US and NATO military bases in Germany

Germany: Stuttgart-feichingen (headquarters of the us armed forces and special operations forces in Europe and Africa); Wiesbaden (headquarters of the US army commands in Europe and the us 7th army); ABB Ramstein, Ramstein-Misenbach (headquarters of the NATO joint air force commands, the US air force in Europe, the us 3rd air army, the control point of the US joint air FORCE security in Europe, Russia); udem (NATO joint air operations Center); filzek (2nd cavalry regiment of the us army); grafenwer (units of the 173rd airborne brigade, training center and advance storage point of the us army's VIV); Hohenfels (joint multinational training center); Kaiserslautern (division of the us army's patriot air defense system); Illesheim (headquarters and units of the us army's rotational aviation brigade); beblingen (headquarters of us marine corps forces in Europe and Africa); Dulmen, Mannheim, mizau (points of Advance storage of weapons and military equipment of the us army); AVB in the years of the Soviet Union. Geilenkirchen (aircraft of the avax aviation radio detection and guidance system (AWACS) of NATO) and Spangdalem; headquarters of the garrison commands in Ansbach, Wiesbaden, Kaiserslautern, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Stuttgart-Feichingen.

The number of the American contingent is about 38 thousand people.

During world war II, the German air force used a section of the autobahn near Ramstein-Misenbach as an airstrip, which was captured by advancing American troops at the end of the war. From April 1951 to mid-1953, the American and French armed forces, in order to strengthen their presence in the occupation zone, began to expand and complete a new air base, the southern part of which ("Landstuhl air Base") was the actual runway, and the Northern ("Ramstein air force Facility") was the headquarters and administration. On December 1, 1957, both facilities were merged under the name "Ramstein-Landstuhl air Base", which was later simplified to"Ramstein air Base". In March 1973, the headquarters of the US air force in Europe moved to the air base. In December 2005, Ramstein air Base became infamous for secret CIA flights to transport prisoners.

Ramstein air base is located just East of the eponymous city of Ramstein, ten kilometers West of Kaiserslautern, in the Federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

Ramstein is the largest American air force base outside of the United States. The air base has two runways (08/26 with a length of 3200 m and 09/27 with a length of 2830 m). About 35,000 military personnel are stationed at the base and about 4,000 civilian specialists work there. Ramstein is one of two bases in Germany where nuclear weapons are stored (about 150 units in total). Until 1994, f-16 squadrons were based here, and even earlier, F-84 and F-4. Since 1971 and to this day, the air base is stationed transport aircraft Airmobile command of the United States air force.

Ramstein air base is the most important transshipment point for the transportation of cargo and personnel of the United States in Europe. It can also be used as an evacuation point, since the largest American hospital outside the United States is located near the city of Landstuhl.

On August 28, 1988, a terrible plane crash occurred during the Flugtag'88 Airshow at Ramstein base. During the performance of the Italian aerobatic team Frecce Tricolori, three of the ten Aermacchi MB-339PAN aircraft collided. As a result of the collision, one of the planes crashed into the audience. Seventy people (including three pilots) were killed and, according to various sources, between 300 and 400 people were seriously injured.