Malmsheim Airfield
Encyclopedia
Malmsheim Airfield is located in the southern German state of Baden-Württemberg
, north-east of the city of Renningen
’s borough of Malmsheim. It consists of an air force base
with a reserve concrete runway and a glider airfield
.
announced its intention to build what it purported an emergency landing site. The runways were built, mostly at night, by 1937. Buildings were camouflaged as a farm, the site was connected by a standard gauge
railway to the Black Forest Railway
’s Renningen station.
in 1940, Malmsheim was home base to Messerschmitt Bf 110
and Junkers Ju 88
aircraft. With the beginning of the Russian campaign
in 1941, the Luftwaffe halted operations on the airfield and the site was converted into a Prisoner of war camp with POWs working on local farms. In 1944 and 1945, the site was used for military aviation once more, being home to the second group of the 53rd fighter squadron
.
) were accommodated. Initially, 1,500 people were brought to the site, via the railway link. The refugee camp’s designed capacity was 11,000 people. Most of the refugees housed came from the Sudetenland
. In 1949, the camp was assigned a new function as a transit station for returning German POWs. It was also used briefly to house displaced person
s.
US forces again used the site from 1951. The Bundeswehr
, the post-war West German armed forces, took over the site on its foundation in 1955. A planned deployment of German Army Aviation was not realized, nor was the proposed construction of a civilian airport
.
Since about the end of the 1950s, civilian gliders have been leasing a part of the site.
In 1994, the automotive component manufacturer Bosch
unveilled the electronic stability control
(ESC) system on Malmsheim Airfield.
Bosch acquired a part of the site by 2010 in order to erect a “center for research and pre-development”. An agreement containing these items had been signed on 3 September 2009. The complete area has a size of 94 hectare
s, of which Bosch was assigned to acquire 31 hectares on the north and 9 hectares on the south. Demolition work of the airfield buildings began in February 2011. Bosch plans to invest 160 million euro
s, the center is planned to become operative in 2013 with about 1200 employees. The state of Baden-Württemberg has acquired the central section, Bundeswehr and US forces are allowed to continue to use it until 2029. Usage by gliders for at least ten years has been agreed upon.
(SAR command 46) of the Luftwaffe’s search and rescue
service has been deployed there ready for operations since 1998. In contrast to many civilian rescue helicopters, this aircraft is fitted with infra-red
equipment and has a rescue winch
. Its service area covers Baden-Württemberg and parts of Bavaria
, Hesse
, Rhineland-Palatinate
and Saarland
, which are to be reached within 45 minutes.
Other buildings in the northern section were used by the army
for storing equipment for the event of mobilization
until about 2009. The Kommando Spezialkräfte
special forces stationed in nearby Calw
, and the US Special Operations Command Europe stationed at Patch Barracks
in Stuttgart-Vaihingen, use the area for parachute training
.Bosch statt Bundeswehr in Malmsheim, Stuttgarter Nachrichten online, 30 January 2009, retrieved on 11 June 2009
The runway, which is approximately 800 metres (2,624.7 ft) long, is a concrete reserve runway the Bundeswehr leaves to car manufacturers for vehicle testing.
The civilian gliding center is operated by Sportfliegerclub Leonberg
(”Leonberg sports flying club“). There are two roughly 1000 metres (3,280.8 ft) long grass runways lying side by side and used by different clubs. Winch-launching is the launch method in use. The runway direction is 08/26 (roughly east-west).
A kite
festival in early October with an international competition on the gliding center’s grounds has taken place annually since 2002.
The rail link is inoperative and partly built over by a 1990-constructed bypass road. The connecting switch at Renningen station is dismantled.
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
, north-east of the city of Renningen
Renningen
Renningen is a town in the district of Böblingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 18 km west of Stuttgart.- Geography :Renningen is located in the west of Stuttgart, between Leonberg and Weil der Stadt on the fringes of the fertile plains of the Neckarland...
’s borough of Malmsheim. It consists of an air force base
Air Force Base
An Air Force Base is a military airbase of any of a number of air forces, such as the United States Air Force or South African Air Force ....
with a reserve concrete runway and a glider airfield
Gliding
Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word soaring is also used for the sport.Gliding as a sport began in the 1920s...
