Here we have a really nice Luftwaffe Officers Mess item, marked with O.H.K – for Offiziersheim Kaufbeuren. This was found in Ireland in 2024, likely a British Army bring back after WWII The Swastica and Luftwaffe Adler has taken some beating, although this could be polished out to some extent/restored as I have been told. The maker of this item is: Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik, in Geislingen and der Steige.  History of the area: In 1934, the city of Kaufbeuren sold the property on Apfeltrangerstraße to the German Reich. It was previously home to the “Tänzelhölzle,” a small wooded area with the Tänzelfest dance floor and labyrinth. Construction began in 1934, and the Reich Labor Service was among those involved. The first recruits were officially welcomed by Mayor Hans Wildung and other city dignitaries on October 29, 1935. The first permanent personnel of the newly established Kaufbeuren Aviation Training Center arrived at the facility on September 16, 1935. The first commander of an aviation replacement unit was Karl David (Karl Deinhardt from 1938 onward), who had been promoted to lieutenant colonel just a few weeks earlier. From October 1, 1936, the 25th Air Replacement Detachment was stationed there, which became the 23rd Air Replacement Detachment on November 1, 1938, both under Deinhardt’s command. On April 1, 1939, the 23rd Air Training Regiment was formed, consisting of the 1st Training Battalion of the 23rd Air Replacement Detachment and the Kaufbeuren Pilot Training School. International training was provided at Kaufbeuren Air Base during the pre-war period: in 1938, Spaniards and Romanians were stationed there, and in 1939, Bulgarians were still there for training. In addition to the training unit, an air base company was stationed at the air base for guarding, ground defense, anti-aircraft defense, and supplying the air forces. In November 1939, the air training unit and the pilot training school were relocated. The training battalion was relocated to Döberitz-Elsgrund, the pilot training school to Jüterbog-Damm, and a transport unit was stationed at the air base instead. From May 1940 until the end of the war, the pilot training school was stationed in Kaufbeuren again. The pilot training battalion returned to Kaufbeuren in June 1940 and was relocated to Belfort and Montbéliard in the summer of 1942. It was succeeded by a replacement battalion, which was responsible for replenishing the Afrika Korps’ material and personnel. At the same time, soldiers from the North African front came to Kaufbeuren for recuperation. From April to June 1942, Liaison Squadron 62, which had been disbanded in November 1941, was reorganized in Kaufbeuren and flew to the southern Russian front on June 14, 1942. From August to October 1944, III./KG 26 (III. Group of Kampfgeschwader 26) was stationed here. The air base was marked on Allied air force maps, but was only listed as a backup target throughout the war and, along with the town of Kaufbeuren, was spared major air raids. Air surveillance was controlled from the “Skihütte” in Oberbeuren, about one kilometer away. The air reporting and analysis center was located in the building, elevated on a slope. This center was designed to warn the air base crew of approaching enemy aircraft. In this case, the air base was evacuated, and the ski hut was used as the command post for the commanding officers. End of the War and Takeover by the US Air Force The pilot training school was officially disbanded on April 2, 1945, and a combat battalion was formed from the remaining soldiers. On the morning of April 27, 1945, the air base was completely evacuated. The American ground troops found the air base deserted but largely intact. After the Second World War, the Advanced Landing Ground (ALG R-70), as it was originally designated by the Allies after being occupied by the Americans, was used as “Kaufbeuren Air Base” by the United States Army Air Forces (from 1947 the United States Air Force). The facility was handed over to the Federal Republic of Germany on December 14, 1957, and continued to be used as an air base for the newly formed Bundeswehr.