The Ghost of RAF Laarbruch
 

Just Got back from a trip to Dussledorf via Weeze Airport and was fascinated by the place ...since found out it was in actual fact once Raf Laarbruch .

Was wondering if any of you guys/gals knew exactly who now owns the old base buildings ?

The German government or British government ? How did it work Uk base on German soil ?

Was the land leased ?

Just cannot believe such an amazing place is going to waste ...ie the houses etc .

Such a lot of history but found the place a bit eerie ? Ghostly even ?

went past an old farm and there was the remains of a helicopter and large wings from an aircraft with raf logo on the side just resting in a paddock .

Noticed a museum there ( is it still open ? ) and there appeared to be a campsite utilising old bunkers as accomadation just a bit further down the road .

would really apreciate any info .......

There is a website for the museum if you google it! It makes me laugh that they call the airport Dusseldorf!

Whats really funny is that the old crab base near Newquay is now called "Cornwall International Airport". I think its International because they fly to Cardiff from there

Happy memories XV 1978-81, Weeze, little city towering inferno and the windmill in Kaeveler(Sp) great times and great friends, some of whom I still see today.

RAF Laarbruch
 

I was there flying F4s in the 70s, in the Harrier sim in the 90s and I am re-visiting next weekend. I will report back. My B&B is in Weeze, run by an ex-RAF policeman. There is a museum, in one of the former churches.

The cost of building the airfield and accommodation was funded by NATO and when it was closed it was handed back to them so what happens there is a NATO policy matter. In the 70s there was a rumour that the airfield has been specefied and paid for in yards, feet and inches but was built in metres and cms, giving the contractor an extra 8% profit on the deal - an urban myth perhaps?

Royal Air Force Museum Laarbruch-Weeze e.V.

I am hoping to enjoy grilled 1/2 chicken at Mama's in Weeze or Im Fushsbrau near JHQ. The memorable pizzeria near the Steintur in Goch is still there but the wood fired oven has gone so the pizzas are just average not exceptional! Nothing beats wood fired!

A2QFI

The single rooms in the officers mess were charged at sub standard rates because they were below the minimum size requirement and the rumour was when I was there 81-84 that the accommodation had indeed been built using metric. I thought I knew the area really well - decided to take the family to 'Dusseldorf' Airport 3 years ago on the way home from a holiday across the border in Holland and got horribly lost in Weeze, ending up in Kaevelar.

Wonder whether Willys taxis survived - many a happy hour where Willys delivered chicken and chips for 20!! Wonderful days.

Ed

A2QFI

I always understood that every building at Laarbruch was built to 90% spec -which is just about yards instead of metres.

Nice Camp though.

Heard the same rumour about the yards/metres issue - and that it only came to light when something which was supposed to fit, didn't!

Contractors made a nice little earner thanks to their 36/39.37 conversion ratio....allegedly!

The nice new glass Terminal building at Weeze Airport was actually first built in 1938 as a Submarine Pen at Bremen. It was transferred to Laarbruch to become No1 Hangar when the airfield was being constructed in 1955.

I worked in One Hangar on Buccaneers 1980-82, Chinooks 1993-94 and finally on Harriers 1996-99 as RAF Laarbruch struggled to close. All happy times!

I'm going back there next month to help celebrate a friend's 50th birthday at his estate near Goch.

More nostalgia here: Niederrhein Aviation Society - Portal to Airport Weeze(Niederrhein) and beyond...

Do a you tube search for films of Laarbruch now, but do one for Bruggen to and see how it has fallen on hard times under Army use, The most unbelievable is Wildenrath, that has been turned into a train testing facility and bears no ressemblence to an Airfield at all, I could never imagine anything ever happening like that in the UK, hell we cannot even decide what to do with Newton, to drive past the Married Quarters rotting away abandoned is heart breaking when some people struggle for a roof over their heads..... They are all on you Tube..

Often wondered if the Rattie is still outside Bruggen serving the superb Jagerschnitzels......

BTW in case anyone misses them, did you know you can order the likes of Bratwursts and Bockwursts off ebay from Germany for delivery to the UK! Postage is a bit expensive but I treat myself once in a while :)

eBay UK Shop - fleischerei-kirchberg: thüringer, eichsfelder, bratwurst

Or Aldi:D:D

........ and where did the name Laarbruch come from ? I never saw a town of that name while I was there.

Aldi bratties seconded. :D

Stackedup, I still have an old 50,000 of the airfield from the time when I were t'last Sqn QHI on't base.

The only hint of the name is a small watercourse near the threshhold of 27 - I suppose they didn't want to give to much away to any invader equipped with ADAC road-atlases, eh? A bit like calling the F4 base near Sobernheim "Pferdsfeld" - which with my limited Gerbil I take to mean "horsefield" or pasture.

If you look on Google Earth there are lots of Panoramio photos dotted all over Laarbruch.

e.g. Panoramio - Photo of Flughafen Laarbruch - Kino der einst stationierten englischen Truppen

You can fine Laar on Google Maps.

Slight thread drift alert.
 

Spheroid, may I suggest you follow this link? Newquay Cornwall Airport - Welcome to Newquay Cornwall Airport I think you'll find it educational. ;)

Rigga always said our pathes had crossed I was an AmechP in XV 1978-81

Just had a nostalgic peep at the airfield; Google Earth shows the II (AC) ARF (south east corner of the field) south of the hangar as pile of rubble - what a waste - but the old PBF and most HASs still intact (as are the other 3 sites). The natty little 9-hole golf course seems to have gone walkies as well - have they no sense of propriety!

My old MQ is still standing, and both schools appear to be intact - and the Astra Cinema, SHQ and O'Mess.

The urban myth about measurements certainly had some resonance when I was there (84-91; 16, II and Sim); the roads felt narrower and the OMQs were a shade smaller than their counterparts in Goch (and only had a half cellar). So paid for in metres and built in yards could have netted Otto a fine profit.

IIRC correctly, it was the name of the forest on the site (before we built an airfield there).