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Q for former USAFE personel regarding TAB-VEEs


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I'm researching the TAB-VEE shelters on European air bases, and saw something interesting in Google Earth. For each group of say 15 standard 100' shelters, there is one 150' version. Some examples:

 

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ramstein+Air+Base/@49.4256957,7.5689107,263m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x479674d1b564a3b7:0x8ab9f92dc7234016!8m2!3d49.440024!4d7.5972524

 

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Spangdahlem,+Germany/@49.9826508,6.6934991,368m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x47bfd026f428e44b:0x422d4d510db0d70!8m2!3d49.985679!4d6.684338

 

What was the purpose of these longer shelters?

 

Rob

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My guess. Was stationed at Spang many eons ago.  The Weapons Release Shop, Munitions Control, and Maintenance Supervisor's Office were located in "office space" in an lengthened Tab Vee.  This functional area provided hardened and thus "survivable" space for such facilities. Other lengthened shelters probably also contained "hardened office space" for aircraft maintenance/security functions requiring such space while still allowing aircraft to be parked inside. 

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Thanks AFammo65 and JMB! That makes a lot of sense. Do you possibly remember how they solved the exhaust gas problem? In standard-length shelters there's always an exhaust opening at the rear. That seems difficult or impossible here.

 

Rob

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If I remember correctly, there was no jet assigned to the arch. It was parts and allot of age equipment in there.........I was on 008 at the time and i was assigned three archs down from that.

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3 hours ago, JMB said:

If I remember correctly, there was no jet assigned to the arch. It was parts and allot of age equipment in there.........I was on 008 at the time and i was assigned three archs down from that.

 

Can you still find your shelter on Google Earth? There has been a lot of reconstruction and demolition since it was turned into a business area. In the stand-alone version of Google Earth I can go back to 2009, and I count 66 shelters / shelters being demolished / demolished shelters. But maybe there were more, I see some empty spots that suggest to be former shelter sites.

 

Rob

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The "maintenance" arch was    49DEG 57'18.90" N

                                                       6DEG 34'24.80" E

 

My arch was     49DEG 57'14.10" N

                            6DEG  34'19.50" E

 

I never really thought about it being "bigger" than the other archs. On the ground I didn't pay much attention to it. I'm just saying that arch had no aircraft assigned and was what it was.

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