Coordinates: 50°57′36.7″N 6°2′32.6″E / 50.960194°N 6.042389°E
| RAF Geilenkirchen | |
|---|---|
| Active | May 1953 – 28 January 1968 |
| Country | Germany |
| Allegiance | UK: British Armed Forces |
| Branch | Royal Air Force |
| Type | Flying station |
| Role | Fighters (Strike/Attack) |
| Part of |
RAF Second Tactical Air Force, then Royal Air Force Germany |
| Located near | Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany |
| Nickname(s) | "Geilenkirchen" |
| Motto(s) | Celer Respondere |
| Royal Air Force Ensign |
 |
| March | Royal Air Force March Past |
| RAF Geilenkirchen | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: GKE – ICAO: ETNG | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Military | ||
| Owner | formerly: Ministry of Defence, now: NATO | ||
| Operator | formerly: Royal Air Force, now: NATO | ||
| Location | Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 296 ft / 90 m | ||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 09/27 | 10,009 | 3,051 | Concrete |
Royal Air Force Station Geilenkirchen, more commonly known as RAF Geilenkirchen, was a Royal Air Force station in the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany, built by the British who used the facility mainly as an airfield for RAF fighter squadrons from May 1953 until 21 January 1968.
History[]
Geilenkirchen squadrons[]
- No 2 Squadron RAF - 1955-1957; operated the Gloster Meteor FR9 and later the Supermarine Swift FR5
- No. 3 Squadron RAF - 1953-1957 and 1959–1961, 1961-8; operated the Hawker Hunter F4, the Gloster Javelin FAW4 and the English Electric Canberra B(I)8 (61-68)
- No. 5 Squadron RAF - 1962-1965; operated the Gloster Javelin FAW9
- No. 11 Squadron RAF - 1959-1965; operated the Gloster Meteor NF11 and later the Gloster Javelin FAW4,FAW5,FAW9
- No. 59 Squadron RAF - 1957-1961; operated the Canberra B2 and B(I)8 (57-61)
- No. 92 Squadron RAF - 1965-1968; operated the English Electric Lightning F2,F2A
- No. 96 Squadron RAF - 1958-1959; operated the Gloster Javelin FAW4
- No. 234 Squadron RAF - 1954-1957; operated the North American Sabre F4 and later the Hawker Hunter F4
- No. 256 Squadron RAF - 1958-1958; operated the Gloster Meteor NF11
Post RAF history[]
The RAF handed over the station to German Luftwaffe in March 1968. The Germans used the airfield as home for a Surface-to-Surface Missile Wing equipped with Pershing missiles with support from the United States Army.
Current use[]
In 1980, the station became NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen, to house the main operating base for NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force (AWACS). This is a multinational organisation operating 17 NATO Boeing E-3A Sentry aircraft.
See also[]
References[]
External links[]
- Silent Sentinel - brief history of 92 Sqn Lightning F2s
- Gallery of images from ServicePals.com
- "Miss Demeanour", a (now famous) former RAF Geilenkirchen Hunter F.4
- NATO AWACS Homepage
- NATO AWACS-Spotter Geilenkirchen Homepage
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The original article can be found at RAF Geilenkirchen and the edit history here.