Stade Fliegerhorst
Mission Summaries > June 1944 > Airfields in Jun 44
Stade (GER)
(53 34 00 N – 09 29 55 E)
General: airfield (Fliegerhorst) in Lower Saxony 35 km WNW of Hamburg and 4
km SSE of Stade.
History: construction began in April 1935 and was still
underway in 1939. Officially designated a Luftwaffe Fliegerhorstkommandantur by
fall 1935. Served mainly as a
technical school and as a night fighter base during the war. A large
night fighter command and control bunker was located 4.4 km NW of
the airfield (Gefechtsstand des 2.Jagddivision
“Sokrates 1”).
Dimensions: 1,500 x 1,200 meters.
Surface and Runways: 3 concrete runways – Runway I (approx. 1370 meters
but never fully completed), Runway II (1200 meters), Runway III (1000 meters). Paved servicing apron
along N boundary and at SE corner.
Fully equipped for night landings with obstruction and boundary lighting, runway illumination
and the short version of the visual Lorenz system.
Fuel and Ammunition: had some 5 underground fuel storage tanks,
refueling points on N boundary and munitions bunkers at SE corner disguised as
a tiny hamlet.
Infrastructure: there were 5 large hangars and 1 medium hangar in
two separate groups on the N and NE boundaries and motor pool garages. Barrack
blocks on the N side were capable of housing 3,000 personnel. Station HQ was at the
entrance while flying control, messes and quarters for flying
personnel were behind the hangars. A railway spur ran in behind the
NE group of hangars.
Dispersal: a N area and a SE area
each had 21 open aircraft shelters.
Defenses: at least one heavy Flak
position and two light Flak positions within 3 km of the field in January 1944.
Remarks:
- 22 Apr 44: strafed by VIII Fighter Command P-51 Mustangs – claimed 1 x Me 210 and 1 x Ju 88 destroyed, plus 2 x He 111s damaged.
- 18 Jun 44: bombed by 45 B-24 Liberators. (445th Bomb Group Mission #103 – 45 B-24s dropped 520 x 100 lb. AN-M30 General Purpose bombs)
- 06 Oct 44: bombed by 29 B-24s.
- 31 Dec 44: bombed by 13 B-17 Fortresses – 5-6 night fighters destroyed or damaged, 2 hangars burned out and at least one runway cratered.
- 03 Feb 45: low-level attack by VIII Fighter Command P-51s – claimed 1 x He 111 destroyed and 2 more damaged.
- 09/10 Apr 45: bombed by 22 RAF Halifaxes and 14 USAAF B-24s in a joint night attack.
- 18 Apr 45: strafed by RAF Tempests – claimed 2 x Do 217s and 1 x Fw 190 destroyed plus other aircraft damaged. Same date, demolition of the airfield began and unserviceable aircraft destroyed.
- 01 May 45: occupied by 2nd Battalion Welch Guards.
Operational Units: 10./JG 26 (Nov-Dec 39); Stab/JG 1 (Dec 39 – May 43); II./ZG 1 (Feb 40); I.(Jagd)/LG 2
(Feb-Mar 40); KGr. z.b.V. 104 (Mar-May 40); II./JG 52 (Sep 40); I./JG 27 (Oct
40); II./JG 51 (Oct 40); 3./JG 54 (Oct-Nov 40); Stab/ZG 26 (Sep 41); Stab/NJG 3
(Sep 41 – Apr 45); III./NJG 3 (Nov 41 – Aug 44), II./JG 1 (Feb 42); Luftbeobachterstaffel
2 (Oct 43 - Jun 44); Stab/JG 302 (Nov 43 – Jan 44); III./JG 76 (Jul-Aug 44);
I./JG 26 (Apr 45).
School Units:
FFS C (twin-engined
conversion school) Stade (Nov 37 - Sep
39); Stab and I./Flieger-Ausb.Rgt. 42 (Apr 39 - Jan 40); Bombenschützenvorschule Stade (1940);
Flieger-Techn.Schule 2 (1940-43).
Reserve Training & Replacement Units: Flieger-Ers.Abt.14 (Oct 35 – Sep 37);
Flieger-Ers.Abt.42 (Nov 38 – Mar 39); III./Fallschirmjäger-Ers.-u.Ausb.Rgt. 4
(c.Jan 45 - ? ).
Station Commands:
Fliegerhorst Stade (1935-42); Fl.H.Kdtr. E 19/IV (Apr 40); Fl.Pl.Kdo. ??/XI
(1943 – Mar 44); Fl.H.Kdtr. A(o) 14/XI (Apr 44 – Apr 45).
Kommandant (mainly prior to the establishment of numbered station commands – not
complete): Maj. Wolf Freiherr von
Biedermann (Oct 35 – Sep 37?); Obstlt. Otto
Fruhner (Oct 37 - Aug
39); Oberst Fritz Hensgen (?- 23 Apr 42); (Oberst Hans Schneider (22 Apr
43 - 4 Jun 43); Obstlt. Hans Hauner (5
Jun 43 -?).
Station Units (on various dates – not complete): Stab/2. Nachtjagddivision (May-Sep 42); Stab/2.
Jagddivision (Oct 42 – Apr 45); Stab/Jagdfliegerführer
1 (1942/43 – Nov 43); Stab/Jagdfliegerführer
2 (Dec 43); Nachtjagdraumführer 2 (Jul 42 – Nov 43); Nachtjagdraumführer 5
(Jul-Aug 43); Koflug Stade (Jul 39 – Mar 41); Koflug 5/XI (Apr-c.Nov 41); 4.
Flugh.Betr.Kp./LG 1; 7.Flugh.Betr.Kp./LG 1; Stab/2. Flakscheinwerfer-Div.
(c.Jul 40 – Jul 42); 6./le.Flak-Abt. 755 (1943-45); Stab, I.(Ln.Betr.) and Stab
IV. (Flum.Mess)/Ln.-Rgt. 202 (Neukloster, c.Oct 42 – Aug 44); Stab, I.
(Ln.Betr.) and Stab II.(Flum.Mess)/Ln.-Rgt. 212 (Sep 44 – May 45); 13.(Flum.Mess)/Ln.-Rgt.
232 (Sep 44 – Apr 45); Ln.-Abt. 63 (1941-42); Ln.-Abt. 200 (Jun 41 – Mar 42)?;
Ln.-Ausbau-Stab 11 (Neukloster, 1943-45); Ln.-Ausbau-Kp. 11 (Hedendorf,
1943-45); Erprobungsstelle d.Lw. Stade (ex-Erprobungsstelle d.Lw. Werneuchen)
(Apr 45).
Stade Fliegerhorst (Airfield) as seen today
Image courtesy of Google Earth Pro™