Lechfeld Air Base

Lechfeld Air Base is located 1 km east of Lagerlechfeld in Bavaria, 20 km south of Augsburg. Military flight operations at the site began in 1912 under the German Army. After a period of prohibition following World War I, flight operations resumed in 1934 with the opening of a flight school. During World War II, the Messerschmitt Works used the airfield for testing aircraft, including the first flight of the Me 262 jet fighter by Adolf Galland on May 22, 1943. A Luftwaffe service test unit began training Me 262A pilots at the facility in April 1944.

United States Army units seized the airfield in May 1945, designating it Advanced Landing Ground R-71 and later Army Air Force Station Lechfeld. The facility served as an occupation garrison until June 1, 1947, when it was placed on standby status. The base was transferred to the German Armed Forces in 1955, and rebuilding began in 1956. 32 Fighter Bomber Wing (Jagdbombergeschwader 32) commenced flight operations in 1958 with F-84 Thunderstreak aircraft. The unit transitioned to the F-104 Starfighter in 1965 and the Panavia Tornado in 1982. In September 1961, two of the wing’s F-84F aircraft crossed into East German airspace due to a navigational error and landed at Berlin Tegel Airport. During the Cold War, the base hosted United States Air Force and Air National Guard units during annual Reforger exercises.

The German Air Force currently operates the base. Following a 2011 reorganization, 32 Fighter Bomber Wing was disbanded on March 31, 2013, and personnel numbers were reduced from 1,620 to 570. The base now houses a branch of the German Air Force Engineering Training Centre and elements of the German Armed Forces Command Support School. In 2019, the German government designated Lechfeld as the second base for the Airbus A400M Atlas transport aircraft. Plans indicate that 13 A400M aircraft will be stationed there starting in 2025. From June 12 to June 23, 2023, the base hosted units participating in Exercise Air Defender 23.