Storck Barracks/Illesheim Kaserne is a United States Army facility adjacent to Illesheim, Germany, located about 15 miles northwest of Ansbach (Bavaria), about 240 miles south-southwest of Berlin.
Storck Barracks is part of the United States Army Garrison (USAG) Franconia. It is named after Colonel Louis J. Storck, who served as Executive Officer for the 4th Armored Division, Commander of Combat Command A and the 37th Armor Regiment, and S-3 and Commander of the 704th Tank Destroyer Battalion in World War II. Colonel Storck was awarded the Silver Star posthumously for his gallantry in action near Raids, France from July 17 to 25, 1944.
It is the home of the 2nd Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, and the 3rd Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, both equipped with the Boeing AH-64 Apache; D Co 412th Aviation Support Battalion (all units part of the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade) and the 3rd of the 58th Airfield Operations Battalion (AOB). It has a commissary (to be closed in March 2016), gas station, and shoppette. It also has an elementary school and family housing.
History
Fliegerhorst Illesheim was built by the German Luftwaffe beginning in 1934, with construction completing in 1936. This construction was in conjunction with the Hohenfels Maneuver Training Area (MTA) and in violation of post World War I agreements.
In 1936, the airfield went into operation as a supply, maintenance and repair facility for the Luftwaffe. The Castle Berlichingen in Illesheim was used for the Headquarters. The same year the Bahnhof and the Post Office were built. Only one combat unit was assigned during the 1930s, Zerstörergeschwader 52 (ZG 52), during mid-1939 equipped with early-model Messerschmitt Bf 109Ds.
German use during World War II
With the breakout of World War II, two bomber units, Kampfgeschwader 76 (KG 76) and KG 51 were assigned briefly, KG 76 being transitioned at Illesheim from Dornier Do 17Z light bombers to Junkers Ju 88A mediums in 1940/41. KG 51 underwent transition training from the Ju 88 to the Messerschmitt Me 410 for 10 months during 1942 before being assigned to the Western Front.
In addition to the transition training, Illesheim served as a major supply Depot for German Wehrmacht forces in Sicily and Crete. Only about 20% of the material utilized by the Depot was kept on the airfield. For security reasons, the remainder was distributed throughout the surrounding villages.
In 1943, in response to the Allied air attacks on Germany, the base transitioned to a day/night interceptor airfield as part of the "Defense of the Reich" campaign by the Luftwaffe. For the next two years, a series of Bf 110, Me 410, Bf 109G, Fw 190A and Ju 88 units were assigned to Illesheim. Nachtjagdgeschwader 6 (NJG 6), a RADAR-equipped Bf 110 night interceptor unit, was credited with 200 confirmed Allied kills.
Between 1943 and 1944 Illesheim was only attacked twice, once along the railroad tracks and once on the airfield with two drone aircraft being destroyed as a result. In early April 1945, the last Luftwaffe unit, Zerstörergeschwader 101 (ZG 101), flying a mixture of Bf 110s and Ju 88s, left the airfield, taking with them everything that could be transported and burning the rest.
USAAF use
Illesheim Airfield was only lightly damaged during the war by Allied air attacks, and on 13 April 1945 elements of the United States Army 101st Cavalry Group moved into the village and airfield unopposed by the retreating Wehrmacht. The USAAF IX Engineering Command 819th and 831st Engineering Aviation Brigades moved in on 16 April 1945 to repair operational facilities and clear unexploded mines and other dangerous munitions from the field. On 17 April the airfield was declared operationally ready for transport use, being designated as Advanced Landing Ground "R-10 Illesheim".
C-47 Skytrain transports immediately began to use the airfield, flying in supplies for the advancing ground units, and evacuating casualties to rear areas. A week later, the Ninth Air Force 48th Fighter Group, equipped with P-47 Thunderbolts moved in, flying their last combat sorties of the war. On 3 May, the 48th was joined by the P-47-equipped 362d Fighter Group. By late April 1945, the German forces were in full retreat, and many units were beginning to surrender to the American forces. Illesheim Airfield was pressed into service as a Prisoner of War Camp to hold the German POWs, who were put to use repairing the buildings and cleaning up the area after the surrender.