Ramstein Air Base
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Ramstein Air Base (located at ) is a U.S. Air Force / NATO military airbase in Germany.
The east gate of Ramstein Air Base is about 16 kilometers, or 10 miles, from Kaiserslautern (locally referred to by Americans as "K-Town"). Other nearby civilian communities include Ramstein-Miesenbach, just outside the base's west gate, and Landstuhl, about five kilometers from the west gate. More than 16,400 American service members and more the 5,400 US civilian employees live and work in the Kaiserslautern Military Community (KMC). KMC organizations also employ the services of more than 6,200 German workers. Air Force units in the KMC alone employ almost 9,800 military members, bringing with them nearly 11,100 family members.
Overview
The host unit at Ramstein Air Base is the 435th Air Base Wing, which supports the 86th Airlift Wing, 38th Combat Support Wing as well as other units at the base and surrounding region.
Ramstein is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation installation. Canadian, German, British, French, Belgian, Polish, Czech, Norwegian, Danish, and Dutch forces are also located at the base. The 86th's mission is the operation and maintenance of airlift assets consisting of C-130s, C-9s, C-20s, and C-21s throughout Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
Ramstein's wings are assigned to the newly created HQ Air Command Europe also Headquartered at Ramstein AB.
History
Ramstein Air Base is a great example of international collaboration: designed by French engineers, constructed by Germans and operated by Americans. Construction of the 3,000-acre base began in April 1951 under the provisions of a Franco-American reciprocal agreement, as the surrounding area was under French postwar occupational control at the time.
The building of a major airfield came as no surprise to the local inhabitants who were no strangers to airpower. The World War II Luftwaffe had converted a section of the local autobahn into an airstrip at the beginning of World War II. The airstrip was also used by the advancing U.S. Army Air Forces during the final months of the conflict.
Enough construction was completed by 1952 that Landstuhl Air Base was opened on 5 August 1952. On 1 June 1953 Ramstein Air Base was opened. Landstul Air Base was built as an operational Air Base with the runway, control tower, ramps and other flight-related facilities and the associated flying and support units. Ramstein Air Base, on the north of Kisling Memorial Avenue was the location of Headquarters, Twelfth Air Force, and supported family housing, base exchange, commisary, dependents' schools and other administrative offices.
On 1 February 1952, Det 1, 86th Fighter-Bomber Wing arrived at Landstuhl Air Base from Neubiberg AB. On 27 April 1953, Headquarters, Twelfth Air Force was activated on Ramstein Air Base. The 86th Air Base Group was activated as the main base support unit for Landstuhl, while the 7030th HQ Support Group was the main base support unit for Ramstein.
Ramstein also provided support for NATO's HQ Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force, which moved to Ramstein from Trier AB on 10 November 1957. Also on that date, HQ Twelfth Air Force was transferred to Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas and was assigned to Tactical Air Command. It was replaced by an advanced echelon of HQ USAFE. HQ Seventeenth Air Force, in turn, replaced HQ USAFE at Ramstein on 15 November 1959.
On 1 December 1957, the two bases were consolidated into the largest NATO-controlled air base on serve at the continent. It was called Ramstein-Landstuhl Air Base, but later, through common usage, came by its present name, Ramstein Air Base in 1958.
One legacy of the two separate air bases was that the north side of Ramstein retained a separate APO from the south side. The north side (Ramstein AB) was APO New York 09012, while the south side (Landstuhl AB) was APO New York 09009. Also seperate Combat Support Groups, the 7030th for the north side, and the 86th for the south side existed. These were consolodated in the 1980's when APO AE 09094 was established as a unified postal address, and the two Combat Support units were merged into the 377th Combat Support Wing.
On 31 January 1973 several Headquarters were relocated in and out of Ramstein when Seventeenth AF moved to Sembach Air Base to make room for the expected move of HQ USAFE to Ramstein. HQ USAFE completed its move from Wiesbaden to Ramstein on 14 March.
