The Fliegerhorstmuseum Leipheim is a small but fascinating aviation museum located in Leipheim, Bavaria, Germany. It focuses on the history of the Leipheim airbase (Fliegerhorst Leipheim), its role in German aviation history, and the military and civilian uses of the site.
Fliegerhorstmuseum Leipheim
www.fliegerhorstmuseum-leipheim.de
+49 172 880 93 63
April – November
- Sunday 14:00 – 17:00
Free admission
Aircraft collection
| 71+09
40+12 D-IFZO 31+38 AA+152 80+65 – 97+07/D-EFYL D-0515 76+89 | Bell UH-1D Iroquois
Dornier Alpha Jet Dornier Do28D-1 Skyservant Fiat G91/R3 Fouga CM170 Magister MBB Bölkow Bo105M Messerschmitt Bf 109G6 Putzer Elster B Schleicher ASK 13 Sud Aviation Alouette 2 |
Highlights of the Fliegerhorstmuseum Leipheim:
- Historical Context:
- The museum documents the development of the Leipheim airbase, which was established in the 1930s.
- It played a key role during World War II as a Luftwaffe airbase and was later used by U.S. forces during the post-war period.
- Aircraft and Artifacts:
- While the Fliegerhorstmuseum Leipheim doesn’t house large numbers of aircraft, it features smaller exhibits, models, and artifacts related to the airbase’s operations.
- Items include photographs, documents, and equipment that provide insights into the daily life of personnel stationed there.
- Local Aviation History:
- Displays explore the involvement of Leipheim in aviation manufacturing and the testing of experimental aircraft.
- The museum covers the broader impact of the airbase on the local community during and after its operational years.
The Fliegerhorstmuseum Leipheim tells the story from the construction of the Leipheim airbase began on 1 April 1936. Just a year later the first aircraft were transferred to the airfield. In the years 1939 and 1940 the II. Group of Fighter Wing 51 and parts of Fighter Wing 55 were stationed there in 1939 and 1940. At the same time, a Messerschmitt AG aircraft hangar was built on the site.
The maiden flight of the Me 262, the first serially produced jet aircraft, took place here on 18 July 1942.
The Me 321, the largest manned cargo glider ever designed, and the motorised version, the Me 323 large transporter, were also built there.
After the end of the Second World War, a camp for “displaced persons” was set up on the Leipheim site in 1945. The camp, which housed up to 3,150 people, was closed down in June 1950.
From 1957, the airfield was used for aviation again, initially for a short time as Leipheim Air Base by the U.S. Air Force and from 1959 as an air base by the air force of the new German Federal Armed Forces.
Leipheim became the site of the Technical Lock 31, whose tasks included the takeover of the newly ordered Alpha Jet, the first of which arrived in 1979.
From 1980 until 1992 the site next to it served as a Forward Operating Location (FOL) for Fairchild A-10A Thunderbolt II of the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing of USAFE, which was stationed at RAF Bentwaters (England).
The German Air Force maintained an anti-aircraft missile regiment at the airfield.
Military air operations ended in 1994 and the anti-aircraft missiles were withdrawn a decade later. In 2008, military use ended.
Photos Rob Vogelaar