Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force

Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force (4 ATAF) was a NATO military formation under Allied Air Forces Central Europe tasked with providing air support to NATO's Central Army Group (CENTAG). 4 ATAF commanded all flying units based within its sector and all reinforcements flying into its sector, as well as ground based radar systems and stations, air defense units and the airfields in its sector.

History
Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force was formed in 1951 with its area of responsibility covering the Germany south of the city of Kassel. Commander of Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force was the commanding Major General of the American Seventeenth Air Force based in the southwest of Germany.

The main establishment of 4 ATAF was a headquarters which had several locations over more than forty years. Established about 1951 at Trier Air Base, the unit was moved to Ramstein Air Base in November 1957 where it remained until December 1980 when it was moved to Heidelberg where it was colocated with Headquarters Central Army Group. An operational Air Defence Operations Centre was operated at Ouvrage Molvange from 1961 until 1967 when it was moved to a USAF site in Kindsbach just south of Ramstein Air Base. The HQ also operated a number of communications sites which were concerned with secure communications for the release of tactical nuclear weapons through the NATO Quick Reaction Alert Force. In 1985 NATO began with the construction of a new Static War Headquarters bunker in Ruppertsweiler, Germany. Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force commanded besides Seventeenth Air Force, the US Army's 32nd Air Defense Command, 1 Canadian Air Group and two German Air Force (Luftwaffe) divisions, as well as extensive secure communications, air defense and radar installations manned by Germany and the US Air Force.

If needed, 4 ATAF would have been reinforced with units from the US Third (UK based), Eighth (reconnaissance and bombing), Ninth (immediate reinforcements) and Twelfth Air Force (follow on reinforcements), and with Royal Canadian Air Force and French Air Force units. At the start of hostilities 4 ATAF would have had immediately around 600 combat planes at its disposal. The following units would have come under 4 ATAF in wartime:

