Laupheim Air Base

Laupheim Air Base is a German Air Force facility located in Laupheim, Baden-Württemberg. Construction began in August 1938 for the Luftwaffe and reached completion in March 1940. During World War II, the base hosted training units, nightfighter wings, and destroyer (Zerstörer) wings. It also served as a production site for the Focke Achgelis Fa 223 Drache twin-rotor helicopter prototype.

Between July 1944 and April 1945, the installation sustained several aerial attacks by the United States Army Air Forces and French bombers. These raids destroyed various aircraft, including Messerschmitt Bf 110s and Fa 223 prototypes, as well as hangars and air traffic control facilities. French forces occupied the base on April 23, 1945.

In 1964, new military installations were constructed on the site for the German Army Aviation Corps. The base initially hosted Sikorsky H-34 helicopters and served as the headquarters for German Army Aviation Corps Command 2. In 1971, the base became the center for all German Army Aviation Corps units in southern Germany with the formation of Medium Army Aviation Transport Helicopter Regiment 25. The CH-53G transport helicopter replaced the H-34 in 1973. The base was officially named Kurt Georg Kiesinger Barracks in 1989.

Following a 2011 restructuring of the German Armed Forces, the base transferred from the Army to the German Air Force on January 1, 2013. Medium Transport Helicopter Regiment 25 was disbanded in March 2013 and its assets were integrated into Helicopter Wing 64.

The German Air Force currently operates the base, which serves as the primary station for Helicopter Wing 64. The installation hosts 48 of the wing’s 60 helicopters and maintains a staff of 1,200 personnel. Units based at Laupheim have deployed for international operations in the Balkans, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo under NATO, UN, and EU mandates. The wing has also provided disaster relief and logistics support in Italy, Greece, the Pyrenees, and the Alps.