U.S. Army Garrison Schweinfurt

Last updated

USAG Schweinfurt
Schweinfurt, Germany
USAG Schweinfurt Ledward Barracks HQ Building - circa 2014.jpg
USAG Schweinfurt Ledward Barracks HQ Building
TypeArmy Post
Site information
Owner German Institute for Federal Real Estate
Operator United States Army
Site history
Built1935 (1935)
Built by Balkenkreuz.svg   Heer & Luftwaffe
In use1945–2014
FateU.S. tenancy ended, returned to BImA

United States Army Garrison Schweinfurt (USAG Schweinfurt) was a United States Army military community located in and around Schweinfurt, Germany from 1945 to 2014. The garrison comprised two installations (Conn and Ledward Barracks), two housing areas (Askren Manor and Yorktown Village Housing Area), and two local training areas (Brönnhof or Area M) in Pfändhausen, to the north of Schweinfurt as well as Sulzheim (Sulzheim Training Area), 15 minutes to the south of Schweinfurt. Cold War-era installations in Bad Kissingen, Bad Neustadt, Hammelburg, and Oerlenbach were closed prior to the closure of USAG Schweinfurt in the years following German reunification in 1990. [1]

Contents

History

The installations that would go on to comprise Ledward and Conn Barracks of USAG Schweinfurt began construction in 1935. Ledward Barracks was then a Heer tank barracks, constructed from 1935–36 for Panzerregiment 4, then called the Schweinfurt Panzerkaserne or Adolf-Hitler-Kaserne, while Conn Barracks, originally known as Flugplatz Schweinfurt was constructed from 1936–37 as a Luftwaffe airfield, which was used to base Ju 87 Stuka bombers. [2]

Troops from the 42nd Infantry Division, Seventh U.S. Army liberated the constituent installations and the city of Schweinfurt on April 11, 1945. Immediately following World War II, the Flugplatz was renamed Schweinfurt Air Base, and used by the Army Air Corps; the former Panzerkaserne was used as a refugee camp for displaced Estonians, Yugoslavs, Lithuanians, and Poles, while also containing U.S. consular offices. [3]

On October 19, 1946, the Panzerkaserne was redesignated Ledward Barracks, in honor of Colonel William J. Ledward, Commander of the 27th Artillery Battalion, killed in action in Italy in 1944. On December 22, 1947, Schweinfurt Air Base was redesignated Conn Barracks, in honor of 2nd Lieutenant Orville B. Conn, Jr. of the 6th Cavalry Group, killed in action in France in 1944. [4]

Under the United States Army, Schweinfurt was home to approximately 11,000 people at its peak, including about 6,000 Soldiers, family members, Department of Defense civilian employees, and their dependents. At the time of its closing, USAG Schweinfurt was subordinate to United States Army Installation Management Command – Europe and was an indirect report garrison under USAG Ansbach, as part of the Franconia Military Community.

The installation was returned to the German government on September 19, 2014 due to an ongoing effort to concentrate the U.S. military's footprint in Germany to fewer communities. [5] Since the end of the Army's tenancy, the installation has been utilized by the German government for a variety of uses, including the housing of refugees from the European migrant crisis.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yongsan Garrison</span> Military unit

Yongsan Garrison, meaning "dragon hill garrison", is an area located in the Yongsan District of central Seoul, South Korea. The site served as the headquarters for U.S. military forces stationed in South Korea, known as United States Forces Korea (USFK), and as United States Army Garrison Yongsan (USAG-Yongsan) until 2018, under the supervision of the U.S. Army's Installation Management Command Pacific Region. From 1910 to 1945 it served as headquarters for the Imperial Japanese Army in Korea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schweinfurt</span> Town in Bavaria, Germany

Schweinfurt is a city in the district of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the surrounding district (Landkreis) of Schweinfurt and a major industrial, cultural and educational hub. The urban agglomeration has 100,200 (2018) and the city's catchment area, including the Main-Rhön region and parts of South Thuringia, 759,000 inhabitants.

<i>Kaserne</i>

Kaserne is a loanword taken from the German word Kaserne, which means "barracks". It is the typical term used when naming the garrison location for American and Canadian forces stationed in Germany. American forces were also sometimes housed in installations simply referred to as "barracks", such as Ray Barracks in Friedberg.

The Kaiserslautern Military Community (KMC) is an American military community in and around Kaiserslautern, Germany, supporting United States Armed Forces and NATO installations, such as the Ramstein Air Base, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Kapaun Air Station, Vogelweh Housing Area, Pulaski Barracks, Kleber Kaserne, Daenner Kaserne, Sembach Kaserne, Miesau Army Depot, and Rhine Ordnance Barracks. With around 54,000 people, including military service members, Department of Defense civilians and contractors as well as their families, the KMC is the largest U.S. military community outside of the United States.

