Aircraft Collections in Norway

November 18, 2022November 21, 2022 CarloRLeave a comment

The ‘Norwegian chapter’ in the book of aviation history is a peculiar and interesting one. Similarly to virtually every Country in the western world, in the early age of aviation small manufacturing companies appeared also in Norway. Despite meeting with little success in the long run, they contributed in creating momentum around those ‘novel flying machines’. Norway, with a sinuous coastline stretching for some thousands miles from the latitude of England up north to where the European continent ends, and with a land largely covered in snow for many months per year, has been an ideal place for the development of a local air network since the early days of aviation. This created an alternative link between smaller communities and industry centers. As a matter of fact, similarly to Greece, Norway is among the top employers of smaller aircraft for commercial routes in Europe still today.

To the same early era belong the now almost mythological arctic expeditions, carried out also by air – by plane or airship – and almost invariably departing from Norway. The well-known Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen was an advocate of air explorations, and his primary contributions to geographical explorations have constituted in some cases milestones in aviation history.

Despite a significant down-scaling of its Armed Forces in the post-Cold War scenario causing a strong reduction of the military presence in the Country, Norway has been in the focus of massive military operations since the 1930s.

In particular, both its geographical position and natural resources met the appetite of the Third Reich, which successfully invaded Norway in a blitzkrieg campaign in late spring 1940. Through an action based strongly on airlift capacity, German cargo planes relocated personnel and material very effectively to Norway. The crown and government were forced into exile in Britain, and with it also the military chain of command. Actually, the air force academy was moved to Toronto area, Ontario, where the military facilities of Norway got the name of ‘Little Norway’. New Norwegian pilots were relentlessly trained there, preparing them to repel the enemy from their Scandinavian motherland.

The Third Reich managed to keep a grip on southern Norway until its collapse and the end of WWII in Europe. Having witnessed the failure of neutrality as a foreign policy, in the rapidly deteriorating post-WWII scenario and the beginning of the Cold War between the Soviet-led eastern bloc and the free democracies of the western world, Norway joined NATO as a founding member.

Since then and for more than four decades, Norway was on one of the ‘hot’ fronts of the war, with a border-crossing point with the USSR, and a privileged position to patrol the skies over the shipping routes leading from the highly-militarized Kola peninsula into the Atlantic Ocean (see this post). Keeping a constant watch on the air, surface and submarine movements of the USSR was a task brilliantly covered by the Norwegian Air Force and Navy for the entire duration of the Cold War.

Today, western world issues like climate-related hysteria and hardly shareable, deeply ideological so-called ‘carbon neutrality’ policies promise to definitively clip the wings to sport, private and commercial aviation especially in this Country, through an unprecedented technological leap back. Similarly, the (today, so evidently) short-sighted post-Cold War dismantlement of military power in Europe has impacted military forces also in Norway.

However, the memory of the glorious years when this proud Scandinavian Nation has been on the forefront of aviation technology and in the focus of military action are duly relived in two wonderful aviation collections, celebrating what can be achieved through technical skill, courage and good national ideals.

One of these collections is the Norwegian Aviation Museum, located east of the airport of Bodø, a coastal town on the Norwegian Sea, not far north of the Polar Circle. The other is the Norwegian Armed Forces Aircraft Collection, located just west of Oslo-Gardermoen Airport, in the south of the Country and close to the capital city. Both museums host world-class collections, really worth a detour for aviation-minded people from whatever continent, and for the general public as well, as can be possibly perceived from the pictures in this post.

Photographs in this post were taken during a visit to both destinations in August 2022.

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Norwegian Aviation Museum – Bodø
Norwegian Armed Forces Aircraft Collection – Oslo-Gardermoen

Sights

Norwegian Aviation Museum – Bodø

The Norwegian Aviation Museum in Bodø is located on the northeastern corner of the airport, dominating this coastal town north of the Polar Circle. The airport was founded back in the 1920s, strongly potentiated by the Germans in WWII, and extensively used over the Cold War decades for mixed military and civil use. Today, it is mainly a commercial airport, with some residual military activity. However, the Air Station at Bodø shows evident traces of a military past – aircraft shelters, bunkers and large antenna arrays point the hilly panorama south of the runway.

The museum covers many aspects of the history of aeronautics in Norway. Both civil and military aviation are well represented, the respective collections being hosted in two adjoining large halls, merging into the central atrium – featuring a Northrop F-5 in the colors of the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF). This type has been the backbone of the RNoAF in the latter decades of the Cold War years.

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Military aviation gallery – WWII and Cold War

Civil aviation hall

The proposed path in the civil aviation hall follows a chronological order, and starts with a display of memorabilia from the early aviation years and from the age of the adventurous polar explorations. The items on display include flags, historical pictures, personal belongings taken by explorers on polar exploration trips and many interesting explanatory panels.

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Civil aviation gallery

Aircraft on display include rare early seaplanes, employed to establish transport services. These are put side by side with more modern aircraft of the company Widerøe, which today is responsible for most of the short-range high-frequency services linking the scattered settlements in the northern part of Norway – up to North Cape.

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Civil aviation gallery

Nice advertisement posters are displayed to retrace the history of some classic airlines, including the all-private Braathens, once a major airline from Norway, and telling about the foundation of SAS – which incorporated also Braathens at the turn of the century – which stands for ‘Scandinavian Airlines System’. It is still today a big carrier linking Northern Europe and the world. These companies were among the world first massively flying polar routes, thanks to on-board instrumentation specifically made to tackle the navigation issues showing up when flying close to the poles.

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Civil aviation gallery

A turning point in the history of Braathens has been the introduction of jets, in the form of the Fokker F.28, for which this airline has been a launch customer. An exemplar of the F.28 is partly preserved in the museum, allowing to check out the fully analog cockpit.

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Civil aviation gallery

Helicopters, including one with a special pod hosting an entire berth for SAR operations, are also well represented. The Police is clearly using the latest models of rotary wing technology.

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Civil aviation gallery

A rare aircraft on display is a British-made Britten-Norman Islander, once operating in the colors of the local company Norving. Very evocative pictures show the unusual scenarios often faced by airlines operating in near-polar regions!

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Civil aviation gallery

Another peculiar mission covered by aircraft in Norway has been that of territory imaging and survey, including for archaeology in the search for ancient viking remains, typically hard to see from ground level. A Cessna 337 Skymaster push-pull originally tasked with this mission is on display. This type is pretty hard to see in Europe, but has enjoyed even a significant military career in the US (see this post).

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Civil aviation gallery

A big bird on display is a beautiful original Junkers Ju-52 three-props seaplane. This is one of four originally in the fleet of the Norwegian flag carrier ‘Det Norske Luftfartselskap’, established in the 1930s, and operating with a mixed fleet of British, German and American models.

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Civil aviation gallery

The cockpit of the Junkers has been put in a display case to be admired more easily.

Among the many other items on display in the civil aviation hall, you can find an original wind tunnel model of the Concorde, aircraft remains from an accident, and some unusual or one-off aircraft models.

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Civil aviation gallery

Military aviation hall

The hall dedicated to military aviation starts again following the timeline of aviation history. The early-age manufacturers appearing in Norway when aircraft were still a totally new technological novelty are represented with dioramas of technical shops, scale models and historical pictures. Some aircraft dating to the pre-WWII years are also on display.

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Military aviation gallery – WWII and Cold War

However, a major subject covered in the display is that of WWII. Norway was conquered by the invading German forces in a short and aggressive campaign in Spring 1940. Well planned from a strategic viewpoint, this operation included the capture of the airport of Oslo – the old field of Oslo-Fornebu – on the 9th of April, which was then used as a major base for landing transport aircraft, unloading military staff and material in the most populated area of the Country.

The landslide Third Reich invasion forced the government and the military chain of command to withdraw to Britain. An agreement was then settled to establish a military flight academy near Toronto, Ontario, to supply the Norwegian armed forces with new pilots, to carry out offensive operations from Britain.

The collection features many interesting items from WWII period. From a balcony you are offered a view of the collection, and a vantage view on the relic of a Luftwaffe Junkers Ju-88, transported to the museum after recovery.

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Military aviation gallery – WWII and Cold War

The air operations in the invasion of Spring 1940 are documented with interesting scale models and dioramas, as well as much technical material retrieved from the days of German occupation. This includes cameras for photo reconnaissance, Third Reich military maps of the region, flags, aircraft engines, and many historical pictures.

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Military aviation gallery – WWII and Cold War

From the same era, the cockpit of a Soviet Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmovik, documents of the air actions against the Third Reich occupants, and others concerning the history of ‘Little Norway’ – the Norwegian military training facilities in Canada – are also on display.

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Military aviation gallery – WWII and Cold War

Aircraft displayed in this area include restored or partly reconstructed examples of a De Havilland Mosquito, a Supermarine Spitfire, as well as a Focke-Wulf FW190 and a Messerschmitt BF-109 on the German side.

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Military aviation gallery – WWII and Cold War

All these birds together make for a really unusual and evocative sight today! Especially the German fighters are really rare to find, and their condition and presentation is really eye-catching.

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Military aviation gallery – WWII and Cold War

Further aircraft from the time include a North American Harvard trainer, and a big Consolidated PBY Catalina seaplane used for patrol. The latter looks really massive hosted indoor, compared to smaller fighter aircraft!

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Military aviation gallery – WWII and Cold War

Anti-aircraft guns and a pretty unusual radio emitter/transmission station, employed as beacons for helping instrumental navigation in the war years, are also part of this interesting display.

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Military aviation gallery – WWII and Cold War

Next to the WWII area is the Cold War section of the display. Following the bad WWII experience with a policy of international neutrality, resulting in an invasion by a powerful enemy force, following the escalating divergence between the western Allies and the USSR, Norway opted for joining NATO as a founding member.

The alliance with the US and Britain, similar to other NATO Countries, meant a substantial supply of American and (at least in the beginning) British military supply. A North American F-86 Sabre and a Republic F-84 Thunderjet are two beautiful representatives from the early Cold War era. Similarly, a De Havilland Vampire is hanging from the ceiling.

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Military aviation gallery – WWII and Cold War

A slightly more modern item is a Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. Not much employed in the US, it covered the interceptor role along the border with the Eastern Bloc in Norway, Federal Germany and Italy for many years.

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Military aviation gallery – WWII and Cold War

Historical pictures tell – among many interesting subjects – about other aircraft, like the Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star, as well as the F-104 and the F-5 involved in interception and escort flights, shadowing Tupolev Tu-95, Antonov An-12 and other USSR machines flying over international waters or scraping the border of Scandinavian airspaces – quintessential Cold War memories!

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Military aviation gallery – WWII and Cold War

Possibly a reason for Bodø having grown to further fame in the aviation community of Western Countries is the presence here of a real Lockheed U-2 spy plane. This aircraft can be found in Europe only at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, Britain, and here. Actually, a curious fact about Bodø is that it was a designated destination or an alternate (emergency) airfield for the perilous overflights of the USSR, carried out with the Lockheed U-2, and later with the Mach 3+ Lockheed SR-71. Actually, the latter landed here in one occasion, whereas the ill-fated mission of Francis Gary Powers, downed by Soviet SAMs while en-route north of Kazakhstan from Peshawar, Pakistan, had Bodø as a destination (see this post for pictures of the relic in Moscow).

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Military aviation gallery – WWII and Cold War

The U-2 is displayed so that it is possible to both appreciate its slim shape and large wing span, and also get near to its cockpit. However, its installation and lighting inside the hall – and the fact that it is black… – make it a rather difficult target for photographs. Next to the aircraft, historical pictures and schemes tell about the mission of Francis Gary Powers. Interesting tables for the interpretation of photo intelligence are also on display.

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Military aviation gallery – WWII and Cold War

Still in the Cold War part of the museum, a very unusual and interesting section is centered on the facilities and technical gear for the detection and monitoring of airspace intrusion, for early warning and for alerting the air defenses of the National airspace.

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Military aviation gallery – WWII and Cold War

This secretive and little publicized branch of the military kept its ears and eyes constantly pointed on the moves of the colossal Soviet neighbor, recording every single movement – look for the super-interesting registry of USSR aircraft movements! – and constantly updating the situation, in order to be ready to counter a sudden ‘turn for the worst’, in case of an actual attack.

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Military aviation gallery – WWII and Cold War

Interestingly, much of the electronics here is US made, as can be seen looking at the product tags.

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Military aviation gallery – WWII and Cold War

The arsenal that could be employed to counter an air attack included the Nike-Ajax and later Nike-Hercules surface to air missiles, deployed along the border with the Eastern Bloc also in Denmark, Germany and Italy (see here and here).

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Military aviation gallery – WWII and Cold War

Just to complete this incredible Cold War exhibition, an interesting and pretty unique air-dropped WE-177 nuclear bomb case is on display!

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Military aviation gallery – WWII and Cold War

More modern addition to the aircraft collection include a General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon and some helicopters.

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Military aviation gallery – WWII and Cold War

A latter interesting part of the military exhibition showcases an array of aircraft-mounted cannons from various ages, showing their precision and their effect on the same target. You can appreciate the effects of the technical evolution of these weapons.

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Military aviation gallery – WWII and Cold War

Examples of air-launched missiles and sonobuoys, and a fine array of flight suits showing the evolution of their design, conclude this exceptional museum.

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Military aviation gallery – WWII and Cold War

As a plus, the old control tower of the military air station has been turned into a panorama point, where you can watch air operation on the actual airport, and also listen to air traffic frequencies!

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Military aviation gallery – WWII and Cold War

The gate guardians include a Bell helicopter and an old glorious Hawker Hurricane from WWII.

Norwegian Aviation Museum Bodø – Norsk Luftfartsmuseum – Military aviation gallery – WWII and Cold War

Visiting

The museum is located at Bodø airport, and can be spotted pretty easily when entering the town. Bodø can be included – or considered as a starting point – in many tours of Northern Norway. The museum offers a large and convenient parking. It can be toured in not less than 2 hours for aviation-minded people. The website is here.

Norwegian Armed Forces Aircraft Collection – Oslo-Gardermoen

Coherently with its name, this wonderful collection is focused on military aviation in Norway. Most aircraft having served in the RNoAF at some point in history are represented, as well as some from WWII – not only from the Allied side, but most notably some rare exemplars from the Third Reich.

A great feature of this museum is also the architecture of the display. Put in a U-shaped building to the southwest of Oslo-Gardermoen airport, the aircraft are in most cases sufficiently far from one another to allow moving around freely, getting an unobstructed view from different angles. Furthermore, the natural lighting from the top windows is ideal for pictures (similar to the solution adopted in the Estonian Aviation Museum, see here).

Late 20th century

The display starts with the Northrop F-5, which is represented by three exemplars, interspersed with a single example of a General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon – currently in use with the RNoAF, to be replaced by the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. The Freedom Fighter has been the backbone of the RNoAF for the latter years of the Cold War, being flanked and substituted by the Fighting Falcon, and now by the Lightning II.

The Norwegian Armed Forces Collection – Flysamlingen Forsvaret Museer – Military aviation collection, Oslo-Gardermoen

The aircraft on display are two F-5 Freedom Fighter, i.e. the light fighter version – one in a distinctive tiger painting – and one RF-5 Tigereye, which has been developed from the original design into a capable photo reconnaissance aircraft.

Walking beneath the F-5 reveals many details, for instance the landing gear mechanism, the missile pylons and anchoring system, and JATO bottles for reducing the take-off distance.

The Norwegian Armed Forces Collection – Flysamlingen Forsvaret Museer – Military aviation collection, Oslo-Gardermoen

A J85 jet engine – there were two for each F-5 – is on display, with the afterburner pipe mounted past the turbine exhaust. A choice of missiles and pods can be seen close to the ‘tiger painted’ exemplar. The latter can be boarded. The fully analog cockpit shows much standard instrumentation for flight control, navigation and engine management, but also an armament panel with weapons selection and activation switches. Also interesting are the parachute deployment lever, for the arresting parachute, or the underwing load jettison system.

The Norwegian Armed Forces Collection – Flysamlingen Forsvaret Museer – Military aviation collection, Oslo-Gardermoen

The RF-4 reconnaissance aircraft features a nose camera, with a prominent lens which can be easily checked out. Similarly, the hatch of the port 20-mm cannon has been left open, showing the cannon body, barrel and the very neat ammo supply system.

The Norwegian Armed Forces Collection – Flysamlingen Forsvaret Museer – Military aviation collection, Oslo-Gardermoen

Next to these aircraft are a Lockheed F-104 Starfighter in a two-seats trainer configuration, and the front section of another exemplar with the original cockpit, which can be boarded. The J79 engine of the Starfighter, apparently originally from Canada judging from the Orenda labels on some components, has been taken out of the fuselage and can be appreciated in all its length (with the afterburner pipe to the back).

The Norwegian Armed Forces Collection – Flysamlingen Forsvaret Museer – Military aviation collection, Oslo-Gardermoen

The cockpit of the Starfighter is cramped, with little legroom and a very limited front visibility. It is fully analog, similar to the F-5.

The Norwegian Armed Forces Collection – Flysamlingen Forsvaret Museer – Military aviation collection, Oslo-Gardermoen

In a corner of the hall, an original simulator – apparently for an F-16 – has found a new collocation, possibly from a military aviation academy.

The Norwegian Armed Forces Collection – Flysamlingen Forsvaret Museer – Military aviation collection, Oslo-Gardermoen

Early Cold War

The next part of the display offers the sight of a full array of fascinating, well-preserved aircraft from the early Cold War period. The first is a North American F-86 Sabre, with an attractive golden front intake decoration. Walking around and looking closely, many particular features can be spotted, including the leading edge slats. A ‘used’ Martin Baker ejection seat shows the little damage resulting from actual employment in case of emergency.

The Norwegian Armed Forces Collection – Flysamlingen Forsvaret Museer – Military aviation collection, Oslo-Gardermoen

Next is an improved version of the Sabre (F-86K), which features a very different intake, such to accommodate in the bulbous nose a powerful radar antenna. The latter could work in conjunction with a computer, and offered a substantial help in increasing the offensive capability of this fighter, which could also be operated in all weather conditions.

The Norwegian Armed Forces Collection – Flysamlingen Forsvaret Museer – Military aviation collection, Oslo-Gardermoen

A nice gem of the collection is an original portable cabinet for testing the General Electric J47 engine. This cabinet looks like a suitcase, but it could be positioned standing on its legs, linked with connectors to the on-board systems, and could show the working condition of the engine in a mounted configuration. The monitoring instrumentation is fully analog. It would make for a great item for collectors of Cold War technical gear!

The Norwegian Armed Forces Collection – Flysamlingen Forsvaret Museer – Military aviation collection, Oslo-Gardermoen

Then follows an Republic F-84 Thunderjet early jet fighter, with its neat lines, wing tip tanks, and an under-fuselage spoiler in a deflected position.

The Norwegian Armed Forces Collection – Flysamlingen Forsvaret Museer – Military aviation collection, Oslo-Gardermoen

Nearby, the rather different – despite the similar code – Republic RF-84F Thunderflash photo reconnaissance aircraft prominently displays its big-diameter optics in the nose.

The Norwegian Armed Forces Collection – Flysamlingen Forsvaret Museer – Military aviation collection, Oslo-Gardermoen

The really elegant design of a Lockheed T-33 can be appreciated next. The air intakes are really works of art, and the bare metal color just adds to the vintage line of this early design.

The Norwegian Armed Forces Collection – Flysamlingen Forsvaret Museer – Military aviation collection, Oslo-Gardermoen

Similarly graceful is the iconic De Havilland Vampire, the only British addition to this US-dominated aircraft display from the Cold War era. With its distinctive twin-boom tail, the typical De Havilland vertical fins dating back to the pre-WWII propeller-driven examples, the shrouded jet engine totally disappearing in the body of the aircraft, with small, fenced intakes on the leading edges of the wing, this aircraft looks like a really good balance between engineering-driven design choices and pure elegance.

The Norwegian Armed Forces Collection – Flysamlingen Forsvaret Museer – Military aviation collection, Oslo-Gardermoen

WWII aircraft

A central section of the exhibition is centered on WWII-era aircraft, starting with two Supermarine Spitfire, one hanging from the ceiling, and one sitting on its wheels, in a greenish color and RNoAF emblems.

