RAF Geilenkirchen
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.
| 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 | |||||||||||
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| 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 | |||||||||||
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History
Geilenkirchen squadrons
- No 2 Squadron RAF – 1955–1957; operated the Gloster Meteor FR.9 and later the Supermarine Swift FR.5.
- No. 3 Squadron RAF – 1953–1957 and 1959–1961, 1961–68; operated the Hawker Hunter F.4, the Gloster Javelin FAW.4 and the English Electric Canberra B(I).8 (1961–68).
- No. 5 Squadron RAF – 1962–1965; operated the Gloster Javelin FAW.9.
- No. 11 Squadron RAF – 1959–1965; operated the Gloster Meteor NF.11 and later the Gloster Javelin FAW.4, FAW.5, FAW.9.
- No. 59 Squadron RAF – 1957–1961; operated the Canberra B.2 and B(I).8 (1957–61).
- No. 92 Squadron RAF – 1965–1968; operated the English Electric Lightning F.2, F.2A.
- No. 96 Squadron RAF – 1958–1959; operated the Gloster Javelin FAW.4.
- No. 234 Squadron RAF – 1954–1957; operated the Canadair Sabre F.4 and later the Hawker Hunter F.4.
- No. 256 Squadron RAF – 1958-1958; operated the Gloster Meteor NF.11.
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
- List of aircraft of the Royal Air Force
- List of former Royal Air Force stations
- Royal Air Force station
References
External links
- Silent Sentinel – brief history of 92 Sqn Lightning F2s
- "Miss Demeanour", a (now famous) former RAF Geilenkirchen Hunter F.4
- NATO AWACS Homepage
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