Rheine Air Base

__NOTOC__Infobox Airport
name = Rheine Air Base
nativename = Heeresflugplatz Rheine


caption =
IATA = ZPQ
ICAO = ETHE
type = Military
owner = Federal Ministry of Defence
operator = German Army
city-served =
location = Rheine
built = 1940
used = 1940 - 1945
1960 - present
commander = Colonel Werner Salewski
occupants = German Army Aviators Corps
elevation-f = 128
elevation-m = 39
coordinates = coord|52|17|28|N|07|23|13|E|type:airport|display=inline
website =
metric-elev =
metric-rwy =
r1-number = 09/27
r1-length-f = 1637
r1-length-m = 510
r1-surface = Asphalt
r2-number =
r2-length-f =
r2-length-m =
r2-surface =
stat-year =
stat1-header =
stat1-data =
stat2-header =
stat2-data =
footnotes =

Rheine Air Base (German: "Heeresflugplatz Rheine") airport codes|ZPQ|ETHE is located near the village of Bentlage, 2 km Northwest of the city of Rheine, Lower Saxony, Germany.

In 1939 works to build an air base for the Luftwaffe began. These works were completed in 1940. During World War II extensive use was made of the air base, particularly by night and day fighter squadrons. After the war the air base was abandoned.

In 1960, following the founding of the German Armed Forces in 1955 and the establishing of a new branch within the German Army, the Aviators Corps, completely new military installations, hangars and a small runway made of asphalt, were constructed on the grounds of the former German Air Force base.

Since 1960 various units of the German Army Aviators Corps have been stationed at Rheine Air Base. Initially, these units flew helicopters of the type Sikorsky H-34 which were used extensively during the relief operation following the disastrous North Sea flood of 1962. Another type of helicopter that was stationed in this period at Rheine Air Base was the Alouette II

In 1974, the CH-53 replaced the by now obsolete Sikorsky H-34 and has been in service ever since. A small number of Bo 105VBH is also stationed at Rheine. In 1975, the air base was officially named "Theodor Blank Barracks" after the first Federal Minister of Defence of Germany.

In the following period, helicopters from Rheine saw action in as different places as Italy, Greece and the Pyrenees mainly by offering help and logistic support after natural disasters.

Since unification of Germany in 1990, units from Rheine were deployed in as various part as the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan under the auspices of either NATO, the UN or the EU.

All units stationed at Rheine Air Base were incorporated into Army Aviators Medium Transport Regiment 15 in 2003.

In 2004, after a further restructuring of the Bundeswehr, during which a large number of bases were closed, Army Aviators Medium Transport Regiment 15 was given the honorary name "Münsterland", this being a result of the German Army's continuing commitment to the base.

Army Aviators Medium Transport Regiment 15 is part of Airmobile Operations Division.

See also

*German Army Aviators Corps
*History of the German Army Aviators Corps
*German Army

External links

* [http://www.deutschesheer.de Official site of the German Army]
* [http://www.heeresfliegerregiment15.de/ German website of Medium Helicopter Transport Regiment 15]