In early 1951, I was sent on TDY with 8 other guys to Coburg to set up a site. Not sure of the sequence of these events, but we stayed in tents for a short time, stayed in the Kaserne with the Constabulary Unit until the base commander got rid of us. The nine men were commanded by a NCO, usually a Staff or a Tech Sgt whose MOS allowed him to fill in on a trick. Duties were scheduled around the clock with three shifts, 7 to 3, 3 to 11 and 11 to 7. Two men to a trick, you worked three days on, one day off, three days on, one day off, three days on and three days off. This was the work rotation and every three days a different shift. The site and a mobile 399 transmitter with two gasoline's powered units situated on a small airstrip. Duties were to monitor and triangulate Russian military units. While at this site, an old German Fokker Observation plane flew over us and landed on our site. It was East German and stolen from some airfield in Czechoslovkia by these two couples. I was on duty at the time and I went over to see these four people, who crammed into this plane that was the size of a J-3 Piper Cub. Intel guys came and took them away and a week later a Russian Major and a pilot came and flew the plane back. This site was visited a lot by operations but only because of the sights and quarters. This site was eventually taken over by the 116th /332nd. Len Bittner 114/331
From: jim clinton <asa1sg@optonline.net>
To: Dean Slagel <gdslagle@hotmail.com>
Subject: Your website
Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2000 08:39:50 -0700
Dean,
Was just reviewing your website. I would suggest some modification of the Coburg and Hof sites contributed by Len Bittner.
The 116th/332 did not "take over" the Coburg site, it would be more accurate to state that we occupied the site June&July 1951, and again in the spring of 1953 until Dec '53/Jan54 when they moved to Bamberg. In both cases we were camped out on the flugplatz for the first month, then moved down to the kaserne.
In the spring of 1952, the 116th/332d moved from Heilbronn up to Hof and stayed until about Nov then moved back to Badnerhof Kaserne in Heilbronn where we had settled in October of '51 after camping out in Herzo, Coburg, and Baumholder.