The Norwegian Armed Forces Collection – Flysamlingen Forsvaret Museer – Military aviation collection, Oslo-Gardermoen

What follows is a pretty unique US-made aircraft, a Northrop N-3PB seaplane, ordered as a sea patrolling aircraft by Norway, but not reaching Scandinavia in time before the German invasion. It was then employed as a sea patrol from Iceland by the Norwegian forces in exile. Possibly looking not so conspicuous in pictures, it is a rather massive bird. It shows an interesting floatplane design, where floats are anchored to the wings through aerodynamically profiled struts, so as to reduce drag as much as possible.

The Norwegian Armed Forces Collection – Flysamlingen Forsvaret Museer – Military aviation collection, Oslo-Gardermoen

Walking around it, you can notice the relatively light weaponry hanging from the fuselage bottom, the down-firing back cannon for defense, and the detachable wheels to pull the aircraft ashore.

The Norwegian Armed Forces Collection – Flysamlingen Forsvaret Museer – Military aviation collection, Oslo-Gardermoen

Then a very rare bird follows – a German Heinkel He-111 bomber from WWII! Restored in a mint-looking condition, this aircraft makes for a unique sight in the panorama of aviation collections.

The Norwegian Armed Forces Collection – Flysamlingen Forsvaret Museer – Military aviation collection, Oslo-Gardermoen

This iconic aircraft from the Third Reich, much known to aviation-minded people especially in connection with the early landslide campaigns of the Third Reich in Europe and for the Battle of Britain, can be examined from very close and beneath, unveiling some interesting peculiar features. For example, the bomb bay features vertical square-section separated ‘blisters’, a totally different solution with respect to larger US bombers from the age.

The Norwegian Armed Forces Collection – Flysamlingen Forsvaret Museer – Military aviation collection, Oslo-Gardermoen

The underbelly shooting pod allowed the cannon operator to ‘rest’ in a laid down position. The front cannon is clearly asymmetrically placed with respect to the aircraft centerline, following a side curvature of the nose cone such to increase pilot’s visibility.

The Norwegian Armed Forces Collection – Flysamlingen Forsvaret Museer – Military aviation collection, Oslo-Gardermoen

Close by is another incredibly well-preserved addition from the Third Reich’s Luftwaffe, a Junkers Ju-52 transport in fashionable military colors.

The Norwegian Armed Forces Collection – Flysamlingen Forsvaret Museer – Military aviation collection, Oslo-Gardermoen

The Ju-52 and He-111 were the main characters involved in the blitzkrieg attack to Oslo-Fornebu, the now bygone airport of central Oslo, which was the stage of a massive air-launched German attack in April 1940, a substantial contribution and a prelude to the complete invasion of Norway. Both aircraft are surrounded by a set of accessories from the time, including searchlights, fuel tanks, spare parts, anti-aircraft guns and even service trolleys with skis to be used on snowy aprons! The ensemble is really quite a sight.

The Norwegian Armed Forces Collection – Flysamlingen Forsvaret Museer – Military aviation collection, Oslo-Gardermoen

From roughly the same age is also a perfectly preserved Douglas C-47 Skytrain – a true war veteran! Preserved in the colors of the RNoAF, it was originally incorporated in the USAAF and employed in action in Europe since mid-1944. It flew during the Berlin Airlift, operating in and out West Berlin transporting goods during Stalin’s blockade of the town in 1948-49 (see this chapter). It later joined the RNoAF and was employed for radar tuning and for transport until the mid-1970s.

The Norwegian Armed Forces Collection – Flysamlingen Forsvaret Museer – Military aviation collection, Oslo-Gardermoen

The color scheme of the RNoAF looks great on this C-47, and the presentation among some airport service vehicles from the time adds to the display.

The Norwegian Armed Forces Collection – Flysamlingen Forsvaret Museer – Military aviation collection, Oslo-Gardermoen

Further recent aircraft

Approaching the extremity of the U-shaped building, you can find a De Havilland Twin Otter with skis, some classic helicopters, some aircraft undergoing restoration – including substantial remains of a Junkers Ju-88 bomber from the Third Reich! – and a massive Lockheed C-130 Hercules.

The Norwegian Armed Forces Collection – Flysamlingen Forsvaret Museer – Military aviation collection, Oslo-Gardermoen

The latter is possibly the aircraft in the collection having been retired most recently. It has been deprived of its vertical fin, which simply couldn’t fit inside the building, but the rest is almost complete. The engine pods are opened, so that you can see inside. An array of JATO bottles to enhance take-off performance has been anchored to the side of the fuselage.

The Norwegian Armed Forces Collection – Flysamlingen Forsvaret Museer – Military aviation collection, Oslo-Gardermoen

The aircraft is on display with the back and side doors opened, so that boarding its preserved interior and cockpit is indeed possible.

The Norwegian Armed Forces Collection – Flysamlingen Forsvaret Museer – Military aviation collection, Oslo-Gardermoen

Inside the cockpit, chance is you meet a living legend, the flight engineer of the RNoAF Mons Nygård, who will explain you the features and operations of his aircraft! The man joined the Armed Forces in the late 1950s until the 1990s, with a military career spanning a big part of the Cold War. He flew extensively the Hercules, as well as other aircraft including the Lockheed P-3 Orion, logging a staggering more-than-17’000 hours in flight!

The Norwegian Armed Forces Collection – Flysamlingen Forsvaret Museer – Military aviation collection, Oslo-Gardermoen

We could interview him about his career, which unfolded several nice anecdotes and memories from the Cold War years, and a real passion for his super-reliable aircraft and for his job. It’s no wonder the Hercules, being designed in the 1950s, is still in service with many Armed Forces of the world.

Anti-aircraft defense system

Finally, the exhibition includes Nike-Ajax and Nike-Hercules anti-aircraft missiles (SAM). Installed in batteries against an attack from the USSR also in Norway (see for instance this preserved battery in Italy, this in Denmark, or this ghost one in former Federal Germany), these nuclear-capable massive missiles were in service typically between the 1950s and the early 1980s, becoming by then obsolete.

The Norwegian Armed Forces Collection – Flysamlingen Forsvaret Museer – Military aviation collection, Oslo-Gardermoen

Of great interest for technically-minded people are some of the inside components of these missiles, including components of the guidance system and some electronics, which can be seen in display cases, as well as technical vehicles for launch control, radar operation etc.

The Norwegian Armed Forces Collection – Flysamlingen Forsvaret Museer – Military aviation collection, Oslo-Gardermoen

Other lighter anti-aircraft weapons from the Cold War era are displayed nearby, thus covering also this interesting subject in good detail.

Balcony

The visit may be concluded with a walk along the inside balcony, from which a good view of all the aircraft just mentioned is obtained.

On the same balcony, you can find also many trainers once used for teaching young pilots the basics of flight. Some are classic models belonging to the era of Little Norway and WWII, when training for freshly recruited pilots was carried out in Ontario, Canada.

The Norwegian Armed Forces Collection – Flysamlingen Forsvaret Museer – Military aviation collection, Oslo-Gardermoen

The gate guardians for this beautiful collection are an F-5 and an F-104, the latter in the greenish colorway seen also in the collection in Bodø.

The Norwegian Armed Forces Collection – Flysamlingen Forsvaret Museer – Military aviation collection, Oslo-Gardermoen

Visiting

This fantastic collection can be found in the southwestern corner of the premises of Oslo-Gardermoen airport, the main airport serving the Norwegian capital city.

The museum is administrated by the Armed Forces.

Visiting for the aircraft enthusiast may be very rewarding and may take more than 2 hours, since the exceptional state of preservation of the artifacts and the many details you can explore through a walk around very close to the aircraft invite to spend time inside. You have also chance to speak with former military crew, which adds much to the experience. Very good photo opportunities for an indoor collection.

Large free parking ahead of the entrance, with picnic facilities. Nice model shop by the ticket office.

The museum is normally open on weekends, but further visits may be scheduled out of these opening slot. Please check the info on their website here.

Former Soviet and East German Military Bases in the GDR – Pictures from Above

December 23, 2019July 29, 2022 CarloRLeave a comment

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At the end of WWII, the territory of conquered Germany was split in four sectors by the then-Allies – the US, Great Britain, France and the USSR. A substantial part to the north-east of the country fell in Stalin’s hands. A few years later, following a re-organization of all territories occupied by the Red Army during WWII, the Soviet part of Germany was turned into a communist-led state known as German Democratic Republic (‘GDR’, or ‘DDR’ in German language).

Especially from a military standpoint, similar to Poland, and later Hungary and Czechoslovakia, this produced a kind of cohabitation. As a matter of fact, besides clearly backing the communist dictatorship in occupied countries, the Soviets did not quit at all from newly acquired western territories. On the contrary, thanks to the position on a potential war front had the Cold War turned hot, the westernmost Soviet-controlled countries – with the GDR on top – were stuffed with Soviet military bases, and hundreds of thousands troops. These shared the map with the national military, which in the GDR were known as NVA (an acronym standing for the German equivalent of ‘National People’s Army’).

The national and Soviet forces often took control of separated military facilities, and while operating in a coordinated fashion, they were substantially different entities. As said, this was typical to many Soviet-controlled countries. Yet especially on the relatively small East German territory, of high strategic value thanks to the shared border with the West, the total number of tank bases, training academies, air bases, missile bases, nuclear depots, shooting ranges, etc., reached an unrivaled world’s peak, when compared to the population or the size of the country.

Following the crisis leading to the end of the GDR in 1989, and the collapse of the USSR roughly two years later, all these military assets turned surplus. The German reunification, and the disappearance of a significant military opponent in the close vicinity of the border, triggered a rationalization of military resources in Germany. Most of the NVA bases were closed. The Soviet-controlled installations were evacuated more slowly – it took until 1994 to bring back to their Russian homeland the thousands of troops and tonnes of material stationed in Germany. Once returned to Germany, also most of these bases were deactivated and closed.

Since then, the fate of these former military facilities in Germany has been in the hands of local governments or national initiatives. As a matter of fact, following a few decades spent as ghost bases – a real paradise for urbex explorers! – most air bases have been converted into solar power plants. Some of them have retained an airport status, either with a very reduced runway, or in some cases being turned into full-scale commercial airports. There are exceptions too, as some are still at least partly abandoned, and while invaded by vegetation, they are still totally recognizable especially from above. Other bases, like tank bases or nuclear depots, while mostly earmarked for demolition, have been comparatively better ‘preserved’ – at least, they have been attacked by the state more slowly, so there is still much to see there.

You can find on this website several reports about quite a few of these military bases in the former GDR – especially airbases – from a ‘ground perspective’. Sometimes, it is difficult to appreciate the size, shape, as well as their concentration over the former GDR territory. In order to better show these aspects, now here you have a portrait of many of these bases from the air!

The photographs in the present post are from a single, two-hours flight on a Cessna 172 single-prop aircraft. The flight took place in July 2019. As you can see from the locations pinpointed on the map below, on our route we met not less than 15 former (or still active) military items. And this is just a short trip mostly in southern Brandenburg – i.e. the region immediately south of Berlin.

This report is a complement to other chapters on this site, yet it is especially interesting on its own, as a comprehensive bundle of aerial pics on this subject is not easy to find!

Sights

Points of interest are listed following the flight plan, which was flown roughly as on the map, in a counter-clockwise direction, starting from Reinsdorf Airfield.

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Stolzenhain

This one-of-a-kind facility – there were actually two such depots, but one is today demolished and inaccessible – used to be a major storage for nuclear weapons for the Soviet Western Group of Forces, which included all Soviet troops stationed in the GDR.

The bunker is today closed, but it apparently lies on private land, hence sparing it from being turned into something else (or simply flattened) by the local government. You can see a dedicated report in this chapter.

Vegetation has grown wild in the area, but from above you can clearly spot the rectangular perimeter of the external concrete wall. From north to south, an internal road crossed the rectangle in the middle.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Bunker Depot Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

The bunkers are half-interred, hence from above you can barely spot the entrances. These are aligned along a service road arranged in a hexagonal shape.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Bunker Depot Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

To the south of the bunker area, you can spot a former group of barracks and an access road heading west. Construction and demolition works are taking place in this area.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Bunker Depot Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Control and Reporting Center Schönewalde

This is an active military installation, and actually quite an advanced one. It is tasked with monitoring the air operations over a large part of the airspace over Germany.

The origin of this half-interred technical installation can be traced to the 1970s, when the site was activated under responsibility of the NVA. Following the end of communist rule and after German reunification, unlike many others this site was not demolished, but instead it was developed further, and pressed into the defense chain of NATO since the mid-1990s.

Control and Reporting CRC Point Schönewalde NATO German Air Force Bundeswehr – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

You can see many half-interred warehouses, garages for trucks, a smaller radar antenna to the west of the complex, close to a helipad.

Control and Reporting CRC Point Schönewalde NATO German Air Force Bundeswehr – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

There is also a larger antenna to the northeastern corner of the CRC.

Control and Reporting CRC Point Schönewalde NATO German Air Force Bundeswehr – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Holzdorf Air Base

This large airport used to be an airbase of the NVA. It is one of the few airports from the Cold War in the GDR which were turned into a full-scale modern airport. Today it is a base of the Bundeswehr, i.e. the German military.

As we approached from north, you can spot first typical large communist buildings, forming a citadel which is likely still today hosting troops and their families. There is also reportedly a flight academy for helicopters in this complex, north of the airport.

Holzdorf Air Base former NVA East Germany (DDR) Base – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

The airport features large hangars for military helicopters to the northwest of the runway.

Holzdorf Air Base former NVA East Germany (DDR) Base – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

A rather old-styled control tower can be seen to the south of the runway.

Holzdorf Air Base former NVA East Germany (DDR) Base – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Falkenberg Air Base

We reached the southernmost point on our flight with the former Soviet base in Falkenberg. This old base dating to the 1930s went on to be developed into a Soviet base home to fighter aircraft, MiG-23 and later MiG-29. Close to the airfield, there used to be a SAM missile battery (to the west of the runway).

Approaching from the north-west, you can notice a small ghost town and a large technical area, with what appear to be big unreinforced maintenance hangars, today used for something else by local companies.

Falkenberg Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

The airport is today dedicated to light aviation activities. The runway has been shortened, and sadly large portions of the original airfield have been covered with solar cells.

Most interestingly, in the trees to the northwest of the runway, you can spot four unfinished aircraft shelters – possibly of the type AU-16, which could host both the MiG-23 and MiG-29. They look like short concrete tunnels. They should have been covered with land, but works were interrupted in 1990.

Falkenberg Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

More aircraft shelters – completed – can be found to the east of the field, today used for storage, as it is often the case.

Falkenberg Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Finsterwalde Air Base

This installation was operative since WWII, when the large hangars and control tower still in place to the south of the apron were built. The base went on serving as a Soviet base, hosting fighters and fighter-bombers of many kinds along its illustrious history. A visit to this site, with its nuclear depot, can be found in this chapter.

Approaching from the southwest, we flew over the nuclear storage bunker, made for nuclear warheads to supply aircraft operating from here. The columns once holding the crane to lift the warheads can be clearly spotted.

Finsterwalde Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) Nuclear Bunker – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

There is also a group of Soviet-style houses for the families of the troops. Apparently somebody is still living there!

Finsterwalde Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) Nuclear Bunker – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

The base was enlarged with reinforced shelters to the north and southwest of the runway. The large hangars to the south are still in use with local companies, some of course connected with flight operations – this airport is still active for general aviation operations.

Finsterwalde Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) Nuclear Bunker – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Enroute to the next waypoint, we flew over a natural preserve, which offered some quite spectacular sights.

Naturpark Lausitz – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Alteno-Luckwalde Air Base

This airfield north of Finsterwalde was a reserve airport of the East German NVA. While never developed to the extent of primary airfields, it was among the few reserve air bases to receive an asphalt runway.

Today, the view is rather desolating – the airfield has been totally covered with solar cells.

Alteno Fliegerhorst Luckau Abandoned NVA East Germany (DDR) Air Force Base – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Brand-Briesen Air Base

This WWII base was selected for quick and substantial improvement since the early Cold War years, and went on to be one of the most developed Soviet air bases in the former GDR. In the beginning it hosted Ilyushin Il-28 bombers, but in the jet age it was home to a number of different squadrons and aircraft types. You can find the results of the exploration of a part of this base in this chapter.

Approaching from the south, you first spot an immense hangar, conceived at the turning of the century for commercial airships, and later turned into a water park – Tropical Island.

Brand Abandoned Soviet Air Base Nuclear Bunker East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

But more interestingly, to the south of the airfield – unusually far from it, actually – you can find a depot for nuclear weapons, to supply the aircraft operating from the base. Similar to Finsterwalde, the pillars once holding the crane for lifting the warheads can be clearly seen.

Brand Abandoned Soviet Air Base Nuclear Bunker East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Still to the south of the airfield, the local citadel for the troops is today an interesting ghost town.

Brand Abandoned Soviet Air Base Nuclear Bunker East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

As you may notice, the airfield is today closed, and has been largely converted into a recreation park. Incredibly, they decided to build an array of small houses on the former premises of the airport, and in close proximity to the monster airship hangar.

Brand Abandoned Soviet Air Base Nuclear Bunker East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Yet some relics from the past function of the air base are to be found scattered around. These include aircraft shelters, and more rare engine testing facilities – V-shaped concrete walls emerging from the grass nearby some of the shelters.

Brand Abandoned Soviet Air Base Nuclear Bunker East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Kleinköris Air Base

This airbase was activated in the late 1960s as a reserve airfield for the East German NVA. It was used for exercises, and as a home base for helicopters of the Volkspolizei, i.e. the police of the GDR. After deactivation, it was used as a military storage for a while, and finally closed.

Kleinköris Löpten Abandoned NVA Air Base East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

The appearance, perfectly evident from the air, is rather unusual – it features a long grassy runway, with concrete taxiways at the ends. To the reports from the time, this is the original configuration of the airbase. Luckily, it is basically still intact.

Kleinköris Löpten Abandoned NVA Air Base East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Wünsdorf

The name of this small town will be forever linked to the two military high commands which were headquartered on its premises – Hitler’s OKW first, and the command of the Soviet Western Group of Forces for the full span of the Cold War. You can find a dedicated chapter here.

From above, you can get a nice view of the extension and shape of this military town, as well as good portraits of some of the highlights in it. Approaching from the southeast, you first meet the most famous building in Wünsdorf, the officers’ house. This majestic building dates from the early 20th century. It knew an extensive renovation during the Cold War years, as an officers’ club for the Soviet Red Army.

Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

This huge building features a statue of Lenin on one side. In the wings to the back, you can find a swimming pool and a theater. The round building with a mural is a late Soviet addition, and once hosted a circular panorama painting.

Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

The high command occupied the buildings north of the officers’ club, today converted into something else.

Another highlight of Wünsdorf are the many bunkers. These include the Maybach bunkers from Hitler’s era, once hosting the OKW. These were designed for deception as living houses, but could withstand aerial bombardment. They were blown by the Soviet, with only partial success. The Zeppelin bunkers, like cusped concrete towers, were designed to resist bombardment, by deviating air-dropped bombs falling from above along the sidewalls and down to the ground nearby.

Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Soviet bunkers were located very close to the array of Maybach bunkers. They are largely interred, and from above you can see some concrete tunnels in the trees.

The railway line and station is an historical track from the time. The Wünsdorf-Moscow line operated in both ways on a daily basis. The service was suspended only in 1994, at the very end of the withdrawal of the last occupation troops to Russia – for many, the symbolic end of Soviet occupation.

Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

The buildings for those stationed in Wünsdorf and their families were really many. Today this town, having lost its original core business, is largely uninhabited.

Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Sperenberg Air Base

Not far from Wünsdorf, you can find the former Soviet air base of Sperenberg. This immense transport base used to be a major logistic base for the Soviets, which operated from here with their monster cargo planes. More on this base can be found in this chapter.

Approaching from the east, you first meet the buildings for the troops, to the east of the airport and close to the village.

Sperenberg Soviet Airlift Air Force Base Transport Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

An aerial view allows to clearly capture the shape of the base, with two large parallel taxiways with a huge array of parking bays for transport aircraft, and a long runway – still basically intact! – to the south.

