The history of Trier Air Base begins in 1910, when the Berliner Aeroclub held an air race between
Trier and
Metz. It was the first long range distance, and the first aviation undertaking in the southwest of Germany. It was then unused until 1913 when the
German Imperial Army (Deutsches Heer) held maneuvers on the site, accompanied by an airplane. Afterwards, it became an intermediate airfield for
Zeppelin airships based in Cologne. To facilitate this a large airship hangar was built at the field.
World War I During the war, it was used as a
Zeppelin Airbase. A Zeppelin from Trier bombed
Paris on 21 March 1915. In addition to the Zeppelins, several combat aircraft squadrons of the
Luftstreitkräfte (Imperial German Army Air Service) were stationed at Trier Airdrome. Initially, the Third Army Ait Service
VII Corps Observation Group was assigned to the field. Assigned to it were the
12th and
88th Aero Squadrons (Corps Observation). Its mission it was to map the Rhineland area using aerial photography and perform test flights on surrendered German aircraft. Flights of the
Fokker D.VII,
Pfalz D.XII,
Halberstadts and
Rumpler aircraft were made and evaluations were provided. Temporarily, Trier Airfield was the home of Headquarters of Third Army Air Service, which arrived on 8 December 1918. Assigned to it were the
9th,
91st,
94th and
166th Aero Squadrons. Its stay at Trier was brief, as it moved to Coblenz Airdrome, Fort Kaiser Alexander, once facilities in
Coblenz were prepared.
Luftwaffe use in World War II When the Americans left, the airfield was used by French troops, and German civilian aircraft were not allowed to use it until 1927. When
World War II broke out with France on 3 September 1939, Trier Airfield was placed on alert, but no Luftwaffe aircraft were assigned until May 1940, during the buildup of German forces prior to the
Battle of France. The following known units were assigned to the airfield in May: • 5 April 1944: low-level attack by P-47 Thunderbolts of the
VIII Fighter Command – claims were one
DFS 230 and one
Gotha Go 242 destroyed; one
Junkers Ju 188, one DFS 230 and five Go 242 damaged. • 24 April 1944: low-level attack by VIII Fighter Command P-47s – claims were one Bf 110 destroyed; one damaged. • 28 August 1944: low-level attack by VIII Fighter Command
North American P-51 Mustangs – claims were two Junkers Ju 52 destroyed; one
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 and one Ju 52 damaged. Following the shelling of Trier by U.S. artillery, the evacuation and demolition of the airfield was ordered on 16 September 1944. It was ordered to be made serviceable again on 20 December 1944. • 13 January 1945: strafed by VIII Fighter Command P-51s. Finally on 2 March 1945, the
American Third Army captured the airfield. Combat engineers from IX Engineer command moved in with the 825th Engineering Aviation Battalion arriving on 6 March 1945 to repair the damaged airfield.
Pierced Steel Planking was laid down over the damaged concrete runway, making it usable for American combat aircraft. In addition, the engineers began clearing the airport of mines and destroyed Luftwaffe aircraft, and repairing operational facilities for use by American aircraft. On 10 March the airfield was declared ready for Allied use and was designated as
Advanced Landing Ground "Y-57 Trier-Euren". Trier Airfield was the first operational American airfield in occupied Germany. Trier Airfield's primary use by the Americans was for combat resupply and casualty evacuation, being used largely by
C-47 Skytrain transports from the day it was opened until the end of the war in May. It was also used by the
Ninth Air Force 10th Reconnaissance Group until early April, flying photo-reconnaissance missions with
Lockheed P-38 Lightnings (F-4) and
North American P-51 Mustangs (F-5). On 26 March 1945, a
Douglas A-26C-20-DT Invader (s/n 43-22503) of the
670th Bombardment Squadron,
416th Bombardment Group crash-landed near the runway after being hit in the right engine during a raid against
Altenkirchen. With the end of the war, Trier Airfield was closed on 10 July 1945.
Postwar/NATO use When the USAAF closed the airfield in July 1945, occupation forces from the
United States Army moved in to garrison the facility. The airfield became a Displaced Persons camp during 1945 and early 1946, holding civilians from many countries of Europe as the continent slowly recovered from the ravages of war. United States Army forces moved out of Trier in the late summer of 1945, as French forces moved into the Rhineland as part of their occupation zone of Germany. With the establishment of
NATO in 1949, Headquarters,
Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force (4 ATAF) was established at what became "Trier Air Base" about 1950. The wartime damaged airfield was repaired as part of the postwar reconstruction, and new buildings for the NATO facility were erected at the base. The NATO facility closed on 30 November 1957 after 4 ATAF was moved to
Ramstein Air Base to consolidate command facilities with the USAF. Once NATO left the base, it was used as a civil airport for the city of Trier. In the early 1970s it became clear the airfield would have to close to allow industrial development. Construction of
Trier-Föhren Airport as a replacement airfield for the city of Trier began. A French army helicopter unit remained at the airport until 1977, when it was closed and converted into an industrial park. The original 4 ATAF buildings north of the airfield had been handed over the
West German Air Force in 1957 and were used until 2009. After being used as a refugee camp in 2014–2018, the city of Trier decided to buy the former barracks and redevelop the area into an industrial park. Although the last aviation use of the Trier Air Base airfield ended in 1977, it is still recognizable, both from the air and on the ground. The runway and taxiways are largely intact and have been converted into streets and parking for large trucks. Two buildings of the airfield remained on the west side of the former airfield until 2019, although more and more of the runway is being removed and redeveloped. ==See also==