RAF Oldenburg

Thanks for the information JPW. I will definitely stop for a look next time I'm up that way.

Back on topic: http://www.fliegerhorst-oldenburg.de/pdf/fliegerhorst2.pdf

Reichswald Forest Cemetery is in Germany, near the town of Kleve and is very close to the Dutch border. There are 705 Canadian dead commemorated there. whether the bodies are there or just the headstones I don't know.

I would be very interested to learn the name of the C.W.G.C. cemetery near Ahlhorn. I should then be able to trace the names of those buried there and can then also trace post war .R.A.F. casualties for anyone interested.

I think the cemetery is at Sage with 791 WW2 dead commemorated (Army and Air force) of which 122 are Canadians. Post WW2 casualties, after 31 December 1945 are not covered by Commonwealth War Graves Commission but by R.A.F. Casualties Branch (where I worked for a time prior to the establishment of the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas, Staffs.)

Re: Above comments..... There was a flying accident at RAF Oldenburg c.1956.   I was the duty photographer and was sent to photograph the scene for the subsequent enquiry.  I was also part of the Guard of Honour which fired the salute at the funeral which was held at Hanover.

I think this must have been the accident on 22nd October 1955 when a Hunter F4, WV271, from Jever, which had landed u/s some days earlier, took off to return to Jever. It was reported to have climbed steeply then returned to the circuit and executed a roll to starboard. It commenced a second roll but the nose dropped when the aircraft became inverted and it dived into the ground. The Sergeant pilot was killed in the impact.

There was a previous accident in 1955:

Canadair Sabre F4 (F-86E)
Owner/operator: Royal Air Force (RAF)
Registration: XB839
C/n / msn:
Fatalities: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities: 0
Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location: 8 mi from RAF Oldenburg - Germany
Phase:
Nature: Military
Departure airport: RAF Oldenburg
Destination airport:
Narrative:
Fell to the ground after take-off. Pilot ejected but killed when struck the tail.

and one 16th August 1955:

Owner/operator: Royal Air Force (RAF)
Registration: XB808
C/n / msn: 562
Fatalities: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities: 0
Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location: Meppen Range - United Kingdom
Phase: Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature: Military
Departure airport: RAF Oldenburg
Destination airport:
Narrative:
Stalled when pulling up from attack run.

Steve you're right - it is Sage near the village of Großenkneten between Alhorn and Oldenburg. From what I've seen in passing it looks very well maintained.

Steve.L : The crash I photographed was when a Hunter F4, piloted by a Flt. Lieutenant, took off from Oldenburg with another Hunter (in a pair). They were going to another airfield, (could have been Jever or Ahlhorn) at a Saturday lunchtime. The Hunter from O'burg turned to starboard at lift-off and hit his wingtip on the ground. The aircraft cart-wheeled and disintegrated in flames.

Hi Foto2TAF:

I regret I cannot find any more information on the databases regarding a Hunter F4 with a FltLt pilot. The 22nd October incident was a Saturday and the suggestion is that there were two 4 Squadron F4s but only one involved in an incident. the accident 'description' is from witnesses and included in the accident report as 'narrative evidence' rather than 'fact'. Otherwise your account is similar to the accident report. sorry I cannot trace anything more conclusive from the accident logs or the burials at Hanover Military Cemetery.

Hello,

I'm living in Oldenburg and I'm looking for Information to find my Grandfather. He was station in Oldenburg/Airfield/Fliegerhorst in 1945. I'm thinking his unit was the "Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers". My Dad Günter was born in June 1946. My Grandmothers name was called Hildburg Keller.

I would be very happy if I could get information about the names of the deployed unit. Any information would also make me very far in my search.

Regards,
André

Andre

Herzlich wilkommen

With the very significant assistance of the Canadian and other contributors to this site I am currently researching and recording details of the British and Canadian presence in Oldenburg from May 1945 to Autumn 1947.

The Stadt had been captured by the Canadian 2nd Infantry Division in late April 1945 but the Canadian 4th Armoured Division reinforced by a British Artillery Brigade formed the first Occupation Troops in the Stadt. In July 1945 the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division (CAOF (Canadian Army Occupation Force)) took over overall command.The Luftwaffe Alexanderfelt Airfield (known to the British/Canadians as Alexander Field) had been severely damaged by bombing and in the capture of the Stadt. Apart from light aircraft it was regarded as non operational by the RAF/RCAF.

It was therefore developed as a major logistic supply base by the Canadians in particular for the resupply of the entire Canadian Division who were deployed along the coastal area stretching from the Dutch border at Leer to the Weser estuary at Varel at this time. Elsewhere in the town the British Artillery Brigade were responsible and set up there own logistic system.

There were two large REME units in Oldenburg at this time

a. The Canadian Divisional Troops Workshop RCEME based at the Airfield and

b. The British 4 Artillery Group Royal Artillery (4AGRA) Workshop REME based in the FLAK Kaserne in the centre of town.