Sperenberg Soviet Airlift Air Force Base Transport Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

A large hangar with an inscription in Russian can be found to the east, whereas a small terminal building can be spotted ahead of a large apron to the west.

Sperenberg Soviet Airlift Air Force Base Transport Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Today the airport is closed, but rumors have surfaced more than once concerning its evaluation as a third airport for Berlin. This may justify its missed conversion into another desolating field of solar cells.

Kummersdorf Military Laboratory

A bit of an outsider here, Kummersdorf holds a very relevant place in the history of war technique thanks to pre-Soviet activity. In the late 1920s the Germans established here an experimental laboratory especially dedicated to novel weapons. It can be said that western rocketry was born here, since the group of Walther Dornberger, later joined by Wernher von Braun, started operations on liquid-propelled rockets in this lab.

Activities later moved to somewhere else, and finally landed in Peenemünde – see this dedicated chapter.

The laboratory in Kummersdorf was used also during WWII to test captured material, especially enemy tanks. Following the end of WWII, the Soviets took over the facility, but turned it into a more standard military base.

Kummersdorf Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

The red barracks in typical German style can be clearly seen from above. Most of the post-WWII depots are falling apart, but the area is really huge.

Forst Zinna Military Base

This base is located to the northeast of Jüterbog-Altes Lager, a huge Imperial, Nazi and later Soviet military complex, including two shooting ranges, a few airfields, an academy and many barracks.

Forst Zinna base was operative in the years of the Third Reich, named after Adolf Hitler himself. It went on to become a large base for the artillery groups training in the nearby shooting ranges. A dedicated chapter can be found here.

Forst Zinna Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

From above, it is clear that demolition works are slowly wiping out the base. Yet there is much housing left to visit. Typical German buildings share the area with shabby Soviet ‘socialist housing’. A bridge passing over a major road and railway track going to Berlin links the base to the shooting range north of it.

Altes Lager Shooting Range and Barracks

The shooting range north of Forst Zinna is pointed with concrete control towers. The area is very extensive, and quite more convenient to explore from above!

Juterbog/Altes Lager Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Closer to Altes Lager, many barracks can be seen aligned along a major road. From the style, these appear to be from an older time than the Soviet occupation years.

Jüterbog-Altes Lager Training Academy

This pretty unique piece of architecture dates from the years of the Führer, and used to be an academy for air force technicians. It was later turned into a military academy for Soviet staff, and a KGB office was reportedly active here too. A report can be found in this chapter.

From above you can better capture the plant of the complex. The half-circle to the north hosted a big theater in the basement.

Juterbog/Altes Lager Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Most strikingly, in the western part of the complex you can see sporting facilities which have been completely refurbished, and are actually in use. These include a football field and some tennis courts. There is also a pool, but this has not been refurbished.

Jüterbog-Niedergörsdorf Air Base

This large air base was jointly operated by the NVA and Soviet air force. You can find a report in this chapter.

Approaching from the northwest you can see aircraft shelters, whereas to the northeast you find an array of large maintenance hangars. These have been turned into something else, including a test driving facility, which chopped part of the original apron.

Juterbog/Niedergörsdorf Soviet NVA Air Force Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

To the south of the runway, the base used to feature a large number of parking bays for helicopters. The runway has not been physically cut, albeit a central section of the original concrete has been taken away. Air operations today are apparently limited to ultralights and trikes.

Juterbog/Niedergörsdorf Soviet NVA Air Force Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

A menacing army of solar cells is attacking the perimeter of the base from the east! An unmissable sight next to this base (to the east) is a former aircraft shelter turned into a private collection of Soviet memorabilia – Shelter Albrecht (covered in this post).

Juterbog/Niedergörsdorf Soviet NVA Air Force Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Enroute to the next waypoint, you can clearly spot from the air a military hospital complex (see this chapter) – rather famous among urbex fanatics… – and other service buildings.

Juterbog/Altes Lager Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Jüterbog-Damm Air Base

This base dates to the years of the German Empire. It was forcibly demilitarized after WWI, but strongly developed in the years of the Third Reich, with the construction of large concrete hangars and service facilities, and a grassy airstrip good for fighter planes of the era.

Following conquer by Soviet forces, the airbase was partly dismantled, but at some point a SAM battery appeared on this site.

Today you can appreciate the size and special shape of the concrete hangars, a true engineering masterpiece from pre-WWII years.

Juterbog-Damm WWI-WWII Luftwaffe Air Force Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild

Landing in Reinsdorf

Finally, you can see here a vid of the perfect approach and landing into the touristic airfield of Reinsdorf, about two hours after take-off!

Practical Notes

This flight was carried out from Reinsdorf Airfield (ICAO: EDOD), located about 10 miles southeast of Jüterbog, the most sizable town in the neighborhood. The airfield is roughly 1 hour driving south of downtown Berlin, very easy to reach with a car.

The flight would have not been possible without the help of a fantastic couple, Mrs. Kolditz and her husband, who own a nice French-built Cessna 172 from the mid-1960s, D-EBLD, portrayed here.

Cessna 172 D-EBLD Flugplatz Reinsdorf East Germany – Scenic Flight

There are some features making this very aircraft ideal for aerial pictures. Besides the high-wing configuration, this exemplar features a side window which can be completely opened, allowing for an unobstructed view of the scenery below.

The man is a former NVA pilot, something that must have played a part in him accepting to set up this very unusual flight plan! His great ability as a pilot helped much in having the aircraft in the right position to take the desired aerial pictures.

Thanks to the availability of the Kolditz family, setting up the flight was an easy task, even operating from abroad and through much Google-translation!

Another key-element in this adventure was Federico, a friend of mine sharing my passion for flying, who lives in Berlin, and played an essential part in co-financing the flight and translating between me and the pilot, as – perhaps incredibly, considering the content of this website… – I don’t speak German.

If you are interested in sightseeing flights south of Berlin, I suggest inquiring with the folks at Reinsdorf, a very active airfield with many facilities for touristic and pleasure flights. Website here.

Soviet and East German Relics North of Berlin

September 29, 2019June 28, 2023 CarloRLeave a comment

For the full span of the Cold War, the communist German Democratic Republic has been a highly militarized region.

Due to its position right on the European border between NATO countries and the USSR-led eastern bloc, this relatively small state was kept in high consideration by the Soviet military staff in Moscow. In the re-organization of Soviet forces following the end of the Great Patriotic War (i.e. WWII), of the four Soviet groups of forces stationed in all satellite countries outside the Soviet border, one was specifically named ‘Group of Soviet Forces in Germany’. This group was headquartered in Wünsdorf, the former location of the German OKW south of Berlin (see this post), and had under its command a force of some hundred thousands troops, divided in two tank armies, an entire air army, three mixed armies and a supplementary artillery division. Supplies were in no shortage either, with some tens of fully operational airbases/tank polygons, academies and housing for all the troops and respective families.

Despite the very significant Soviet presence, the GDR invested a huge capital of its own in the development of a full-scale military strength. The East-German National People’s Army (NVA) received top-tier technology from the USSR, and did of course manufacture military supply of all sorts. Sustaining this army, together with the enormous para-military organization of the internal Ministry of Security – the ill-famed STASI – and other governmental organizations, military expenses undoubtedly contributed to the economical crisis hitting the GDR in the 1980s, setting the scene for its final demise.

The region north of Berlin was particularly rich in military and governmental installations, some of them highly classified, their history shrouded into mystery. You can find some information in dedicated posts on this website (see this post, also here and here).

In this chapter, some more items of interest are featured. Four of them are abandoned tokens from Soviet occupation. A nice belle-epoque villa on the shore of the Röblingsee in Fürstenberg, where the headquarters of the 2nd Guard Tank Army was headquartered since Stalin’s era to the withdrawal of Soviet forces in the 1990s, is the first of them. The second is a unique, forgotten Soviet monument, to be found less than two miles south of Fürstenberg. Two more are memorials and cemeteries, for Soviet troops who perished in the last stage of the Great Patriotic War (WWII) around Berlin.

Other three points of interest are instead GDR-related. The first is the former academy for future leaders of the communist party, established in Wandlitz in the years of Stalin, and initially led by Erich Honecker, later to become the omnipotent leader of the GDR for two decades. In the same area north of Berlin – and precisely in Waldsiedlung, today a nice clinical campus in the countryside – are the former private houses of the members of the central committee of the communist party of the DDR – personalities like Walter Ulbricht, Erich Honecker, Erich Mielke and Egon Krenz lived here with their families. Finally, you will find a glimpse from the so-called ‘Honecker bunker’ in Prenden. This big and highly classified installation was prepared in case of war, to protect the leadership of the GDR and ensure safe communication with Moscow.

Photographs were taken in summer 2019 and 2021.

Navigate this post – click on links to scroll

Soviet 2nd Guard Tank Army headquarters, Fürstenberg/Havel
Soviet monument, Fürstenberg/Havel
Soviet Memorial and Cemetery, Rathenow
Soviet Memorial and Cemetery, Blumberg
Free German Youth Academy, Wandlitz
Private Homes of the Members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the GDR, Waldsiedlung
Honecker bunker, Prenden

Sights

Soviet 2nd Guard Tank Army Headquarters, Fürstenberg/Havel

Among the Soviet forces permanently stationed in the GDR in case of war, there used to be two entire tank armies, the 1st and 2nd. The former was headquartered in Dresden, whereas the 2nd – named ‘Red Banner’ – in Fürstenberg/Havel.

The headquarter in Fürstenberg is basically an old villa, possibly dating to the late 19th century or a slightly more recent time. The villa is somewhat unusual in the panorama of todays Fürstenberg. This is a nice and lively touristic town, where many Berliners come to find a retreat in nature, less than 1 hour driving from home. Thanks to tourism-related activities, the area has got rid of the Soviet/East German grayness, and is now a typical village in the German countryside, graced with a creek and a small lake, where canoes and small boats are always roaming around.

In stark contrast with this, the villa is today completely abandoned, with overgrown vegetation almost hiding it from the main road. Access to the premises is easier from the back, where you first meet a typical Soviet prefabricated wall, and service buildings with evidence of a communist design – the usual yellow paint and railings on the windows with the stylized ‘radiant dawn of communist revolution’.

2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Soviet Headquarter Furstenberg Havel Berlin Lenin Statue

Getting closer to the house, you meet an access door, possibly going to a bunkerized area underneath. The house is in a really bad shape, with rotting walls, plants growing on the balconies and roof. The inside has been made completely inaccessible. A typical East German light is still hanging from the back wall.

2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Soviet Headquarter Furstenberg Havel Berlin Lenin Statue

To the front, a temple-like decoration contours the main door. It is difficult to say whether this decoration was there since the beginning, since it appears rather different in style from the rest of the villa.

2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Soviet Headquarter Furstenberg Havel Berlin Lenin Statue

A highlight of this site is the statue of Lenin still standing ahead of the front facade. The statue is in a relatively good shape. It looks like the man was portrayed during a discussion.

2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Soviet Headquarter Furstenberg Havel Berlin Lenin Statue

The concrete sculpture was accurately made, as witnessed by the facial expression and details in the embroidery of the tie.

2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Soviet Headquarter Furstenberg Havel Berlin Lenin Statue

On the front side, the villa used to be reachable with a large flight of steps climbing uphill, with Lenin on top. Today this perspective is gone, for vegetation has totally invaded the steps, and the front of the house is not visible from the street.

Getting there and moving around

The villa is located in central Fürstenberg on Steinförder Strasse (possibly) 44, on the southern side of the road. The house and its large garden estate are abandoned, but all other houses around are not. Getting closer without being spotted is easier from the backstreet. Technically speaking, the latter is accessible for residents only, so you may park somewhere else and come closer by foot. Visiting may take about 30 minutes with time for the pictures, for the house is not accessible inside.

It should be remarked that this site is probably not public, and at an unpredictable time it may be either restored or demolished – so checking it out may be not possible for long.

Soviet Monument, Fürstenberg/Havel

A rare example of Soviet commemoration monument can be found very close to Fürstenberg. Apart from the monumental sites in Berlin (see here), a number of smaller Soviet monuments are to be found around the GDR – impressive ghosts of a bygone era.

Among the best preserved are that in the former tank base of Zeithain (see this post), and this one in Fürstenberg.

The monument is composed of two parts, basically two concrete curtains facing each other on the sides of a small apron.

Soviet Memorial 2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Furstenberg Havel Berlin Victory

The smaller panel to the south is the most intriguing. It is apparently a celebration of an economic plan of the Soviet Union. It is all about the growth in production in several areas of industry and farming, likely resulting from careful planning by the top of the Soviet government.

Soviet Memorial 2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Furstenberg Havel Berlin

Soviet Memorial 2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Furstenberg Havel Berlin Victory

Soviet Memorial 2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Furstenberg Havel Berlin

Soviet Memorial 2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Furstenberg Havel Berlin Victory

Between a citation from Lenin and a stylized image of the Kremlin, several panels cite one by one the increases in production of anything from oil to weapons, from milk to corn.

Soviet Memorial 2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Furstenberg Havel Berlin Victory

To the back of the monument, the only remaining feature is a remarkable head of Lenin, with yet another citation. It is likely that other features have been removed by vandals, as empty frames can be seen aligned along this face of the monument.

Soviet Memorial 2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Furstenberg Havel Berlin Victory

The larger panel to the north is a celebration of the march to Berlin during the Great Patriotic War, likely related to specific actions of the Guard Tank Armies. The central slab features an image of the Soviet monument in Treptower Park, Berlin – one the most famous commemorative monuments in the Soviet Union, as witnessed by numerous images to be found still today in many museums in the former USSR (see for instance here).

Soviet Memorial 2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Furstenberg Havel Berlin Victory

Soviet Memorial 2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Furstenberg Havel Berlin

Soviet Memorial 2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Furstenberg Havel Berlin Victory

Close by, reproductions of decorations and captions of what happened on some days of 1944 and 1945 are reported.

Soviet Memorial 2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Furstenberg Havel Berlin Victory

On the left panel you can see a reproduction of the march to Berlin, from the battlegrounds in the USSR, through central Europe and Germany. It is likely that some metal parts of the monument once used to connect the ‘points of interest’, but these have disappeared due to vandalism.

Soviet Memorial 2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Furstenberg Havel Berlin Victory

On the right wing of the monument the names of Heroes of the Soviet Union possibly from the Guard Tank Armies are cited one by one. Close by, the image of the ‘Soviet Motherland Calling’, pretty usual in Soviet war iconography, can be found together with other typical emblems.

Soviet Memorial 2nd Guard Tank Army Red Banner Abandoned Furstenberg Havel Berlin Victory

Getting there and moving around

This monument is not maintained nor protected. It is open air, unfenced and freely accessible. It will be hopefully restored or moved to a museum, as the weather and vandals are taking their tolls. It can be reached along the road 96 about 1 mile south of Fürstenberg, immediately to the west of the road. A small unofficial parking area can be found ahead of it, making a quick visit really easy.

Soviet Memorial and Cemetery, Rathenow

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The Soviet memorial in Rathenow is one of a number of smaller military cemeteries for Soviet troops in the region around Berlin. Soviet soldiers perished in the area in the thousands in the final stage of WWII (1945), when the Red Army entered the northeastern part of todays Germany from Poland, pushing towards Berlin and fighting against the agonizing but still fierce German Wehrmacht.

Apart from the gigantic and formal monuments in Berlin (see this chapter), more modest shrines are scattered around the German capital city, all built roughly in the same period, between the end of the war in Europe and 1950, in the years of Stalin.

The Rathenow site is a small town cemetery, a proportionate, down-scaled version of its larger counterparts in Berlin – especially Schönholzer Heide (see here) – and can be found in the center of the sleepy town of Rathenow. A central obelisk with a commemoration plaque is topped by a golden five-pointed star, the symbol of the Red Army.

Soviet Red Army Memorial Rathenow

A number of soberly designed grave stones for as many Soviet troops are aligned in rows, creating an elegant perspective. Most of the graves bear complete names, as well as the birth and death years. Similar to the war cemeteries dating also from WWI (see for instance here and here), the very young age of most of the troops in the final struggle around Berlin is readily apparent.

Soviet Red Army Memorial Rathenow

Despite being fenced and of course not left in a state of disrepair, the green areas immediately outside of the perimeter of the monument in Rathenow are somewhat neglected, perhaps reflecting a fading interest for this monument.

Getting there and moving around

The Soviet monument in Rathenow can be reached at the crossing of Ferdinand Lassalle Str. with Friedrich Ebert Ring, in central Rathenow. The monument is very compact and can be toured in a few minutes.

Soviet Memorial and Cemetery, Blumberg

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The monument in Blumberg, in the northern outskirts of Berlin and really close to town, is smaller than the one in Rathenow (see above), but shares the general arrangement with it.

A central pillar with a commemoration slab is surmounted in this case by a statue of a Soviet soldier, holding a Red Banner flag.

Soviet Red Army Memorial Blumberg

Ahead and around the pillar, gravestones put flat on the ground are aligned in a perspective. However, the overgrown vegetation is basically hiding these lines of tombs, so that even from a small distance the central monument appears as an isolated item, put in the middle of a grassy area.

Soviet Red Army Memorial Blumberg

Actually, the major difference with other monuments of the kind lies in the rather remoteness of the one in Blumberg. It is a listed historical landmark, and therefore at least minimally cared for, but on the other hand, it is located relatively far from todays nearest settlement, hidden in the trees, and out of sight for anybody except people going there specifically for it. This makes it rather mysterious, a silent memento of old memories.

Getting there and moving around

The monument is conveniently located just out of the A10 highway (the external ring of Berlin), in the settlement of Ahrensfelde. You may reach Chausseedreieck and drive to its western dead end, where you can conveniently park. From there a grassy path points south into the trees, and in less than 150 yards you will find the monument. The size of the monument is small, hence no further walking is needed. A mosquito repellent is highly recommended in the warm season.

Free German Youth Academy & Joseph Goebbels Manor, Wandlitz

Deep in the countryside about 25 miles north of Berlin, about 3 miles from the small touristic village of Wandlitz, you can find a couple of highlights from the troublesome past of Germany, sitting side by side, close to the small Bogensee lake.

The first is the country estate of Joseph Goebbels, the famous minister for education and propaganda in the years of the Nazi dictatorship. This villa has been built in the war years, and often used by its owner, also for receiving guests. Goebbels obtained the estate as a birthday present from the Nazi Party.

Incredibly, the manor, built in a typical German country style, was not demolished after the war – so unlike other residences belonging to Hitler or his fellows, it is still there to see. It survived denazification, Soviet occupation and 40 years in the GDR as part of a school (see below).

The outside is the only part you can see. The appearance is sober, with simple lines and not much vertical elevation – it nicely integrates in the natural setting.

Joseph Goebbels Manor Nazi Leader Bogensee Wandlitz Hitler Present

Access to the courtyard is from a small road, now part of the inner network of the larger complex surrounding the manor.

This complex is actually the other peculiar item you can find in Wandlitz. This enormous academy was built in 1951, on behalf of the Free German Youth (FDJ), a youth-training organization founded and originally run by Erich Honecker, later to become the general secretary of the communist party of the GDR in the 1970s and 1980s.

The academy was designed by Hermann Henselmann the same architect who designed Karl-Marx-Allee in the Soviet sector of Berlin – one of the most iconic ‘Stalin’s-style’ perspectives in the world. The complex is composed of two large opposing buildings, on the short sides of an internal courtyard. These hosted common areas, lecture rooms and a theater.

German Communist School Academy Bogensee Wandlitz FDJ Jugendhochschule Jugendleiterschule DDR Honecker Henselmann

Along the longer sides of the courtyard are buildings with bedrooms and services for around 500 students.

German Communist School Academy Bogensee Wandlitz FDJ Jugendhochschule Jugendleiterschule DDR Honecker Henselmann

The academy was for the future staff of the communist party, and in later years of the Cold War it was attended also by international students from communism-leaning nations, or sometimes even from NATO countries.

