Leck

54°47'36"N 008°56'54"E

Runway: 12/20 - 2432x30m/8005x98ft - concrete (CLOSED)


Air Base Leck (german: Flugplatz Leck, ICAO: ETNL, before 1993: EDNL) was a Luftwaffe air base near Leck in Nordfriesland, 385 kilometer northwest of Berlin, Germany.
In 1936 it was decided that Leck was to get its own airfield. Until the summer of 1939 Leck remained a modest farmers village, as the plans of the Luftwaffe with the airfield were secret and covert. The German Reich had set up a company to buy grounds and farmers that did not want to sell were soon 'convinced' to do otherwise by the powers that be.
On 11 September 1939 the official 'first spade' was put in the ground and the construction of the Flugplatz began. In 11 months, 12 kilometers of railtrack and 3 runways of 1200 meters were laid out, along with several kilometers of taxiways and platforms. Several large hangars, engineering shops and baracks were built along with a munitions comples with 22 bunkers at the Karlumer forest. 3 dispersed aircraft areas with connecting fuel llines and facilities to handle starts and landings were also constructed. In the village of Leck and the surrounding area 9 different housing areas were built to house service personnel.

On 2 June 1940 the airfield was formally placed under millitary command. At the same time a new aircraft maintenance unit was set up, tasked with servicing and inspecting larger combat aircraft. On 8 October 1940 the first English reconnaissance aircraft passed over Leck, an action that continued to occur throughout the war as the RAF was very keen to know what went on at the field. By december the Leck maintenance unit was tasked to St. Aubin-sur-Mer near Dieppe in France.
Until 1943 the air base was mainly used for maintenance and inspection of front line aircraft. From May 1943 onwards the air base was used to refresh the personel and equipment of several Geschwader (Wings). Often these periods were used to equip them with new aircraft types.

By June 1944 I.Group of Kampfgruppe 52 and its 3 squadrons moved to Leck. This unit was equipped with He111 bombers that required selected pilots. They were tasked with launching V-1 missiles against targets, mainly in England. Their missions took them 80 kilometers from their targets where they would launch their 2,3t. missiles from only 20 meters (60 feet) above sea level. As the missions lasted 6 hours in usually bad weather and at night, they took a high toll on the crews. Many battle damaged aircraft never made it home, their crews were buried at the Leck military cemetary.

During February-March 1945 the east-west runway was lengthened from 1200meter to 1600meter in order to improve jet operations. In March 1945 Jagdgeschwader (or JG, the German equivalant of a Wing) 1 moved into Leck, the first and only combat unit to fly the He162 jet. In April they were joined by the Luftwaffes first jet fighterbomber unit: JG76, flying Arado 234B-2s. 
By the end of the war several remnants of Squadrons, Groups and Wings of the Luftwaffe, especially those from East Prussia and what was to become East-Germany, diverted to Leck. The many diverted aircraft at the base required some of them to move to the emergency landing field at Lütjenholm. 
Leck flew its last combat mission on 3 May 1945 near Bremerförde. The next day General Dönitz ordered al fighting to be halted, effective early morning 5 May. On the day of the surrender one Arado was flown to Luftwaffe units in Norway and then the commander of Leck surrendered to the English forces without ceremony or protocol.

A Roayl Air Force unit occupied the airfield of I./JG1 on 5 May 1945. At the base, they found 45 brand new He162 "Salamander" (English: "Newt", and better known today as the "Volksjäger") of which 15 were combat ready, and 30 in final assembly. A curious British soldier put himself in the seat of one and activated the escape seat. He was ejected from the aircraft and thrown about 30 meter (100feet) into the air, before fatally crashing into the ground.  
11 aircraft were sent to the USA, 5 went to France and 3 to England.  Only England performed extensive tests, concluding the machine outperformed the Gloster Meteor. 


Heinkel He162 fighters lined up at Leck in 1945 (lebendige-geschichte.ch). 


