Sembach Air Base

U-2 Crash of 17 September 1956 – Assorted Sources

Sembach's origins date back to 1919 when French occupation troops used the eastern part of the future flightline as a landing ground and erected some provisional buildings. After their withdrawal in 1930, these structures were removed and the airfield returned to agricultural use. In World War II, the field was once more considered as a flying station but these plans failed to materialize.

It wasn't until March 1951, that the site was chosen as an air base and surveying commenced the following month. A 7,880 ft runway (06/24) was laid in September 1951 and taxiways, aprons and dispersal loops were built until the end of that year. Shortly thereafter, control tower, hangars, and maintenance shops were completed. On 1 September 1951, US authorities officially took over the construction site from the French and named it Sembach Air Auxiliary Field. In spring 1953, the base's administrative portion was completed on a hilltop, a mile north of the airfield. On 5 April 1953, the 7355th ABS was assigned as base operating unit and ten days later the installation was renamed Sembach AB.

On 7 July 1953, the 66th TRW was reassigned from TAC to USAFE and its subordinate 66th ABG took control of the base. The next day, the wing's first aircraft arrived, RB-26s of the 30th TRS, followed by RF-80s and T-33s of the 302d and 303d TRSs. Air Rescue Service established a tenure at Sembach with the arrival of the 12th Air Rescue Group (ARG) and the subordinate 81st Air Rescue Service (ARS) on 25 September 1953. The 11th TMS, the first Matador missile squadron at Sembach, arrived on 1 July 1956. The 587th TMG activated on 15 September 1956 and became the 11th TMS's higher headquarters.

The 12th ARG wound down operations and inactivated on 18 February, 1958 followed by the 81st ARS within a month. By the end of August, the final elements of the 66th TRW had left Sembach for Laon AB, France.