On the location of this farm a 42 meter high observation tower, the Haustenbecker Turm, would be build in 1940. When the first settlers arrived it was still called das neue Lippische dorf – only later was it renamed “Haustenbeck”. On this spot near the Haustenbach, Adolf founded a new settlement. He built a dam by which the small Haustenbach valley could be passed, offering travellers a shortened route through the Senne. The owner of area, Count Hermann Adolf of Lippe-Detmold, implemented some changes such that he could profit from his land.īy reassessing the property boundaries, he pre-empted third party claims to land and by opening up the area he could collect toll from travellers. It was regarded as a no man’s land and used as a “backyard” by the surrounding towns. Enclosed between the places Bielefeld and Gütersloh in the northwest and Detmold and Paderborn in the southeast are the vast drifting sand and heathlands of the Senne. Panzerversuchsstation 96 at Kampmeiers Stätteįor the origin of Haustenbeck we have to go back to the year 1659.I am particularly indebted to Ludwig Teichmann who kindly answered my questions and contributed a lot of information.įeatured image: Panther, Jagdtiger and two King tigers at Haustenbeck. I would like to thank Wolfgang Schneider and “Captain Nemo” for their help in obtaining source material for this article. Upcoming articles will deal with testing activities and vehicles involved in more detail. The first part will mainly focus on the history and facilities of the proving ground.
In this multipart series I will take you on my quest for the history of Henschel’s test site in Haustenbeck which hopefully will lead us to some answers to the questions above. But what actually happened in Haustenbeck, why exactly did Henschel settle here? And how did the E-100 and Grille 17 end up in Haustenbeck at all? Many of the vehicles were sent to the UK for further evaluation. Therefore activities on the site continued after the war under Allied supervision. Henschel’s test site near Haustenbeck was one of a kind and deemed invaluable by the Allies after its capture. Not only were the heavy Tiger tanks tested here by Henschel, but this was also the place where the super-heavy E-100 and Grille 17 prototypes were found.
The name “Haustenbeck” will ring a bell with many a tank fanatic.