Bönninghardt

51°34'15"N 006°29'00"E

Runway: believed to be ca.1000meter/yds E/W and ca.700meter/Yds N/S
Giving a maximum run of ca.1200meter/Yds NE/SW - grass, later (ca. 1943) believed to be concrete


In 1937 the Luftwaffe surveyed lands deemed suitable to set up airfields.
One of the sites they found was the old race horse training farm 'Bandolahof'near Bönninghardt.
The civilians living at the farm were ordered to leave, and the Bandolahof was set up as the Kommandantur for the airfield that was to be constructed.
At the field revetments were constructed to house aircraft.
In spring 1939 the nearby gliderclub "National-Socialist Fling Corps Group Lower Rhine" (german: "Nationalsozialistischen Fliegerkorps Gruppe Niederrhein") was ordered to hand over its glider field (german: Segelflugplatz) to the Luftwaffe
JagdGeschwader26 used the facility for the first time in May 1939.

No photos were located

By August 1939 II.Gruppe of JG26 moved into the field with 48 aircraft to protect the Reichs western borders, the first wartime posting at Bönninghardt.
Its commander was Herwig Knüppel, a veteran of the Condor Legion in Spain.
A second unit of JG26 was stationed in Odendorf near Euskirchen.
World War II began on 1 September 1940 with the invasion of Poland.
Because the neutral countries of Belgium and the Netherlands were effectively blocking missions from England and France in their area of responsibility JG26 did not see much action.
In fall JG126 (Bf.109D) joined Bönninghardt.
In the winter of 1940 I./JG20 took residence at the field.
Because JG20 had only one group, it resided under the command of JG51, whose staff and a handful of Messerschmidt 109s also flew in.
Early May 1940 several Jagdgruppen flew into Bönninghardt in preparation for "Case Yellow" (german: 'Fall Gelb'), the invasion of the low countries, and "Case Red" (german: 'Fall Rot'), the invasion of France.
So many Gruppen were brought in that three Staffel (squadrons) of JG27 had to temporarily relocate to the glider fields at Wesel (Wesel-West and Wesel-Flüren).
When fighting broke out on 10 May 1940 the airfield became filled with battle damaged Ju52s that returned from operations over the Netherlands.
When the invasion of the Low Countries and France was over, all units returned to Bönninghardt to provide "Heimatschütz" (Homeland Defense), and the airfield became known as Einsatzhafen I. Ordnung "Brausebad".





Bönninghardt on an Allied map, ca. 1943 (source)

After the Battle of Britain the missions at Böninghardt became more and more Homeland Defense orientated.
It lost in importance to Fliegerhorst Venlo-Herongen, although this did not prevent aerial attacks from allied bombers.
The last attacks occurred in 1944, after which the airfield was taken over by Allied forces.