With USAFE's arrival, Ramstein entered a period of expansion unsurpassed in the base's history. The commander of the 86 TFW became host commander of Americans living in the Kaiserslautern Military Community.
HQ Allied Air Force, Central Europe, was established at Ramstein on 28 June 1974. Ramstein subsequently provided support for other headquarters, including the 322d Airlift Division which arrived on 23 June 1978, and SAC's 7th Air Division, which arrived on 1 July 1978.
In December 1980, HQ Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force was moved from Ramstein to Heidelberg and co-located with HQ Central Army Group.
About 10 minutes from the current Ramstein Air Base is the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, operated by the United States Army. Although part of the Kaiserslautern Military Community, LRMC has a seperate history and was never a part of Ramstein or Landstuhl Air Bases, although both facilities have utilized the medical facilities at LRMC since they were established in 1953.
Operational Units Assigned To Ramstein
Beginning in 1953 Ramstein/Landstuhl Air Base was part of USAFE's Third Air Force, with headquarters at RAF Mildenhall, the United Kingdom.
86th Fighter-Bomber/Fighter-Interceptor Wing
F-84/F-86 Era
In January 1953, Landstuhl AB became the home of the 86th Fighter-Bomber Wing, being transferred from Neubiberg AB in Bavaria. Operational squadrons were:
- 526th Fighter-Bomber
- 527th Fighter-Bomber
In August 1954, the name of the wing was changed to reflect a new mission. It became the 86th Fighter-Interceptor Wing, and was re-equipped with the North American F-86F Saber.
On 8 February 1956 the 527th FIS was inactivated. It was replaced on 22 May 1957 by the 525th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron.
F-102
In 1958 the 86th FIS at Ramstein AB recieved new Convair F-102A interceptors also acquired new interceptor squadrons. These were:
- 512th Fighter-Interceptor
- 513th Fighter-Interceptor
- 514th Fighter-Interceptor
Control of all the F-102 squadrons in USAFE was centralized at Ramstein. With this change, the 86th Fighter-Interceptor Wing was redesignated the 86th Air Division (Defense) on 18 November 1960.
It's operational squadrons in USAFE were:
- 32nd Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Soesterberg AB, Netherlands
- 431st Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Zaragosa AB, Spain
- 496th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Hahn AB, West Germany
- 497th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Torrejon AB, Spain
- 525th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Bitburg AB, West Germany
- 526th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Ramstein AB, West Germany
1961 Berlin Crisis
During the Berlin Crisis of 1961/62, the strength of the 86th AD was augmented by two Air National Guard F-84G squadrons:
- 151st Fighter-Interceptor: 25 Nov 1961 – 11 Jul 1962 (Utah Air National Guard)
- 197th Fighter-Interceptor: 25 Nov 1961 – 11 Jul 1962 (Arizona Air National Guard)
26th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing
On 7 March 1966, French President Charles De Gaulle announced that France would withdraw from NATO's integrated military military structure. The United States was informed that it must remove it's military forces from France by 1 April 1967.
As a result, the 26 Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, based at Toul-Rosieres Air Base, France and two of it's squadrons, the 38th and 32d, equipped with RF-4Cs was relocated to Ramstein on 5 October 1966. The 26th TRW's 22d TRS was reassigned to Mountain Home AFB, Idaho where it became a dual-based squadron, deploying frequently to Ramstein. The 32d TFS was transferred, without personnel or equpment to RAF Alconbury England and it's RB-66 aircraft were sent to Takhli Royal Thai Air Base in Thailand.
The 86th Air Division was transferred to the former Canadian Air Base at Zweibrucken.