The U.S. Army Garrison Heidelberg was made up of a number of United States military installations in and around Heidelberg, Germany in the state of Baden-Württemberg, along with Germersheim Depot in the neighboring German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. In addition, some NATO facilities were present on the installations. In June 2010, USAG Heidelberg was inactivated and consolidated into its parent unit, U.S. Army Garrison Baden-Wuerttemberg. This was a preparatory move for a complete relocation away from Heidelberg: From 2012 to 2015 the relocation of all U.S. military units marked an end point in the history of the U.S. Army Garrison Heidelberg. The U.S. Army, Europe (USAREUR) headquarters, located in Heidelberg since 1952 as part of the garrison, was moved to Wiesbaden to a newly built installation at Lucius D. Clay Kaserne in 2012. All military installations in Heidelberg were handed over to the German state by 2015 for conversion to civilian use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucius D. Clay Kaserne</span> U.S. Army airfield in Germany

Lucius D. Clay Kaserne, commonly known as Clay Kaserne, formerly known as Wiesbaden Air Base and later as Wiesbaden Army Airfield, is an installation of the United States Army in Hesse, Germany. The kaserne is located within Wiesbaden-Erbenheim. Named for General Lucius D. Clay, it is the home of the Army's 2d Theater Signal Brigade, 66th Military Intelligence Brigade and is the headquarters of the U.S. Army Europe and Africa (USAREUR-AF).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patch Barracks</span> US military installation in Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany

Patch Barracks is a U.S. military installation in Stuttgart, Germany. It is named after U.S. Army General Alexander M. Patch (1889–1945).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelley Barracks</span> U.S. military base in Germany

Kelley Barracks is a U.S. military installation and headquarters of United States Africa Command, and is a part of US Army Garrison Stuttgart in Stuttgart-Möhringen in Germany. The post is administered by IMCOM- Europe.

Benjamin Franklin Village, also called BFV, was a United States Army installation in Mannheim-Käfertal, Germany. It opened in 1947 after World War II and was named after Benjamin Franklin. It was closed as part of the restructuring of US forces in Europe. The last soldier and their family moved out in September 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Barracks</span> United States Army installation in Friedberg, Germany

Ray Barracks was a United States Army installation in Friedberg, Germany until it was closed by the U.S. government in 2007 and returned to the German government. Located in the southern part of the city near the industrial area, the barracks had numerous facilities. The barracks included a firing range for personal weapons qualification, an Urban warfare training site, vehicle maintenance facilities and various recreation facilities. After World War II the barracks were named after First Lieutenant Bernard J. Ray, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Hürtgen Forest. Ray sacrificed himself to destroy a wire obstacle that was blocking his unit's path. The base was closed in August 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fritzlar Air Base</span> Army air base in Germany

Fritzlar Air Base is a military air field of the German Army Aviation Corps. It is located near the town of Fritzlar in northern Hesse, Germany. The airfield is part of the Georg-Friedrich-Kaserne (Georg-Friedrich-Barracks).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kassel-Rothwesten Airfield</span> Former military airfield in Rothwesten, Germany

Kassel-Rothwesten Airfield is a former military airfield located in Rothwesten, a part of Fuldatal in Germany about 5 miles (8.0 km) north-northeast of Kassel (Hessen); approximately 240 miles (390 km) southwest of Berlin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bad Kissingen Airfield</span> Airport in Bad Kissingen, Germany

Bad Kissingen Airfield is an airfield in Germany, located about 1 mile north of Bad Kissingen in Bavaria. It supports general aviation and light aircraft up to by planes of up to 3,000 kg.

Schweinfurt Army Heliport was a military facility near Schweinfurt, that was part of U.S. Army Garrison Schweinfurt.

United States Army Garrison Bamberg is located on Warner Barracks in Bamberg, Germany. The unit provides "installation capabilities and services to support expeditionary operations in a time of persistent conflict, and to provide a quality of life for soldiers and families commensurate with their service."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warner Barracks</span>

Warner Barracks was a United States Army military base in the city of Bamberg, Bavaria, southern Germany. The base had been occupied by U.S. forces since the end of World War II. Elements of the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division and 45th Infantry Division entered the town on 13 and 14 April 1945. But before the war, this military site had a colorful history that goes hand-in-hand with Bamberg's history, which began in the 10th century. Bamberg was originally a fort on a hill. The view enabled soldiers of the time to watch the city and guard it against possible attacks. In 973, the Duke of Bavaria gained control of the fort. The city and fort fell under Swedish Protestants' control during the Thirty Years War when the Swedes engulfed the city and took it forcibly in 1634.

Robinson Barracks is a military base of U.S. in the Burgholzhof community in the northern Stuttgart district of Bad Cannstatt. Unlike Patch Barracks and Kelley Barracks, also located in Stuttgart, the modern Robinson Barracks is now largely a residential neighborhood for US Department of Defense personnel stationed in the greater Stuttgart area operated and administered by IMCOM-Europe. The installation is named after 1st Lt. James E. Robinson, Jr. (1918–1945), an Army officer posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor during World War II.

Nellingen Kaserne was a U.S. Army airfield and barracks near Stuttgart in the town of Ostfildern in Germany.

Panzer Kaserne, is a U.S. military installation in Böblingen, Germany, part of U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart. The post is administered by U.S. Army Installation Management Command-Europe (IMCOM-Europe), a legacy from its use as an Army installation since just after World War II. Panzer also hosts the headquarters of U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Europe & Africa (MARFOREURAF) and various Special Operations units of the Army and Navy supporting EUCOM and AFRICOM. There is also a different Panzer Kaserne in Kaiserslautern, Germany

References

  1. "Cold War Army Posts in Germany". www.mihalko-family.com. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  2. "Salute History". www.schweinfurt.army.mil.
  3. "Conn Barracks". www.mihalko-family.com. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  4. "USAREUR Units & Kasernes, 1945 - 1989". www.usarmygermany.com.
  5. "US Army says farewell to Schweinfurt". www.stripes.com.