Mendig Air Base

Geschichte

Mendig Air Base is a former military airfield located southeast of the city of Mendig, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.Until 2007, it was the home of the German Army Aviators School, equipped with seven CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters. The airfield was closed on 31 December 2007 and the last personnel moved out on 30 June 2008.HistoryNiedermendig Airfield was opened as a Luftwaffe airfield in 1938. Its prewar use is undetermined. After the breakout of World War II, Zerstörergeschwader 26, a Messerschmitt Bf 110 unit used in the Battle of France was assigned in May 1940. In September 1944, Aufklärungsgruppe 123, equipped with Focke-Wulf Fw 189As used the airfield to monitor the advancing Allied armies moving east from France.American Army units moved into the Mendig area in early March 1945 as part of the Western Allied invasion of Germany and the airfield was attacked by Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauder medium bombers and P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bombers to deny the retreating German forces use of the facility. The airfield was taken about 14 March. Combat engineers from IX Engineer command moved in with the 830th Engineering Aviation Battalion arriving on 10 March 1945, to repair the field for use by combat aircraft. The engineers laid down a 5000' Pierced Steel Planking all-weather runway over the bomb-cratered concrete runway, and performed minimal repairs to the facility to make it operational. On 17 March, the airfield was declared ready for Allied use and was designated as Advanced Landing Ground "Y-62 Niedermendig".