With the arrival of the 26th TRW, the F-102s were replaced by by the McDonnel-Douglas RF-4C/F-4E "Phantom". Assigned squadrons of the 26th TRW at Ramstein were:
- 38th Tactical Reconnaissance (RF-4C, Tail Code: RR)
- 526th Fighter Interceptor/Tactical Fighter (F-102/F-4E Tail Code: RS)
- 7th Special Operation (C-130, C-47, UH-1)
In addition, the 26th TRW was only designated a flight, because of it's small size. It consisted of a mixture of aircraft, including: T-29s, T-33s, T-39s, C-54s, O-2s, H-19s, and UH-1s.
The 526th Fighter Interceptor Squadron (FIS), flying F-102 aircraft, was assigned to the wing in November 1968, thus adding an air defense role to the mission of the wing. The 526 FIS was redesignated the 526th Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS) on 1 April 1970 and begun converting to the F-4E fighter aircraft.
In the spring of 1972, the 7th Special Operations Squadron (SOS) was assigned flying C-130Es, C-47As, and UH-1Ns. Because of the special operations mission of the 7 SOS, it reported directly to HQ USAFE for operational control
In 1971 a detachment of the 435th Air Base Wing from Rhein-Main Air Base was assigned to Ramstein and a large cargo aerial port constructed. This allowed Military Airlift Command C-141 and C-5 Galaxy aircraft to use Ramstein as a transshipment point for material, which was then moved within USAFE by C-130 tactical transports.
86th Tactical Fighter Wing
As part of operation Creek Action, a command-wide effort to realign functions and streamline operations, USAFE transferred the 26 TRW from Ramstein to Zweibrucken Air Base, Germany, and the 86th Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW) from Zweibrucken back to Ramstein on 31 January 1973.
These moves were made without the transfer of personnel or equipment with the exception of the 38 TRS, 7 SOS and 81 TFS. The 38th remained under the control of the 26 TRW by moving to Zweibrucken with the wing and the 7 SOS transferred to Rhein-Main Air Base. The 526 TFS remained at Ramstein AB, and it was reassigned to the 86th Tactical Fighter Wing.
With the relocation back to Ramstein, the 86th Tactical Fighter Wing consisted of the following opeational squadrons:
- 512th Tactical Fighter (F-4E Tail Code: RS)
- 526th Tactical Fighter (F-4e Tail Code: RS)
In June 1985, the 316th Air Division was activated, centralizing command authority at Ramstein. The 86 TFW became the division's flight operations arm, while the newly formed 377th Combat Support Wing, also activated in 1985, became responsible for the logistical and administrative support on base, replacing the 86th and 7030 Combat Support Wings.
On August 28, 1988, the base was the site of the tragic Ramstein airshow disaster, which killed 67 spectators and 3 pilots, and injured hundreds. The German metal band Rammstein is, in fact, named after the accident.
In April 1991 it converted to the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon. With the end of the Gulf War, the wing deployed to Turkey and supported operations in Southwest Asia to ensure that Iraq complied with treaty terms. 86th TFW aircraft twice attacked Iraqi surface-to-air missile (SAM) sites in northern Iraq.
Ramstein Air Base Today
The 316th Air Division was deactivated 1 May 1991, and the 86th Tactical Fighter Wing merged with the 377 Combat Support Wing to form the 86th Fighter Wing.
In July 1994 the 86th Fighter Wing's last F-16 departed Ramstein AB, thereby, completing it's transfer from the F-16 aircraft to the C-130 aircraft. The wing was re-designated the 86th Airlift Wing on 1 October 1994, with three flying squadrons.
In 1995, the host wing at Sembach Air Base was inactivated and the installation became an annex of Ramstein Air Base.
In 2003, the 435th Air Base Wing assumed the overall host base unit at Ramstein, with the 86th Airlift Wing it's operational arm, and the 38th Combat Support Wing commanding support and Geographically Seperated Units (GSU)
On 1 November 2005 with the inactivation of the Third Air Force, Ramstein was made part of the new HQ Air Command Europe.
