1st Air Division, Eighth Air Force, unleashed 867 tons of bombs on the runways, hangars, repair shops, and other facilities. USAF use When the Allied Forces moved in to take possession of the field in late April, they found that Prisoners of War and townspeople had looted until they left a deserted installation. Fürstenfeldbruck was occupied by American forces and was at first was the home of a US Army engineering battalion. After some reconstruction, Fürstenfeldbruck became the Headquarters, UAAF/ET Replacement Depot (Provisional) in November 1945. Tens of thousands of fresh Army Air Force replacement troops from the Zone of the Interior (ZI), as the USA was referred to, arrived in trains from Le Havre and were housed in stone barracks for a week or so before being assigned to their final airbase or other destination, where they replaced veteran airmen who were redeployed home for discharge, also through the Replacement Depot. The offices and base personnel housing were excellent and included a fully equipped theater, natatorium (indoor swimming pool), mess hall, and 4-man bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, all housed in stone buildings rather than wooden barracks or tents. Several other USAAF units performed occupation duty at Fürstenfeldbruck: 70th Fighter Wing (28 July - 9 November 1945) 306th Bombardment Group (16 August - 13 September 1946) Assigned to the 128th Replacement Battalion, AAF/ET Replacement Depot. 45th Reconnaissance Group (April - June 1947) The 306th Bomb Group engaged in special photographic mapping duty in western Europe and North Africa. Its 34th Reconnaissance Squadron flew these missions with B-17s. This assignment was continued by the 160th Photographic Reconnaissance squadron of the 10th Recon Group flying F-5 (P-38) and F-6 (P-51) aircraft. During First Berlin Crisis, B-29-equipped 301st Bombardment Group was stationed at Fürstenfeldbruck for a short period in July/August 1948. The Replacement Depot functioned until August 1948, when USAFE decided to use Fürstenfeldbruck as an operational jet base. 36th Fighter-Bomber Wing On 13 August 1948 the 36th Fighter Wing was assigned to Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base as an operational unit. The unit was transferred to Germany from Howard Air Force Base, Canal Zone. When the wing arrived in Germany, it became the first USAFE unit to be jet-equipped with the Lockheed F-80A/B "Shooting Star". Active squadrons of the 36th FW were: 22d Fighter (F-80A/B, Red color band) 23d Fighter (F-80A/B, Blue color band) 53d Fighter (F-80A/B, Green color band) Markings of