RAF Bruggen, Germany was until June 15, 2001 a major station of the Royal Air Force. is the 166th day of the year (167th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ...

RAF Bruggen was situated next to the village of Elmpt, approximately 43 km west of Düsseldorf near the German-Netherlands border. The base was named after the village of Bruggen, the nearest rail depot. Construction began in mid-1952 which involved the clearing of dense forest and draining of marshland. The station became active in 1953 during the rapid expansion of NATO forces in Europe. The title of this article contains the character ü. Where it is unavailable or not desired, the name may be represented as Duesseldorf. ... Year 1952 (MCMLII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... NATO 2002 Summit in Prague. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...

317 Supply & Transport Column

In 1953, the 317 Supply & Transport column arrived at R.A.F. Bruggen from Uetersen. This followed the decision to supply all R.A.F. stations in Germany through the port of Antwerp. In 1954 the unit was redesignated as a Transport Squadron and was responsible for equipping and supplying all R.A.F. stations in Germany and Holland. The unit remained at Bruggen until 1963 when it was amalgamated into the 431 Maintenance Unit which continued to operate until 1993. The demise of 317 M.T. Squadron marked the end of an era as it had been on the continent shortly after D Day under its previous title of 317 Supply & Transport Column. It had built itself an enviable reputation and following the cessation of hostilities carried out convoys to Prague, Warsaw and Moscow. In the Review of the Royal Air Force 1950, the unit was described as the Carter Paterson of the autobahns Throughout its life 317 carried out a number of humanitarian operations. The first being medical supplies to Bergen Belsen. This was followed in 1947 by operation 'Harvester' in which timber and peat was supplied to the civilian population of Northern Germany in one of the coldest winters on record. This was followed by the return of displaced persons and P.O.W.'s to their home towns and cities within the British Zone. They were called upon again at the start of the Berlin Airlift (Operation Plain Fare) and lastly in the winter of 1961 the Squadron took a convoy of Fuel trucks to the oil refineries in Rotterdam for heating oil which was delivered to hospitals in Germany during the great freeze when the canals were inoperable.

1957-1998 - Strike/Attack role

The initial strike capability at RAF Bruggen was provided by the Canberra from the summer of 1957. From 1969 to 1975 the F-4 Phantom operated in the strike/attack role and were replaced by the SEPECAT Jaguar from 1975. The Jaguar squadrons were replaced by the Panavia Tornado GR1 beginning in 1984. With a height of each four GR1 squadrons Bruggen and its sister airbase Laarbruch formed the largest Tornado force in NATO. The English Electric Canberra was a first-generation jet bomber manufactured in large numbers through the 1950s. ... The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II[2] is a two-seat supersonic long-range all-weather fighter-bomber originally developed for the U.S. Navy by McDonnell Douglas. ... The SEPECAT Jaguar is an Anglo-French ground attack aircraft still in service with several export customers, notably the Indian Air Force and the Royal Air Force of Oman. ... The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine fighters, which was jointly developed by the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy. ... 12 Sqn Tornado GR1 The RAF Tornado GR1 was the first generation version of the Panavia Tornado strike aircraft of the Royal Air Force. ... RAF Laarbruch (motto: Ein Feste Burg - A Fortress Sure), located on the Germany/Netherlands border, was home to various first-line squadrons, including II (AC) Squadron flying F-4 Phantom II in the 1970s, followed by Jaguars in the 1980s, .These were replaced by the Tornado with 4 sqns (2...

1998-2001 - Attack role

Following reunification of Germany the RAF announced plans to reduce its presence in the country by half. One major part of this was the reduction of Tornado squadrons at Bruggen from seven to four, No.17, No.IX, No.14 and No.31 squadrons. 9, 14 and 31 squadrons took part in the Gulf War and operated from the base during NATO's air operations in the Kosovo War, supported by VC10 tankers. German reunification (Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) refers to the reunification of Germany from its constituent parts of East Germany and West Germany under a single government on October 3, 1990. ... No. ... No. ... No. ... No. ... Jarred rocks!Yoa sucks!Iverson rocks! == Headline text == For other uses, see Iraq war (disambiguation). ... The term Kosovo War or Kosovo Conflict is often used to describe two sequential and at times parallel armed conflicts (a civil war followed by an international war) in the southern Serbian province called Kosovo (officially Kosovo and Metohia), part of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. ... The VC-10 airliner was designed and built by Vickers in the 1960s. ...

The decision to remove all RAF assets from Germany was taken in 1996. As a result of the Strategic Defence Review No. 17 Squadron disbanded on March 31 1999 and began the gradual drawdown of the base. No. 14 Sqn relocated to RAF Lossiemouth in January 2001. A formal ceremony on June 15 officially ended a continuous RAF presence in Germany since World War II and all of the remaining Tornados had left for RAF Marham by September 4 2001. Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... The Strategic Defence Review (or SDR) was a policy document produced by the Labour Government that came to power in 1997. ... RAF Lossiemouth (IATA: LMO, ICAO: EGQS) is a Royal Air Force station to the west of the town of Lossiemouth in Moray, Scotland. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... RAF Marham is a Royal Air Force station in Norfolk, England. ...

The base was handed over to the British Army on February 28 2002 and is known as Elmpt Station. The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ...

2007 - Accident with nucleare missile

On the 4th of september 2007 the british army admit that there has been an accident with a nucleare missile on RAF base Bruggen. On 2 may 1984, a nucleare missile shear of a transport truck, because the missile wasn't good enough attached to the truck. The missile that shear of the truck was 8 times more stronger than the missile that was dropped on Hirsoshima on 1945. After research by x-ray the investigators confirm that the nuclear tipped missile was not damaged after the accident. The six involved people/military staff who were responseble for the accident, have been strictly punisht.

See also

• List of RAF stations