In 2004/2005, Ramstein AB underwent an extensive expansion with a major construction project - which is still in progress (as of July 2006) - including an all-new airport terminal, among other new facilites, through the so-called Rhein-Main Transition Program which was initiated in support of the total closure of Rhein-Main AB on December 31, 2005 and transferring all its former capacities to Ramstein AB (70%) and Spangdahlem AB (30%).
While the KMC remains the largest U.S. community overseas at 39,000 people, the defense drawdown continues to shape its future. Due to the departure of other main operating installations, more than 100 geographically separated units receive support from Ramstein.
Ramstein AB also served as temporary housing for the United States men's national soccer team during the 2006 World Cup to provide the players' a home-field feeling. However, lacking the necessary luck, the team could not use the 'home advantage' in the Kaiserslautern Military Community and did not advance into the next round, even though their overall performance was better than most expected.
ADOC Kindsbach
Close to Ramstein was the site of Air Defense Operations Center - Kindsbach, AKA 'Kindsbach Cave' - the site of Europe’s underground Combat Operations Center.
The facility was located in a former German Western Front Command Headquarters. The French took control of the underground bunker after World War II, and USAFE assumed control in 1953. After major renovations, USAFE opened the Kindsbach Combat Operations Center 15 August 1954.
The center was a state-of-the-art 67-room, 37,000-square foot facility where USAFE could have lead an air war against the Soviet Union. The center had a digital “computer” to work out bombing problems, cryptographic equipment for coded message traffic and its own photo lab to develop reconnaissance photos. Responsible for an air space extending deep behind the Iron Curtain, the center interacted directly with the Pentagon, NATO, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe and all USAFE bases. With its massive telephone switchboard and 80 teletype machines, the cave was plugged into everything in the outside world. The center was receiving more than 1,000 calls a day.
As a further measure of protection, the cave was fully self-contained with its own water supply, electric backup-generators, climate controls, dining facilities and sleeping accommodations for its 125-man crew. Visitor passes were rarely issued to this secret facility.
Throughout the years, leadership changed but USAFE led the operations through numbered Air Forces. The center’s commander was the USAFE Advanced Echelon. His glassed-in office was on the top floor of the three-story underground command center. Directly under his office was the management for offensive air operations. And the bottom floor office was the management for defensive air operations – to include support for U.S. Army forces and German Civil Defense. All three offices had a full view of the massive Air Operations Center map on the opposing wall.
The AOC was the largest room in the complex. Its three-story map was used to plot minute-by-minute movements of friendly and unidentified aircraft. But the center was much more than just a tracking station, because it could also react to threats. They always knew the current operational status of air weapons in theater including missiles, and could dispatch armed response “at a moments notice.”
Time takes its toll on technology. What was advanced in one era quickly becomes obsolete in the next. By 1984, the Kindsbach Cave had become too small and its cost for renovation too high, and USAFE vacated the facility. On 31 October 1993, control was returned to the German government. Today the Kindsbach Cave remains sealed – a relic of the Cold War in Europe and a monument to an air war that was won without ever having been fought.
See also
- Ramstein airshow disaster
- Rammstein
- United States Air Forces in Europe
- United States Air Force In Germany
References
Much of this text in an early version of this article was taken from pages on the Ramstein Air Base website, which as a work of the U.S. Government is presumed to be a public domain resource. That information was supplemented by:
- Endicott, Judy G., USAF Active Flying, Space, and Missile Squadrons as of 1 October 1995. Office of Air Force History
- Fletcher, Harry R., Air Force Bases Volume II, Active Air Force Bases outside the United States of America on 17 September 1982, Office of Air Force History, 1989
- Maurer Maurer, Air Force Combat Units Of World War II, Office of Air Force History, 1983
- Martin, Patrick, Tail Code: The Complete History Of USAF Tactical Aircraft Tail Code Markings, 1994
- Ravenstein, Charles A., Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947-1977, Office of Air Force History, 1984
External links
- [Official USAF Website For Ramstein AB]
- [Photos of 1988 Ramstein Airshow Disaster]
- [ADOC Kindsbach (In German)]
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