Stendal-Borstel airfield

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Stendal airfield
Stendal Airfield Tower.jpg
Characteristics
ICAO code EDOV
Coordinates

52 ° 37 '58 "  N , 11 ° 49' 54"  E Coordinates: 52 ° 37 '58 "  N , 11 ° 49' 54"  E

Height above MSL 56 m (184  ft )
Transport links
Distance from the city center 2.5 km northwest of Stendal
Street B189
Basic data
opening 1934
operator Flugplatzgesellschaft Stendal-Borstel mbH
Employees 4th
Runways
08/26 1997 m × 52 m concrete
08/26 700 m × 40 m grass
Stendal airfield

The Stendal airfield is located 1.5 NM northwest of the city of Stendal . It is equipped with a 1997 meter long concrete runway and a 700 meter long grass runway, both in the direction of 26/08. Approved the airfield for aircraft up to 14 tons. The flight control frequency is 122.400 MHz.

history

Stendal Airfield ( MiG-21US in the foreground)

In 1934 the German Air Force began building a military airfield . In the form customary at the time without fixed tracks, an airfield of almost two by two kilometers was available. By 1936 the square was expanded and, among other things, provided with its own siding. Some buildings from the time are still standing today and are listed. From 1936 the first German paratroopers were trained on the site of the airfield .

In 1938, the square was expanded, as the Combat Group for Special Use 2 (KGr. ZbV 2) with 50 three-engine Junkers Ju 52s and other support personnel was stationed here. In August 1939 the Combat Squadron zbV 1 was set up here. In 1940 the construction of the third night fighter squadron began, which flew missions against Allied bombers with Messerschmitt Bf 110 until March 1945 . In 1943 the Nachtjagdgeschwader 300 was added, which was used in the "Hellen Nachtjagd" . In addition to the squadrons, fitters from Blohm & Voss were also stationed at the site during the war , trying to equip Gotha Go 244 cargo ships with French Gnôme et Rhône 14 M radial engines . In addition, quite a few Ju 52s were converted for special purposes, for example for mine hunting. A year before the end of the war, the 301 and 302 fighter squadrons were added to the stationed units. These units, which were used in the "Wilde Sau" night hunt , were in place until April 1945. On April 7, the Elbe special command with 150 fighters started a ramming operation against allied bomber groups from Stendal . A mission that cost many pilots their lives. The airfield was bombed a day later, but the damage was not very severe. Shortly afterwards the place was occupied by the Allies, before that individual buildings were blown up. British troops used the site as a prisoner of war camp and reserve hospital for some time until it was finally handed over to the Red Army in July 1945 .

Initially, the site was used by Soviet hunting , slaughter and reconnaissance units . In 1957, the construction of the concrete runway (52 × 2000 meters) began; as early as 1963, roll-over areas were created on both sides (200 meters in the east and 260 meters in the west) made of steel profile plates. This became necessary because MiG-17 , MiG-19 and MiG-21 fighters operated there from time to time. Reconnaissance and target actors associations with twin -engine Il-28R , Jak-27R and Jak-25RW were also stationed here from 1958 to 1971 . In 1973 the era of fighter planes came to an end at the field, helicopters (including Mi-8 and Mi-24 ) were stationed.

In 1987, the airfield was the largest helicopter base in the GDR; up to 135 helicopters were stationed here at the same time. Until the WGT withdrew , the independent combat helicopter regiments 178 and 440 , which were subordinate to the 3rd Army in Magdeburg, were deployed here.

With the withdrawal of the last units on July 7, 1992, not only the history of the airfield as a military base ended, but also that of the Stendal garrison, which finally comprised an entire division with more than 10,000 officers, soldiers and officer families.

use

Today the square is mainly used for civilian purposes. The Aero Club Stendal has been active since 1993. There is also a flight school for microlight aircraft on the airfield.

Incidents

  • On May 14, 1995, during the airfield festival, a Bo 105 helicopter with the registration number D-HEBV crashed into a neighboring field shortly after take-off. The pilot and copilot were killed.
  • On May 11, 2013, a parachutist fell in front of numerous visitors to a classic car meeting because the main parachute did not unfold properly. The 62-year-old man died at the accident site.
  • On September 22, 2013 in one fell ultralight aircraft of type FA 01 Peregrine SL the engine off due to lack of fuel. The plane collided with a row of trees and hit a meadow. The 64-year-old pilot and his 56-year-old wife were killed in the accident.

Web links

Commons : Stendal-Borstel Airfield  - Collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. Henry L. deZeng IV: Air Force Airfields 1935-45 Germany (1937 Borders) , pp 625-627 , accessed on June 22 of 2019.
  2. Lutz Freundt (ed.), Stefan Büttner: Red places - Russian military airfields Germany 1945–1994 , AeroLit, Berlin, 2007, ISBN 978-3-935525-11-4 , pages 130-133 and 283
  3. Soviet troops in Germany 1945 to 1994 . Memorial album. Moscow edition. Young Guard, Moscow 1994, ISBN 5-235-02221-1 , p. 18 : "... Stendal-Borstel SKHG-178, SKHG-440"
  4. Jörg Lötzke, Günther Tyllack: Fatal accident ended flight day In: Stendaler Volksstimme. dated May 15, 1995.
  5. 62-year-old falls to his death with a parachute. Article in the Volksstimme , May 13, 2013, accessed April 7, 2018 .
  6. Bulletin - Accidents and Disruptions in the Operation of Civil Aircraft. Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation , September 2013, accessed on March 19, 2018 .