has been the German Navy's anti submarine warfare and long range maritime patrol asset. The type replaced the British supplied Fairey Gannets used for a few years during the 1960's. The Atlantic is unique in that it has been designed specifically from scratch. The other western types with the same mission, the American P-3 Orion and the British Nimrod, found their origins in respectively the Electra and Comet civil transports. A total of 20, exluding a non-flying prototype, were deliverd to MFG 3 during 1966 and 1967.
MFG 3 was left as the only unit at Nordholz, when the final two Noratlas of "Passon" left the airbase in 1981. The civil airgroup provided aerial targets over the North and Baltic Sea since 1964.
Nordholz was used for several Cold War NATO deployments of USAF/ANG units during the annual "Reforger" exercises.
Out of the 20 Atlantics, five were converted during 1969 and 1970 into SIGINT (SIGnals INTelligence) aircraft, specialized in electronic reconnaissance of hostile radar systems and communications of what used to be the Eastern Bloc. Under the code name of Peace Peek, the conversions were done by E-systems in the United States. Today, three of these machines survive, among them 61+06 depicted left. One of these has already been scrapped, the other has been broken up for spares. They can easily be distinguished by their differing radome under the fuselage. The SIGINT machines proved especially useful during the NATO operations around Kosovo during 1999. It may be that the SIGINT Atlantics will be replaced with a variant of the Northrop-Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk UAV, if funds can be found.
Out of the 15 standard Atlantics, only eight survived. One was lost in a crash in April 1978, the others have already been scrapped or relegated to ground instructional duties. Nevertheless, the type was kept busy until just a few years ago. From early 2002 a detachment of Atlantics flew lengthy patrol missions from Mombasa, Kenya over the Indian Ocean looking for suspected shipping in the war on terror. In September 2003, the detachment, than known as 15. Einsatzgruppe der Marinefliegerflottille (EinsGrpMFlgFltl) or 15th Operations Group Naval Air Forces moved north to Djibouti. The detachment was terminated in March 2005.
MFG-3 currently operates a mix of Lockheed P-3C Orions, Breguet Atlantics, Westland Sea Lynx and the Dornier Do.228LM. Some 2,000 civilian and military personnel are based at Nordholz, with the wing providing surveillance & reconnaissance, anti-submarine search, SAR, pollution control and Signal Intelligence (SIGINT) operations. Soon to join the currently based aircraft will be the Westland Sea Kings from MFG-5 at Kiel/Holtenau Naval Air Station. However they are sanctioned to be replaced in the next few years by the NH.90 helicopters which are currently on order for the German Navy.
See also
- Advanced Landing Ground