- Merzbrück Airport
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Merzbrück Airport
Flugplatz Merzbrück
IATA: AAH – ICAO: EDKA Summary Airport type Public Operator Flugplatz Aachen-Merzbrück GmbH Serves Aachen Location Würselen, Germany Elevation AMSL 623 ft / 190 m Coordinates 50°49′24″N 006°11′11″E / 50.82333°N 6.18639°E Website Runways Direction Length Surface ft m 08/26 1,706 520 Asphalt 
Merzbrück AirportLocation of Merzbrück Airport, GermanyMerzbrück Airport (German: Flugplatz Merzbrück) (IATA: AAH, ICAO: EDKA) is an airfield located in Aachen, Germany.[1] It is also known as Aachen-Merzbrück Airport (Aachen-Flugplatz Merzbrück).
The airport primarily supports general aviation, and also has a very large sailplane facility.
The ADAC Air Rescue Service provides the air rescue helicopter Christoph Europa 1 for urgent medical rescues and air ambulance duties at Merzbrück Airport.
Contents
History
The airport was built about 1932 as a grass airfield, and throughout the 1930s was used by small light aircraft.
With the outbreak of World War II, Merzbrück was used by the Luftwaffe, with IV.(Stuka)/LG 1 and I./St.G. 77 of Lehrgeschwader 1, equipped with Junkers Ju 87s during the first week of the Belgian Campaign in May 1940. After the Battle of France in June ended, the airfield was little used by the military or general aviation.[2]
In January 1945, as a result of the Western Allied invasion of Germany, United States Army forces moved though the Aachen area and captured Merzbrück Airport about 29 January. In February combat engineers of the 818th Engineering Aviation Battalion arrived and laid down a 5000' Pierced Steel Planking metal runway down on the grass airfield aligned 05/23 for use by combat aircraft, and the airport was designated as Advanced Landing Ground "Y-46 Aachen".[3] The Americans used the airport for P-47 Thunderbolt combat operations until the middle of April 1945, and the airport was closed on 11 May 1945.[4][5]
After the war, the airport was not used for many years as the reconstruction of Germany was underway. Eventually the wartime steel runway put down by the Americans during the war was removed, and the airfield was rebuilt with an all-weather asphalt runway. taxiways, and both concrete and grass aircraft parking areas. A parallel grass runway is also available. Today, Merzbrück Airport is a modern, well-equipped airport.
Eurocopter EC 135 - Christoph Europa 1
See also
References
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.- ^ Accident history for AAH / EDKA - Merzbruck Airport at Aviation Safety Network
- ^ The Luftwaffe, 1933-45
- ^ IX Engineer Command ETO Airfields, Airfield Layout
- ^ Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
- ^ Johnson, David C. (1988), U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO), D-Day to V-E Day; Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center, Maxwell AFB, Alabama.
External links
- (German) Flugplatz Aachen Merzbrück
- EDKA Webcam
Categories:- Airports in Germany
- Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Occupied Germany
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