Early history of aviation around the city of Celle In 1910 flight trials were undertaken on the
Scheuener Heide, a
heath north of the river
Aller. These trials were carried out not on official but on private initiative by a person named Schlüter. Using an advertisement in the local paper, the population of Celle was invited to watch the spectacle. According to official information the
Deutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule GmbH (German General Aviation School Ltd.) would become the airport holder.
Ernst Sagebiel a leading architect in air base design was put in charge of the building works. and the DLV was not needed any longer. The
Luftwaffe was officially declared as being the occupant of the air base and its employees revealed themselves as being members of the armed forces by openly wearing uniforms. At the beginning of the airlift a total of 600 tons of freight were transported into the besieged city which increased to 1000 tons of coal and
food each day in the spring of 1949. The American forces were assisted by 5,000 German workers in this undertaking. In order to house them, north of the barracks a huge housing area consisting of
Nissen huts was built. At the same time, Celle residents began to complain about the so-called "Veronikas″, German women attracted to the well paid soldiers. A public appeal by the city of Celle denounced the "women and girls who cause offence and outrage" amongst the population. The public outrage and repeated appeals for morality by local politicians in the local press became well known throughout Germany. Even a
Stuttgart-based newspaper published an article about "Celle - an outraged city" on 14 February 1949. Next to the road leading to Celle Air Base, a monument in memory of the support given by Celle to the Berlin Airlift was erected by the city of Celle in 1988. Following the end of the Berlin Airlift in 1949, the airfield was again used exclusively by
British Forces. Over the years several
squadrons were stationed at Royal Air Force Station Celle which since 1950 were equipped with jet engined fighters, the
Vampire and
Venom. At the end of the 1980s, shortly before the fall of the
Berlin Wall, the rail siding received an extensive lighting system. 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. 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. From 1959 until 1966, a US Air Force unit equipped with two
MSQ-1A radars 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. ;Disaster relief and volunteers at the town Eschede In accordance with the
Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany statutory tasks within the borders of Germany are exclusively reserved for the
German police. Only in case of an officially declared civil
state of emergency is the German Army is permitted to act within the borders of Germany. Up until now there have been seven cases in which soldiers of Celle Air Base participated in such internal missions. During the
North Sea flood of 1962 evacuation and supply flights particularly in
Hamburg and its surrounding areas were performed using the
Sikorsky H-34 of the
Heeresfliegertransportstaffel 823 (Army Aviation Transport Squadron 823). In 1975 during the catastrophic
wildfire on the
Lüneburg Heath the
Heeresfliegerregiment 10 used its Bell UH-1D helicopters with "Smokeys", water-filled containers hung under the helicopters, for fighting the conflagration. The ground forces of the air base, particularly the airfield fire fighters, also came to the assistance of the emergency services. In the winter of 1978/1979 severe weather conditions resulted in a disastrous
blizzard affecting the whole of northern Germany. Air traffic control at Celle Air Base in particular distinguished itself by providing around the clock radar assistance for the numerous rescue missions flown. During the huge
flooding of the river
Oder in 1997 and the river
Elbe in 2002 and 2006 several soldiers and equipment from Celle Air Base assisted in securing the
dikes although at the air base itself normal business continued. During the
Eschede train disaster on 3 June 1998 Celle Air Base was given the task of coordinating the German Army's massive rescue and salvage operation by land and air. Two of the wrecked
railway carriages, parts of the rails and all relevant
bogies were stored in an empty hangar at Celle Air Base until the investigation into the cause of the accident was completed. == Equipment ==