German Communist School Academy Bogensee Wandlitz FDJ Jugendhochschule Jugendleiterschule DDR Honecker Henselmann

Following the collapse of the GDR, the building went on hosting educational institutions until the early 2000s, owned by the regional government. It was then mostly shut off, with some ancillary buildings still hosting institutions connected with the administration of the natural preserve around. It was put up for sale, for a while, but all potential customers failed to present satisfactory conversion plans. An expensive and inconvenient ghost from a forgotten era, as of 2019 its fate has not been sealed yet.

Today the place is not completely abandoned. Basic preservation works are being carried out, thus avoiding the roof to collapse or the walls to rotten. The names of the blocks are likely not from the GDR years. Similarly, a board with notices and maps dating from later than 1989 can still be seen, a witness of the post-GDR activity.

German Communist School Academy Bogensee Wandlitz FDJ Jugendhochschule Jugendleiterschule DDR Honecker Henselmann

Joseph Goebbels Manor Nazi Leader Bogensee Wandlitz Hitler Present

German Communist School Academy Bogensee Wandlitz FDJ Jugendhochschule Jugendleiterschule DDR Honecker Henselmann

The garden is not growing totally wild, and some architectural addition must have been tried in a recent past – like a small modern fountain ahead of the common building to the southwest of the complex. The buildings are still supplied with electrical power – there are lit lights above some doors – and it is discretely guarded to avoid vandalism.

Getting there and moving around

Accessing the area is possible following the L29 from Wandlitz. About 1 mile from the village, the road changes its name to Wandlitzer Strasse. There is a local road with limited access taking to the east. You may park there, and proceed along the road by foot for about .5 miles to reach the heart of the complex. This is surrounded by private houses. There is no fence, but there are proximity sensors which trigger an inspection. I was reached by a warden on a car soon after my arrival. He spotted me, but did not come close, likely noticing I was just taking pictures outside.

The site is rather mysterious and well worth a quick visit for interested subjects. Touring the site will not take more than 45 minutes, taking all the pictures.

Private Homes of the Members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the GDR, Waldsiedlung

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Similar to other top-ranking figures in the Soviet chain of command – like Stalin and others in his communist entourage, who did not spend much of their time in public or close to crowded places in central Moscow – the masters of the communist party in the GDR had their homes in the trees north of Berlin, relatively far from the city center and from the governmental buildings.

Actually, many of them lived together in a rather compact residential district, called Waldsiedlung. Access to the area was obviously controlled, but once inside the place was somewhat similar to a holiday settlement, with smaller single or two-family houses located along quiet alleys in a rural setting. The architecture is far from lavish – all houses are very similar to one another, and are designed in a plain typically East-German style from the post-WWII era.

Today, the settlement in Waldsiedlung has been converted into a campus for clinical studies. However, the original architecture of the place has been left mostly untouched, and explanatory panels telling quick information about the history of the residence have been planted ahead of most of the housing once occupied by old communist big brasses.

The office by the gate, and the metal gate itself, are totally original, as can be seen from historical pictures.

Waldsiedlung – GDR Communist Party private homes

Among the first buildings past the gate is a former congress center/clubhouse/gathering facility for the inhabitants of the residence.

Waldsiedlung – GDR Communist Party private homes

Moving on to the northern part of the settlement, the modest house of Erich Honecker and his wife Margot can be easily found. The two-storey construction has a patio on the backyard. A mystery wooden hut can be found next to the latter.

Waldsiedlung – Erich Honecker’s Home

The Honeckers were forced to leave this house in the turmoil following the collapse of the wall and the starting of the reunification process. Honecker fled to the Soviet Union in seek for protection, quickly departing from the Soviet base in Sperenberg (see here). He was trialed in absentia, in connection to the order issued to the GDR border guards to used deadly force against people trying to pass the ‘anti-fascist wall’, and the ensuing deaths. He remained in the USSR until also that dictatorship collapsed, and he was forced to escape to South America, where he died soon after.

To the far end of the same alley is the house of Walter Ulbricht and his wife Lotte. Somewhat larger than Honecker’s house, it is however not much more evolved in adornments or architectural fantasy.

Waldsiedlung – Walter Ulbricht’s Home

On another alley, parallel to the previous one, is also the house of Erich Mielke, the uncontested head of the ill-famed STASI, since its early years to the end.

Waldsiedlung – Erich Mielke’s Home

The man was captured and trialed for an old case of homicide, after the shut-off of the STASI monstrous machine. He died soon after.

Today even these smaller buildings have been converted for a new function in the clinical campus. Therefore, they cannot be toured inside. However, strolling in this inconspicuous, quiet village where a huge concentration of power used to be seated, provides a strange feeling.

Getting there and moving around

The Brandenburg Clinic, which has now taken over the Waldsiedlung residence for the members of the GDR government, is on the road N.273, between Bernau and Wandlitz. The clinic in Waldsiedlung is rather busy, and the parking ahead of it may be crowded. However, since the place is guarded and access regulated, that is the only credible parking option also for a historically-themed visit. You can access the area by foot undisturbed, and take photographs of the exteriors. There are explanatory panels ahead of many of the former residential homes.

Honecker Bunker, Prenden

Geographically very close to the academy in Wandlitz (see above) – less than 1 straight mile away – the bunker in Prenden is the central piece of a network of bunkers and military hardware, designed an built on behalf of the National Defense Council (NVR) of the GDR from 1973 onward, and named ‘komplex 5000’. The purpose was protection of the leadership of the GDR in case of a crisis or attack from the West.

The bunker is Prenden, technically listed as ’17/5001′, was a control center of incredible sophistication, designed to withstand nuclear blasts, and with direct communication with other sub-nodes of a larger communication network, thus granting safe communication and broadcasting ability, allowing to lead the country in case of a crisis. The bunker was intended to host the general secretary of the communist party, i.e. Erich Honecker, when the bunker was commissioned in 1983 – hence the unofficial name ‘Honecker bunker’.

The premises of Prenden are now largely in private hands, but some parts are apparently publicly accessible – the original fence has been completely torn down. The bunker itself is sealed, and can be accessed only on a few days per year with a guide.

The official entrance to the area is through the original GDR-made gate. This is closed however, for it is now the entrance to a small private industrial complex.

Honecker Bunker Objekt 17/5001 Prenden DDR Berlin

Traces of the original fence, as well as piping and vents for underground rooms, can be found around the hill on top of which the installation is standing.

Honecker Bunker Objekt 17/5001 Prenden DDR Berlin

Some service buildings in typical communist style can be still found, despite demolition works having taken place. Proximity sensors and signs delimit the private property area.

Honecker Bunker Objekt 17/5001 Prenden DDR Berlin

The three-storey building on the southwestern corner of the complex used to be the ‘front office’ of the bunker. Today, it is in a really bad shape.

Honecker Bunker Objekt 17/5001 Prenden DDR Berlin

Inside, traces of the original furniture and services can still be found, albeit much deteriorated.

Honecker Bunker Objekt 17/5001 Prenden DDR Berlin

Access to the bunker is on the underground floor. You may notice the prison-like railings ahead of the access stairs. A feature that might make you jump when you are exploring alone – if walking in a forgotten communist government building, deep in the silent German countryside, was not enough… – is the lit bulb hanging over the entrance to the bunker – really unexpected!

Honecker Bunker Objekt 17/5001 Prenden DDR Berlin

Besides the building, a shelter-garage for trucks and cars is still in a relatively good shape.

Honecker Bunker Objekt 17/5001 Prenden DDR Berlin

Getting there and moving around

The Prenden bunker is not publicized, but it can be neared easily with a car, about 1 mile south of the small village of Prenden, along Utzdorfer Strasse. The gate can be clearly spotted, but it will be likely closed, and there are obvious ‘no trespassing’ signs and labels of private companies. You may park outside and proceed along the side of the property to the back of it, where the abandoned building mentioned above can be found. Whether this is still on private land or not is not very clear. There are proximity sensors between the abandoned building and the rest of the complex, likely to trigger inspection if you get too close to the (surely) private part of the complex.

Venturing in the building is definitely not safe, and the bunker entrance is usually closed. Official visits to the bunker are possible on guided tours arranged irregularly about once per month (please browse the internet for more info on visiting, cause I could not find an official site of the place to link here).

Cold War Forts and Museums in Denmark

September 15, 2019May 9, 2020 CarloRLeave a comment

During the Cold War the condition of Denmark on the international stage was among the most complex. Coming from years of neutrality before WWII, conquered in a matter of days in spring 1940 by neighbor Germany, at that time in the throes of the Nazi fury, it found itself on the front line of the two opposing blocs soon after May 1945.

Having not been occupied by the Soviets during WWII, it could better choose about its future, and in 1949 the mother country of the Vikings joined NATO as a funding member – unlike neighbor Sweden and Finland – thus giving its availability to its Allies to help countering Soviet influence over the territory under its control.

History in brief

Often overlooked when looking at the world map for its relatively small area, at the beginning of the Cold War the geographical position of Denmark nonetheless was – and, to some extent, still is – strategically very relevant. It is right on the inlet of the Baltic Sea, with a proximity to the foreign coasts of Norway and Sweden such to allow easily blocking the marine traffic on the Kattegat strait, when needed, by means of mere cannon fire from the coast. During the Cold War, this meant a virtual control over a sea where the USSR and Eastern Bloc Countries had many industrially relevant and non-freezing ports, as well as navy bases. Furthermore, the islands of Denmark, where large cities like Odense and Copenhagen are, can be found as close as 1.5 hours by boat to the coast of the German Democratic Republic – once one of the most heavily militarized countries on earth, also thanks to a massive Soviet presence. The smaller island of Bornholm, further east, is even closer than that to the coast of Poland.

A curious fact in history demonstrated the proximity of Denmark to the communist sphere of influence, shaking the minds of top ranking Soviet military. On March 5th, 1953, on the very same day of Stalin’s death, the first defection of a jet fighter from the Eastern Bloc took place, when a Polish MiG-15 on a routine flight along the Baltic Coast suddenly left his mates and rushed to Bornholm, where it landed on a field, leaving the aircraft in almost pristine conditions.

The cautious reaction of the Danish government and military forces reflects the position of the country at the time – they had identified the USSR and their satellites as a clear and present threat, and consequently they had taken the side of the West. Yet Denmark knew it could not withstand a direct military hit by the Soviets for more than a few hours, therefore as a form of self-protection, any form of provocation, at least in the early 1950s, was carefully avoided. While the pilot of the MiG was allowed to escape to the UK and then the US, the aircraft was quietly ceded to the US military for technical inspection in the FRG, but then re-mounted and returned to Poland. Other examples of a policy of constant detente with the Soviet Union are represented by the refusal to have NATO bases on its territory, or despite the adoption of the Nike missile system for the airspace protection, the missed deployment of the corresponding tactical nuclear warheads.

Of course, in recognition of the strategic relevance of this pleasant country, plans for a Soviet invasion which would strike in northern Europe, with the objective of reaching to the ports of the North Sea in less than a week from Eastern Germany, included as a major target the quick occupation of the Jutland peninsula, and of the islands of Denmark as well. This had to be done by marching fast through the northern regions of the Federal Republic of Germany, and simultaneously landing troops on the Danish islands.

About this post

Albeit not enough populated to sustain an army capable of resisting the eastern opponents on the other side of the Iron Curtain, thanks to its position on the map, Denmark took over seriously a fundamental border monitoring and interdiction task in favor of all NATO forces. Two tangible witnesses of this are the military bases of Stevnsfort and Langelandsfort, both located on the southern coasts of the islands, overlooking key sea straits, and pointing south to the East German coast. Both have been shut down after the end of the Cold War, and now they can be visited as top-tier military museums.

Further souvenirs from the Cold War era can be found in the Defense and Garrison Museum in Aalborg, a wide-spectrum military museum with a focus on WWII and the Cold War, and in the Danish Museum of Flight, where exemplars from the heterogeneous wings of the Danish Air Force are displayed, together with unique specimens of Danish aircraft production from the inter-war and early Cold War period.

This post covers all these four sites, visited in summer 2019. Presentation doesn’t follow any special order.

Navigate this post – Click on links to scroll

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort
Cold War Museum Langelandsfort
Aalborg Defense and Garrison Museum
Danish Museum of Flight

Sights

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort

This museum on the eastern coast of the island of Zealand (the same of Copenhagen) is actually a former Cold War military fort, operative from the early 1950s to the year 2000. It was re-opened as a museum in 2008, carefully preserved in most part in the forms it had in the 1980s, the most technologically advanced years of the Cold War.

By the entrance to the museum area you can see three surface-to-air missile, namely an old Nike-Ajax, and a much more performing – and bigger – Nike-Hercules. Both were part of the US Nike airspace protection system, which was deployed in Denmark around Copenhagen. The missiles are from the Cold War years, but were not originally present on Stevnsfort.

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort Denmark – Cannons, Bunker and Operations Center

Strictly speaking, Stevnsfort is not the part of the installation you access first. The area you meet when getting in from the parking used to be a missile base in charge of the Danish Air Force. It was built for the Hawk system, another US interdiction surface-to-air missile system, the heir of the Nike system. Actually, Nike Hercules batteries in Denmark were withdrawn from use – as elsewhere, see this post – in the 1980s. Their role was taken over by Hawk missile batteries, gradually entering service since the 1960s, and operated till 2005 in Denmark.

Differently from its predecessor, the radar-based Hawk system was entirely movable, making it more flexible and less vulnerable. As a result, there are basically no bunkers in this area, and all constructions here are ‘soft’. Target designation and tracking was demanded to three sub-systems, namely a radar-pulse antenna for target individuation, an interrogation friend-or-foe (IFF) and a target-tracking/homing antenna.

Two radar-pulse antennas are displayed. The aerial emerges from a tent, which covers the electronics and motor of the system. Both are mounted on a truck trailer, which is actually totally movable. The range of the radar scanner was about 75 miles.

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort Denmark – Cannons, Bunker and Operations Center

The IFF antenna is a smaller barrel-shaped device coupled with systems on-board aircraft, needed to distinguish between an enemy aircraft and a friend or ally. The target-tracking/homing antenna, with its distinctive two radar dishes, shares the installation setup with radar-pulse antennas – it sits on top of a trailer, covered in a green tent.

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort Denmark – Cannons, Bunker and Operations Center

Close by, trucks and special moving cranes to mount the missiles on their launch gantries are displayed. Also containers for the missiles are shown, together with an example of the Hawk missile itself. The launch order could arrive only from the central Air Force command, except in case of a communication breakdown, when each missile base could decide on its own – at the high risk of making a mistake!

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort Denmark – Cannons, Bunker and Operations Center

Farther on, power trucks and other launch systems are displayed besides batteries of Hawk missiles. The launch gantry is smaller in size compared to that of Nike-Hercules, but each gantry launches three missiles instead of only one. The gantry is anchored to the ground, and when inactive it is shrouded in a peculiar rubber-coated eyelid-like bubble, which can be quickly lowered to let the missiles out.

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort Denmark – Cannons, Bunker and Operations Center

On the far end of the missile area, you can see an old-fashioned coastal cannon, part of the original fort, used as an illumination cannon in support of larger cannons in the battery.

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort Denmark – Cannons, Bunker and Operations Center

One of the naval gun batteries is the first item you meet when entering the actual Stevnsfort fort. The fort was built between 1952 and 1955 for use by the Navy, and is the oldest part of the installation. Together with the Langelandsfort gun battery and command post (see below), it was tasked with monitoring marine traffic along the straits giving access to the Kattegat and the North Sea from the inner Baltic. For the purpose, it was supplied with a huge underground bunker, its most distinctive feature, as well as batteries of naval guns.

The 150 mm guns have an intriguing history. They were made in Nazi Germany early during WWII, for the Kriegsmarine ship ‘Gneisenau’. This was damaged when still in the dockyard, and the guns were re-designated to be placed on the Danish island of Fano on the North Sea coast, as part of the fortifications of the Atlantic Wall. Following the end of WWII in May 1945, the guns were captured and finally found their way to Stevnsfort.

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort Denmark – Cannons, Bunker and Operations Center

The two-guns batteries were capable of 4-6 shells per minute per barrel, and could reach to the coast of Sweden, thus effectively closing the Oresund strait between Denmark and Sweden if needed. While primarily an anti-ship battery, the swiveling turret could be used to cover the coast, in case of an amphibious attack.

Firing direction was by means of a primary radar station on site, which is still in use, complemented by five other stations along the coast. The shells were loaded with an elevator from the bunker underneath. The guns were temporarily deactivated – but not dismantled – in the 1980s, when Stevnsfort assumed the role of main control and communication post for the southern district of the Danish Navy. Joint exercises with the military forces of the FRG were carried out also here in the final years of the Cold War.

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort Denmark – Cannons, Bunker and Operations Center

By the entrance to the underground bunker you can spot several air hatches emerging from the ground, and an example of sea mine. The latter was the primary weapon to interdict traffic on the strait, with gun battery fire being mainly directed against enemy mine-sweepers.

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort Denmark – Cannons, Bunker and Operations Center

Past the entrance, you need to descend a long stair into the bunker. At the base of the stair is an airlock with facilities for decontamination. The Stevnsfort bunker was most notably the first structure in Denmark to be built to withstand a nuclear attack.

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort Denmark – Cannons, Bunker and Operations Center

The bunker is not excessively big, with about twenty reinforced-concrete-padded rooms connected by tunnels carved in the rock.

One of the highlights of this installation is the communication bunker, operative since 1984 in an area formerly hosting a hospital, then shut down when the naval batteries were deactivated. This used to be a highly inaccessible facility during the Cold War. Thanks to a careful preservation, the room looks like it was still in use! Batteries of telex and other communication machines originally in place, monitors and modern imaging technology from the Eighties, together with examples of ciphered messages are all on display.

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort Denmark – Cannons, Bunker and Operations Center

Next to the communication room, the operation room is even more impressive. Similar to the former, it was constantly manned, and totally inaccessible for non-authorized personnel. The radar monitors can be seen towering over the consoles! Military staff on duty identified and followed all marine traffic in the assigned district, both civilian and military, friends and potential enemies.

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort Denmark – Cannons, Bunker and Operations Center

Catalogs of existing ships are on display. Several thousands ships were identified and observed from this facility in the days of operation. It is reported that patrol ships from the USSR approached the coast under surveillance about 30 times per year, tasked with familiarizing troops with local geography…

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort Denmark – Cannons, Bunker and Operations Center

Another highlight of the visit is the ammo storage for the gun battery previously visited. In the storage, explosive cartridges are placed separately from the shells themselves. There were four types of shells, recognized through a color code – grey for armor-piercing, orange for explosive, green for illuminating and blue for inert.

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort Denmark – Cannons, Bunker and Operations Center

The almost-100 pounds cartridges were loaded on an elevator, and lifted up to the battery. A ladder provided direct access from the bunker to the cannons, serving also as an emergency exit.

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort Denmark – Cannons, Bunker and Operations Center

Other rooms you can visit are sleeping quarters for the 250 men which stationed inside the bunker, until the guns were deactivated in 1981. The fort was capable of sustaining prolonged isolation in case of crisis or war. During the Cuban missile crisis, the Stevnsfort bunker was put on maximum alert for a week, with all men living underground, all accesses sealed.

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort Denmark – Cannons, Bunker and Operations Center

Getting there and moving around

The Cold War Museum Stevnsfort is an international-level museum, to be found 1 hour driving south of central Copenhagen. The official website with directions and opening times is here. Visiting inside the gun battery and the bunker is possible only on a guided tour, where you are given an audio guide in English (also German and possibly other languages) if you can’t follow the Danish-speaking human guide. The guided tour includes also a visit of the missile battery, but this part can be toured also on your own. The guided visit lasts about 1.5 hours, and may turn a little boring in some parts (as usual, the human guide speaks longer than your audio-guide), but it is needed to get access to the most unique parts of the museum. I suggest visiting relatively early in the day, allowing some spare time after the guided tour and before closure to tour the missile part on your own. Free parking ahead of the installation, nice military-themed shop.

Cold War Museum Langelandsfort

This museum has been opened on the premises of a former naval gun installation from the same years of Stevnsfort (see above). Located on the southern island of Langeland, at the inlet of the Belt channel giving access to the Kattegat from the Baltic, it was in a good position to monitor all marine traffic in its sector, as well as for blocking the channel. As a matter of fact, similarly to Stevnsfort, the main target of the naval guns here were minesweepers, for the channel was completely covered with Danish remotely-controlled sea mines, and action of enemy minesweepers would have been necessary before any attack by the bulk of navy forces.

