page_title: Celle Air Base
section_title: Bundeswehr 1957 until the present
hierarchical_section_title: Celle Air Base / History / Bundeswehr 1957 until the present
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Nord Noratlas und Dornier Do 27 des Lufttransportgeschwader 62 auf dem Heeresflugplatz Celle.English: A Nord Noratlas and a Dornier Do 27 assigned to Lufttransportgeschwader 62 (62nd Air Transport Wing) of the West German Luftwaffe at Celle Air Base.
context_page_description: Celle Air Base German: Heeresflugplatz Celle is a military airbase of the German Army. The airfield is situated southwest of the city of Celle, Lower Saxony, Germany. It was opened in 1934 and has been in military use ever since. Today the aerodrome is used by a helicopter training school, a helicopter liaison and reconnaissance squadron and a helicopter maintenance unit utilising the type Bölkow Bo-105.
  Until the end of World War II the airfield operated under the name of Fliegerhorst Celle-Wietzenbruch. During Allied occupation it was known as RAF Celle. On 28 July 1967 the base was given the additional name Immelmann-Kaserne.
context_section_description: One year after the foundation of the Bundeswehr the British forces handed over the airfield to the German Army on 29 November 1957. After Niedermendig and parallel to Fritzlar Celle was one of the first garrisons of the German Army Aviation Corps, at the time the youngest branch of the German armed forces, that stationed various units and aircraft at Celle Air Base throughout the following years.
  Peculiarly, from 1959 until 1967 two transport wings of the German Air Force were also stationed at Celle. Thus Celle became a mixed base used by Army and Air Force – unique in the Bundeswehr until the 1990s. However, already in 1960 Lufttransportgeschwader 62 (Air Transport Wing 62) was relocated to Cologne Bonn Airport. Seven years later Lufttransportgeschwader 63 (Air Transport Wing 63) moved to its new base in Hohn, Schleswig-Holstein where it is still stationed.
  Due to the tense situation during the building of the Berlin Wall a small unit of the National Guard of the United States was stationed at Celle Air Base in 1961 in case of a second Berlin Airlift.
  Following the move of its transport wings, the German Air Force did not station any flying units at Celle Air Base. However, air traffic control (ATC) was provided by a mixed Army/Air Force unit until the 1990s. Apart from the stationary ATC unit, a mobile ATC unit existed in Celle which was equipped with a mobile tower, radar and other equipment to provide air traffic control services for specially allocated places, for example, on German motorways designed as emergency landing strips during the Cold War.
  From 1959 until 1966, a US Air Force unit equipped with two MSQ-1A radar was stationed at Celle Air Base. This unit's tasks were to link into missiles of the type TM-61C (MGM-1 Matador) and guide them towards their target. For complete air coverage, especially eastwards, the unit at Celle was not necessary. In order to save costs this unit was disbanded in 1966.
  Between 1963 and 1981 Celle was home to a test squadron for unmanned aerial vehicles and helicopters. This unit experimented with helicopters and other weapon systems intended for acquisition by the Bundeswehr. One example of successful testing and bringing into service is the Bölkow Bo-150 in the version as anti-tank helicopter.
  The unit being stationed the longest at Celle was the Heeresfliegerstaffel 7 (Army Aviation Squadron 7). It was relocated from Rheine to Celle in 1971. In 1968 it had become a battalion but three years later, on its move to Celle, it was redesignated again as a squadron. The unit was equipped with the Alouette II liaison and reconnaissance helicopter and was disbanded in 1994.
  At the beginning of the 1970s the strength of the German Army Aviation Corps considerably increased when more manpower and material was allocated to it. In Celle Heeresfliegerregiment 10 (Army Aviation Regiment 10) equipped with Bell UH-1D was the first of these larger units, which would become the new standard.
  In 1979 a second regiment, Heeresfliegerregiment 16 (Army Aviation Regiment 16), equipped with anti-tank helicopters was founded at Celle. Since the air base was too small to house two regiments, Heeresfliegerregiment 10 subsequently relocated to Faßberg Air Base in 1981. Its coat of arms still shows the stylised Celle Castle.
  After the end of the Cold War Celle Air Base's ability for instrument flights was removed and the emergency landing strips on the motorways were abandoned. Following the removal of ILS as well as approach radar and the corresponding reduction within the ATC unit, the German Air Force finally left the base. Several smaller units were disbanded or relocated and only the Heeresfliegerregiment 16 remained as a flying unit at Celle.
  Within the framework of the restructuring of the German Army and in preparation of the introduction of the new helicopter types NH-90 and Tiger in 2002 and 2003, Heeresfliegerregiment 16 was disbanded and parts of the Heeresfliegerwaffenschule (German Army Aviation School), originally located at Bückeburg Air Base, were moved to Celle. At the same time the Hee
caption: Nord Noratlas and Dornier Do-27 in front of Hangar II
exif: {}