Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base ( German : " Fliegerhorst Fürstenfeldbruck " ; now " Flugplatz Fürstenfeldbruck " ) is a German Air Force airfield near the town of Fürstenfeldbruck in Bavaria , near Munich , Germany . Fürstenfeldbruck became famous first as the main training base for the German Luftwaffe during World War II , then as the site of the Munich massacre of nine Israeli athletes and coaches ( two were killed earlier ) and one German police officer at the 1972 Summer Olympics . It is currently inactive for German Air Force flight operations , but remains the home of the German Air Force Officer Training School . Units . Since 1957 , Fürstenfeldbruck has been the home of the German Air Force Officer Training School . Various aircraft ( G - 91 , Alpha Jet , T - 33 , Tornados ) operated from the base until 1997 when all flying was halted . Today , Fürstenfeldbruck hosts the following units : History . The Air Base was established in 1935 , and was the pride of the Luftwaffe during World War II . Field Marshal Herman Goering is said to have taken a deep personal interest in establishing an air force training base for the Luftwaffe and modeled Fürstenfeldbruck after the United States Army Air Forces training center at Randolph Field , Texas . The RAF and USAAF understood that Fürstenfeldbruck was being used extensively as a training base , and believed it to be of little strategic importance . Consequently it escaped bombing until the later stages of the war , and then it was attacked severely . Allied reprisal bombing began to desolate many German cities in 1944 and in October the Luftwaffe leaders rushed work to extend the Air Base ' s runways long enough for fighter aircraft takeoffs . Thousand of slave laborers are said to have " expedited " this project and as the war neared its final critical stages the Luftwaffe was able to mount fighters from the Base . That , however , provoked the Allies to make the only serious bombing raid on the field . Fifty direct hits were made on the field the afternoon of 9 April 1945 when 338 B - 17 s of the 1st Air Division , 8th Air Force , unleashed 867 tons of bombs on the runways , hangars , repair shops , and other facilities . USAF use . When the Allied Forces moved in to take possession of the field in late April , they found that Prisoners of War and townspeople had looted until they left a deserted installation . Fürstenfeldbruck was occupied by American forces and was at first was the home of an Army engineering battalion . After some reconstruction , Fürstenfeldbruck became the Headquarters , UAAF / ET Replacement Depot ( Provisional ) in November 1945 . Several other USAAF units performed occupation duty at Fürstenfeldbruck : The 306th Bomb Group engaged in special photographic mapping duty in western Europe and North Africa . Its 34th Reconnaissance Squadron flew these missions with B - 17s . This assignment was continued by the 160th Photographic Reconnaissance squadron of the 10th Recon Group flying F - 5 ( P - 38 ) and F - 6 ( P - 51 ) aircraft . During First Berlin Crisis , B - 29 - equipped 301st Bombardment Group was stationed at Fürstenfeldbruck for a short period in July / August 1948 . The Replacement Depot functioned until August 1948 , when USAFE decided to use Fürstenfeldbruck as an operational jet base . 36th Fighter - Bomber Wing . On 13 August 1948 the 36th Fighter Wing was assigned to Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base as an operational unit . The unit was transferred to Germany from Howard Air Force Base , Canal Zone . When the wing arrived in Germany , it became the first USAFE unit to be jet - equipped with the Lockheed F - 80A / B " Shooting Star " . Active squadrons of the 36th FW were : Markings of the squadrons consisted of a color band under the fin , and a long lightning flash with an arrowhead tip on its forward end , extending back from the nose to the center of the fuselage . In May 1949 , HQ USAFE authorized the 36th Fighter Group to form the " Skyblazers " aerial demo team to perform at European and Mediterranean area air shows . The new USAFE Skyblazers team from Fürstenfeldbruck AB made its first - ever performance in October 1949 at RAF Gütersloh in the British zone of then - occupied Germany . On 20 January 1950 , the 36th FW was redesignated as a Fighter - Bomber Wing ( FBW ) when 89 Republic F - 84E " Thunderjets " arrived . The F - 80s were sent back to CONUS to equipp Air National Guard units . The squadrons retained the same color designations with their F - 84s , however the F - 84 markings consisted of a solid geometric shape painted on the vertical stabilizer , just above the radio call number , with a capital letter specific to each aircraft at the center . Eventually these markings gave way to medium blue / white striping angled about 15 degrees up on the vertical stabilizer surfaces , with squadron colors being painted on them . The 36th FBW remained at Fürstenfeldbruck until 1952 when it was reassigned to Bitburg Air Base , west of the Rhine . 