Departure
95%
vs 95%
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Schleswig Air Base, known in German as Fliegerhorst Schleswig, is a Luftwaffe airbase at Jagel in Schleswig-Holstein, home to Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 51 "Immelmann" flying reconnaissance variants of the Panavia Tornado. Its two long, lit hard runways and deep military history, stretching from the First World War through RAF occupation and the Berlin Airlift to today's fast-jet reconnaissance wing, make it a distinctive destination for the simulator pilot exploring northern Germany.
Schleswig Air Base, or Fliegerhorst Schleswig, sits at Jagel in Schleswig-Holstein and is operated by the German Air Force. It is the home base of Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 51 "Immelmann" (AKG 51), which flies reconnaissance variants of the Panavia Tornado, and the unit is a member of the NATO Tigers association. The field's combination of very long runways, an eventful wartime and Cold War history, and its continuing role as a front-line military airbase give it particular interest for a simulator pilot studying northern German military aviation.
The airbase lies at Jagel in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany, near the town of Schleswig. As an active military airbase it sits within controlled airspace associated with its own aerodrome and radar services. During large exercises support aircraft are sometimes based instead at the nearby satellite field of Hohn rather than at Schleswig-Jagel itself.
The base has two long hard-surfaced runways, both lit. One runway pair, 07/25, is 8,014 feet long; the other, 05/23, is approximately 7,995 to 7,996 feet long. There is no ILS. Field elevation is 62 feet.
The airbase provides an aerodrome frequency of 31.347 MHz, a radar/approach frequency of 123.3 MHz, and a radar area control frequency of 128.775 MHz used as Bremen Control. An AFIS service is available on 125.1 MHz, identified as Bremen Info, and a tower frequency of 122.1 MHz is also listed.
The airfield at Schleswig/Jagel was founded in 1916 and has been in continuous military use since. During the Second World War it hosted night fighters, including the Messerschmitt Me 262, and earlier in the war Luftwaffe bombers and fighters used the site in operations against Britain. British Air Force of Occupation forces took control on 6 May 1945, designating it Airfield B.164, and Hawker Typhoons of No. 121 Wing RAF were based there that summer, alongside spells by squadrons flying Spitfires and further Typhoon units. From February 1948 RAF Schleswigland, as it became known, served as a training field for transport and glider aircraft. That autumn it was chosen as an operating base for the Berlin Airlift, Operation Plainfare, with Handley Page Hastings of No. 47 Squadron RAF arriving on 11 November 1948 and No. 297 Squadron following; civilian firms including Lancashire Aircraft Corporation, British American Air Services, Westminster Airways and Scottish Airlines also flew airlift sorties from the field, aided by its wartime underground fuel lines. The last airlift flight left on 6 October 1949. During the 1950s the base supported target-towing Mosquitoes of 2.TTF, and in 1955 King Olav V of Norway visited, the Royal Norwegian Air Force having used the field for training since the war. The RAF closed RAF Schleswigland in April 1958, handing the southern part to German control; the newly formed German Navy based Marinefliegergeschwader 1 there from June 1958, with the northern part transferred in October 1959 and the last British personnel leaving in November 1961. The German Navy went on to operate Sea Hawks, F-104s and Tornado IDS from the base, aircraft of which remain as gate guardians. In 1994 the Tornado IDS squadron and the airbase passed to the Luftwaffe. In June 2023 Schleswig Air Base was a principal location for Air Defender 23, described as the largest air force exercise since NATO was founded.
Schleswig Air Base remains an active Luftwaffe installation, home to Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 51 "Immelmann" flying reconnaissance Tornados, and the unit's NATO Tigers membership sees the base regularly host international exercises and Tiger Meets, with support aircraft sometimes diverted to nearby Hohn during larger events. As a military airbase, prior permission is required for any visit or flight, without which access is not possible.
