Esch-sur-Alzette airport
| Esch-sur-Alzette airport | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Characteristics | |
| Coordinates | |
| Height above MSL | 288 m (945 ft ) |
| Transport links | |
| Distance from the city center | 0 km from Esch an der Alzette |
| Street | A4 |
| Basic data | |
| opening | 1937 |
| closure | 1954 |
| operator | Société anonyme pour l'aménagement et l'exploitation de l'aérodrome d'Esch-sur-Alzette |
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The airport Esch-sur-Alzette ( lux. : Curse port Esch-Uelzecht ) was founded in 1937 and until 1954 in operation. It was located where the Lankelzerweier used to be . Today the Cinquantenaire housing estate is located there . This airport was the first official airport in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg .
history
In 1928, the Luxembourg aviation pioneer Lou Hemmer saw a large meadow on the northern border of the city of Esch-sur-Alzette as suitable for flight purposes. In 1929 the association: Escher Aéro-Club (ACE) was founded. On May 12, 1929 ( Easter Sunday ), a first flight meeting was held in the presence of thousands of people. A second flight meeting took place here on September 28, 1930. From that year until 1935, the Escher Aéro Club organized a flight meeting every year.
On October 6, 1935, during such a flight meeting in Esch-sur-Alzette, the French pilot Dr. Feuillade from the Aéro-Club Verdun and his companion fatal. The day before, Escher René Wolff, a pilot in the Belgian army , had a fatal accident. As a result of these accidents, the Escher Aéro-Club ceased its activities a few months later.
On April 3, 1936, the Aéro-Club du Bassin Minier (ACBM) was founded, which contributed significantly to the development and expansion of the airfield / airport Esch-sur-Alzette. An airline was also established, the Société anonyme pour l'aménagement et l'exploitation de l'aérodrome d'Esch-sur-Alzette . Guillaume Theves was president of both organizations . With the help of the municipality and private initiatives of some Escher citizens, the airfield was expanded into an airport . An air terminal measuring approximately 24 × 14 meters was also built.
The official opening of this airport took place on September 26, 1937. The inauguration was carried out by Mayor Hubert Clement. Grand Duchess Charlotte and Prince Felix had taken on the protection of honor.
Escher Airport was first used for sporting and tourist purposes. The first commercial airline Croydon - Esch - Croydon was operated by the private English airline Olley-Air-Service ( Croydon Airport was in the London Borough of Croydon from 1920 to 1959 ). The first trial landing of an aircraft of this airline took place on April 1, 1938 after a two-hour delay due to fog with a stopover at Haren Airport in Brussels (this airport was used as a civil and military airport from 1914 to 1949). The actual liner service began on May 6, 1938 and was carried out twice a week until September 1939 with the De Havilland Dragon Rapide biplane The Luxembourg Listener (aircraft registration : G-AEPE ) . In addition to passengers, the main user of the airline was Radio Luxemburg (today: RTL - Germany's Hit Radio ).
On May 26, 1938, the inauguration of the ACBM clubhouse was combined with a flight festival . On July 3, 1938, a flight meeting of military medics took place in Esch as part of an international congress of military medical personnel in Luxembourg.
On September 2, 1939, flight operations were suspended by a grand ducal decree and flying over the country was prohibited. This decision was not overturned until September 17, 1945, when the US Army's Esch-sur-Alzette airport served as the basis for repairing their Piper-Cub aircraft .
The Aéro-Club du Bassin Minier (ACBM) made several attempts shortly after the Second World War to be able to resume its activities. A Piper Cub (license number: LX-MAI ) was bought for 85,000 francs . On July 27, 1945 the Aéro-Club de la Vallée de Kayl adopted a new statute and gave itself a new name: Club de Vol à Voile du Luxembourg asbl . The headquarters of this association was in Esch-sur-Alzette. Several club members bought confiscated flight material from the National Socialist Aviation Corps (NSFK) from the administration and donated it to the club. On July 20, 1946, the association resumed its activities at Esch-sur-Alzette Airport.
In 1947, the pilot Jeanny Erfkemper had an accident and died on May 9 of the consequences of the aircraft accident.
A Piper Cub aircraft (license plate: LX-REX ) was purchased by the United States Army to tow gliders into the air. Flight operations at Esch-sur-Alzette airport continued until 1954. Then the airfield was finally closed because there was no longer any need due to the expansion of Luxembourg Airport in Findel . The clubhouse was taken over by the city of Esch-sur-Alzette and used for a preschool. In 1972 the building was demolished and in 1975 a new building called École de l'Aérodrome (German: Airfield School ) was built.
Memorial stone and memory
In addition to the pre-school, a street in Esch-sur-Alzette in the Lankelz district, the Rue de l'aérodrome, was named after the airport .
On May 25, 1984, on the occasion of the inauguration of the Musée de l'Aérodrome, the then Mayor Jos Brebsom inaugurated a large memorial stone with the inscription Aérodrome d'Esch / Alzette 1937-1954 , which is located in the Rue de l'aérodrome not far from the preschool. On this occasion, eight Luxembourg aviation pioneers received the gold medal from the city of Esch: Albertine Nicolay, René Bourkel, Pierre Hamer, Lou Hemmer, Henri Kraemer, Marcel Pesch, Alfred Reckinger and Fred Welter.
literature
- M. Reichling, A. Kemp, R. Kuhn (Asbl AAMI): Escher Aerodrom 1937–1954 , 2003, Éditions Le Phare, ISBN 2-87964-063-6
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Aviation au Luxembourg (accessed on September 22, 2019)
- ↑ Brochure from the city of Esch-sur-Alzette: Inauguration du Musée de l'Aérodrome d'Esch-sur-Alzette from May 25, 1984.
