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Heidelberg Army Airfield |
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| HAAF History | |||||||||||||||||
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| 1970s/1980s | |||||||||||||||||
 An older U-8 SEMINOLE with the TASCOM insignia (Benno Knorr) |
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| 7787th Aviation Detachment | |||||||||||||||||
| 1952 | |||||||||||||||||
| (Source: STARS & STRIPES, July 31, 1952) | |||||||||||||||||
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| (Source: STARS & STRIPES, Nov 25, 1953) | |||||||||||||||||
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| USAREUR Aviation Detachment | |||||||||||||||||
 Main building and tower, 1963 |
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 Aviation Detachment, HQ USAREUR pocket patch |
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| 1963 | |||||||||||||||||
| (Source: James R. Sullivan, Avn Det, 1963-65) | |||||||||||||||||
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| (Source: Email from Don Hillard) | |||||||||||||||||
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| 207th Aviation Company | |||||||||||||||||
 USAREUR U-8D SEMINOLE (57-3087), probably at Heidelberg AAF |
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 USAREUR U-8F SEMINOLE (62-3843), probably 207th Avn Co |
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 207th Avn Co, HQ USAREUR pocket patch |
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 Group photo of the 207th Aviation Company at Heidelberg AAF, 1968 (Rance Pinao) |
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| 1968 | |||||||||||||||||
| (Email: Rance Pinao) | |||||||||||||||||
| After hunting through all my photos, I finally found the 207th Aviation Company (see above). The photo was taken in 1968. While being assign to this unit I was a Sp5, 67B20 (U6-A Beaver Crew Chief). From what I can remember we had two Beavers, two UH-1D, 5 U8-D, & 4 U8-F. Seems to me we had a CWO3 who was in that unit for 10 years....he must have known some.... |
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| 2nd Half of 1970 | |||||||||||||||||
| The 207th Avn Co went through several transitions: from U-8 to U-21 to C-12 aircraft. The U-21 to C-12 transition occurred in 1978. |
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 600.jpg) HAAF with "building use" information for the early 1970s (Henry Wheelahan) |
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| (Source: Email from Henry "Wheels" Wheelahan) | |||||||||||||||||
| I was assigned to the 207th Aviation Company and was stationed and lived (billited) right at the airfield for a little over two years. Our billets were "open" my first few months, but in 1972 they partioned the twenty-man open barracks on the second floor and partitioned it all into two man rooms. That was the result of the new Volunteer Army approach. I remember clearly all the facilities at the airfield, so feel free to forward questions. I was a Spec 4 , stationed there from Dec 1971 thru January of 1974. I realize that was an extended tour by some five or six months thanks to Company Commander Lt. Col. Douglas Banks, but it was pivotal in my life. I was a 63 F 20 tank retriever specialist after i originally AT 'd at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Md. My Basic was at Fort Dix. I entered service in July 1971. After AT, I spent two weeks at the Frankfurt Replacement Center until a kind fellow soldier asked me what other interest i may have besides tanks and I said, " I enjoyed my first flight ever just recently." So a day later he told me he had a 63B 20 slot down at the 207th Avn Co in Heidelberg. I didn't know then what it was, but that placement was the first gift of my military career. I worked with Sgt Molskey out in the motor pool for the next 28 months. We had maybe a dozen vehicles at the airstrip's small and limited motor pool. A couple of 3/4 tons, 3 or 4 Deuce and a halfs, a couple of jeeps, and half a dozen staff cars to usher our flight passengers to and from from 7th Army HQ or Patton Barracks. I've read a few things here on the site from fellow comrades that brought back many good memories. Yes, it was a different type duty, privileged if i may say so, and personally, it did me a service to have had that privilege. My C.O., Lt.Col. Douglas Banks, encouraged me to advance my education and by the time he retired out in 1973, I had completed several semesters at University of Maryland, European Campus in Heidelberg. When not servicing equipment or vehicles and when invited, I would often take a jump seat on a U8 or U21 with commissioned officers or warrant officers looking to complete quarterly flight hours. We would on occasion fly to Aviano, Italy and hang a few days. CW4 Moore was, I guess, the go-to pilot to run up recently serviced aircraft and I would actually tag along on those as well. The German national aircraft mechanics were actually better mentors than a few of my fellow servicemen. By the time I left Heidelberg almost three years later I could rebuild an opposed cylinder VW engine which I likened to the U8 Lycoming. I met my close military buddy there, John Quist of Morton Grove, Illinois. Years later after our discharge when he married, I drove out from Connecticut to attend the ceremony with my wife and six month old son John for whom he's named. I could go on, but i'm not sure if this short bio will even reach a familiar comrade or site, but I figure, hey it's worth a shot. I was 18 when I arrived there and 71 now so I imagine many have passed, but not the memories for me. I sure wish I could thank Lt Col Douglas Banks, my former C.O. for his support and encourage. |