Heinkel He162 of JG1 at the RAF Museum Hendon, London (Wikipedia)

After the war, Leck was used by the Allies to collect and prepare German military aircraft for research abroad. A French and a British mission were established at the airfield with this aim. Uniformed German soldiers under the command of a German Lt.Col. (later replaced by a Major) assisted them until December with collecting German aircraft returning from Norway And Denmark. Until 1948 Leck was under command of a German Luftwaffe major.
The RAF was not interested in the facility and as a result the facility was blown up and the terrain was handed over to the German treasury.

In 1959 Leck was at the focus of renewed Luftwaffe interest. It received a new runway and it became home to JG72 "Richthoven". The former air base was to be rebuilt and modernised in preparation of the RF-104s that Reconnaissance Wing (german: Aufklarungsgeschwader) 52 was to receive. Until that time AG52 had been stationed at Eggebeck flying the RF-84 Thunderflash. The rebuilt airbase was completed in 1964, allowing both AG52 squadrons (german: Staffel) to move in during their conversion to the new type.


RF-104G overflying the 2.Staffel area at Leck in 1964


The brand new Fliegerhorst Leck in 1964, If you look closely the old WW2-era runways are still recognisable.


1.Staffel area during an exchange with an unknown F-100 unit ca. 1965

AG52 converted to the RF-4E Phantom in 1973, receiving 44 aircraft of the type. To facilitate the Phantoms new Hardened Aircraft Shelters and hangars were built near both squadron areas. The Phantoms brought new capabilities, requiring the addition of new photo interpreting facilities too.


Leck in 1973 showing the new RF-4E HAS and hangars


Fliegerhorst Leck during the Day of the Luftwaffe in 1975

A closer look at the area in the photo below.

2.Staffel with a visiting C-130 and the Geschwader Dornier Do-28 during the Day of the Luftwaffe in 1975

Around 1980 the German RF-4E fleet received an upgrade, allowing them also to be used as a fighterbomber. The airbase received an upgrade too: to facilitate the extra flying units associated with the NATO Collocated Air Base program extra dispersals had to be constructed. They were built on the northeast side of the air base.
Despite having a black panther as a unit badge the Geschwader became host to the NATO Tiger Meet in 1984.


Recce Phantoms were not just equipped with cameras: they could also take 'pictures' with a Side Looking Aperture Radar (SLAR)


This odd looking vehicle had two Orenda engines taken from Sabres that blew forward to remove snow from runways. Unfortunately it had one drawback: If it blew too hard or you drove too slow it would also remove the anti-skid layer from the runways!

After both Germanies were united in 1990 and the Cold War ended, the Federal government announced major cutbacks. One of the results was the closure of Fliegerhorst Leck. The airbase was to close in 1993. First to go was the Cross service and it's Do-28 support aircraft. Both AG52 Staffeln (squadrons) disbanded in 1993 and their aircraft were transferred to Turkey and Greece. The airbase closed shortly after and became home to Flugabwehrraketengruppe 25 (Patriot) after their merger with several other SAM Groups -including Group 39 (Hawk) at Leck- in 2005.


Last flight of the AG52 base flight Do-28 utility aircraft


Both squadrons posing one final time with their RF-4 Phantom.


Air Base Leck in 2009 (Google Earth)


Leck in 2010 with the runway clearly marked with X's (Google Earth)

The Patriot gruppe was retired in 2012 and its parent unit (Flugabwehrraketengeschwader 1 "Schleswig-Holstein") moved to Husum in 2011. The airfield was then taken over as a "Streitkräftebasis" (SKB, or Armed Forces Base) by an interservice Electronic Warfare Battallion.

Unless otherwise stated all images came from the AG52 homepage. Note: the Sportfluggruppe Leck moved to a small field (ICAO: EDXL) that was established on the northeast dispersal of the airbase when Leck closed. They have no operations at the former airbase, nor have they access to it.