 Combat units arrived on 20 April when the P-47 Thunderbolt-equipped 50th Fighter Group began using the airfield, and the 417th Night Fighter Squadron arrived for night fighter defensive interceptor missions against any rogue Luftwaffe aircraft still in the skies.With the end of combat in Germany on 7 May, the combat units were withdrawn and Giebelstadt became a garrison for the Army of Occupation, designated Army Air Force Station Giebelstadt.Repairing the damage to the airfield and the support area was performed, in large part, by German Prisoners of War, into 1946 and turning the airfield into a usable, long-term facility to be used by the Air Force.