RAF Butzweilerhof
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| Royal Air Force Station Butzweilerhof | |
|---|---|
| Active | August 1951 – 27 January 1967 |
| Country | Germany |
| Allegiance | UK: British Armed Forces |
| Branch | Royal Air Force |
| Type | Flying station |
| Part of | RAF Second Tactical Air Force, then Royal Air Force Germany |
| Based near | Köln, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany |
| Nickname | "Butzweilerhof", "Butz" |
| Motto | Per Vires Pax |
| Royal Air Force Ensign |  |
| March | Royal Air Force March Past |
| Equipment | Gloster Meteor NF11, English Electric Canberra PR7 |
| Insignia | |
| Station crest | Köln cathedral above the waters |
| RAF Butzweilerhof | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: none – ICAO: ETBB.OLD | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Military (Airport no longer in operation) | ||
| Owner | formerly: Ministry of Defence, now: Bundeswehr | ||
| Operator | formerly: Royal Air Force, now: Bundeswehr | ||
| Location | Köln, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany | ||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 04/22 | 2,133 | 650 | was Asphalt, now removed |
The former Royal Air Force Station Butzweilerhof, commonly known as RAF Butzweilerhof was a Royal Air Force airbase in Germany situated in the northern suburbs of Cologne (Köln). The stations' motto was Per Vires Pax, and the station crest depicts the Cologne cathedral rising above the waters.
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[edit] History and the RAF
Butzweilerhof was originally the main civil airport for Köln, but was taken over by the RAF sometime during August 1951. RAF aircraft ceased flying in 1965, and the RAF formally left Butzweilerhof, closing down the station on 27 January 1967. The few civilian employees remaining at the beginning of 1967 were required to leave by the end of the month of January, and on 31 January 1967, Butzweilerhof airfield was officially handed over to the Bundeswehr.
In 1960 it was the base for 5 Signals Wing, The Band of RAF Germany and 420 Recovery & Salvage Squadron.
[edit] Butzweilerhof squadrons & aircraft
- No. 68 Squadron RAF - operating Gloster Meteor NF11
- No. 87 Squadron RAF - operating Gloster Meteor NF11
[edit] Butzweilerhof today
Although a very small part of the old airfield still remains in the hands of the German Bundeswehr (not in use), the rest of the land has been re-developed into film studios (MMC). On the film studio lot, a renovated hangar still bears the inscription of the Belgium Army who were stationed at Butzweiler. The remaining land has now been divided up for residential and office re-development. The Butzweilerhof main airport terminal building, opened in 1926 is protected as a listed building and is undergoing renovations.
The terminal building restoration has now (2007) been largely completed. In late December 2007, the bulldozers moved in to tear down most, if not all, of the remaining RAF site buildings.
[edit] External links
- www.Butzweilerhof.de dedicated to the restoration of the historic airport buildings
- Gallery of RAF Butzweilerhof images from ServicePals.com
- Photos of the remaining RAF buildings in 2007
[edit] See also
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