Straubing Wallmühle Airport

Straubing Wallmuehle Airport
Advanced Landing Ground R-68
Summary
Airport type Public
Location Straubing, Germany
Elevation AMSL 1,054 ft / 321 m
Coordinates 48°54′05″N 012°31′03″E / 48.90139°N 12.51750°E / 48.90139; 12.51750
Map
Straubing Wallmuehle Airport
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
10/28 4,429 1,350 Asphalt

Straubing Wallmühle Airport (IATA: RBM, ICAO: EDMS) is a minor German regional airport, located about 3 miles north-northwest of Straubing in Bavaria. It is used for general aviation.

History

The airport was built in 1938 as a Luftwaffe airfield, its primary mission being the training of pilots flying Arado Ar 68 biplane advanced trainer. It remained a training airfield throughout most of World War II, although in early 1945 some night fighter interceptor units were assigned to the field as part of the Defense of the Reich campaign.[1]

The United States Third Army moved into the Straubing area and seized the airfield on 30 April 1945 without opposition. C-47 Skytrain transports began using it almost immediately for supply flights and to evacuate wounded personnel to rear areas. It was designated as Advanced Landing Ground "R-68".[2] With the war's end on 7 May, the airfield was redesignated as Army Air Force Station Straubing and was used by a succession of fighter units as part of the United States Army of Occupation in the area.[3] The air force units were withdrawn in August 1946 and the facility was turned over to United States Army units being assigned as part of the Mansfield Kaserne facilities, and later became a NATO facility supporting light military aircraft in the area until 1965 when the West German army (Bundeswehr) replaced the American forces.

The airfield became a civilian airport and today is a well-equipped facility supporting general aviation.

Its single runway was developed from the former military airfield taxiway, the wartime 5,000-foot runway remaining today closed and unused. The former military aircraft parking area remains in use, with several buildings erected on the large asphalted area. No evidence of the wartime ground station remains.

Airlines and destinations

As of April 2016, there are no scheduled services to or from Straubing. Briefly during early 2016 Danish charter airline Flexflight offered services between Straubing and Salzburg Airport.[4] Flights were later moved from Straubing to Augsburg.

See also

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

  1. ↑ The Luftwaffe, 1933-45
  2. ↑ IX Engineering Command Advanced Landing Grounds
  3. ↑ Johnson, David C. (1988), U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO), D-Day to V-E Day; Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center, Maxwell AFB, Alabama.
  4. ↑ http://www.austrianaviation.net/news-regional/news-detail/datum/2016/03/01/neu-straubing-salzburg-ab-278-euro.html

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