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 Group photo, 207th Avn Co, Heidelberg AAF, 1978 (Chuck Lee)  |
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 207th Avn Co flight line at night, 1978 |
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| 1974 | |||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Email from Charles "Chuck" Lee) | |||||||||||||||||
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| 1978 | |||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Email from Tom Simonian) | |||||||||||||||||
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| 1990 | |||||||||||||||||
| (Source: STARS & STRIPES, Jan 5, 1990) | |||||||||||||||||
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| Detachment 3, 7th Weather Squadron (USAFE) | |||||||||||||||||
 AAF Operations building (center) and weather station with AFOF (left) (Fred Schenk) (Click here to read the directional sign) |
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 Heidelberg AAF in 1963 (Fred Schenk) |
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| 1962 | |||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Email from Horst (Fred) Schenk, Det 3, 7th Weather Sq, Heidelberg AAF, 1961-64) | |||||||||||||||||
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 Don (front) and Dale (back) Hall at Heidelberg AAF, early 1960s (Marcus Hall) |
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| (Source: Email from Marcus Hall) | |||||||||||||||||
| I am writing to offer a small contribution to your website. What brought me here is, I think, an interesting story. Since my mother’s passing in 2020 I have been sifting through her papers, photos and other effects accumulated over the course of her 93 years. I came across a small photograph (2"x 2") of my father and uncle in their USAF uniforms briefing a couple of pilots as was their responsibility as weather forecasters. I had seen pictures like this one all my life and since it was so small I didn’t examine it closely. Later scanning the photo at high resolution allowed me a detailed examination of the scene. I immediately realized why the picture was taken and why my mother preserved it. It showed a set of twin forecasters, my father and uncle, briefing a set of twin pilots. It has to bring a smile to anyone’s face. You see, my father, Dale Hall and his brother Don, had always, since their enlistment in the USAF in 1947, been stationed together. The Defense Dept. didn’t know what to do with twins. Should they be deliberately kept together or deliberately stationed apart? Apparently they opted for the former. So, throughout my childhood wherever Dad was stationed my Uncle Don and his family were there as well. It was like I had two sets of parents and eight siblings! It seemed normal to me. Anyway, back to the picture. My mother had written on the back of the photo, “Dale – Don in England weather station 1955.” OK, we were in England (RAF Woodbridge) in 1955. But something didn’t seem right about what I was seeing. Then it struck me. The stripes on my Uncle Don’s uniform show him to be a Senior Master Sergeant. I seemed to recall that he had achieved that rank some time later in his Air Force career. Using Photoshop I zoomed in to search for clues. The map on the wall clearly shows eastern France, the Low Countries and Germany. Next to it, displayed on a placard, was “DET. 3, 7th WEA. SQDN.” I did a Google search and came across your website and information therein confirmed my suspicion. My mother had misdated the photo as 1955 England when in fact it was taken when my father was stationed in Germany at Heidelberg Army Airfield sometime between 1962 -1964. But the story doesn’t end there. As I perused the website I was pleasantly surprised to find at the bottom of the “Det. 3, 7th WS” page a contribution by Horst (Fred) Schenk. Fred was stationed at Heidelberg AAF during the same period as my father, my uncle and our families. He became a great friend to all of us at that time and remains so to this day. Fred has written a great account of his time at Heidelberg AAF (and his whole life) in his book “My Five Lives,” a portion of which, that pertaining to this subject matter, has a link in his contribution to your website. Thanks and I enjoyed looking through your site. |
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