Kaufbeuren

47°51'44"N 010°36'53"E

Runway: 02/20 - 2154x30m - Asphalt

Kaufbeuren airfield (German: Flugplatz Kaufbeuren, also known as Fliegerhorst Kaufbeuren, Advanced Landing Ground R-70, Kaufbeuren Air Force Base, and Kaufbeuren Air Base, ICAO:EDSK) is an airfield just south of Kaufbeuren, Bavaria, Germany.
The airfield opened in 1935 as a Luftwaffe installation. he Fliegerhorst was captured by American troops in May 1945 at the end of the war. They initially used the airfield as an ocupation facility, but 55FG (P-51s) occupied the airfield from July 1945 until April 1946.
As Kaufbeuren AFB, the airfield had 60TCW assigned from 1 July 1948. Shortly after moving in the Wing and its three squadrons began supporting the Berlin Airlift. The missions began on 26 June 1948, and the C-47s and C-54s of the Wing flew missions from Kaufbeuren and Wiesbaden until the end of the airlift on 26 September 1949. After the Berlin Airlift ended the 60th was moved to Wiesbaden without personnel and equipment.


Unfortunately, photos of the airfield while in use have not been located

In the early 1950s USAF decided to withdraw all of its flying units to the west bank of the Rhine. The introduction of jet aircraft meant that the airbases to the east of the Rhine were too close to Eastern Block bombers and fighters, leaving too little time for alarms. As a result, permanent active flying organisations were no longer assigned to Kaufbeuren, and the airfield became a communications station under the 7230 Air Force Wing.
In 1955 the 7330 Flying Training Wing was established to train German pilots for the post-war Luftwaffe. The facility was handed over to German control in December 1957. The airfield became an active Luftwaffe airbase, and kept that role until just after the end of the Cold War in September 1991.
Although still property of the Luftwaffe, the airfield is no longer used as a military flying installation. Instead it is now the home of Luftwaffe Technical School 1.

The airfield is not completely inactivated though. First of al there is an active civilian flying club at the former air base. Second, the Technical School occasionally receives aircraft by air. For instance, the introduction of the new Eurofighter meant that a brand new aircraft was flown into the School to allow training of groundcrews. But the school also hosts mountain flying training courses for helicopter crews of the Heeresflieger (German Army Aviation branch). The proximity of the Alps makes Kaufbeuren an ideal training location for helicopters.
As the airfield is still millitary property it is not possible to freely roam the arfield.



A map of the airfield will follow shortly