117th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing . On 27 January 1952 the activated Air National Guard 117th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing deployed to Europe as was assigned to Toul - Rosieres Air Base , France . In 1952 , Toul Air Base was unfinished at the time of the wings activation / deployment and not yet ready for jet aircraft . This meant only the Wing HQ was in France , and the two attached RF - 80A squadrons were moved to Germany . The 160th to Neubiberg Air Base ; the 112th and 157th to Fürstenfeldbruck . The mission of the 1117th TRW was to provide tactical , visual , photographic and electronic reconnaissance by both day and night , as was required by the military forces within the European command . The RF - 80 ' s were responsible for the daylight operations , and the RB - 25s for night reconnaissance . The Wing ' s complement of aircraft was 15 RB - 26Cs and 14 RF - 80As , assigned as follows : In addition , each squadron had a T - 33A trainer assigned to it . On 9 July 1952 the activated Air National Guard 117th TRW was released from active duty . 10th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing . On 9 July 1952 the l0th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing was activated in Europe , being reassigned from Pope Army Air Field , North Carolina . The squadrons of the 117th TRW were redesignated as follows : The 10th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing was designated as the successor of the World War II 10th Reconnaissance Group , being awarded its lineage and honors . The 10th RG was previously stationed at Fürstenfeldbruck in 1947 . With the re - designation of the 117th TRW , it was found that runway conditions at Toul Air Base were still considered to be unsatisfactory for safe operations of jet aircraft , however the base in France was completed enough for the operation of propeller aircraft . Therefore , the RF - 80 equipped 32nd TRS remained at Fürstenfeldbruck in a deployed status , while the propeller - driven RB - 26 ' s of the 1st TRS were reassigned to Toul . The 32nd TRS ' RF - 80s were repainted with red lightning bolts were painted on their vertical stabilizers , and blue lightning flashes were painted on the center fuselage and wing tip tanks . The 32nd TRS remained at Fürstenfeldbruck until 9 May 1953 when the 10 TRW was reassigned to Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany as part of a USAFE reorganization . 7330th Flying Training Wing . In November 1953 , the 7330th Flying Training Wing was activated at Fürstenfeldbruck . The mission of the Wing was to provide upgrading and instructor training for students of MAP ( Mutual Assistance Pact ) – recipient countries in T - 33 trainers ; to operate and maintain Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base ; provide administrative and logistical support for tenant units ; prepare for the reception and provide necessary support for tactical units using Fürstenfeldbruck as a staging base ; and to operate and maintain the Siegenburg gunnery range . In 1955 the French , British and American occupation of Germany ended and permission was given to the West German government to re - establish its armed forces . In 1957 Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base became a joint - use facility with the new West German Air Force . Joint - use continued until 1958 with the 7330th wing , then the organization was redesigned as the 7367th Flying Training Group until it was discontinued in 1960 . 1972 Munich Olympics . During the 1972 Summer Olympics Munich International Airport was restricted for a short time for security reasons . Some civilian commercial tourist flights came into Fürstenfeldbruck instead during the Olympics . There was an extraordinarily heavy army presence on the base , with armoured vehicles escorting aircraft on landing and automatic weapons in common sight in the Terminal . Something unheard of at this time . A military brass band was playing in the terminal to calm tourists nerves at the extraordinary security . The " Munich Massacre " . Later , on September 5 , 8 Palestinian terrorists from the group Black September took 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team hostage . 2 hostages were murdered in one of the Israeli apartments in the Olympic Village . After lengthly negotiations with Olympic and government officials , the Palestinians demanded transport to Cairo via Munich - Riem Airport , but negotiators convinced them to take their 9 surviving hostages to the Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base instead . The 8 terrorists and their 9 remaining Israeli hostages were transported in two helicopters from the Olympic Village to Fürstenfeldbruck , where a Boeing 727 was waiting . 5 German police snipers , with no specialist terrorist training , proceeded to engage the Palestinians in an attempt to free the hostages . The ensuing gun battle on the tarmac left all of the nine Israeli hostages and one German police officer dead . All of the hostages were killed whilst still tied up in the helicopters . Since the massacre , there has been much criticism levelled at the German authorities for the way they planned and executed the rescue attempt . The year after the event , in response to the hostage crisis , West German government founded GSG9 a counter - terrorism and special operations unit of the German Federal Police .