4 ATAF was disbanded on 30 June 1993, its duties were taken over by Allied Air Forces Central Europe.

War Time Structure c.1989

 * Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force, Heidelberg, FRG
 * Air Defence Operations Center (ADOC), Maastricht
 * Sector Operations Center 3 (SOC 3), Sembach Air Base
 * 1st Btn, 32nd (Luftwaffe) Signal Regiment, Control and Reporting Center Börfink
 * 2nd Btn, 32nd (Luftwaffe) Signal Regiment, Control and Reporting Center Lauda-Königshofen
 * 4th Btn, 32nd (Luftwaffe) Regiment, Lauda-Königshofen, with 12x mobile Radar systems forward deployed to the inner German border.
 * Sector Operations Center 4 (SOC 4), Meßstetten
 * 1st Btn, 31st (Luftwaffe) Signal Regiment, Control and Reporting Center Meßstetten
 * 2nd Btn, 31st (Luftwaffe) Signal Regiment, Control and Reporting Center Freising
 * Seventeenth Air Force, (US Air Force) Sembach Air Base
 * 36th Tactical Fighter Wing, Bitburg Air Base
 * 22nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, 24x F-15C
 * 53rd Tactical Fighter Squadron, 24x F-15C
 * 525th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 24x F-15C
 * 50th Tactical Fighter Wing, Hahn Air Base
 * 10th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 24x F-16C Block 25
 * 313th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 24x F-16C Block 25
 * 496th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 24x F-16C Block 25
 * 52nd Tactical Fighter Wing, Spangdahlem Air Base
 * 23rd Tactical Fighter Squadron, 24x F-16C
 * 81st Tactical Fighter Squadron, 24x F-4G Wild Weasel V
 * 480th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 24x F-16C
 * 481st Tactical Fighter Squadron, 24x F-16C
 * 86th Tactical Fighter Wing, Ramstein Air Base
 * 512th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 24x F-16C Block 30
 * 526th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 24x F-16C Block 30
 * 26th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, Zweibrücken Air Base
 * 38th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 20x RF-4C
 * 32nd Air Defense Command, (US Army) Schweinfurt
 * 10th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, Darmstadt
 * 3rd Bn, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Wildflecken, (24x MIM-23 Hawk)
 * 2nd Bn, 43rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Hanau, (48x MIM-104 Patriot)
 * 4th Bn, 43rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Giessen, (48x MIM-104 Patriot)
 * 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, Würzburg
 * 3rd Bn, 60th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Grafenwöhr, (24x MIM-23 Hawk)
 * 6th Bn, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Würzburg, (24x MIM-23 Hawk)
 * 6th Bn, 43rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Ansbach, (48x MIM-104 Patriot)
 * 8th Bn, 43rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Giebelstadt, (48x MIM-104 Patriot)
 * 94th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, Kaiserslautern
 * 1st Bn, 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Kaiserlautern, (48x MIM-104 Patriot)
 * 3rd Bn, 44th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Ramstein, (MIM-72 Chaparral, M163 VADS Vulcan, FIM-92 Stinger)
 * 4th Bn, 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Neubrücke, (24x MIM-23 Hawk)
 * 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, Spangdahlem
 * 1st Bn, 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Mannheim, (24x MIM-23 Hawk)
 * 4th Bn, 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Dexheim, (48x MIM-104 Patriot)
 * 5th Bn, 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Spangdahlem, (48x MIM-104 Patriot)
 * 5th Bn, 44th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Spangdahlem, (Chaparral, M163 VADS Vulcan, FIM-92 Stinger)
 * German Air Force
 * 1st Luftwaffendivision, Fürstenfeldbruck
 * Bremgarten Air Base
 * Aufklärungsgeschwader 51, 2x squadrons with 15x RF-4E (Reconnaissance)
 * Lechfeld Air Base
 * Jagdbombergeschwader 32, 2x squadrons with 16x Tornado IDS each, and 6x Tornado IDS in reserve
 * Büchel Air Base
 * Jagdbombergeschwader 33note 1, 2x squadrons with 16x Tornado IDS each, and 6x Tornado IDS in reserve
 * Memmingen Air Base
 * Jagdbombergeschwader 34note 1, 2x squadrons with 16x Tornado IDS each, and 6x Tornado IDS in reserve
 * Pferdsfeld Air Base
 * Jagdbombergeschwader 35, 2x squadrons with 15x F-4F each, and 4x F-4F in reserve
 * Leipheim Air Base
 * Jagdbombergeschwader 44, 1st squadron permanently deployed to Beja Airbase in Portugal with 18x Alpha Jets for weapons training
 * Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base
 * Jagdbombergeschwader 49, 2x squadrons with 18x Alpha Jets each, and 24x Alpha Jets in reserve (18x for 2nd squadron Jagdbombergeschwader 44)
 * 2nd Luftwaffendivision, Birkenfeld
 * Neuburg Air Base
 * Jagdgeschwader 74, 2x squadrons with 15x F-4F each, and 4x F-4F in reserve
 * 4th Air Defense Missile Command, Lich
 * 21st Air Defense Missile Wing, Möhnesee, with 6x MIM-104 Patriot squadrons; each with 1x Engagement Control Station, 1x Radar Set, 8x launch stations
 * 38th Air Defense Missile Wing, Burbach, with 4x MIM-23 Hawk squadrons; each with 1x Hawk battery (6x launch stations)
 * 42nd Air Defense Missile Group, Schöneck, with 42x Roland systems guarding Rhein-Main, Sembach, Nörvenich, Pferdsfeld and Büchel air bases and Lindsey Air Station
 * 5th Air Defense Missile Command, Erding
 * 23rd Air Defense Missile Wing, Manching, with 6x MIM-104 Patriot squadrons; each with 1x Engagement Control Station, 1x Radar Set, 8x launch stations
 * 32nd Air Defense Missile Wing, Freising, with 4x MIM-23 Hawk squadrons; each with 1x Hawk battery (6x launch stations)
 * 34th Air Defense Missile Wing, Rottenburg an der Laaber, with 4x MIM-23 Hawk squadrons; each with 1x Hawk battery (6x launch stations)
 * 6th Air Defense Missile Command, Lenggries
 * 22nd Air Defense Missile Wing, Penzing, with 6x MIM-104 Patriot squadrons; each with 1x Engagement Control Station, 1x Radar Set, 8x launch stations
 * 33rd Air Defense Missile Wing, Lenggries, with 4x MIM-23 Hawk squadrons; each with 1x Hawk battery (6x launch stations)
 * 43rd Air Defense Missile Group, Leipheim, with 26x Roland systems guarding Lechfeld, Memmingen, Erding, Neuburg and Bremgarten air bases
 * Canadian Forcesnote 2
 * 1 Canadian Air Group, CFB Baden-Soellingen
 * 409 Tactical Fighter Squadron, 18x CF-18
 * 421 Tactical Fighter Squadron, 18x CF-18
 * 439 Tactical Fighter Squadron, 18x CF-18

note 1: Nuclear sharing unit capable of delivering tactical nuclear weapons.

note 2: The Canadian Forces reinforcement units were from CFB Cold Lake 416 Tactical Fighter Squadron and 441 Tactical Fighter Squadron, and from CFB Bagotville 425 Tactical Fighter Squadron and 433 Tactical Fighter Squadron each with 18x CF-18. These forces represented the complete combat-capable assets of Canadian Forces Air Command. The units marked as reinforcements were nominally assigned to the NORAD Canada East and Canada West regions.