Greven Airfield
The Greven Airfield task was the largest project undertaken by the Corps in West Germany over this period
and was a major, and at times daunting commitment for several units during 1968 and 1969. It began with an
unhappy start due in part, perhaps, to over-enthusiasm to get the project under way leading to bitter
Controversy over what might be involved. But nevertheless it was Completed on time.
In mid 1967 the German authorities approached the British Army to see whether assistance could be made
building an airfield to serve the Munster-Osnabruck-Reine area. An airstrip existed at Greven but the site,
which was otherwise heavily wooded, included one badly drained and swampy area and was within a
few hundred metres of an aqueduct on the Dortmund-Ems Canal which had been repeatedly bombed
during World War Two and where the presence of unexploded bombs was suspected. By March
1968 agreement had been reached with the Munster-Osnabrück Flughagen Gmbh, through Landkreis Münster,
that the British Army would clear and level an area 2120 metres long between 400 and 500 metres wide and
produce a base of clean sand 1520 metres long and 50 metres wide, for a runway to be used by aircraft
of Trident and BAG 111 size. In the event this necessitated an extensive earthmoving task amounting in total
to some half a million cubic metres of soil.
Work began in earnest in April 1968. Overall responsibility for the Royal Engineer element of the project
rested with GRE 2 Division (Lieut Colonel B S Read); 16 Field Squadron (initially Major D A Richards,
subsequently Major R B Hill) provided the project control office; and units from all over BAOR
(but particularly 43 Field Support Squadron) provided manpower and plant, amounting to about 100
machines in all. There were a number of constraints. Not all the land was acquired until some time after
the project had started; the existing airstrip was to remain in use; a major change in the amount of slope
in one area had to be accommodated in order to meet internal air traffic regulations; and as the project
proceeded the project team found that they had to design certain aspects themselves because of sketchy
initial planning. Despite many problems the project was nonetheless completed on 30 June 1969, within a
few days of the planned date.
Many lessons were learned as a result of this ambitious effort, not the least being the fearful penalties
incurred when major tasks are undertaken without adequate initial reconnaissance, planning and coordination
between all concerned; omissions which in this case were responsible for the loss of his command by
a senior officer in the Corps. Technically, however, the project was full of interest and incorporated
many novel features including the need for a new method of working out mass haul calculations
(because of the breadth of the site), the use of sand as a base as recommended locally and the infillinq,
rather than draining of a swamp.
One useful by-product of the Greven project was a trial to establish the effectiveness of German forests as obstacles to
tanks. It was not often that a mature forest became available in is way and full opportunity was taken to drive tanks through it .Before clearing the area for the runway. As a result of the trial a useful formula was derived to assist with operational planning.
THIS IS NOW MUNSTER-OSNABRUCK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
COPYRIGHT A HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ENGINEERS VOLUME 11 1960-1980
A GROUP OF THE GREVEN LADS
CLICK ON AN IMAGE TO ENLARGE
PICTURES SUPPLIED BY JOHN CHARLTON, DON LINE & PAUL EMSON
