Seek and Strike - RAF Brüggen in War and Peace is an anecdotal history
of the largest RAF station in Germany. Optimized for a new breed of
aircraft, and to NATO requirements, this huge airfield was cut out of
the Elmpt Forest, on the German border with Holland, and completed in
one year to become operational in 1953. First occupied by a fighter wing
equipped with Vampires, Sabres and Hunters, its 'Seek and Strike' motif
took on real meaning when the station re-equipped with strike, attack
and reconnaissance Canberras, followed by strike/attack Phantoms,
Jaguars and finally Tornados.
RAF Brüggen was at the forefront of the Cold War, during which
innovation and determination brought it many accolades. It further
distinguished itself in the Gulf War and continued to play its part in
subsequent monitoring operations in that theater; it was also the only
Tornado Wing to operate directly from its home base during the Kosovo
campaign.
This is the story of a station at war, of the men and women at the sharp
end and in support. At work and play, it was they who made Brüggen what
it was, excelling in all things and justifying a claim to have been RAF
Germany's 'jewel in the crown'. With its closure in 2001, the RAF
relinquished its last main operating base outside the UK. Brüggen was
indeed 'last and best'.