The main naval force in Langelandsfort was constituted of four naval guns, mounted on swiveling turrets, and a fire control bunker which in non-crisis time was used to keep trace of all marine traffic in the sector. The fort was complemented with anti-aircraft defensive positions, a bunkerized power station, and ‘softer buildings’, including barracks. Except for the latter, everything has been restored and can be visited. One of the naval batteries has been restored completely to its original form including the mechanisms underneath, whereas at the base of the other three batteries you can find exhibitions about various aspects of the Cold War – they are all pretty well studied, rich and interesting.

The command bunker is the first construction you meet. The building is from the 1950s, and it shares many aspects with Stevnsfort, though this is much smaller. You can see sleeping quarters and a kitchen, which would be used especially in case the fort was sealed, i.e. in case of high alert or war.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

The control rooms are three. Two are for tracking marine traffic in the marine district of the Belt, and also for coordinating air operations from other military installations in Denmark. A radar antenna and an observation tower outside, likely complemented by similar gear in the area, provided a complete real-time picture of the civilian and military traffic in the sector. It is reported that ships going to Cuba with SS-4 nuclear missiles and related supplies were spotted in these rooms months before that material was photographed by the US, when the crisis broke out.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

The third control room is the fire control room for the whole fort, coordinating fire from all four gun batteries. Fire control was by means of a very interesting piece of machinery, a fully mechanical computer, taking in atmospheric data like temperature, humidity, wind direction and speed, and target data. No electricity was needed except for lighting the goggles of this analog computer! A similar item was present in Stevnsfort, but I could not see it during my guided visit.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

In an adjoining room you can see a perfectly restored communication facility, with ciphered messages hanging on the walls, as well as original transmission machines and early computers. There is also a personal study room for the commander of the post.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

Besides the control bunker you can find an anti-aircraft position, centered on a four-barreled anti-aircraft gun. Similar to all others, the small bunker underneath could be manned and sealed in case of war.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

The cannon battery closest to the control bunker has been restored completely, including the bunker underneath. The 150 mm guns, one per battery, were made in the final years of WWII by Skoda works in Plzen, in the then-Nazi occupied territory of Czechia. They were originally intended by the Wehrmacht for the Atlantic Wall in Denmark, but they never became operative there. Instead, they ended up to be installed by Denmark to counter a Soviet threat on the Baltic.

The mechanism for supplying cartridges to the cannon is similar to that in Stevnsfort, with an elevator lifting the explosive charge and the shell separately to the level of the gun. However, here the storage bunker is just beneath the cannon, and the lift does not carry the cartridge directly inside the turret, but to a hatch in the reinforced wall besides the cannon – something similar to some of the smaller cannon batteries of the Atlantic Wall built by the Germans.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

Inside the bunker you can see the ammo storage, as well as a sleeping compartment for the 15-men crew needed to operate the cannon.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

Some example shells have been preserved, with colors corresponding to different functions of the shell (see Stevnsfort above).

The cartridge elevator room is very small, and access is from both sides. Explosive and shell came from opposite directions, each from the corresponding storage room.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

The bunker under the next cannon battery has been dedicated to the analysis of the threat from the Danish perspective. Here you see copies of the Soviet plans to invade Denmark, as part of an operation to conquer central and northern Europe lightning-fast in case of an open war against the West. Among the most striking items, you can see detailed Soviet maps covering all regions of Denmark – with city names and all writing in Cyrillic!

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

There is also a nice collection of ordinary weapons and military supply from the Eastern Bloc, and especially from the neighboring German Democratic Republic. A very special feature is an example of the ‘Blücher decoration for valor’, a medal created by the GDR to be attributed to individuals for actions of exceptional courage in the defense of the GDR, and to be assigned only in case of war – thanks to the Cold War never turning ‘hot’ for the GDR, nobody could be awarded this decoration.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

The next battery is dedicated to espionage and spy gear, with many examples of James-Bond-like trinkets, actually used by both enemy and Danish spies. Machinery for ciphered communication, once considered hi-tech, is also on display, together with maps used by a Danish spy visiting the Polish coast, and satellite imagery of East German/Soviet airbases.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

The exhibition in the last battery is about the Cold War and society, and is full of old photographs of pro-Soviet protesters in Denmark, spies, famous characters of the Cold War, momentous events taking place in Denmark during the Cold War and so on. Most notably, there are also many artifacts from both Denmark, the Eastern Bloc and the USSR, including medals, posters, portraits and much more.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

Similar to the control bunker, the power station has been preserved in its original condition. Three diesel engines could provide power to all bunkers in case of war or failure of the grid for whatever reason. Immediately outside the entrance to the power station bunker there are apparently some suspended showers…

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

The large area of Langelandsfort has been selected also for the exhibition of a submarine, a mine-sweeper and two aircraft! The submarine ‘Springeren’ was used by Denmark in the 1990s and early 2000s, but it was built much earlier and operated by the Norwegian Navy. Sadly, after the retirement of ‘Springeren’, the Danish Navy shut off completely its underwater branch. The ship is a small conventionally powered attack submarine. The interior is apparently pretty modern with respect to older German or US WWII U-boats.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

The submarine features six torpedo tubes.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

The mine-sweeper has the appearance of a small conventional boat, but with room for a crew of several men. It is hosted in a hangar together with examples of sea mines – apparently US models.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

The two aircraft are a SAAB Draken of Denmark and a MiG-23 of Poland. They represent some of the most advanced aircraft of these opposing countries at the height of the Cold War. Both exemplars are well preserved inside hangars protecting them from the weather and sunlight.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

Another interesting sight is a reconstruction of a civil defense bunker, with much original material, including packs of ration cards already prepared for the population in case of war. In an adjoining room you can see a reconstruction of a bunkerized broadcasting studio – the national TV channels were tasked with providing updates to the population in case of an attack, hence a similar facility was prepared in the basement of the TV headquarters.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

Close to the ticket office, you are offered a very well-designed exhibition tracing the timeline of the Cold War, with some clever text and many pictures, some of which rather uncommon – really worth spending some time on, before or after visiting the museum.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

There is also room for temporary exhibitions, in a hangar which includes an original section of the Berlin Wall.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

The building of the ticket office is also interesting. From the back of it you can get access to a smaller exhibition about travels to the DDR (the native acronym for the GDR), with everyday items, old Interflug boarding passes, and some incredible postcards – apparently, modern Soviet-style housing and heads of Marx were the items that GDR postcard-designers liked most… Fragments of the Berlin Wall are also on display.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

Ahead of the entrance there is an old and pretty big hammer and sickle, originally from a Soviet ship. The commander threw it outboard when the Soviet Union officially ceased to exist. It was collected by a Danish sailor and ended up here. Nearby you can see a reconstruction of the Berlin Wall, and an original Trabant crossing it.

Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort, Bagenkop – Cold War Museum Denmark – Cannon Battery, Bunker and Operations Center

Getting there and moving around

The Cold War Museum Langelandsfort is located close to the southern tip of the island of Langeland, which is connected with bridges to the major island of Fyn, where Odense can be found about 1-hour north of the museum by car. You can move around the museum on your own, there are several panels with explanations. Most panels have at least a quick translation in German and English. All presentations are very well designed and maintained. Visiting may take at least 2 hours for an interested subject, and even more especially if you are taking pictures. Free parking ahead of the entrance, and picnic area nearby. Official website here.

Aalborg Defense and Garrison Museum

This museum was opened in the year 2002, in the hangar of a seaplane base constituted by the occupying German forces in 1940. The base was potentiated in more instances during WWII, and a half-interred command bunker similar to those of the Atlantic Wall was added.

Aalborg has been a military post for centuries, therefore the museum is centered on several aspects of war and military life. Of course, the majority of the artifacts on display date from WWII and the Cold War period.

The hangar hosts a small collection of aircraft, which capture your sight when you get in. Most notably, there are a venerable F-84, an F-86, and somewhat older T-33 and Gloster Meteor.

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum – Defense and Garrison Museum – WWII and Cold War Weapons – Denmark

Close by, you can find a more modern F-104. Jet engines of American make from some of these aircraft have been taken out of the airframes, and put on display separately.

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum – Defense and Garrison Museum – WWII and Cold War Weapons – Denmark

Again in the center of the hangar you can see a Hawk missile system, including the missile battery and movable power and control trucks. Also anti-aircraft guns and searchlights from various ages are on display.

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum – Defense and Garrison Museum – WWII and Cold War Weapons – Denmark

Items from WWII include a nice exhibition of locally-collected gear used by the Danish resistance movements. Supplied by the Allies from the air, they managed to build several types of bombs, mines, and so on, made to disturb and damage enemy transports, or to kill enemy staff in well programmed para-military actions.

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum – Defense and Garrison Museum – WWII and Cold War Weapons – Denmark

Memorabilia include the engine of an US B-17 bomber, sadly downed over the Baltic during the crew’s final mission, the original Luftwaffe eagle once standing on the building of the local German air command, and a Nazi flag weaving on some public building in town in the years of the German occupation.

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum – Defense and Garrison Museum – WWII and Cold War Weapons – Denmark

There are also many photographs from the area from the war years, and reproductions of German maps and local newspapers. The latter tell about relevant facts taking place during the war, as reported by the local media. There are also diplomas of merit issued by the US and Britain in favor of a local citizen, member of the resistance.

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum – Defense and Garrison Museum – WWII and Cold War Weapons – Denmark

A part of the exhibition is about civil defense. Similar to the US, Britain and other countries during the Cold War, this service was activated to prepare the population to a nuclear war scenario, and to provide shelter and a chance of survival, by means of bunkers and deposits of supplies. Here you can see a reconstruction of such a shelter, and items which used to be stored in preparation for survival in the nuclear winter.

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum – Defense and Garrison Museum – WWII and Cold War Weapons – Denmark

There is also a nice collection of light weapons from local firms, uniforms and communication rigs.

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum – Defense and Garrison Museum – WWII and Cold War Weapons – Denmark

A few uniforms and technical gear from the current supplies of the Danish military are on display as well.

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum – Defense and Garrison Museum – WWII and Cold War Weapons – Denmark

In a room to the side of the central hall, you can find uniforms dating from WWII, including German stuff. The story of a Dane coming to the US and fighting for the US Army is also told in a corner, also through some memorabilia.

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum – Defense and Garrison Museum – WWII and Cold War Weapons – Denmark

On an elevated platform you can find an exhibition about the Cold War. This is mostly made by panels retracing the history of that confrontation over the decades. Among the most peculiar items on display, a copy of the invasion plan studied by the Soviet in case of a sudden war with the West. That plan included the rapid conquer of Denmark, due to its strategically relevant position. A copy of a Soviet-made map of Aalborg in Russian, needed in case of war, is another example of the unique artifacts on display.

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum – Defense and Garrison Museum – WWII and Cold War Weapons – Denmark

This special Cold War exhibition is completed with a set of field and anti-aircraft weapons from various ages of the confrontation.

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum – Defense and Garrison Museum – WWII and Cold War Weapons – Denmark

Other rooms around the main hall display modern uniforms, NATO-related material, military supply from various ages and even a throne used by the Queen of Denmark on an official visit.

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum – Defense and Garrison Museum – WWII and Cold War Weapons – Denmark

In an adjoining smaller hangar you can find a rich collection of trucks and weapons with various – not only military – functions.

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum – Defense and Garrison Museum – WWII and Cold War Weapons – Denmark

Outside, a highlight of the museum is the former air command bunker built by the Germans. This has been filled with memorabilia from the Nazi occupation period. An unusual and little-known story is told here, about the German refugees from Eastern Prussia, a region loosely coincident today with the part of Russia around the town of Kaliningrad (ex-Konigsberg). This area used to be part of Germany since before WWI, and it remained under the Weimar Republic, even though separated from German mainland. Neighboring Lithuania was annexed to the Third Reich before WWII – similar to Sudetenland – on account of the proximity to that region, with the excuse of a significant German group living in Lithuania. In 1939 the Germans re-gained control over northern Poland, and the two regions of Prussia were reunited in the Reich.

Following the victories of the Soviets in 1944 and the ensuing landslide-march towards Berlin, Eastern Prussia was lost to the enemy. Refugees escaped to mainland Germany, and the administration of the Reich sent these folks in several areas relatively far from the front – including a significant number to occupied Denmark, and especially in the hangars in Aalborg, where the museum is today. So the hangar acted as a hospitality center for the refugees. This was something strange though, for the refugees were not local nationals, but instead enemies. This led to a controversy soon after, when the war ended. In the event, most of the refugees returned to their land of origin, only to find it permanently occupied by the Soviets. Some handmade artifacts of these German refugees can be seen on display in the bunker.

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum – Defense and Garrison Museum – WWII and Cold War Weapons – Denmark

Finally, a very good collection of tanks, field guns and movable howitzers from various countries including the Eastern Bloc and mainly from the various ages of the Cold War can be admired on the museum apron. For the most part, these are reportedly kept in working condition.

Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum – Defense and Garrison Museum – WWII and Cold War Weapons – Denmark

Getting there and moving around

The museum is located close to central Aalborg, on the waterfront. You can visit it totally on your own. Some of the exhibitions are described in more languages, but some parts are in Danish only. Nonetheless, the visit can be very rewarding for experts and for the kids as well, thanks to the chance to touch many of the artifacts on display. A two-hours time may be enough for having a look, more time is required for a more in-depth visit or if you want to take pictures.

Convenient parking just ahead of the entrance. Website with full information here.

Danish Museum of Flight

This fantastic collection of aircraft can be found next to Stauning Airport, on the west coast of Jutland, at the level of the Ringkobing firth. This is by far the largest aircraft collection in Denmark, and the reference air museum in this country.

The exhibition is well designed and rich, and it covers both the civil and military branches of aviation. Furthermore, a good half of the aircraft appear in fully airworthy conditions.

There are three thematic hangars. In the first you can find civilian aircraft from various ages, smaller sport aircraft and military trainers mainly from the inter-war period or the late 1940s. Some of them appear airworthy.

Most notably, there is the front part of the fuselage of a Douglas DC-7, formerly in service with the national carrier SAS, still on business today. The cockpit and the crew compartment are well preserved. The analog instrumentation adopted on this plane, which dates from 1957 and represents the last and most advanced of the Douglas propliners, is abundant and remarkably sophisticated.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

Another unique aircraft on display is an Aerospatiale Corvette, an executive jet by the same French airframer who participated in the Concorde project. You can also board the plane.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

Similarly rare today is the DeHavilland Dove, a British-made short range liner from the early Cold War period. Similar aircraft, cheap to operate, went on flying well into the 1970s in many countries. Here you see an exemplar in the colors of Cimber Air.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

Among the trainers, you can find a DeHavilland Tiger Moth and a Chipmunk from the same manufacturer. Less common aircraft include a DeHavilland Hornet Moth, which apparently spent most of its flying time in Kuala Lumpur, and a nice Bucker Bestmann, a German trainer adopted and license-built also in Sweden.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

Despite never adopted by the Danish military, a V-tailed Fouga Magister French trainer apparently found its way to here. It was reportedly flown in private hands by a Danish professor, before being donated to the museum.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

In the first hangar are also examples of Danish aircraft production, including the reconstruction of an early prototype by a local pioneer. Propellers and dismounted engines and systems, likely used for training purposes in the past, are an interesting part of the exhibition too.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

A huge collection of model engines, some air traffic control consoles and airport trucks complete the exhibition in the first hangar.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

The second hangar is mainly devoted to aircraft manufactured in Denmark. Most notably, the Skandinavisk Aero Industri – abbreviated in SAI – specialized in trainers and small transport in the inter-war and WWII period, and knew a good national and local international success between 1937 and 1954, when it disappeared – and with it basically also the Danish aeronautical industry.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

Some of the aircraft on display are unique exemplars, the last witnesses of this interesting story. Not all aircraft here are from this manufacturer though – an ubiquitous Piper Cub in its distinctive yellow colorway can be found as well, together with a Supermarine Spitfire. Also here, most aircraft appear to be in airworthy conditions.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

In the last hangar, which despite being the largest one, is the most crumpled, you can find military aircraft retracing the history of the Danish Air Force supply. The aircraft here are all from the Cold War period, hence giving to this hangar a historical connotation. This part of the exhibition is also particularly nice, as you can walk close and beneath the aircraft, an ideal setting for getting pictures of smaller particular features.

The variety of present aircraft is very interesting, and reflects the close bounds of Denmark with the US and Britain. Aircraft from the early Cold War include Lockheed T-33, a North American F-86, and two different versions of the Republic F-84.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

An exemplar of the latter is supplemented with JATO – Jet Assisted Take-Off – bottles under the fuselage. The mountings of the underwing rockets on the F-84 and of the belly rockets on the F-86 are really unique examples of Cold War technology!

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

A big Consolidated Catalina amphibious aircraft towers on all others in the hall, while a Douglas C-47 transport in excellent conditions is preserved in a corner, with an interesting ski system mounted on the landing gears.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

British aircraft from the same early era include a Gloster Meteor and what appears to be a pretty rare Fairey Firefly. Another US design is a T-6 trainer, to be found under the wing of the Catalina.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

More recent designs still from the Cold War include a Lockheed F-104, a British Hawker Hunter and a Swedish SAAB Draken.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

Especially the configuration of the latter – both the general configuration and the arrangement of the landing gear and wing pylons – is really unique, reflecting a different yet interesting school of aircraft design.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

Rather uncommon out of the US, a North American F-100 Super Sabre is also on display, with a foldable Pitot boom.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

Finally there are a Hawk missile battery, a movable command center and service trucks.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

Modern aircraft are represented here by an F-16. There are also two helicopters of US make, closing the collection.

Danmarks Flymuseum Denmark Museum of Flight Jutland Skjern Cold War Planes

Getting there and moving around

The museum is located between Stauning and Velling, two small villages on the inner coast of the Ringkobing firth, western Jutland. The facility is modern, with a large free parking and a picnic area. It is located on the border of a local airport, immersed in nature – a very pleasant location. The museum requires about 2 hours for an interested subject, 2.5 if you want to take pictures. Website with full information here.

Soviet Depots for Nuclear Warheads in the GDR

September 8, 2019June 28, 2023 CarloR3 Comments

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Despite their great destructive potential and strategic relevance, nuclear assets were deployed far from the ‘centers of power’ in Moscow and Washington by both the USSR and the US. As the front of the Cold War was especially ‘hot’ along the border between the Warsaw Pact and NATO Countries in central Europe, large arsenals of nuclear weapons were deployed to the area, on both sides of the Iron Curtain, and in several instances over time.

On the western side this was not hidden and led often times to protests in Countries like the UK, West Germany and Italy, so that the history of the presence of a nuclear arsenal in those Countries can be traced with some accuracy, albeit not easily. Conversely, much less is known about the deployment of Soviet nuclear arsenals over the territory of the former Eastern Bloc, making this segment of Cold War history especially mysterious.

History – in brief

In this Cold War scenario, the German Democratic Republic (GDR, or DDR in German) received special consideration by the Soviets. Thanks to its advanced position in Europe and the local, much trusted ‘hardcore’ communist regime, the USSR planned the deployment of early strategic missiles – SS-3 Shyster and SS-4 Sandal – starting already in the late Fifties, the years of Khrushchev. Traces of an actual deployment exist in Vogelsang and Furstenberg, about one hour driving north of Berlin (see this post about Vogelsang, and this about the mysterious deployment of missiles in the area).

Later on, in the early years of Brezhnev as leader of the USSR, it was decided that for a prompter and more flexible response in case of an attack, nuclear warfare especially for tactical use should be deployed outside of the USSR borders, to Countries in close proximity with the West. On the other hand, strategic warheads and missile systems could be withdrawn to within the USSR, as more technologically advanced intercontinental ballistic missiles had become available, making a hit of a foreign objective possible even from deep inside the Soviet borders.

Consequently, deployment of air launched nuclear warfare started in selected Soviet airbases, which were really not in any shortage in the GDR – considering both the national air force (NVA) and the Soviet aviation, the DDR used to be one of the world’s top countries in terms of airbases per square mile, or per resident. You can see several posts on former Soviet bases in the GDR on this website (look here, here and here).