.
History
On 13 November 1936, the LuftwaffeLuftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
announced its intention to build what it purported an emergency landing site. The runways were built, mostly at night, by 1937. Buildings were camouflaged as a farm, the site was connected by a standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
railway to the Black Forest Railway
Black Forest Railway (Württemberg)
The Black Forest Railway – also known as the Württemberg Black Forest Railway to distinguish it from the railway of the same name in Baden is a railway line in southern Germany from Stuttgart to Calw that was opened in stages between 1868 and 1872...
’s Renningen station.
World War II
During the Battle of FranceBattle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
in 1940, Malmsheim was home base to Messerschmitt Bf 110
Messerschmitt Bf 110
The Messerschmitt Bf 110, often called Me 110, was a twin-engine heavy fighter in the service of the Luftwaffe during World War II. Hermann Göring was a proponent of the Bf 110, and nicknamed it his Eisenseiten...
and Junkers Ju 88
Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...
aircraft. With the beginning of the Russian campaign
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
in 1941, the Luftwaffe halted operations on the airfield and the site was converted into a Prisoner of war camp with POWs working on local farms. In 1944 and 1945, the site was used for military aviation once more, being home to the second group of the 53rd fighter squadron
Squadron (aviation)
A squadron in air force, army aviation or naval aviation is mainly a unit comprising a number of military aircraft, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, depending on aircraft type and air force...
.
Post-war
After the war, it was used briefly by US forces, then from 31 January 1946, ethnic German refugees (HeimatvertriebeneHeimatvertriebene
Heimatvertriebene are those around 12 million ethnic Germans who fled or were expelled after World War II from parts of Germany annexed by Poland and Russia, and from other countries, who found refuge in both West and East Germany, and Austria...
) were accommodated. Initially, 1,500 people were brought to the site, via the railway link. The refugee camp’s designed capacity was 11,000 people. Most of the refugees housed came from the Sudetenland
Sudetenland
Sudetenland is the German name used in English in the first half of the 20th century for the northern, southwest and western regions of Czechoslovakia inhabited mostly by ethnic Germans, specifically the border areas of Bohemia, Moravia, and those parts of Silesia being within Czechoslovakia.The...
. In 1949, the camp was assigned a new function as a transit station for returning German POWs. It was also used briefly to house displaced person
Displaced person
A displaced person is a person who has been forced to leave his or her native place, a phenomenon known as forced migration.- Origin of term :...
s.
US forces again used the site from 1951. The Bundeswehr
Bundeswehr
The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...
, the post-war West German armed forces, took over the site on its foundation in 1955. A planned deployment of German Army Aviation was not realized, nor was the proposed construction of a civilian airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
.
Since about the end of the 1950s, civilian gliders have been leasing a part of the site.
In 1994, the automotive component manufacturer Bosch
Robert Bosch GmbH
Robert Bosch GmbH is a multinational engineering and electronics company headquartered in Gerlingen, near Stuttgart, Germany. It is the world's largest supplier of automotive components...
unveilled the electronic stability control
Electronic stability control
Electronic stability control is a computerized technology that may potentially improve the safety of a vehicle's stability by detecting and minimizing skids. When ESC detects loss of steering control, it automatically applies the brakes to help "steer" the vehicle where the driver intends to go...
(ESC) system on Malmsheim Airfield.
Bosch acquired a part of the site by 2010 in order to erect a “center for research and pre-development”. An agreement containing these items had been signed on 3 September 2009. The complete area has a size of 94 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s, of which Bosch was assigned to acquire 31 hectares on the north and 9 hectares on the south. Demolition work of the airfield buildings began in February 2011. Bosch plans to invest 160 million euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
s, the center is planned to become operative in 2013 with about 1200 employees. The state of Baden-Württemberg has acquired the central section, Bundeswehr and US forces are allowed to continue to use it until 2029. Usage by gliders for at least ten years has been agreed upon.
