Billeting at airfields

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'Clock High!:

Daniel Feltmate
Luftwaffe Airfields
Wed Mar 6 03:01:12 2002
66.177.80.81

Hello,

Where did the single engine, Luftwaffe fighter pilots sleep? Did they have tents or buildings on the airfields that they slept in? Did they sleep on grass someday's? Did they sleep in groups in a tent? How many hours a day did they sleep?

I can understand that on each front the circumstances would be different, as on the Eastern Front switching basis was regular for Fighter Pilots.

Can anyone answer my questions? If you can, reply to this or yea can send me an e-mail,

Thank you,
- Daniel

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Radiomonitor
Luftwaffe Airfields
Wed Mar 6 09:08:03 2002
193.153.148.32

02.03.06-0902z-Luftwaffe flight crews - fighter pilots and all other categories - had on established airbases in Germany and in the occupied countries well established brick buildings, with usually 10-man rooms, good wc- and bathing facilities, leisure rooms, dining rooms, etc. -- On war-established airfields the facilities were wooden barracks, smaller and more simple facilities, but in any case as comfortable as local conditions allowed. Only under severe primitive conditions, f. inst. in North Africa, the crews lived in tents.-vy73-KAL+

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Daniel F
thanks!
Wed Mar 6 19:25:13 2002
66.177.80.81

danke!

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

John Manrho
Pilot accomodations
Wed Mar 6 20:49:35 2002
213.153.43.87

Late war (1944/1945) it was not unusual to billet pilots in private addresses considerable distance (up to >5 km) from the airfield to prevent them being hurt in airfield (strafing) attacks. Sometimes they were treated as sons of the family.

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

dire
Re: Luftwaffe Airfields
Wed Mar 6 20:48:43 2002
217.86.170.34

Your question is just simply too general to be answered in detail. It all depends on the situation the crews were in. Dad belonged to II./TG.1 in 1943-44. When they were still in northern France for training with 1st Airborne Division, of course, they were accomodated in solid or wooden quarters. When moved to southern France in the summer of 1943 (Avignon area) they would spend their nights in tents.

When orders came for airborne mission over Sicily in the summer of 1943 they all of sudden were moved to Naples where they used to spend the nights under the wings of their aircraft. In his field letter dad writes, "Thank God, it's not this cold down here..." Much later the Squadron's equipment got transferred from their home base in southern France to Italy. This was when the unit's tents finally arrived. Unfortunately the crews didn't have enough time to really enjoy this "luxery". By the time they got their tents - BTW "Made in England" - they got orders for transferring the 2nd Airborne Division from southern France to Rome which meant they spent their night "on the road" again. After more than half a year he happened to see a bed again - he had to be hospitalized. In his field letter dad gives full description of what a BED looks like... amazing.

Regards,
dire