For military corps not operating from airbases – especially missile brigades – the headquarters of the Red Army in Moscow deemed necessary the deployment to the GDR of nuclear warheads for tactical or theater missiles.

Two depots were built anew in dedicated installations specifically for hosting such warheads. One was in Stolzenhain, codenamed ‘Objekt 4000’ and sometimes referred to as Linda (the name of a village nearby), close to the highly-militarized area of Juterbog (see this post) and Kloster Zinna, about one hour driving south of Berlin. The other was again close to Furstenberg, and named Lychen-2, and codenamed ‘Objekt 4001’.

The nuclear bunkers in Stolzenhain and Lychen were payed for by the GDR – through a governmental agreement with the USSR – which always detained official property of the facilities, and were built by German workers, around the year 1967. Once ready, in 1968 the bunkers were handed over to Soviet staff, and the corresponding areas totally closed to non-Soviets. The bunkers, as other similar facilities in other Countries of the Warsaw Pact, communicated directly with Moscow, as similarly to the US, only the top of the command chain could authorize the use of nuclear forces.

The facilities were kept running until the end of the Cold War. Control was officially given back to the agonizing GDR in 1990, the Soviets having transferred all valuable material to the (agonizing) USSR.

Here the story splits for the two installations. While the Lychen bunker has been selected for interment, the installation largely being demolished around 2015, forgotten and reclaimed by nature, as of 2019 the Stolzenhain bunker is in a far better condition, apparently in private hands, and albeit plans for it are sadly similar to Lychen, it may be still in time to be turned into a unique, world-class museum.

About this post

This post covers both Lychen-2 and Stolzenhain bunkers. The former was explored in the summer of 2019. The latter was explored a first time in 2019, and in a second instance with the guidance of its owner Manfred van Heerde and the nuclear scientist and historian Reiner Helling in 2021. As the Stolzenhain installation is still in a relatively good shape, you can also get an understanding of what the inside of these bunkers looks like, their design and specific features. Pictures of this installation from above can be found in another chapter (see here).

Navigate this post – click on links to scroll

Objekt 4000 – Bunker Stolzenhain (aka Bunker Linda)
Objekt 4001 – Bunker Lychen-2

Sights

Objekt 4000 – Stolzenhain

The Stolzenhain bunker, aka ‘bunker Linda’, due to the name of a nearby village, is a perfect specimen of this type of construction (codenamed Monolith-type – see also this post for similar sites in nearby Poland, including one open as a museum). It is composed of two adjoining sub-parts – an area with larger barracks and ‘soft’ constructions, and a larger area were two twin bunkers for warheads are located, together with smaller service buildings and smaller service quarters for the troops. The two areas are arranged along a north-south direction, with the bunker area north of the barracks area.

Today, access to the barracks area is mostly interdicted – you may venture in by foot, but there is a gate which does not allow getting in by car, despite the relatively good condition of the road. The premises are in private hands, and some demolition/reconstruction/conversion works are being carried out here. There is also a service building, looking like a private residence, built in recent times.

Main Gate and Outer Buildings

The main access road features typical prefabricated concrete slabs, found in most Soviet/communist installations everywhere in eastern Europe. Halfway between the external gate and the barracks area, traces of an external wall can be found, with a couple of ‘welcome stones’.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

A closer look to the slabs reveal a rather poor quality material used for manufacture. Writings are excerpts of the Soviet constitution, presented as mottoes in Russian, with some communist symbols.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

The barracks and some softer constructions date from the Seventies – the frieze on the sidewalls of the buildings tells it quite clearly. The area is protected by a concrete wall, bearing a probably original greenish camouflage.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

In the years of operation, there used to be four large apartment blocks aligned in a row, just ahead of the entrance to the area of the barracks. These buildings were for the officials and their families. While still inside the external fence of the base, these apartments allowed more privacy and convenience, forming a de facto little Soviet village in the GDR, segregated from the surrounding German community. This housing has been completely demolished today. However, some trace of correlated ‘civilian’ facilities can be found to the south of the barracks area.

In particular, a swimming pool was built at a certain point in the history of the base, and it is still in a relatively good shape. Changing rooms for men and women are still there. A tall springboard and starting blocks still face the pool, which is apparently watertight, despite the greenish water not being really attractive!

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

The pool features an outer fence, with a service gate bearing a characteristic Soviet ‘diverging rays’ motif.

Another facility put specifically for comfort in this area is a sauna/bathing house, a widespread Russian tradition. The sauna building in Stolzenhain features several smaller adjoining rooms, with pools, sauna/Turkish bath areas, a central heater, as well as more general purpose sitting rooms with fireplaces. A video studio was also featured in this multi-functional building.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

An interesting specimen of Soviet naive art, some frescoes adorn the walls of some of the rooms, with subjects ranging from sea life to women performing ‘spa activities’.

Still outside of the innermost military part, yet inside the external fence of the base, a training ground is to be found to the east of the military area, not too far from the spa building. A walk in the trees along the inner perimeter of the wall of the base is needed to reach this part. A control building with an observation post on top features plenty of instructions for tasks to be performed in a training exercise – in Russian!

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Close by, a shooting range for light weapons (rifles, guns) can be found, again with precise indications on the distances to be taken from the target, marked by colored lines on the ground.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Back to the gate to the military barracks area and stepping inside, among the few surviving buildings is a former gym. Despite used as a storage today, the larger hall is clearly a former volleyball/basketball court. A referee chair is still hanging from the sidewall, and sport-themed frescoes decorate the walls.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Former hangars for trucks or technical vehicles can be found in the eastern part of the former barracks area, similar to traces of a fuel pump. As said, most of the former buildings here are now gone.

A special feature in the barracks area is a manhole with traces of a set of cables, pointing towards the highly secretive and guarded bunker area. Communication is of paramount importance for military practice. In the case of nuclear depots so far away from Moscow, a cable connection was implemented not to loose contact under any circumstances between the Soviet headquarters and this peripheral, yet so valuable facility. Pressurized cables were used, such that when an attempt to severe or intercept cable signals was carried out by the enemy cutting the cable, the external jacket was pierced, a loss of pressure was sensed, and an alarm was triggered immediately. Similarly, in the case of an accidental degeneration of the ground where the cable ran, the pressurized jacket was pierced triggering an alarm, allowing the technicians to repair the cable and restore contact.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

An old and forgotten Soviet standard service container, typically transported by truck, can be found close to the manhole totally invaded by vegetation. From here, a view to the perimeter concrete wall around the innermost part of the site can be easily seen, with clear traces of camo paint.

Bunker Area

The area of the bunkers is fortified with a concrete wall with barbed wire on top running along all its perimeter. The size of the bunker is immediately apparent from above – you can look at some aerial pictures from a dedicated flight over the area, see this report. There is a gate connecting it to the barracks area. The only other gate to the bunker area, located north on the other end of the complex, opposite to the first gate, is partially obstructed.

For its entire length, the external wall of the bunker area is almost perfectly preserved, and abundant traces of camouflage can be easily spotted all along.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Inside the wall, you soon find a fence of barbed wire with concrete posts, again standard for Soviet military installations. Some sections of the barbed wire are very well preserved, albeit rusty. The overgrown vegetation looks like the only difference between now and the years when the bunker was in operation!

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Inside the barbed wire fence, you find traces of an exceptional system of trenches and turrets, which should have granted protection to the innermost part of the complex – the storage bunkers. There are turrets of many kinds, including one which looks like the dome of a tank, re-used for the purpose – a feature also of the Atlantic Wall and the Salpa Line (see here). Such a degree of protection is extraordinary also with respect to other military installations. Abundant traces of barbed wire-holders along the tranches can be easily spotted. The site was clearly considered as an objective of special value, to be seriously defended in case of an attack from the West.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Close to the center of the large fenced area, you soon reach the bunkers (there are a western and an eastern bunker, described below), which despite being mostly underground, feature a small mound on top which allow spotting them from the distance.

Western Nuclear Storage Bunker

Access for the warheads is at the level of the ground. There are two large tight doors corresponding to the two ends of the main hall of the bunker. Below you can see a 3D sketch of the bunker, from a placard found close to Objekt 4001 (the Lychen bunker), describing the inner layout.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Lychen-2 Objekt 4001 East Germany

By one of the entrances to the bunker is a small loading/unloading platform for two trucks. The apron connecting the platform to the bunker door used to be covered by prefabricated roof tiles – rich in asbestos – and covered with artificial vegetation, of which some traces remain.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

The area is overlooked by a firing turret, seating above the front of the bunker.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

The external tight door gives access to an airlock, a small square compartment closed to the opposite end by another identical door. This is explained in view of the need to protect the innermost part of the bunker from attacks by means of high-yield weapons. A similar architecture can be found in a Soviet nuclear depot in Szprotawa, Poland (see this post).

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

From the airlock you get access to a suspended platform, from which you can appreciate the storage facilities of the bunker. There is a main hall, where the warheads were lowered by means of a motorized crane from the suspended platform down to the underground level. From there, they were moved to one of the four long storage chamber, all accessible on the same side of the main hall.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Temperature and humidity of the main hall and storage rooms were perfectly controlled. Ventilation pipes and an impressive array of hangers for heat exchangers can be seen in the main hall.

Access to the underground floor from the suspended platform is only possible with a ladder, passing through a narrow hatch – as usual, it’s hard to understand why the Russians (or the Germans in this case) built passages so narrow and uncomfortable, considering they are not among the shortest human types on Earth… – see this post for another brilliant example…

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

The storage rooms are very long, and traces of strongpoints for anchoring the warheads safely on ground can be seen surfacing on the floor. The doors between the main hall and the storage rooms, where present, don’t appear to be tight. Most writing is in Russian, but some labels are in German. This can be explained with the bunkers being realized by GDR personnel, upon requirements by the Soviets.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

The blue cabinets and piping in the pictures are part of the warhead monitoring plant. Each warhead – the actual number is part of the mystery, but there used to be several tens of them in each of the two bunkers on site! – was kept in a sealed shell, to keep sensitive nuclear material precisely in the required climatic condition. Constantly checking the condition of the warheads was part of the duty of the bunker personnel. For the task, each warhead was moved to the hall and connected to the piping, to take measurements of temperature, pressure, atmospheric composition and similar parameters. In case of an anomaly, the warhead was resent to a major technical facility in the USSR (in particular, in Belarus for the Stolzenhain warheads), for fixing.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

To the opposite end of the main hall from the entrance is another identical entrance, with a suspended platform and an airlock. In the case of this bunker, the most external tight door to the far end has been taken off its hinges and put on the floor, whereas that between the airlock and the main hall has been permanently shut.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Back to the main hall, on the opposite side of the storage rooms on the underground floor, it is possible to access a service area, with several smaller rooms connected by a narrow corridor. The function of each room is not difficult to argue, and looking at some details it is possible to make some easy hypothesis.

Electric actuation for the ventilation system may be the function of a first room.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

What looks like a kind of hydraulic pumping/water filtering system is located next door, split over three adjoining rooms. The system has been pulled down to the ground, but it is not severely damaged.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Next you can find a reservoir for water, placed in a room close by, painted in green and highly damaged.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Going further along the corridor, you can find a toilet. Poor drainage – don’t forget this floor is entirely underground – meant that the troops spending their shift in the bunker did not use the toilet much, and climbed out of the bunker for their necessities.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Further on, you can see a room which is probably a sleeping room for the troops stationed inside the bunker. A heat exchanger and traces of a sink on the wall may support this theory. Air ducts leading to the surface can be found in recesses close by.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

A room with traces of electric material and an electric panel outside may have been an electric power control facility, maybe even a cable communication facility.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Further on, you get access to a power station, where clear traces of a diesel system for supplying electric energy to the bunker can be found. A big reservoir painted in yellow may have been the diesel fuel tank. A stator of an electrical generator can be seen on the floor. Parts of a diesel engine can be found, and what may have been tanks for lubrication oil can be seen on the walls. As it often happens with defense bunkers – even for larger defensive forts since before WWII – the installation was usually powered from the outside grid in peacetime, but it had to be capable of staying active in case of an attack and failure of the external grid. Hence backup generators can be found in most underground bunkers since the 20th century. Especially in the atomic age, when a nuclear attack on the installation was considered a potential scenario, a stress was put on this type of countermeasure.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

The diesel engine is earmarked with a Soviet label, witnessing its origin! Similarly, electric motors and components scattered on ground – part of the ventilation system – are ‘made in CCCP’.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Traces of lubrication oil can be found on panels on the floor. Between the power station and the main corridor, a side door gives access to a ladder going up. This was likely the ‘normal’ pedestrian access to the bunker.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

A few more service rooms can be accessed from the main underground hall, through doors on its short sides, under the suspended balconies. There were mechanical workshops, but also facilities for dealing with contaminated or poisonous material, in particular that of nuclear warhead triggers. This is further witnessed by traces in the eastern bunker (see below), and by special valves installed on the ventilation system in those rooms.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Getting out and climbing on top of the bunker, it is possible to spot several air hatches for the ventilation system (including that of the power station), as well as a metal cabin covering the ladder giving access to the service rooms in the bunker – the ‘normal’ pedestrian access cited above.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

A loading/unloading facility, larger than the one on the other side and with platforms of different sizes numbered from 1 to 4, can found also by the other gate of the bunker, which as noted is sealed.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Also here, an asbestos-rich roof can be found in the truck docking area, but there is no superstructure covering the apron leading to the door of the bunker.

Eastern Nuclear Storage Bunker

A large concrete road forms an ‘8’ around the two nuclear storage bunkers. The bunkers are identical, but for protection the eastern bunker was built tilted by 90° with respect to the western one – this way, it was not possible with a single attacking wave to hit the entrance gates of both bunkers.

The gate on one end of the bunker has been partially interred. The large apron leading to the truck loading facility is not covered. Traces of a fire emergency system can be found. Many hatches can be seen on top of the bunker, not all well conserved. One of them carries the curious inscription ‘Baku’, the capital city of the former Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan, written in Russian – as elsewhere in Soviet military installations, maybe the troops stationed here marked the place with the name of their city of origin (see this post).

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

The bunker is slightly better preserved than the western one. The motorized cranes can be see on top of the main hall – nominal capacity is 32 tonnes.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

The array of heat exchangers for temperature control on the side of the hall is clearly visible. A pressure gauge dates back to 1967. The storage rooms keep trace of a ventilation system, yet today humidity is damaging the inside of the bunker.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

An exploration of the service rooms, accessible from the main hall opposite the storage rooms, reveals a water pumping/filtering system and a water tank in their original positions.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

The toilet, complete of toilet brush, is placed on top of a platform – the composition is so perfect that it looks like a weird ‘monument to a toilet’!

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Here the air pumps are better preserved than the in the western bunker, with fans still in place and air ducts pointing upwards to the roof of the installation.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

A room possibly for the shift on duty, with a heat exchanger and sink, features a supporting structure possibly made for beds. The electric panels in the adjoining room confirm its function as a control center for electric supply.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Before reaching the power station at the far end of the service corridor, a side passage gives access to a room with bulky air filters. This looks very similar to the filtering system of other military installations elsewhere – see this post for instance. Big greenish canisters are still there with writings in Russian. These were needed for survival inside the bunker, in case of an attack with nuclear or chemical weapons, which would have made outer air poisonous.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

The area of the power station is similar to that in the other bunker, except the diesel engine, which is somewhat in a better shape. A big radiator, looking from an old-style truck, has been put alongside a large fan. More radiators can be found in the room, which is also stuffed with air ducts in a bad shape and tanks.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

The smaller service rooms accessible from below the suspended platforms are basically empty, except one with a transparent case, likely for manipulating poisonous material. This was required for older-style nuclear bomb triggers. Soon after the bunker was built, triggers were redesigned, and this room with its facilities was no longer needed. Holes for thick rubber gloves, and even remains of the gloves themselves, can be clearly spotted. The ventilation system in this room features particular valves.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Outside on the far end you can find a docking station for trucks. This has been used more recently as a deposit for asbestos tiles, and venturing should be avoided. On top of the bunker, the metal case with the ladder descending into the underground part, as well as the ladder itself, have been demolished to hamper access.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Other Buildings

In the premises of the fortified bunker area are also other smaller service buildings. Their function is hard to guess at a first glance. Most of them display writings in Cyrillic.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

One of these smaller constructions contained ‘poisoning charges’. These were special ‘weapons’ which could be put on the shell of the warhead and, when triggered, were capable of making it totally inert and ineffective. This was an extreme emergency move, in case a capture of the nuclear warheads was deemed possible due to enemy action. The name of the person responsible for this special action is painted on the gate of the storage.

A low-profile building with a curved roof, not far from a softer construction dating to the 1970s, looks larger and with a mainly pedestrian access. This was a storage for light weapons.

Turrets and defensive buildings are abundant, and all are connected by concrete roads which look pretty good in spite of the decades of disrepair.

Closer to the wall of the inner part, hatches giving access to underground bunkers can be spotted, when exploring with accuracy. These underground bunkers, service rooms or resting rooms for the many troops constantly guarding this installation, are of different size.

A first one, rather convenient, is made of concrete. Nothing remains inside, except traces of a Soviet-style electric plant, made with a questionable safety standard…

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Another is made of prefabricated corrugated tubes, with a sealed entry hatch. This is rather well-preserved, with berths, a stove and a small living area, all accessible via a corridor from the outside.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Finally, close to the barracks area described above, but still inside of the innermost part of the installation, is the access to another underground bunker. Here many smaller rooms, including communication rooms of great importance for triggering actions in the bunker area, are located along a straight tunnel. In the origin, the tunnel went all the way to the barracks area, passing under the fences and wall separating it from the innermost bunker area. The outer entrance was clearly deceived for improved safety, and today it is totally gone.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Stolzenhain Objekt 4000 East Germany

Getting there & moving around

As the place is private property, no detail will be provided concerning access. Moving around the area is dangerous, due to difficulty of access, proximity with local activities and residents, bad phone signal for emergency, plus tons of rusting material, barbed wire, pits, pierces in the ground, asbestos, slippery soil, etc. scattered over the area. The bunkers are wet and completely dark inside. Obviously, the fact that nuclear ordnance and diesel fuel used to be stored there does not help making the place healthier.

That said, the place is in a fairly good shape for the age and vicissitudes, and hopefully it will be at least partly restored and opened to the public in the future, once suitably sanitized.

If you are interested in a legit visit of a Monolith-type bunker, you may consider going to Podborsko in nearby Poland. See this post for pictures and info.

Objekt 4001 – Lychen-2

The Lychen bunker was built on a design basically identical to that of Objekt 4000. The only difference was the orientation, this time along an almost east-western direction, with the ‘softer part’ towards the east and the bunkers to the west.

Historical pictures – actually, even from the early 2010s, when the installation was still mostly untouched – show a very peculiar monument with the head of Lenin and other emblems, marking the entrance to the bunker area.

Today this installation has been completely wiped out. All soft constructions have been demolished, and the ground has been leveled – there is basically no trace of them at all. The monument is gone too. The turrets and protection systems have totally disappeared, similarly to the truck loading and unloading stations.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Lychen-2 Objekt 4001 East Germany

Even more surprising is the great care taken to make all walls and fences disappear completely. There are no walls, nor barbed wire fences. What you can still – barely – spot is where the external wall and inner fence used to be, as vegetation has not yet covered the perimeter.

Looking with great care, and knowing where it used to be, if you are lucky you may find scant remains of barbed wire on the ground.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Lychen-2 Objekt 4001 East Germany

Instead, the concrete access road and inner service roads are still there. In the middle of the ‘8’ shaped road around the two bunkers, a placard with information has been put by the regional administration. The placard concludes saying that being there should ‘provoke thoughts’ – for instance, why wasn’t this installation preserved somehow for posterity, instead of leaving it slip into oblivion?

