Gablingen Kaserne is a former military facility in Gablingen near Augsburg, Germany, which was closed in 1998. Its primary use was signals intelligence collection during the Cold War.
1910-1918 (Luftstreitkräfte) 1935-1945 (Luftwaffe) Apr 1945-April 1946 (USAAF) August 1946-1998 (United States Army)
Gablingen Kaserne
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Location of Gablingen Kaserne, Germany
Historyedit
Part of Gablingen Kaserne was constructed prior to World War I for use by the Royal Bavarian Air Force. The airfield was closed in 1918 and flight activities were prohibited in 1919 as a result of the Treaty of Versailles.[1]
Reopened in 1936 as a Luftwaffe airfield, Gablingen was home to three Luftwaffe flying schools: Flugzeugführerschule A5, Nachtjadgschule 1, and Flugzeugführerschule C7. In addition, the entire facility was enlarged as one of the two German Air Bases in the Augsburg area, the other one being Lechfeld Airbase.[2]
One of the most interesting aspects of the history of Gablingen is the complex tunnel system beneath the old airdrome, which may have been used to conceal the existence of a Messerschmitt test facility located there prior to, and during, the Second World War. The Messerschmitt plant used laborers from the Dachau concentration camp. Messerschmitt's rocket-powered Messerschmitt Me 163 were tested at this facility as early as 1941.[1]
American forces seized the base almost unopposed on 1 May 1945 and the facility was quickly secured. IX Engineer Command [1] engineers from the 833rd Aviation Engineer Battalion moved into the facility and designated the base as Advanced Landing Ground "R-77", although no combat unit moved to the airfield until 15 May, after the German Capitulation to perform occupation duty.[3] Renamed as Army Airfield Station Gablingen, several USAAF groups were assigned to the airfield until 1 July 1946, when the facility was turned over to the United States Army.[4]
U.S. Army useedit
Gablingen was used by the U.S. Army as a barracks, housing various elements of the different divisions stationed in the Augsburg area, as well as USASA Field Station Augsburg, a signals intelligence facility. Around 1970, the 3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division moved to Goeppingen.[1]
The AN/FLR-9 circular "Wullenweber" antenna array, was built at many locations during the cold war for HF/DF direction finding of high priority targets. The worldwide network, known collectively as "Iron Horse", could quickly and accurately locate an HF communications from almost anywhere on the planet. Today, advances in technology have made the AN/FLR-9 obsolete.
The kaserne was closed in 1998.
Referencesedit
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
^. Archived from the original on 2019-06-30. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
^Johnson, David C. (1988), U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO), D-Day to V-E Day; Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center, Maxwell AFB, Alabama.
December 14, 2023
gablingen, kaserne, former, military, facility, gablingen, near, augsburg, germany, which, closed, 1998, primary, signals, intelligence, collection, during, cold, gablingen, airfield, coordinates48, 45139, 86028, 45139, 86028typemilitary, garrison, closed, sit. Gablingen Kaserne is a former military facility in Gablingen near Augsburg Germany which was closed in 1998 Its primary use was signals intelligence collection during the Cold War Gablingen KaserneGablingen Airfield R 77 Coordinates48 27 05 N 010 51 37 E 48 45139 N 10 86028 E 48 45139 10 86028TypeMilitary Garrison Closed Site historyBuilt1910Built by Luftstreitkrafte Imperial German Air Force In use1910 1918 Luftstreitkrafte 1935 1945 Luftwaffe Apr 1945 April 1946 USAAF August 1946 1998 United States Army Gablingen Kaserneclass notpageimage Location of Gablingen Kaserne GermanyHistory editPart of Gablingen Kaserne was constructed prior to World War I for use by the Royal Bavarian Air Force The airfield was closed in 1918 and flight activities were prohibited in 1919 as a result of the Treaty of Versailles 1 Reopened in 1936 as a Luftwaffe airfield Gablingen was home to three Luftwaffe flying schools Flugzeugfuhrerschule A5 Nachtjadgschule 1 and Flugzeugfuhrerschule C7 In addition the entire facility was enlarged as one of the two German Air Bases in the Augsburg area the other one being Lechfeld Airbase 2 One of the most interesting aspects of the history of Gablingen is the complex tunnel system beneath the old airdrome which may have been used to conceal the existence of a Messerschmitt test facility located there prior to and during the Second World War The Messerschmitt plant used laborers from the Dachau concentration camp Messerschmitt s rocket powered Messerschmitt Me 163 were tested at this facility as early as 1941 1 American forces seized the base almost unopposed on 1 May 1945 and the facility was quickly secured IX Engineer Command 1 engineers from the 833rd Aviation Engineer Battalion moved into the facility and designated the base as Advanced Landing Ground R 77 although no combat unit moved to the airfield until 15 May after the German Capitulation to perform occupation duty 3 Renamed as Army Airfield Station Gablingen several USAAF groups were assigned to the airfield until 1 July 1946 when the facility was turned over to the United States Army 4 U S Army use editGablingen was used by the U S Army as a barracks housing various elements of the different divisions stationed in the Augsburg area as well as USASA Field Station Augsburg a signals intelligence facility Around 1970 the 3rd Brigade 1st Infantry Division moved to Goeppingen 1 The AN FLR 9 circular Wullenweber antenna array was built at many locations during the cold war for HF DF direction finding of high priority targets The worldwide network known collectively as Iron Horse could quickly and accurately locate an HF communications from almost anywhere on the planet Today advances in technology have made the AN FLR 9 obsolete The kaserne was closed in 1998 References edit nbsp This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency a b c USAAF Advance Landing Ground R 77 Gablingen Germany The Luftwaffe 1933 45 IX Engineering Command ETO Airfields General Construction Information Archived from the original on 2019 06 30 Retrieved 2009 11 03 Johnson David C 1988 U S Army Air Forces Continental Airfields ETO D Day to V E Day Research Division USAF Historical Research Center Maxwell AFB Alabama Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gablingen Kaserne amp oldid 1125421687 History, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
