Malmsheim Airfield
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Malmsheim Airfield Flugplatz Malmsheim | |||||||||||||||
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| Airport type | military/private | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Renningen, Germany | ||||||||||||||
| Built | 1937 | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 1,500 ft / 450 m | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 48°47′1″N 8°55′10″E / 48.78361°N 8.91944°E | ||||||||||||||
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| Runways | |||||||||||||||
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Malmsheim Airfield is located in the southern German state of Baden-Württemberg, north-east of the city of Renningen's borough of Malmsheim. It consists of an air force base with a reserve concrete runway and a glider airfield.
World War II
On 13 November 1936, the Luftwaffe announced its intention to build what it purported an emergency landing site. The runways were built, mostly at night, by 1937. Buildings were camouflaged as a farm, the site was connected by a standard gauge railway to the Black Forest Railway's Renningen station.
During the Battle of France in 1940, Malmsheim was home base to Messerschmitt Bf 110 and Junkers Ju 88 aircraft. With the beginning of the Russian campaign in 1941, the Luftwaffe halted operations on the airfield and the site was converted into a Prisoner of war camp with POWs working on local farms. In 1944 and 1945, the site was used for military aviation once more, being home to the second group of the 53rd fighter squadron.[1]
Post-war
After the war, it was used briefly by US forces, then from 31 January 1946, ethnic German refugees (Heimatvertriebene) were accommodated. Initially, 1,500 people were brought to the site, via the railway link. The refugee camp's designed capacity was 11,000 people. Most of the refugees housed came from the Sudetenland. In 1949, the camp was assigned a new function as a transit station for returning German POWs. It was also used briefly to house displaced persons.
US forces again used the site from 1951. The Bundeswehr, the post-war West German armed forces, took over the site on its foundation in 1955. A planned deployment of German Army Aviation was not realized, nor was the proposed construction of a civilian airport.
Since about the end of the 1950s, civilian gliders have been leasing a part of the site.[2]
In 1994, the automotive component manufacturer Bosch unveiled the electronic stability control (ESC) system on Malmsheim Airfield.[2]
Bosch acquired a part of the site by 2010 in order to erect a "center for research and pre-development". An agreement containing these items had been signed on 3 September 2009. The complete area has a size of 94 hectares, of which Bosch was assigned to acquire 31 hectares on the north and 9 hectares on the south. Demolition work of the airfield buildings began in February 2011. Bosch plans to invest 160 million euros, the center is planned to become operative in 2013 with about 1200 employees. The state of Baden-Württemberg has acquired the central section, Bundeswehr and US forces are allowed to continue to use it until 2029. Usage by gliders for at least ten years has been agreed upon.[2][3][4][5]