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Lychen-2 Objekt 4001 East Germany

The bunkers, made to withstand a nuclear blast, are too expensive to be demolished. However, the doors have been completely sealed and covered with land and concrete. The camouflaged concrete fronts of the bunkers are the most visible trace of Objekt 4001.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Lychen-2 Objekt 4001 East Germany

On top of the bunkers some metal ventilation hatches appear to have resisted the demolition works. More interestingly, the metal cabin with the ladder for pedestrian access has been demolished, and access blocked with a concrete slab in both bunkers. In the southern bunker the concrete slab has been broken recently, and maybe a difficult access re-opened. However, this is not practicable if you are traveling alone – and is extremely dangerous in all other cases.

Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Warhead Bunker Lychen-2 Objekt 4001 East Germany

Getting there & moving around

Going to Lychen-2 is easy from the small nice town of Himmelpfort, about 1 hour driving north of downtown Berlin, in the heart of the natural preserve and nice tourist district of Oberhavel.

An access road is marked on the map attached to this post. You may see the Lychen-2 bunker from the satellite map, just north of the road, at the level of the launch platform for the SS-4 Sandal marked as ‘Furstenberg’. The latter post lists also several other Soviet-related destinations in the area, which may be more rewarding than Lychen-2. The (once) prominent secret Soviet base of Vogelsang (see this post) is also a highlight of the area, despite significant demolition works having taken place also recently, pushing also that part of the story towards oblivion.

Forgotten Cold War Bases Around Prague

February 3, 2019February 22, 2021 CarloRLeave a comment

Todays Czech Republic was born from the peaceful split of Czechoslovakia in 1993. The latter was founded after WWI from the ashes of the Austrian Empire. Its well-developed industrial plants and proximity with Germany made it a primary target in the expansion phase of the Third Reich – in fact, after the Munich Agreement a large part of the territory of Czechoslovakia was annexed to Germany in 1938.

Towards the end of WWII, Czechoslovakia was conquered by both the Soviet Red Army and US troops. As a result of diplomacy moves soon after WWII, a new free republic was founded. Unfortunately, as soon as 1948 the local Communist Party conquered power with a coup d’état, turning this Country into a Soviet satellite.

From a military viewpoint, this period saw the adoption of Soviet supplies and organization standards. Czechoslovakia shared a border with the Ukraine, hence with the USSR. Yet the stability and reliability – from a USSR standpoint – of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia, differently from other countries under soviet influence – like Poland – meant a certain level of autonomy in the setup of the armed forces, which were not massively present over the territory of the country during the 1950s and 1960s, until 1968.

The Prague Spring, triggered by the announced reforms of the leader of the Czechoslovakian Communist Party Alexander Dubcek, brought Brezhnev-led USSR to fear a loss of control of that industrialized region, creating a dangerous diplomatic affair and a bad example for other Soviet-controlled countries. The Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, codenamed ‘Operation Danube’, was launched in August 1968.

The operation led to the successful occupation of the country by more than 250’000 troops from the USSR, Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria. Since that time, and until 1989 with the overthrowing of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia, the Red Army was present over the territory of this country, taking control and developing bases formerly managed by the local armed forces. The two largest airbases in the country, Ralsko and Milovice, both less than 40 miles away from Prague, were among the installations taken over by the USSR.

Despite this, the already developed Czechoslovakian Army maintained a high standard of proficiency and supply, thanks also to the local production of top-quality weapons. The local army was responsible of the Czechoslovakian sector of the anti-aircraft barrier of the western border of the Eastern Bloc, which was built in the 1980s based on advanced Soviet material, namely the SA-5 Gammon surface-to-air missiles. Furthermore, the city of Prague was protected by a network of anti-aircraft missile batteries based on the SA-3 Goa. Anti-atomic bunkers were built both in Prague for civil defense (see this post), and in more remote areas of the country for the government and for the military chain of command (see this post).

After the end of communism both in Czechoslovakia and the USSR, the departure of the newborn Czech Republic from the influence of Russia, and the reconfiguration of the Czech Army in view of the new geopolitical situation in the 1990s, the majority of the former military installations were shut down and abandoned – a scenario totally similar to all former Soviet-controlled countries, which had known an exponential increase in the military presence over the years of the Cold War, which could not be supported any more by the economies of the new independent Countries (see for instance here or here). Furthermore, like in every other country in the Eastern Bloc, the retreating staff of the Red Army and their families left extensive ghost towns (see for instance this post).

Today, after substantial demolition works and years spent under the action of the elements, a few traces remain of these witnesses of the Cold War. Yet as of 2018 some notable relics of this bygone era could still be found, conveniently reachable from Prague.

This post covers Milovice Red Army airbase, possibly better known through the name of the local Soviet town of Bozi Dar, two abandoned anti-aircraft missile batteries for the protection of Prague – Tocna and Miskovice – and an anti-aircraft battery in the vicinity of Dobris, south of Prague, once a focal point of the anti-aircraft defense of the European border of the Eastern Bloc, against NATO forces. Photographs were taken in summer 2018.

Map

The following map is very basic, and helps just to highlight the location of the four subjects of this chapter in the Prague region. The reason for not being more explicit is that the Dobris and Milovice bases are possibly not publicly accessible. Concerning Tocna and Miskovice, they are rather small installations, thus not difficult to explore.

As usual with this kind of attraction, approaching by car is the only way possible, due to the remoteness of the locations. Once there, much walking on uneven terrain is required. A tripod and torchlight are highly recommended for indoor exploration, and a cell phone with a GPS may be handy for moving around especially in Dobris and Milovice.

Navigate this post – click on links to scroll

Milovice Airbase
Tocna Missile Battery
Miskovice Missile Battery
Dobris Missile Base

Sights

Milovice Airbase

Much before being turned into one of the busiest and largest Soviet airports in central Europe, the airbase in Milovice had experienced a long history of upgrades and developments. Activated in the 1920s on military grounds previously established by the Austrian Emperor, the airfield was actively used by the Luftwaffe in the years of the Nazi occupation and WWII. Later on, it was turned into a major base of the Czechoslovakian Air Force, with MiGs reportedly operating from there as soon as a hardened runway was built in the early 1950s.

Before the Soviet invasion of 1968, the staff of the base used to stay in the village of Milovice, on the southwestern corner of the base.

After the Soviets came to occupy the field, they built from scratch a new, self-sufficient village on the northern side of the base, where Soviet troops and their families could live segregated from the local community. This village was named Bozi Dar. The Soviets developed the facilities of the base enormously, lengthening the runway to almost 8’500 ft, building about 40 reinforced hangars sized for MiG-21 and later MiG-23/27, and more than 25 open-air landing bays for Mi-8 and Mi-24 attack helicopters. The base featured also large open-air aprons for transport aircraft, which reportedly operated many military transport flights to and from the USSR with larger cargo aircraft.

A storage for nuclear warheads for tactical weapons was built to the south of the runway, with two Granit-type concrete containers.

Today this once prominent base is largely abandoned. The village of Bozi Dar, while surprisingly still hosting some form of business in a few surviving smaller buildings, has been almost completely demolished, leaving behind the depressing view of piles of rubble. The village had been ceded to private owners after the withdrawal of the Russian troops, but all proposed restoration ideas have come to nothing, and the by-then rotting buildings have met their fate in the early 2010s.

Milovice Abandoned Soviet Base Czech Bozi Dar Ghost

The northwestern corner of the airport is the richest in relics. Approaching the airport from this corner, you first meet significant remains of the double fence once delimiting the perimeter of the airbase.

Milovice Abandoned Soviet Base Czech Bozi Dar Ghost

In the same area, it is possible to find the helicopter aprons, almost untouched, with scant yet visible remains of tarmac repairs and typical airport area signs and delimiters painted on the ground.

Milovice Abandoned Soviet Base Czech Bozi Dar Ghost

From the same northwestern corner, you may go ahead along a former main road of the base looking east. South of the road you may soon spot the reinforced aircraft shelters built in this part of the airbase.

Milovice Abandoned Soviet Base Czech Bozi Dar Ghost

North of the road, you can see two unusual constructions, looking like fortresses of the Atlantic Wall (see here). These are likely part of the reinforced fuel resupply system, a pretty interesting feature of the Misovice airbase. These two reinforced tanks were only a part of a huge network of pipelines and reservoirs, which allowed to store most of the fuel in the vicinity of the base, but not on it, to prevent damages in case of an attack. The two reinforced tanks served only the immediate needs of the aircraft and helicopter fleet, and were designed to withstand a direct hit. This system was put in place by the Czechoslovakians, before the Soviets took over the base. You can spot the reinforced concrete roofs of the two reservoirs emerging from the bushes.

Milovice Abandoned Soviet Base Czech Bozi Dar Ghost

The aircraft shelters of this area are all shut. You can walk around, ahead and over them as well – useful for getting a panorama view of the base.

Milovice Abandoned Soviet Base Czech Bozi Dar Ghost

From the top of the shelters you can get a view of the open-air apron, and of part of the runway. The airport is today closed, but after the military quit, some ultra-light and RC aircraft activities were carried out from the area.

Milovice Abandoned Soviet Base Czech Bozi Dar Ghost

Having a close look at the gates of the hangars, you may notice they are made of concrete, really sturdy. Small engines to operate the gates can still be found on the sides of most of these hangars.

Milovice Abandoned Soviet Base Czech Bozi Dar Ghost

In the same area you can find a former cabin, probably hosting a power generation unit or something alike.

Milovice Abandoned Soviet Base Czech Bozi Dar Ghost

Further west, you can find a large unarmored hangar, most likely from older times than 1968. This was probably for maintenance activities. The windows on top of the front façade bear ‘KPSS’ in Cyrillic – this is the Russian acronym for the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. This is probably only part of the original writing. Further right, there is a Czechoslovakian flag, possibly from the later years when the base was operated.

Milovice Abandoned Soviet Base Czech Bozi Dar Ghost

The building of the maintenance hangar is composed of a very large main hall, and many smaller rooms all around its perimeter. Electric plugs and switches bear writings in Cyrillic. Today, there is also monumental pile of used tires!

Milovice Abandoned Soviet Base Czech Bozi Dar Ghost

On the walls of the main hall there are traces of Soviet murals and Cyrillic inscriptions – most of them are fading.

Milovice Abandoned Soviet Base Czech Bozi Dar Ghost

The rooms along the long side of the hangar are mainly heavily damaged and spoiled.

Milovice Abandoned Soviet Base Czech Bozi Dar Ghost

The rooms along the short sides are in a bad shape, but something more remains of the original furniture, including some doors and windows. The traces here suggest a more aesthetically pleasant design, not just purely functional – look at the doors and handles, more like those of a canteen than of a mechanic workshop.

Milovice Abandoned Soviet Base Czech Bozi Dar Ghost

Especially on the eastern side of the hangar, evident remains of a sauna and steam room tend to confirm the function of this area as a recreational facility. Having such facilities close to the runway would not be strange – something similar can be found for instance in Soviet airbase in Wittstock, in the former GDR (see here).

Milovice Abandoned Soviet Base Czech Bozi Dar Ghost

Leaving the hangar to the north you can find several fences, and leaving the airport you may meet the original double fence with barbed wire – almost untouched from Soviet times, so may you need to walk along it to find a way through!

Milovice Abandoned Soviet Base Czech Bozi Dar Ghost

All around the former airport it is possible to find memorabilia and items of interest – mugs, metal pieces, fuel tanks,…

Getting there and moving around

As said, while largely abandoned and mainly unfenced, this area is likely all private property. Moving around does pose some safety issues, for when walking in the bushes and wild grass you may stumble due to abandoned cables or barbed wire at the level of your ankles. The main hangar is not completely rotting, but it is unlikely that it underwent maintenance in recent years. The adjoining small buildings are probably even more dangerous due to risk of collapse.

The village of Bozi Dar does not deserve any attention, unless possibly if you are looking for memorabilia – all buildings are completely gone. The area to the south of the runway where the nuclear facility used to be has been completely demolished. It was reportedly similar to the one preserved in Grossenhain, next to Dresden in the former GDR (see here).

Approaching the airport from the northwest is convenient, for there is chance of parking on the side of the perimeter road, far from the unwanted attention of the locals. There are some local businesses insisting in the last buildings of Bozi Dar, and possibly on the apron, but probably there are not real security issues in entering the base area by foot – there are no barriers nor prohibition signs whatsoever, except for cars. The area of the base is very large – it is an airport after all… – and visiting the northwestern corner may take about 2 hours for a well-trained subject, including time for all the pictures.

Tocna Missile Battery

This is part of the former network of missile batteries for the anti-aircraft defense of Prague, operated by Czechoslovakian 71st Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade. This ring of protection was established in the 1970s. The base in Tocna was equipped with approximately 12 batteries of 5P71 two-rocket trolleys for the Soviet SA-2 Goa, which in the Soviet classification is known as S-125 Neva (or Petchora for the exported version). This is a popular model from the early 1960s, adopted in many countries outside of the USSR and the Eastern Bloc over the years, and still deployed today. These 24 missiles had a range of roughly 20 miles and a ceiling of more than 50’000 ft. The electronic gears for target acquisition and missile guidance comprised the trailer-mounted P-15 acquisition radar and SNR-125 tracking and guidance radar – all Soviet supply.

Similar to other batteries of the kind, Tocna was divided in two smaller sectors, one with the barracks, parking, living facilities for the troops and fuel storage, and one with reinforced shelters where the missiles were stored, and open-air aprons from where they could be launched. Today, the former sector is part of a local institution, and is separated by a fence from the latter sector, which is totally abandoned and can be accessed.

The missile area is located on top of a small hill. You can get access to the area starting from the gate of the former guard sector (still in use, inaccessible). Taking uphill you will soon meet the old inner wall of the base, which originally divided the guard part from the missile sector. Traces of the camo paint still adorn the concrete wall.

Tocna Prague Soviet Missile Radar Base Czech Abandoned

The storage facilities are basically four barrel-vaulted halls inside a shelter. The shelter could be accessed from two opposite sides. Each of the four halls could host three twin-rocket trolleys.

Tocna Prague Soviet Missile Radar Base Czech Abandoned

Dark and narrow passages connect the blind ends of the vaulted halls, and give access to a small protection area, where personnel could stay for protection in case the base was attacked from the air.

As you can see from the pictures, unfortunately the halls are in a very bad shape, covered in stupid graffiti and full of rubbish.

On top of the halls, there is a circular wall probably intended for the guidance radar. The missiles could be extracted from the shelters and prepared for launch from predetermined areas of the base.

Tocna Prague Soviet Missile Radar Base Czech Abandoned

On the western side of the shelter you can find a command building, which today is barely accessible due to piles of rubbish obstructing the door. This is used as sporting ground by paint-ball teams. The emerging foundation wall of the shelter area was covered in camo nets, with some remains still in place today.

Tocna Prague Soviet Missile Radar Base Czech Abandoned

On the northern end of the base you can find two more smaller shelters, with a large round hole in the roof giving access to where two large antennas can be found still today. These do not look like highly directional radar antennas, but more like usual communication antennas – maybe they are not originally from the time, yet they look unmaintained and rotting. The two shelters were possibly for control/communication trailers, or for power generators. These too are in a very bad shape today.

Tocna Prague Soviet Missile Radar Base Czech Abandoned

Getting there and moving around

The former base has been split into two parts. One is still run by some public service, and cannot be accessed. The other – the rocket storage part – is totally abandoned and can be accessed without clear restrictions. Some paint-ball activities are (or used to be) carried out around here – but apparently only rarely. During my visit I came across two people walking their dogs, and was alone for the rest of the time.

The place can be easily reached by car in the southeastern outskirts of Prague. Parking is possible right ahead of the gate of the public service in the still active area – there is a large apron where your car will not be noticed.

The site is rather compact, but the terrain is uneven and steep. Anyway, considering also the very bad shape of the installation, visiting will not take more than 45 minutes.

Miskovice Missile Battery

This site is similar to the one in Tocna both in history and function. Unfortunately, possibly due to the immediate vicinity to a nearby village, this site was completely demolished. Only few traces remain of the original installation.

Accessing via the only way possible, you will soon meet traces of the outer fence, with vertical concrete posts and barbed wire.

Miskovice Missile Base Abandoned Soviet Radar Czech

The framework of inner roads can still be seen, albeit invaded by vegetation. The only visible remains are the round wall for the radar, and part of the access door to one of the shelters.

Miskovice Missile Base Abandoned Soviet Radar Czech

Getting there and moving around

I went to the Miskovice site as I expected it to be in a much better shape. Clearly, demolition works have hit here months before my visit, so that basically nothing remains here to see – just another lost occasion of sparing a piece of military history from total oblivion. While not far from Prague and easy to reach, I would not suggest to waste time in this location.

Dobris Missile Base

Together with another sister site in the vicinity of Brno (Rapotice), the Dobris base was part of the Czechoslovakian stronghold of the anti-aircraft defense line of the Eastern Bloc, countering intrusion from the nearby NATO forces operating mainly from West Germany.

This defense line was implemented in the final years of the Brezhnev leadership in the early 1980s, and comprised of ten missile bases, located in Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria. It was based on the advanced SA-5 Gammon surface-to-air missile, known in the Soviet archives as S-200 Vega. Designed in the late 1960s, this massive anti-aircraft missile is still in service in many countries, offering a range of over 180 miles, a top altitude over 120’000 ft and a peak speed over Mach 4. It can carry a 450 lb warhead of conventional explosive, or a 25-kilotons nuclear warhead.

The missile battery of the SA-5 is typically composed of six 5P72 launchers, and a single radar 5N62 illuminating the target up to a distance of 180 miles.

The Dobris site, operated by the Czechoslovakian 71st Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade, is an example of a really advanced launch facility for the SA-5 type. It is composed of three launch areas, with six launchers each, and correspondingly three 5N62 Square Pair radar antennas, making the three launch areas capable of working in parallel. Further antenna systems included a O-14 Tall King and a PRV-17 Odd Pair early warning radars, providing a seeking range of more than 350 miles at an altitude of 100’000 ft.

The area of the base in Dobris is correspondingly pretty large. The most notable feature are the incredible 60-ft-high concrete platforms where the square pair radars used to be placed. These structures are really unique, and clearly date from the latter, hi-tech stage of the Cold War era. The base was operative only in 1985, after four years of construction, carried out in secrecy by a force of 1’500 men. The areas was protected from intrusion by land, with a barbed wire fence and a concrete wall with watchtowers. All technical trails for operating the radar antennas and coordinating an attack, plus all power generators were sheltered in concrete bunkers, dug in the ground and covered in camo paint.

The base was deactivated at some point after the end of communism, for sure by the early 2000s. A private business has taken over the property, and a modern research center has been erected on the southern part of the former base. Thanks to its secluded location, sufficiently far from the city and deep in the trees, the area has come to our days in a relatively good shape. Due to the vicinity with a running business, exploring the launch part of the complex may be risky. This post covers only the more remote northern part, with the radar facilities and the control bunker.

Dobris Soviet SAM Missile Base Czech Abandoned VEGA SA-5B

Accessing the site from the north through the external fence and concrete wall still in good shape, you soon come to the first bunker, connected with the early warning O-14 Tall King. The bunker features two halls, which could host a control and signal processing trailer, and a power generation unit for the antenna. A corridor leads to a back door emerging to the ground level.

Dobris Soviet SAM Missile Base Czech Abandoned VEGA SA-5B

Holes in the ceiling allowed signal and power cables to reach the adjoining apron, where the antenna used to stay anchored. The Tall King was a massive 100-by-40 ft radar antenna, kept in place through six anchor points.

Dobris Soviet SAM Missile Base Czech Abandoned VEGA SA-5B

Pits and concrete pipes emerge from the ground all around the base. Moving southwest from the position of the Tall King radar, you will meet the monster structure supporting the Square Pair radar for one of the southernmost missile launch battery in the base (battery number 18 in the original maps). The support structure is accessible by a steep ramp, which allowed trailers for further electronic systems to climb on top of the platform.

Dobris Soviet SAM Missile Base Czech Abandoned VEGA SA-5B

The round wall on top of the platform provided the foundations of the radar antenna. Caution is needed here, for the center of the pavement is covered with some rubbish, deceiving a hole which allowed the power and signal cables of the antenna to run below the platform, and down into the nearby shelter.

Dobris Soviet SAM Missile Base Czech Abandoned VEGA SA-5B

The Square Pair operation trailers were hosted in that shelter, dug in the ground and featuring a single vault. Behind the main vault you can find smaller rooms with traces of technical gears – possibly for ventilation – and a service area for controllers and operators. A back door made access easier for the technical staff.

