| Royal Air Force Station Gütersloh | |
|---|---|
| Active | June 1945 – 1993 |
| Country | Germany |
| Allegiance | UK: British Armed Forces |
| Branch | Royal Air Force |
| Type | Flying station |
| Role | Fighter attack and defence |
| Part of |
RAF Second Tactical Air Force, then Royal Air Force Germany, finally No. 2 Group RAF |
| Based near | Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany |
| Nickname(s) | "Gütersloh", "Gut", "Gutters" "Sunny Gutters" |
| Motto(s) | Vallis Vesperis |
| Royal Air Force Ensign |
 |
| March | Royal Air Force March Past |
| Equipment |
English Electric Lightning, BAe Harrier, Boeing Chinook, Puma HC1 |
| RAF Gütersloh | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: GUT – ICAO: ETUO | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Military | ||
| Owner | Ministry of Defence | ||
| Operator | formerly: Royal Air Force, now: British Army | ||
| Location | Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 236 ft / 72 m | ||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 09/27 | 7,388 | 2,252 | Asphalt |
Stadtmuseum Gütersloh
Royal Air Force Station Gütersloh, more commonly known as RAF Gütersloh, was a Royal Air Force Germany military airbase, the nearest Royal Air Force airbase 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 base was captured by the Americans in April 1945 and was handed over to the RAF in June 1945 as Headquarters No. 2 Group RAF.
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 base 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. 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.
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 bases. The RAF initially built a 1,830 meter long runway, which was later lengthened to 2,252 meters
During its history as an RAF base, 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. 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.
RAF units and aircraft[]
English Electric Lightning in the National Museum of Flight in East Fortune, Scotland. It is displayed in the colours of 92 Squadron, based at RAF Gutersloh with whom it served until 1977.
| Unit | Dates | Aircraft | Variant | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 2 Squadron RAF | 1952-1953 1961-1970 |
Gloster Meteor Hawker Hunter |
PR.10 FR.10 |
|
| No. 3 Squadron RAF | 1948-1952 1977-1992 |
de Havilland Vampire Hawker Siddeley Harrier |
FB.1, FB.4 GR.3, GR.5, GR.7 |
|
| No. 4 Squadron RAF | 1961-1970 1977-1992 |
Hawker Hunter Hawker Siddeley Harrier |
FR10 GR.3, GR.5, GR.7 |
|
| No. 14 Squadron RAF | 1958–1962 | Hawker Hunter | F.4 | |
| No. 16 Squadron RAF | 1947 1948 1948 |
Hawker Tempest | F.2 | |
| No. 18 Squadron RAF | 1965-1968 1970-1980 1983-1993 |
Westland Wessex Westland Wessex Boeing Chinook |
HC.2 HC.2 HC.1 |
1992/1993 also with Puma HC.1 |
| No. 19 Squadron RAF | 1965–1976 | English Electric Lightning | F.2, F.2A | |
| No. 20 Squadron RAF | 1958–1960 | Hawker Hunter | F.6 | |
| No. 21 Squadron RAF | 1945 1946 |
de Havilland Mosquito | VI | Based three times in 1946 |
| No. 26 Squadron RAF | 1947 1948 1958-1960 |
Hawker Tempest Hawker Tempest Hawker Hunter |
F.2 F.2 F.6 |
Based three times in 1948 |
| No. 33 Squadron RAF | 1947 1948 1948 |
Hawker Tempest | F2 | |
| No. 59 Squadron RAF | 1956–1957 | English Electric Canberra | B.2, B(I).8 | |
| No. 67 Squadron RAF | 1950–1952 | de Havilland Vampire | FB.5 | |
| No. 69 Squadron RAF | 1954 | English Electric Canberra | PR.3 | |
| No. 71 Squadron RAF | 1950–1952 | de Havilland Vampire | FB.5 | |
| No. 79 Squadron RAF | 1951-1954 1956-1960 |
Gloster Meteor Supermarine Swift |
FR.9 FR.5 |
|
| No. 80 Squadron RAF | 1948 | Supermarine Spitfire | F.24 | Based twice |
| No. 92 Squadron RAF | 1968–1977 | English Electric Lightning | F.2, F.2A | |
| No. 102 Squadron RAF | 1954–1956 | English Electric Canberra | B.2 | |
| No. 103 Squadron RAF | 1954–1956 | English Electric Canberra | B.2 | |
| No. 104 Squadron RAF | 1955–1956 | English Electric Canberra | B.2 | |
| No. 107 Squadron RAF | 1945 1946 1946 1947 |
de Havilland Mosquito | VI | Based three times in 1947 |
| No. 149 Squadron RAF | 1954–1956 | English Electric Canberra | B.2 | |
| No. 230 Squadron RAF | 1963-1964 1980-1992 |
Westland Whirlwind Westland Puma |
HC.10 HC.1 |
|
| No. 541 Squadron RAF | 1952 1954 |
Gloster Meteor Gloster Meteor |
PR.10 PR.10 |
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.
- HQ Gütersloh Garrison[1]
- HQ 102 Logistic Brigade
- 1 Regiment, AAC[2]
- 652 Squadron, AAC
- 661 Squadron, AAC
- 1 Logistic Support Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps
- 74 HQ Squadron
- 2 Close Support Squadron
- 12 Close Support Squadron
- 23 General Support Squadron,
- 2 Logistic Support Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps
- 27 HQ Squadron
- 22 Close Support Squadron
- 45 Close Support Squadron
- 76 General Support Squadron
- 6 Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps [3]
- 60 HQ Squadron
- 62 Squadron
- 67 Squadron
- 68 Squadron
- 30 Squadron (part of 24 Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps)
- 5 Regiment, Royal Military Police
- 114 Provost Company
- 262 Brigade Signal and HQ Squadron, Royal Signals
See also[]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Royal Air Force. |
|
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aircraft of the air force of the United Kingdom. |
- Royal Air Force station
- List of former Royal Air Force stations
- List of Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons
- List of aircraft of the RAF
- Advanced Landing Ground
References[]
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
External links[]
- Spotting Group Royal Air Force Gütersloh
- aerial photo of RAF Gütersloh
- Article on Gütersloh Hunters
- British Forces Germany HIVE - Gütersloh
- Gallery of Gütersloh images
- Gutersloh - From ARRSEpedia, The British Military Open Encyclopedia
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates: 51°55′31.4″N 8°18′23.3″E / 51.925389°N 8.306472°E
The original article can be found at RAF Gütersloh and the edit history here.