Drachenbronn Air Base
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Drachenbronn Air Base (Base Aérienne 901 Drachenbronn) of the French Air Force is located in the community of Drachenbronn-Birlenbach in the Bas-Rhin département.
The base uses the underground facilities of the former Ouvrage Hochwald of the Maginot Line. Its mission is the surveillance of aviation movements in eastern France.
[edit] History
In 1946 the Air Force began studies for the creation of a radar station on top of the ouvrage. Construction began in 1952, and in 1955 major construction was undertaken in the ouvrage for a radar control room and operations center, which was placed in operation in 1957. The operations center was again renovated in 1964, and yet again in 2007.
A three-dimensional radar was installed on the nearby Hochwald mountain, which dominates the Alsace plan and the Rhine valley.
