Waldau / Lohfelden Germany, and Waldau Kaserne




Waldau Kaserne




Large parts of today's commercial zone of the municipality Lohfelden, Kassel industrial Park, are located on the former premises of the company Fieseler (Plant II). The Kassel - Fieseler werks were one of the main armament firms in the the city of Kassel. The production capacity of the plant in Bettenhausen and the Kassel - Fieseler werkes plant II was not sufficient, so a new site at the airport Kassel-Waldau, the Fieseler Werk III, was built up. Fieseler also operated a factory on Rothwesten Kaserne, (Fritz-Erler-Kaserne) where the V1 flying bomb (Buzz Bomb) was built from 1944 to April 1945.

Since the start of series production in the late '30s there was not enough suitable workers in the Kassel area. The company advertised for this reason workers in the entire Reich. To supply these workers with housing more settlements sprang up, including and also between Ochshausen Crumbach. So, from a merger the two old places, the new site "Lohfelden" was formed.



This is one of the areas built for workers at the factories.

List of some aircraft that were produced under license in Fieseler include:

Fieseler Fi 2 Sport Aircraft (pre ww2)
Fieseler Fi 5 Sports and trainer (pre ww2)
Fieseler Fi 98, fighter aircraft, biplane (pre ww2)
Fieseler Fi 167 torpedo bomber, reconnaissance (early ww2)
Fieseler Fi 156 (Fieseler Storch) STOL, reconnaissance (1936-1943)
Messerschmitt Bf 109
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 (start 1943)
Fieseler Fi-103, the V1 flying bomb (Buzz Bomb) (1944-1945)

At times, more than 10,000 working men and women, including thousands were Dutch and French slave laborers who worked in the three works Fieseler Kassel. The Forced Labor Workers at Fieseler Waldau had sleeping quarters under one of the buildings.

The large orchard in the modern Industrial Park, was held over from the one created in the late 1930s.

Waldau Airfield was first used in 1918, and had it's first building in 1924 by enterprise-Dietrich-Gobit. The Fieseler works begin in 1936, and the building that was Gerhard Fieseler Werke III at Waldau Airfield, is still there, but the airfield is no longer there. It is part of the Industrial Park, and is at the intersection of Gobietstraße and Falderbaumstraße in the Waldau area.




This is the Gerhard Fieseler Werke III at the air field taken during WWII



Another View






View of Fieseler Werke III area after a air strike.
It looks like most missed by about 75 meters.







These are early WW2 pictures of Waldau when it was owned by Gerhard Fieseler Werke.
(History at bottom of page)





kassel Ordnance Shop (1950), where the 7843rd Ord Company worked.
The area at the top of the picture is the Kassel/Waldau Airfield.
The area to the top right is the village of Waldau




The Airfield in 1956





This is where the QM unit at the entrance was located,
taken from inside Waldau Kaserne in 1956




A couple of Tanks at the Kassel Rebuild Shop in Waldau in 1955



This was the Telephone Switchboard building, then In the 60s,
it was the Trailer Transfer Office, and had the Teletype in it.



Waldau Kaserne, where the Motor Pools and Commissary were located
These units were there in the 1960s

In the years shortly after the War, Waldau was used mainly as a Rebuild Facility, run by the 7843rd Ord Company, and German Civilians doing much of the repairs. The large building to the left (1) was used to park there lowboy trailers and trucks, the building shown as the Commissary (3) was a motor pool repair building, and the large building to the right (6) was the Rebuild Shop. The small building in the center was the 7843rd Barracks, Mess Hall, Day Room, etc. The 7843rd Orderly Room was in building (4), while number (2) was the telephone switchboard building. There was a unexploded bomb in #2, that went through the roof and floor, that was barricaded off, and left in place.

(Information provided by Bill Conatser, 7843rd 1948-1950)




Inside Waldau Mess Hall

There was a large number of Army and Air Force people working at Waldau Kaserne and Waldau Airfield between 1945 and 1955. There was limited barracks at Waldau, and none at the small Waldau Airfield, so many of the people worked at Waldau, and lived in Kassel in a place called the Glass House. The Glass House was a old laddies home before the War, and converted to Family housing and barracks from 1945 through the mid 50s. The guys were transported between here and Waldau daily. Today the Glass House is used as a Retirment Home again. This is located just behind where the MP Station was located in Kassel.


The Glass House in 2010





Below are some pictures from 1963-1966 on Waldau
sent by Jack Hurley, 547th Ordnance Co.

    



    



    



    



    






More Pictures


This was taken in April 1969 when the US returned Waldau to Germany

Details here

This is the Bunker that still remains. It is located at the red * above





This is a Sat View of Waldau Kasern 2009.
The red * is the Bunker location.
This area is part of the expanding Kassel Industrial Park.



The below building is the same as the one above that
is marked Motor Pool, and the picture above that as #1.


Click to view a much larger view
(Scroll left and right to view full picture)


This is the building that was a hanger for aircfaft assembly during WW2, was Kassel Ord Shop in the 50s, and became the motor pool for the 70th, 77th, and 598th Trans Company's in the 60s.





This Building was at the other end of the kaserne,
and was used by the 547th Ordnance Company




Another View of the above building




This is the entrance area 2009, same place as before.




This is what remains of the wall that surrounded Waldau Kaserne, (Fieseler Werke #2)
It is located at the red * in the below picture.



Recent picture of Waldau as seen by a low flying air plane




This is the Fieseler Office Complex in Bettenhausen, near Waldau in 2011




List of Kasernes in the Kassel area from the end of the War, till the mid 70s

o Caserne de Gete (BE)
o Rothwesten Kaserne 1946-1973(USA)
o Waldau Kaserne 1946-1970 (USA)
o Wilson Barracks 1953-1955 (USA)
o Fritzlar Kaserne (Fritzlar) (USA)
o Gaffey Barracks (USA)
o Lloyd Barracks (USA)
o Luettich Kaserne (USA)
o Wittich Kaserne (USA)



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Fieseler Aircraft Factories in Waldau

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