Equipment and use
The northern section of the site is fenced. A Bell UH-1DUH-1 Iroquois
The Bell UH-1 Iroquois is a military helicopter powered by a single, turboshaft engine, with a two-bladed main rotor and tail rotor. The helicopter was developed by Bell Helicopter to meet the United States Army's requirement for a medical evacuation and utility helicopter in 1952, and first flew...
(SAR command 46) of the Luftwaffe’s search and rescue
Search and rescue
Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
service has been deployed there ready for operations since 1998. In contrast to many civilian rescue helicopters, this aircraft is fitted with infra-red
Infrared
Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
equipment and has a rescue winch
Winch
A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in or let out or otherwise adjust the "tension" of a rope or wire rope . In its simplest form it consists of a spool and attached hand crank. In larger forms, winches stand at the heart of machines as diverse as tow trucks, steam shovels and...
. Its service area covers Baden-Württemberg and parts of Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, Hesse
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
, Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
and Saarland
Saarland
Saarland is one of the sixteen states of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km² and 1,045,000 inhabitants. In both area and population, it is the smallest state in Germany other than the city-states...
, which are to be reached within 45 minutes.
Other buildings in the northern section were used by the army
German Army
The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
for storing equipment for the event of mobilization
Mobilization
Mobilization is the act of assembling and making both troops and supplies ready for war. The word mobilization was first used, in a military context, in order to describe the preparation of the Prussian army during the 1850s and 1860s. Mobilization theories and techniques have continuously changed...
until about 2009. The Kommando Spezialkräfte
Kommando Spezialkräfte
The KSK Kommando Spezialkräfte is an elite military unit composed of Special Operations soldiers from the ranks of Germany’s Bundeswehr and organized as such under the Division Spezielle Operationen . The unit has received many decorations and awards from both NATO and its affiliates...
special forces stationed in nearby Calw
Calw
Calw is a municipality in the middle of Baden-Württemberg in the south of Germany, capital of the district Calw. It is located in the northern Black Forest.-History:...
, and the US Special Operations Command Europe stationed at Patch Barracks
Patch Barracks
Patch Barracks is a well-known US military installation in Stuttgart-Vaihingen in Germany. It is named after Alexander M. Patch.Patch Barracks was renamed from the German Kurmärker Kaserne in 1952; it was originally built for use by the German Army Wehrmacht in 1936/37...
in Stuttgart-Vaihingen, use the area for parachute training
Paratrooper
Paratroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force.Paratroopers are used for tactical advantage as they can be inserted into the battlefield from the air, thereby allowing them to be positioned in areas not accessible by land...
.Bosch statt Bundeswehr in Malmsheim, Stuttgarter Nachrichten online, 30 January 2009, retrieved on 11 June 2009
The runway, which is approximately 800 metres (2,624.7 ft) long, is a concrete reserve runway the Bundeswehr leaves to car manufacturers for vehicle testing.
The civilian gliding center is operated by Sportfliegerclub Leonberg
Leonberg
Leonberg is a town in the German federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg about 10 miles to the west of Stuttgart, the state capital. Approximately 45,000 people live in Leonberg, making it the third biggest borough in the rural district of Böblingen .Leonberg is most famous for its picturesque market...
(”Leonberg sports flying club“). There are two roughly 1000 metres (3,280.8 ft) long grass runways lying side by side and used by different clubs. Winch-launching is the launch method in use. The runway direction is 08/26 (roughly east-west).
A kite
Kite
A kite is a tethered aircraft. The necessary lift that makes the kite wing fly is generated when air flows over and under the kite's wing, producing low pressure above the wing and high pressure below it. This deflection also generates horizontal drag along the direction of the wind...
festival in early October with an international competition on the gliding center’s grounds has taken place annually since 2002.
The rail link is inoperative and partly built over by a 1990-constructed bypass road. The connecting switch at Renningen station is dismantled.
External links
- Die unendliche Geschichte des Flugplatzes in Malmsheim, Leonberger Kreiszeitung of 15 November 2008
- Das Durchgangslager Malmsheim, Akademie für Datenverarbeitung Böblingen