To complicate matters many of the other units in Oldenburg would have had a small team of REME or RCEME tradesmen to carry out simple quick repairs on unit equipment removing the need to send the item back to the larger workshop where ever possible. I am afraid it will be virtually impossible to identify your great grandfather's unit as I doubt whether any list of unit personnel exist now

I hope this information is helpful

Andre

Forgot to mention that I believe 4 AGRA Workshop was located in what you would know as Donnerschwee Kaserne

Hi JPW,

first of all I want to thank you very much for your quick and detailed response also with you.

Me very aware that I stand with my desire very much in the fog. I research page already years. Not very intense, but as soon as I find time, I am researching other options.

I myself was born and raised in Donnerwee district. Therefore I also have some relation to Donnerschweer barracks. This was indeed konipiert for air defense. Meanwhile, there is no military operation and will be privatized in the future.

I think that could be the unit circle of my grandfather in logic a bit actually, since he was among the first troops that were stationed at the airbase. My grandmother lived near the airport. The place is called "oven". So directly from the two Airport.

Is there an archive in England, this has records, what soldier was when and where explicitly used in Germany, in Oldenburg?

regards,
André

regards,
André

Andre

Glad to be of help

Canadian units were the first troops to be based in Ofen in May 1945.

My source documents are the War Diaries for the various units based in Oldenburg throughout 1945/1946 which are held in the British National Archives in Kew in London. Unfortunately they do not have lists of the individual soldiers serving with a unit at any particular time.

There is one other possibility but this will depend very much on what personnel details you know about your grandfather. I will contact you privately to see if this is possible

Oldenburg: Air Base
For historical information only, do not use for navigation or aviation purposes!
Coordinates: N531049 E0080939 (WGS84) Google Maps
Elevation: 40'
Location Indicator: EDNO (1990)
Operator: Luftwaffe / German Airforce
Use during the Cold War
Used by RAF until 1957, thereafter German Airforce airbase.
Current use
Closed.
Runways
Data for the year 1990:
10/28: 2118 m x 30 m Concrete

Google this:     mil-airfields.de/germany/oldenburg-airbase.html

Fliegerhorst Oldenburg now being redevelopped and USAAF UXB turned up (Jan 2019) :

https://www.oldenburg.de/startseite/leben-wohnen/planen-bauen/fliegerhorst/neue-infrastruktur-fuer-den-stadtteil.html

RAF Oldenburg seems to have died, or perhaps the old servicemen have.
In answer to Jerry's request I have found some photos of Hunters on the airfield and also Sabres with German Maltees Cross like markings.
After a marathon digitizing of thousand of negatives I finally came across the Hunter Mk7 of 14 Squadron. As 14 squn were the last to leave Oldenburg I took these photos of the Sabres when they arrived. By this time the German airforce had taken over the camp and all the duties including guard duty and fire picket.
So Sorry about the time laps, but better late than never
Ps I can only upload 3 pics at a time so I will do another entry for 3 more

Gerry wrote:

Hello Trevor, and all previous writers on the subject of RAF Oldenburg.

I was a child at Oldenburg between 1954 and 1957 after which we moved to Goch.  Since 1980 I have been back to the city of Oldenburg every year for holidays and festivals; the last time being January this year.  At each visit I made a special tour of the airfield (and the married quarters where we lived), and have photographs of its demise through those years.  
The base was returned to the Luftwaffe in 1959 where first F86 Sabres, then Fiat G91s, and finally Alphajets operated from, before it finally closed.  
At my last visit this year the buildings, control tower, hangars and all the rest of the make up of the base was as I remembered it from the 50s, except that the swimming pool was empty and in a terrible state.  And the cinema was still there.
The reason for its closure was that the city of Oldenburg has expanded so far that it has swamped the area around the base and it is too dangerous to operate as an airfield.
Incidentally, the hospital at Rostrup has also been closed down and both it and the airfield are in the process of being sold off to private concerns.
I have a lot of information about the base and I have acquaintances in Oldenburg who act as my guide whenever I visit the city.  One of them lives near to Ahlhorn, where I also have visited but there is no history for me there.
I would appreciate seeing any photographs that you may have of the base in the 50s, and I would love to have access to records of aircraft movements as I have a few unanswered questions about various aircraft I remember from the base.
I particularly want to know what the visit of a large number of Canberras was about. I remember them being parked all over the airfield and their departure was quite spectacular (at least to this child!).   I also remember a Royal Visit - I think it was the Duke of Edinburgh.

Best wishes.

I also was a child at Oldenburg at the same time as you, my father was lance corporal Archie MacCulloch who worked on the electrical/electronics on the hunters and is still living at the grand old age of 92.

I will speak to him tonight and see if he still has the photos that I have seen and also get any info, such as the married quarters you mentioned, I remember a Welshman lived at the end house on our street who we sometimes had evening tea with. Hopefully I can get the photos and share with the forum.

best wishes