Alpnach military airfield
| Alpnach military airfield | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Characteristics | |
| ICAO code | LSMA |
| Coordinates | |
| Height above MSL | 440 m (1444 ft ) |
| Transport links | |
| Distance from the city center | 1 km east of Alpnach |
| Basic data | |
| opening | 1942 |
| Start-and runway | |
| 01/19 | 1500 m × 40 m asphalt |
The Alpnach military airfield ( ICAO code LSMA ) is a helicopter base and a former airfield of the Swiss Air Force in Alpnach in the canton of Obwalden .
history
There was already a landing site in Alpnach in 1929 . From 1939 there was an expansion, initially to a landing area of 850 × 130 meters. In 1940 two wooden hangars were built and in September 1942 the airfield was occupied for the first time by the Air Force 7, which can be regarded as the official opening of the airfield.
The first hard piste was built in 1943 between Eichistrasse and the Alpnachersee . It had a length of 875 meters. In addition, eight U-43 aircraft shelters and various bunkers for command and ammunition were built. There were several extensions of the slope: in 1952 to 1500 meters and finally in 1959 to 1950 meters.
As part of the Swiss Reduit Strategy , from 1952 aircraft caverns were driven deep into the rock of the adjacent Mueterschwanderberg in a tunnel-like manner, in which the former artillery fortress Mueterschwanderberg is also located (on the Nidwalden side) . In 1960 the completed cavern facility was officially handed over to the Directorate for Military Airfields. Since 1958, de Havilland DH.112 Venom operated from Alpnach. In 1973 the caverns were converted for the Hunter aircraft , and in 1979 another conversion was made for the F-5 "Tiger" aircraft . With the Army Reform XXI , flight operations from the caverns were suspended.
From 1947 to 1994, Fliegerstaffel 19 was stationed in Alpnach. On January 20, 1964, the army's helicopter base was opened in Alpnach.
The A8 motorway near Alpnach was built in 1971 so that it could be used as a take-off and landing runway and was connected to the cavern with temporary taxiways. For safety reasons, however, take-offs were only made with Tiger F-5E combat aircraft , the landings took place on the normal runway. Other Swiss motorways were also used as slopes or had other military meanings, see the relevant section in the article on Swiss motorways .
In 1994 the last refresher course of airfield department 9 was in Alpnach. The last Tiger F-5E fighter aircraft took off from Alpnach on September 23, 1995.
In 2004 the airfield was threatened with closure, but the Obwalden government successfully advocated the airfield. In 2008 the airfield became the independent Alpnach airfield command, to which the Dübendorf military airfield has been subordinate since then . In May 2012, renovation work began on Halls 2 and 3 as well as the new building for car park 4.
Military use
The main logistical base for the helicopters of the Swiss Army is located at the Alpnach military airfield. The air transport operations center coordinates the operations from Alpnach . Helicopters of the types Aérospatiale AS332M1 Super Puma , Eurocopter AS532UL Cougar Mk1 and Eurocopter EC 635 are used .
Further use
The RUAG Switzerland Ltd. operates on the airfield a location for the maintenance of civil and military helicopters . The airfield is used for various other uses. The taxiways may be used outside the operating hours of the airfield, for example by inline skaters. A model flying group uses the southern half of the airfield.
literature
Web links
- Alpnach military airfield on the Swiss Air Force website
- Flugplatz Alpnach, Flugplatzkommando 2 private website with information about the history of the airfield
- Photos of the airfield on the website of the Alouette restaurant at the airfield
Individual evidence
- ↑ From the history of the BAMF, Alpnach operation (PDF; 4.2 MB) ( Memento of the original from July 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Article in the in-house newspaper "info" of the Federal Office for Military Airfields (BAMF), issue No. 4/1995
- ↑ Caverns ( Memento of the original from October 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Information page on festung-oberland.ch, accessed on April 30, 2012
- ↑ Chronicle of Fliegerstaffel 19 , accessed on April 30, 2012
- ↑ Autobahn military airfield ( memento of the original from July 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF), article about motorway take-offs and landings, including take-offs near Alpnach with F-5
- ↑ Uno Zero Zero - A Century of the Swiss Air Force. Aeropublications, Teufen / ZH 2013, ISBN 978-3-9524239-0-5 , p. 230
- ↑ Obwalden hopes - Nidwalden calculates article in the Neue Obwaldner Zeitung from July 28, 2004
- ^ Dossier at Alpnach Airport on the schoried.ch website, accessed on April 30, 2012
- ↑ Investment for 32 million francs planned ( Memento from May 29, 2012 on WebCite ), article in ONZ Obwalden and Nidwalden Zeitung from June 21, 2011. Archived from the original online version ( Memento of the original from May 29, 2012 on WebCite ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on May 29, 2012.
- ↑ FLIR / Super Puma ( Memento of the original from July 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the website of the Swiss Air Force, accessed on April 30, 2012
- ↑ Eurocopter AS532UL Cougar Mk1 ( Memento of the original from July 3, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the website of the Swiss Air Force, accessed on April 30, 2012
- ↑ Eurocopter EC635 ( Memento of the original from July 18, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the website of the Swiss Air Force, accessed on April 30, 2012
- ↑ RUAG Alpnach ( Memento of the original from October 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Information on the location on the RUAG AG website, accessed on April 30, 2012
- ^ The Alpnach military airfield, information page of the Obwalden model flying group, accessed on April 30, 2012
