During the Second World War, it was seized by the British Army on 7 April 1945, in a fierce battle by elements of the 5th Parachute Brigade, 6th Airborne Division.

The airfield features heavily in the book 13 - Lucky For Some, which is about the history of the 13th (Lancashire) Parachute Battalion.

As preparation for 40 Airbus A400M Atlas to be stationed at Wunstorf Air Base, the airbase underwent major expansion.

Races at the circuit were included in the German Touring Car Championship between 1984 and 1993,[10] one of several temporary airfield tracks on the DTM calendar at the time.

Besides the big-name national championships, Wunstorf hosted a series of annual club racing meetings until 1999, when motor racing on the airbase premises was finally halted due to the cost of preparation and administration for the events.