RAF Geilenkirchen
RAF Geilenkirchen | |||||||
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| Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany | |||||||
  RAF Geilenkirchen Shown within Germany
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| Coordinates | 50°57′36.7″N 6°2′32.6″E | ||||||
| Type | Royal Air Force station | ||||||
| Site information | |||||||
| Owner | Ministry of Defence | ||||||
| Operator | Royal Air Force | ||||||
| Controlled by |
RAF Second Tactical Air Force Royal Air Force Germany |
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| Site history | |||||||
| Built | 1952/3 | ||||||
| In use | May 1953 – 28 January 1968 | ||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||
| Identifiers | IATA: GKE, ICAO: ETNG | ||||||
| Elevation | 90 metres (295 ft) AMSL | ||||||
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| Motto | Celer Respondere | ||||||
Royal Air Force Geilenkirchen more commonly known as RAF Geilenkirchen is a former 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.
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, the main operating base for NATO's Airborne Early Warning and Control force, operating 14 Boeing E-3A Sentry aircraft.