[Larry deZeng]

Here is a more complete overview of the airfield. I have incorporated the additional information kindly provided by Rod into the 21 March 1945 entry. As you can see, the Me 262s destroyed on 21 March were almost certainly from KG 51 and the Bf 109s from II./JG 27.

Hopsten (GER) (52 20 40 N – 07 32 30 E) (AFHRA, 1)
General: airfield (Fliegerhorst) 36 km WNW of Osnabrück in North Rhine – Westphalia and 10.5 km NE of Rheine; airfield 5.7 km SW of the village of Hopsten.
History: construction began in 1938 and was completed in 1939 and placed in service on 25 Oct 39. From then to early 1944, Hopsten was used only sporadically and for short periods of time by operational units. During that time the station was expanded with the construction of barrack blocks, taxiways and parking areas for aircraft. Air defense fighter units began using Hopsten in late March 1944 followed some time later by a bomber unit equipped with Me 262 jets.
Dimensions: a very large airfield of irregular shape.
Surface and Runways: grass on artificially drained sandy soil. Had 3 concrete runways built in 1938-39 measuring 1,800, 1,000 and 1,000 meters. The main 1,800 meter runway was extended to 3,000 meters during 1943-44. Entire area encircled by a perimeter track. Equipped for night landings using a visual Lorenz system aligned on the long E/W runway.
Fuel and Ammunition: refueling points at the ladder-type servicing hardstands along the N and S runway boundaries and the munitions dump was off the SE corner and was served by a branch railway.
Infrastructure: there was 1 large hangar and a number of workshop buildings hidden in a small woods off the N boundary. Station buildings and barracks were along the roadside just W of the hangar and workshops.
Dispersal: 2 areas – South dispersal with approx. 12 hardstands and a remote Southeast dispersal built in 1944 with at least 29 hardstands and blast bays that was located 5 km E of the original South dispersal.
Defenses: extraordinary antiaircraft defenses from summer 1944 – some 500 Flak guns were positioned around the airfield, according to German sources. In retrospect, this seems like far too many and may have been a typo in the German document for the number “50.”
Satellites and Decoys: none noted.
Remarks: despite bombings, Hopsten remained serviceable to the end thanks to the quick repair of cratered runways, widely dispersed aircraft parking areas and heavily camouflaged infrastructure.
8 Mar 44: low-level attack – 2 x Fw 190As from I./JG 1 destroyed or damaged.
15 Aug 44: bombed by 10 B-24 Liberators – no information regarding results.
26 Nov 44: low-level attack – 1 x Bf 109G from II./JG 27 destroyed.
21 Mar 45: bombed by 159 B-17 Fortresses and strafed by VIII Fighter Command P-51s – fighters claimed 6 x Fw 190s destroyed. According to the German report, a total of 2 x Me 262s and 3 x Bf 109s were destroyed; Runways 1 and 2 unserviceable, and Runway 3 destroyed; landing area heavily cratered; workshops destroyed; 27 KIA and 15 WIA.
24 Mar 45: bombed by 62 B-17s – no information regarding results.
6 Apr 45: taken by British troops after the retreating Luftwaffe personnel demolished and rendered unusable the runways and infrastructure.
Operational Units: I./JG 21 (Nov-Dec 39); III./JG 3 (Apr-May 40); 10./JG 2 (May-Jun 40); I./JG 1 (Mar-Apr 44); Stab, I./KG 51 (Sep 44 – Mar 45); II./KG 51 (Nov-Dec 44); II./JG 27 (Nov 44 – Mar 45); 6./KG 76 (Feb-Mar 45).
School Units: Arbeitsplatz for FFS A/B 33 (Quakenbrück) (1941-42).
Station Commands: Fl.H.Kdtr. E Hopsten (1939-40); Fl.H.Kdtr. E 4/VI (1940); Fl.H.Kdtr. E(v) 208/XI (c.Nov 44 – Apr 45).
Station Units (on various dates – not complete): E-Hafen-Ausrüstungs-Kolonne (mot) 12/VI (Dreierwalde); Flieger-Ers.Btl. V (1942).
[Sources: AFHRA A5257A pp.287-90 (9 Dec 44); chronologies; BA-MA; NARA; PRO/NA]

L.