Airport L.

On the second day of our summer vacation, my wife and I didn't want to drive too far because of the long ride south the day before, so we had decided on two possible locations that were not too far away.
The first one was an abandoned airport about which we knew there wouldn't be too much to look at if there was any chance at all at getting in.
The old airport lies pretty much right next to the new airport. There is no runway left of the old one, only the pilots hall and the tower along with the terminal building remain. The area is surrounded by logistics and service companies for the new airport, so there is a lot of traffic around the old buildings.
The good thing was that there was a public parking lot right next to the fence surrounding the area of the old airport. We parked right in front of the hole in the fence, and I went in for a quick peek.
The buildings are locked tightly and are obviously being used for storage by various companies in the area.
So this was no real success, although I got a couple of outside shots anyway.


To find out more about the history of this airport and to check out all photos from this interesting place, click the button below!

Post-War Separation - The Abandoned Airfield (Part 3)

During World War II, a lot of different fighter suqadrons as well as administrative offices and training units were stationed here.
In April of 1945, the last units left the airfield before it was taken by U.S. forces on May 1, 1945.
On July 1, 1945, the Americans gave control over the airport to the Red Army.
Soviet soldiers moved into the barracks of the airfield.
The area was seperated into a military and an industrial part, the landing strip became farming ground and the technical facilites were used for industrial production and storage.
After the cold war had ended in 1991, the last Soviet units (an anti-aircraft missile regiment) left the remaining military part of the airfield in 1993. Since then, most of the buildings have been demolished. What's left is exposed to the elements and gradually reclaimed by nature.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Home of the Stuka - The Abandoned Airfield (Part 2)

As I've said in the first post about the abandoned airfield, Fokker moved his production facilities to the Netherlands in 1919, and the airfield became quiet.
It was kept as an auxiliary airfield during the 1920s and then expanded to a larger airport in 1932.
In 1934, the still secret "Fighter Group S." was founded here which in April 1935 was renamed to "Sturzkampfgeschwader S." (Dive Bomber Squadron S.). Also in 1935, next to the airport, the facilities of the "Luftzeugamt S." (Aircraft Administration S.) were built, an agency that received aircraft from the factories for the installation of military equipment.
From here, the aircraft were delivered to operational units, schools or support units.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3