Kamenz Airfield

Kamenz Airfield
Characteristics
ICAO code	EDCM
Coordinates	51 ° 17 '47 "  N , 14 ° 7' 44"  E Coordinates: 51 ° 17 '47 "  N , 14 ° 7' 44"  E
Height above MSL	151 m (495  ft )
Transport links
Distance from the city center	2.5 km northeast of Kamenz
Basic data
opening	1918
operator	Fliegerclub Kamenz eV
Runways
03/21	1100 m × 28 m concrete
03/21	1100 m × 40 m grass

The airfield Kamenz is an airfield in Kamenz . It is located approx. 2.5 km northeast of the city center of Kamenz. There are two lanes available, one of which is concreted and equipped with a lighting system.

history

The Kamenz airfield has a military past . On September 11, 1916, the construction of a pilot station was approved by the Saxon king . On July 20, 1918, the branch pilot school of Flieger Ersatzabteilung 12 (FEA 12) Cottbus began flight operations for the purpose of training officers . After the end of the First World War , according to the Versailles treaty provisions , the aviation station was closed on May 15, 1919, and the aeronautical systems were dismantled by February 15, 1921.

After the site had not been used by the Lausitzer Flugverein for a longer period of time, with the exception of a flight day on July 31, 1927, the old shipyard building served as a base for the Reichs-Segelflug-Bauschule 3 from 1935 to 1939 . Kamenz Airfield was rebuilt for the Air Force from 1937 to 1939 . The Luftkriegsschule 1 (LKS 1) became the user . 1941 built Weser Flugzeugbau GmbH a branch factory, the dive bombers of the type Ju 87 produced, which were also flown in place. From February to April 1945, Bautzen was occupied by the front airfield and by various air force units, including parts of the SG 2 and SG 77 battle squadrons . The following table shows a list of selected active flying units (excluding school and supplementary units) of the Air Force that were stationed here between 1939 and 1945.

From	To	unit	equipment
March 1939	March 1939	III./LG 1 ( III.Group of Lehrgeschwader 1)	Heinkel He 111H
February 1945	February 1945	I./SG 77 (I. Gruppe des Schlachtgeschwader 77)	Focke-Wulf Fw 190F
February 1945	March 1945	III./SG 2	Junkers Ju 87 , Focke-Wulf Fw 190
April 1945	April 1945	III./SG 77	Focke-Wulf Fw 190F

On April 26, 1945, the Red Army occupied the airfield. After the end of the war, the remaining halls and facilities were blown up by members of the Soviet army until 1948.

Apron and hangars

During the GDR era, the air barracked People's Police took over the airfield in 1952 and used it to train pilots on Jak-18 and Jak-11 . The airfield was later used by the NVA , which from 1954 stationed the aircraft repair workshop 24 (FRW-24) and from 1972 the transport pilot training squadron 45 (TAS-45) of the NVA air force officers' college for military pilots . Until 1990, aircraft of the types Jak-18, An-2 , An-14 , L-410 and Z-43 were serviced in Kamenz .

Tower

After the fall of the Wall , the handover for civil use took place. On June 11, 1991, the Federal Property Office took over the site. Flugplatz Kamenz GmbH operated the airfield for years. The district of Kamenz holds 40 percent and the city of Kamenz 60 percent. Despite the great importance of airfields for the regional economy, operation in sparsely populated areas is often difficult. Commercial management is often unprofitable and the municipalities usually cannot compensate for the deficits.

Following a tender , the Fliegerclub Kamenz eV took over the operation on October 1st, 2004. Flugplatz Kamenz GmbH is the owner of the property. Accordingly, the company was entered in the land register on September 21, 2004.

From 1918 to 1991 the airfield was connected to the Kamenz – Kamenz Nord railway line, which was only used for goods traffic, by a connecting line.

literature

• Thomas Binder: Aviation is developing. From the ups and downs of a human dream in Kamenz . In: Sächsische Heimatblätter. Journal for Saxon history, monument preservation, nature and the environment . 57th volume, 3/2011, p. 288-293 .
• Thomas Bussmann: Reinforced concrete, grass and railway lights - the airfields used by the military in the GDR . MediaScript, Cottbus, Berlin 2011, ISBN 978-3-9814822-0-1 , pp. 116-119 .
• Jürgen Zapf: Airfields of the Air Force 1934–1945 - and what was left of them. Volume 2: Saxony . VDM, Zweibrücken 2001, ISBN 3-925480-62-5 .

Web links

Commons : Flugplatz Kamenz  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Fliegerclub Kamenz eV operates the airfield
• GDR transport pilot training squadron 45 Location: Kamenz

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Henry L. deZeng IV: Air Force Airfields 1935-45 Germany (1937 Borders). (PDF; 3.2 MB) pp. 320–321 , accessed on June 28, 2019 .