Active June 1945 – 1993 Branch Royal Air Force | Country Germany Type Flying station | |
Allegiance UK: British Armed Forces Role Fighter attack and defence | ||
Royal Air Force Station Gütersloh, more commonly known as RAF Gütersloh, was a Royal Air Force Germany military airfield, the nearest Royal Air Force airfield to the East/West German border, in the vicinity of the town of Gütersloh. It was constructed by the Germans prior to World War II. The station was captured by the Americans in April 1945 and was handed over to the RAF in June 1945 as Headquarters No. 2 Group RAF.
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History
Its early history is largely undetermined. It is known that construction began in 1935, and the station was active in 1944-45 with Ju-88 Nightfighters of 5./NJG 2 (Nachtjagdgeschwader 2) as part of the Defense of the Reich defensive aerial campaign fought by the Luftwaffe.
The tower of the Officers' Mess contains a room known as Göring's Room. Legend has it that Hermann Göring used this room to relive his wartime exploits with the new generation of flyers. Reportedly a favourite expression of his was "If I should lie, may the beam above my head crack". In response to this a junior officer arranged that the beam be sawn through and, by a system of pulleys, that the beam should appear to crack in response to the Reichmarschall's challenge. The restored mechanics still allow the 'trick' to be employed and we certainly know that the original pre-dates British occupancy. No evidence has yet established the veracity of the story but it certainly deserves to be true. Certainly the story was popular with the Luftwaffe officers of World War II. (Although an article appearing in the aviation magazine FLIGHT in 1946 has the same story with "an elderly station commander" featuring in the Göring role). From interviews with Luftwaffe personnel of the period, it appears that Göring made a number of visits to the station both before and during the war. A photograph of the Reichmarschall supposedly at Gütersloh is displayed in the Officers' Mess. Despite the date on which the airfield was established, throughout a large part of 1955-1956, an authentic looking sign not far from the main gate, stated that 'The Red Baron' and his squadron operated from this base during the 1914-18 war.
The station was captured by the Americans in April 1945 and designated as "Advanced Landing Ground Y-99". The Americans laid down a 4,000' SMT hardened runway and the Ninth Air Force operated F-4 Lightning and F-5 Mustang reconnaissance aircraft of the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Group in late April. Also the P-38 Lightning-equipped 370th Fighter Group operated from Gütersloh until the German Capitulation on 8 May 1945. The 370th remained until the airfield was turned over to the RAF as part of the formation of the British Occupation Zone of Germany on 27 June 1945.
RAF Control
The RAF established Headquarters No. 2 Group RAF after the Americans moved south. From 1958 RAF Gütersloh fell under the operational command of 2d ATAF, like all other RAFG stations. The RAF initially built a 1,830 metres/meter long runway, which was later lengthened to 2,252 metres/meters
During its history as an RAF station, it was home to two squadrons of the English Electric Lightning F2/F2A - No. 92 Squadron RAF and No. 19 Squadron RAF from 1968 to 1976. These provided two aircraft for the Quick Response Alert, able to scramble within minutes. It then became home to No. 3 Squadron RAF and No. 4 Squadron RAF which flew successive variants of the BAe Harrier. After the Harriers departed, the RAF continued to operate helicopters, No. 18 Squadron RAF with the Boeing Chinook and No. 230 Squadron RAF with the Puma HC1.
Gütersloh today
Following the withdrawal by the Royal Air Force in 1993, the base became a British Army Garrison, called the Princess Royal Barracks, Gütersloh, a base for British Army helicopters, and Royal Logistic Corps Regiments.
In September 2016 the final Soldiers left Princess Royal Barracks for the last time. The barracks are now empty with no clear plan for its future.