Frankfurt-Hahn Cold War Airport

摘要

Back in 1953, the first airfield in the Hunsrueck area of central Germany was built. In those days, Germany was divided into East and West by the so-called 'Iron Curtain', a product of the Cold War which dominated world politics in the years which followed World War Two. Sited roughly 185 miles (300km) west of the border which divided Germany, the new airfield -known as Hahn Air Base - held an important strategic location within the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's (NATO's) defence network. Over the next four decades. Hahn would develop into one of NATO's largest air force bases in Europe, housing a variety of military aircraft which culminated in the Lockheed F-16 Fighting Falcons of the United States Air Force's (USAF) 50th Tactical Fighter Wing, which maintained a high state of readiness against the perceived threat from the East.