The air field is especially fenced in and contains the movement area, aprons and hangars as well as facilities for operating the airfield (radar, tower and point obstruction lights).

[3] However, aviation around Celle did not assume any serious forms until the Imperial Navy decided to choose the location for the construction of an airfield in order to enable intermediate stops for flights between Wilhelmshaven and Kiel.

The airfield was opened on 3 October 1918 and used extensively until the end of the World War I in November of the same year when news, spread by pilots, of the sailors' revolt and the beginning of the German Revolution reached Celle.

[3][6] After exhaustive construction works, during which the boggy terrain was drained by creating several ditches, the flying school entered service in 1934.

The Luftwaffe was officially declared as being the occupant of the air base and its employees revealed themselves as being members of the armed forces by openly wearing uniforms.

[6] At the beginning of World War II the training school was relocated to Leipzig and Celle Air Base was used by varying units, none of which were stationed there for any long period of time.

[6] Although some production facilities for the Junkers Ju 88 were placed in Hangar V, Celle Air Base played only a secondary role during World War II.

[6] Contemporary witnesses reported an American fighter plane attacking Hangar V in 1944 until the anti-aircraft fire forced the pilot to abandon his aircraft.

USAF 317th Troop Carrier Group equipped with Douglas C-54 Skymaster were stationed on the air base at the end of 1948 and transported mostly coal to Berlin.

In order to cope with the enormous traffic the airfield was extended, receiving an unusually long (about 300 metres) rail siding and, for the first time, a runway with an asphalt surface.

[2] After the end of the Cold War Celle Air Base's ability for instrument flights was removed and the emergency landing strips on the motorways were abandoned.

[15] Following the removal of ILS as well as approach radar and the corresponding reduction within the ATC unit, the German Air Force finally left the base.

During the North Sea flood of 1962 evacuation and supply flights particularly in Hamburg and its surrounding areas were performed using the Sikorsky H-34 of the Heeresfliegertransportstaffel 823 (Army Aviation Transport Squadron 823).

Two of the wrecked railway carriages, parts of the rails and all relevant bogies were stored in an empty hangar at Celle Air Base until the investigation into the cause of the accident was completed.

[1] Celle Air Base is mainly used as a training airfield for prospective helicopter pilots and therefore part of the German Army Aviation School whose headquarters is in Bückeburg.

In case of aviation accidents or emergency situations Celle Air Base Fire Services are responsible for coordinating and instigating the initial actions on the airfield and its immediate surroundings.

The garrisons are administrated by a civilian force which is responsible for the facilities by ensuring technical standards, the general maintenance of the area and its buildings, and putting the base at the disposal of the military.

They are part of the "psychosocial network of help" in cases of flight accidents and other incidents causing possible psychological trauma to the personnel involved.

[1] It works in close contact with the NCO for Reservist Liaisons and offers regular events for its members and publishes a biannual newsletter.

Regardless of their previous driving qualifications members of the German armed forces need an additional driver's licence before being allowed to use a military vehicle.

Until the 1980s, members of the aristocracy, particularly of British provenience, as well as other persons of the public life[34] used the possibility to land on a military airfield where journalists and photographers have no access.

Nearly all of the younger generation of the German armed forces' helicopter pilots have at some stage during their training passed through Celle Air Base.

Due to the role of Army Aviation Maintenance Squadron 100 helicopter units from all over Germany head for Celle Air Base.

The first complaints about aircraft noise were published in the local newspapers shortly after the German Army Aviation Corps took control of the air base.

[45] The complaints reached a climax in 1965 when plans were made public to have a second runway, leading from the northeast to the southwest, built at Celle Air Base and to have a wing of strike fighters stationed at the airfield.

[43] Following German reunification Army Aviation Regiment 16 equipped with helicopters of the type Bölkow Bo-105 remained the only flying unit at Celle.

The disbandment of this regiment in 2002 and the subsequent establishment of the helicopter training school from 2003 onwards resulted in a significant increase in air traffic and brought the issue of noise pollution back on the agenda.

When helicopters of the type Bell UH-1D were relocated to Celle Air Base in the spring of 2005 it caused additional protest by the population living in the vicinity of the airfield.

They have, however, the effect that flight movements are now channelled along the remaining routes permitted leading to an increase of noise and of annoyance to the population affected.

[54] Celle Air Base is mentioned in Frederick Forsyth's 1975 novella The Shepherd, as the point of departure of the pilot flying home to England from Germany at Christmas 1957.