Dobris Soviet SAM Missile Base Czech Abandoned VEGA SA-5B

The service roads leading to the three high platforms for the Square Pair radar antennas meet in the same point, where the control bunker of the base can be found. This bunker is interred and very large. It features three entrances on the front façade, leading to as many vaults.

Dobris Soviet SAM Missile Base Czech Abandoned VEGA SA-5B

Each vault contained a power generator close to the entrance. The right vault contained the K-9 combat control trailer, with sensors and computers, from where the whole Dobris site was controlled. The central vault hosted a K-21M electrical distribution group, and the left vault the K-7 control group, which was used to monitor the status of the base and the accuracy of the targeting system. The graffiti on the sidewall of one of the vault clearly date to later than 1993, the year of Stephen Spielberg’s Jurassic Park feature!

Dobris Soviet SAM Missile Base Czech Abandoned VEGA SA-5B

To the blind end of the vaults a network of corridors and rooms can be accessed. This is interesting, for it features a protection system likely to be used in case of a serious threat to the base. This includes a system of tight doors, a ventilation system, showers and services typical to a decontamination facility.

Dobris Soviet SAM Missile Base Czech Abandoned VEGA SA-5B

This area is great fun to explore, but it is completely dark – a great environment for bats, like the one captured in this pic, purely by chance!

Dobris Soviet SAM Missile Base Czech Abandoned VEGA SA-5B

A powerful torchlight is mandatory for safely finding your way out. Traces of a control room – besides the trailer, which is clearly gone – can be found among other features of this interesting part of the bunker.

Just out of the control bunker you can find a building which served as a relax area for the troops. Traces of a gym can be found in one of the rooms.

Dobris Soviet SAM Missile Base Czech Abandoned VEGA SA-5B

To the back of the same bunker you get access to another platform for the Square Pair radar of the westernmost (number 17) missile launch area. The bunker for the control trailer can be found on the side of the platform, together with a soft cover for trucks or light vehicles.

Dobris Soviet SAM Missile Base Czech Abandoned VEGA SA-5B

Due to time constraints, the last platform was not explored. Leaving is convenient from the same point used for entering the area.

Getting there and moving around

As pointed out, the Dobris site has been partially converted into a modern research center, funded by the European Union and involving national universities. This occupies the southernmost part of the former base, close to the launch complexes.

Accessing the northern part of the site during the week-end is probably not very risky, yet you can immediately notice that the original external fence and wall have been repaired in recent times more than once, and inside there is an unpaved road kept free of any vegetation running along the wall. Coming close to the research center is not recommended, but the parts of the base portrayed in this post are clearly unused, with overgrown vegetation, dusty surfaces and rust everywhere.

Due to the intriguing history of the base and the good state of conservation, visiting is very rewarding. The area is a national park, and in case you miss the entrance you can relax with a walk in the trees. The area is pretty large, and visiting the only part portrayed in this post may take more than 2 hours, excluding time to and from the base. Much more would be needed if you decided to explore the rest of the base. A torchlight and a tripod are mandatory to explore the inside of the bunkers.

Soviet SS-12 Scaleboard Nuclear Missiles in the GDR

January 13, 2019February 16, 2021 CarloR2 Comments

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A little known fragment of Cold War history concerns the deployment of ballistic missiles by the Soviet Union outside of its national borders. Considering the case of the GDR, aka DDR in German language, during the Cold War the westernmost communist dictatorship in Europe, this happened in several instances.

History – in brief

Two such episodes took place in the 1950s and early 1960s with strategic missiles – Shyster and Sandal – in the area of Fürstenberg and Vogelsang, located one hour north of Berlin by car (see this post), in the territory of the GDR. This deployments lasted only briefly, cause strategic missiles of much longer range were developed soon, allowing targeting western Europe and the US from within the USSR.

Since then, a nuclear striking force was allegedly present over the territory of the GDR at all times, as testified by a number of now abandoned nuclear warhead bunkers built on the premises of major Soviet airbases (see for instance this post, and links therein). This force was mainly based on tactical warheads intended to be launched from aircraft.

From the 1960s to the early 1980s the USSR deployed also SCUD-A and SCUD-B short-range nuclear missile systems over the territory of some Soviet-controlled countries. This mobile-launched light weapons were stationed in the GDR in Königsbruck, Bischofswerda and Meissen, close to the border with Poland and the Czech Republic, as well as around Wünsdorf, were the high command of the Soviet forces in Germany was located (see this post). The improved SS-21 Scarab was added to the arsenal in Königsbruck in 1981, with a range similar to that of the SCUD systems.

Nuclear missiles appeared again in the GDR towards the end of the Cold War, in the years between 1984 and 1988. This time the Soviets used intermediate-range theater missiles, in the form of the SS-12 Scaleboard, a 500 kilotons, single-warhead tactical system, with a range of 500 miles and launched directly from a mobile launcher. The reason for this deployment was a kind of retaliation following the choice of the Reagan administration, together with some European NATO Countries including West Germany, Italy and Britain, to deploy intermediate-range missiles provided by the US in Western Europe.

This move by the western allies was part of the complicated and lengthy negotiations which would culminate in the INF treaty in late 1987, between the US and the USSR. In the end, this agreement led to a bilateral dismantlement of intermediate-range nuclear forces (‘INF’), including both the American Pershing II and the Soviet Scaleboard.

Talks aiming at counterbalancing the Soviet nuclear deterrent in Europe represented by the SS-20 Pioneer mobile-launched missiles, with a range of more than 3,000 miles, had been started in the closing phase of the Carter administration, with the USSR still led by Brezhnev. The goal of the operation from a western standpoint was the deactivation of this missile by the Soviets. The deployment of a huge force of hundreds of Pershing II tactical ballistic missiles and Gryphon cruise missiles by the US, ordered in 1983 by the Reagan administration in agreement with some European Countries, should stand as a precaution in case the desired deactivation of the SS-20 would not be obtained (see also this post). The NATO move was perhaps not interpreted as desired, and in response the USSR deployed the Scaleboard in the GDR, close to the border with the West in 1984, putting a halt to the talks.

Following the change in the leadership of the USSR, the INF treaty was later signed in 1987 by President Reagan and Gorbachev. The involved missiles deployed by both the US and the USSR, and not limited to the Gryphon, Pershing II and Scaleboard, were soon withdrawn starting in 1988. They were later decommissioned and physically destroyed.

Sights

Today, a few relics of this late episodes of the Cold War can be found in the former German Democratic Republic. The quick deployment of the Scaleboard meant that an existing Soviet missile brigade (119th) was relocated in mid-1984 from Gombori, in the Soviet Republic of Georgia, to locations in the GDR, namely Königsbruck and Bischofswerda near Dresden, and Warenshof and Wokuhl in Mecklenburg. Thanks to the improved mobility of the Scaleboard system, launched from mobile platforms, not much hardware was necessary for storing and operating the missile. Light shelters were quickly built to store the nuclear warheads and the missiles. These were connected by a network of short service roads made with prefabricated concrete slabs.

Following the withdrawal of the missiles, and later of all Soviet troops from the former GDR, these missile sites were demolished or invaded by nature. Apparently, nothing has survived in Königsbruck and in the bases in Mecklenburg, whereas in Bischofswerda significant remains are to be found, albeit not publicized at all, with a short walk in the trees.

This post provides a map and a few pictures to reach the former Bischofswerda missile base. Photographs were taken in late summer 2018.

Map

The following map highlights the location of the bunkers and the access points to the Bischofswerda site. During my visit I tried three accesses by car, and the northern access road – access point 1 on the map – is the only one where I could find a (small) parking area. The area is today in a forest, and there you cannot get to the bunkers with a car – prohibition signs can be found close to all three pinpointed access points. Some walking will be needed, but the area is nice and you are likely to see some wildlife – that was my case!

I noticed that the Ulmon map on my iPhone had the bunkers accurately pinpointed. In any case, a GPS and an electronic non-satellite map is strongly recommended, for the site is shrouded by high-grown vegetation, and barely visible on a satellite photograph.

Please note that the POIs related to the missile bunkers on the map above have been placed by hand, and may be not very accurate. I noticed the Google base map does not show all the service roads connecting the bunkers. These roads are not maintained any more for vehicles, but they can still be used by hikers. Anyway, I tried to reconstruct the basic network with green lines – please zoom in to see them.

Bischofswerda SS-12 Scaleboard Missile Bunkers

Accessing the site from the northernmost entry point (access point 1 on the map), you will soon meet a former service/administration building for the troops, in pure Soviet style from the Eighties – see the terminal passenger in Sperenberg here, from the same years. It was built in 1983, and today it is used in the warm season as a service building for boy scouts and other forest-related activities. A placard quickly recalls its history. The Soviets (then Russians) left the place in 1993, and the barracks originally built in the area for servicemen stationed there were completely demolished soon after.

Soviet Missile Base SS-12 Scaleboard Germany Bischofswerda

From the service building, the area of the missile shelters can be reached with a quick walk along a broad and almost flat road – you might easily drive to the place, if only it was not forbidden.

Soviet Missile Base SS-12 Scaleboard Germany Bischofswerda

The bunkers are grouped around a small square area with concrete slabs on the ground. Despite the short distance from the square to the shelters, these are totally unapparent, and you may have a hard time getting closer to them if you do not have a GPS and some electronic map. Zoom in on the map above for some basic directions concerning this part of the missile site.

Soviet Missile Base SS-12 Scaleboard Germany Bischofswerda

While they have not been demolished, all bunkers are abandoned with only one exception, and they are effectively hidden by wild vegetation.

There are bunkers of three types. The majority are hangars for storage of the missiles. There were four launchers with two missiles each, totaling eight missiles on the Bischofswerda site. The nuclear warheads were stored separately from the missiles, and quickly installed only in case an order to attack was issued. Bunker N on the map is the former storage for the nuclear warheads. Access is not possible due to the wild vegetation and the partial sealing of the sliding door with a pile of land. Yet the distinctive polygon-shaped metal access door can still be seen, different from that of all other bunkers.

Soviet Missile Base SS-12 Scaleboard Germany Bischofswerda

The storage bunker A can be neared more easily. You can notice the totally different construction with respect to the nuclear warhead bunker N. The door of this bunker is sealed too.

Soviet Missile Base SS-12 Scaleboard Germany Bischofswerda

Between bunker A and B there are traces of a construction, possibly another bunker, today completely interred.

Soviet Missile Base SS-12 Scaleboard Germany Bischofswerda

The missile bunker B is open, and used as a storage for wood logs. There are also parts of the original ventilation system. The construction components of the shelter are similar to those you can find in other Soviet missile launch bases (see for instance this post). Yet the size of the bunker is rather small compared to similar facilities built for strategic missiles. This highlights the reduced cost of the preparation of a theater missile launch facility, with respect to its strategic missile counterparts.

Soviet Missile Base SS-12 Scaleboard Germany Bischofswerda

On the far end of the complex (item Z on the map), you can find another bunker, at a glance similar to the other missile shelters. It was opened when I visited, and as you see from the pics there is an intermediate frame, dividing the hangar in two parts, connected by a passage. Considering the position and structure, I guess this was a command bunker, similar to those you see in other Soviet missile bases (like again this). There is a placard remembering the deployment of the Scaleboard system in this base, and inside somebody recently put a photograph of two former high-ranking staff from the US and Soviet Armies stationed in Germany at the time of the deployment, shaking hands in front of this very bunker. The photo was taken years after the decommissioning of the site.

Soviet Missile Base SS-12 Scaleboard Germany Bischofswerda

Two other missile shelters, C and D on the map, close the tour. One of them is open, the other is sealed and barely reachable due to vegetation.

Soviet Missile Base SS-12 Scaleboard Germany Bischofswerda

Special Feature – 119th Missile Brigade barracks in Gombori, Georgia

As mentioned above, the Soviet 119th Missile Brigade was tasked with running the theater missile installations hastily prepared in locations in Germany. To this purpose, the 119th was relocated in May 1984 from Gombori, Georgia, then a Soviet Socialist Republic in the realm of the USSR. It left back to Gombori at the end of the German deployment in March 1988. By that time, it converted to another missile platform, following the coincidental phase-out of the SS-12. For the time of the ‘German leave’, the 119th was under the responsibility of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, headquartered in Wünsdorf (see this post).

In the following pictures, taken on another trip (2019), you can see the abandoned barracks of the 119th in Gombori. This site was code-named ‘Tbilisi Army Barracks Gombori AL 12’ by the US, due to the proximity with the Georgian capital city, Tbilisi.

Gombori Georgia Abandoned Soviet Base Headquarters SCUD Missiles Eastern Germany

The 119th Missile Brigade moved away from Georgia after the USSR broke apart. It relocated to Elanskiy, Russia.

Getting there and moving around

As already pointed out, getting close to the site is possible by car, but touring the place will require a walk of roughly 1.5-2. I suggest leaving the car at access point 1 on the map. The site missile is not maintained except for the former service building, where you can find picnic tables and related facilities. The building was closed for the season already at the beginning of September, but the area around the building is not abandoned. The former service roads in the trees are maintained as well.

On the other hand, the area of the bunkers is basically abandoned, except for the Z bunker on the map, which is not maintained, but bears a placard on the front façade. Walking around does not pose any particular difficulty, but you should go prepared to face nettles, brambles and wild vegetation around the bunkers. Carefully watch your step, for there are open manholes scattered on the ground, probably part of the original underground electric supply system.

Visiting may take a bit more than 1 hour for the interested subject – something more if you want to take good pictures. A tripod is strongly advised also for external photographs, cause the trees effectively stop sunlight, so the area is mainly dark.

Soviet Bases and Bunkers in Southwest Poland

September 8, 2018December 27, 2020 CarloR2 Comments

Similarly to other sovereign Countries in the Warsaw Pact, post-WWII Poland had to host Soviet troops on its territory. These often lived in segregated towns built anew close to larger airbases and tank firing ranges.

Such installations flourished in many European satellites of the USSR especially at the beginning of the Cold War, as a result of several factors. On one hand, the political situation was still rather unstable especially in recently occupied Countries like Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary, so a military presence was deemed necessary by the Soviets for keeping the status quo. Furthermore, in the early Fifties, Stalin was allegedly programming a final blow on war-battered western Europe to place the entire continent under communist rule, gaining direct and year-round access to the non-freezing Atlantic Ocean. On the other hand, the performance of early jet military aircraft, and somewhat later of early missiles, was still rather limited especially in terms of range, and called for the setup of outposts in the peripheral regions of the Soviet-controlled zone to allow planning serious military operations beyond the border.

In the final years of the Soviet Union, communism began to rapidly retreat from central Europe, as more and more nations profited from the internal problems of the USSR and rebelled against dictatorship, opting for democracy. Troops from the USSR were ordered back to their mother country. The great majority of the military assets were taken back to Russia, including not only weapons, aircraft, tanks, trucks and anything with an engine, but also plants, pipelines, antennas, TVs, refrigerators, etc. from virtually all military bases and Soviet villages nearby.

What stood as a tangible trace of the Soviet presence were all major infrastructures – airbases, missile launch pads, bunkers, deposits, railway stations, barracks,… – and housing for troops and their families.

As a quick glimpse into what can be found today, this chapter covers a small area to the southwest of Poland, just north of ‘pottery town’ Boleslawiec. The territory of the once prominent airbase of Szprotawa has been opened to private businesses, which now occupy concrete shelters presumably made for MiG-23, MiG-27 or Su-17. The huge runway is used for test driving and related activities. Even the nuclear Bazalt-type warhead storage has been partly taken over by a local company. Yet a good part of the runway, many aircraft shelters and the reinforced part of the warhead storage make for an impressive and evocative sight.

Fifteen minutes south from Szprotawa, the former military base of Pstraze used to be a focal point of near-border military activities, carried out within an extensive shooting ground nearby. Until recently, substantial traces of a secluded Soviet military town could be found in the trees. Despite the generally poor condition of the barracks and technical buildings, and demolition work going around on the former premises of the base, from portraits taken in 2018 you can still get a good idea of how seriously the USSR invested in these outposts on foreign territory, by just looking at the quantity and size of the existing buildings. On a later visit (2020), almost everything had been wiped out in Pstraze, leaving behind a triple of Granit-type bunkers, still very interesting to visit, and much concrete debris.

For more Soviet sites in Poland you may also check this post.

Photographs of this chapter come from two short-stays in the area, in early September 2018 and August 2020. I acquired a good deal of information from a friend in Poland, who is also the owner of this interesting channel on YouTube.

Navigate this post – click on links to scroll

Szprotawa/Wiechlice Nuclear Warhead Bunker
Szprotawa/Wiechlice Airbase
Pstraze Formere Soviet Military Village and Bunkers

Sights

Szprotawa/Wiechlice Nuclear Warhead Bunker

The plan of the airbase in Szprotawa is very similar to the one of Brand in the former German Democratic Republic, less than two hours to the northwest of this site in Poland (see this chapter). The orientation of the runway is similar, there are aircraft shelters to the south, and about .75 miles southeast of the airport it is possible to find a major storage area, which includes a bunker for atomic warheads. The connection road is today publicly accessible, and the typical Soviet concrete slabs are holding on in their place still today, allowing a convenient access by car.

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase Nuclear Bunker

The area of the nuclear storage was heavily guarded, and much of the original buildings and fence, including the original gates, is still in place. The reason for that is a private business operating these days in the area. This is both good an bad, for most buildings are reasonably well preserved – i.e. in better condition than in similar, but totally abandoned sites – but they are surrounded by deposits of coal, heavy mechanical components and industry materials and machinery.

Above all, you cannot access the place freely, for there are trucks going in and out and workers moving around.

From the access road you go through a first gate with red stars, which is apparently blocked open. Between this area and the deposit/inner fenced area, there are some buildings, which include a (possibly) former housing block and a smaller technical building with a unique Soviet-themed fresco in a very good state of conservation. Today, most buildings around this apron appear unused.

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase Nuclear Bunker

Close by the green gate giving access to the secured part of the installation, there are a small building where somebody is still living today. The gate looks original from the Cold War era. The inhabited building is at least partly original, bearing writings in Cyrillic on the front wall. A red-star-shaped flag pedestal and another statue pedestal with writings in Cyrillic can be found on the two sides of the gate.

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase Nuclear Bunker

From the gate and along the perimeter of the high security part you can still spot the original fence – the usual concrete posts with lines of barbed wire, typical to Soviet military installations.

The fenced area is very large, comparatively more extensive than in Brand and other places where nuclear warheads used to be stored. There are here several depots for trucks, numbered, with wooden gates, still today bearing extensive markings in Russian language.

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase Nuclear Bunker

The centerpiece of the area is of course the nuclear warhead bunker. Located in the eastern part of the fenced area, this is similar to those you can find for instance in other Soviet airbases like Brand, Finsterwalde (see this chapter) and Rechlin/Lärz (see this chapter), in the former German Democratic Republic. A huge difference is that this nuclear bunker has been left open!

Ahead of the entrance you can find a preserved concrete structure, where a crane for loading/unloading operations used to be mounted. This structure is taller than the front facade of the bunker. A unique feature here are the trees painted on the pillars of this structure, which considering the today fading colors, appear to be original from Soviet times.

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase Nuclear Bunker

The facade of the bunker features a massive curved double door. Inside there are warning signs in Russian. The door gives access to a wide corridor leading through the bunker to the storage chamber.

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase Nuclear Bunker

The corridor could be split in two sections by an impressive square tight door, which retracted to the left hand side of the corridor when open. This is how you can see it today. I guess this tight door was installed to withstand a nuclear attack to the site. As a matter of fact, nuclear deposits and facilities were among the top targets of the military forces of both opponents during the Cold War.

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase Nuclear Bunker

To the right hand side of the corridor, a smaller tight door gives access to a narrow pedestrian corridor, leading out of the bunker through a small door on the facade. Unfortunately, this door is shut today, and blocked by a pile of wood from the outside.

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase Nuclear Bunker

After passing the big tight door, you can spot some smaller doors leading to service rooms on both sides of the corridor. There is also a passage leading to a toilet. The latter looks pretty fine, apart from some dust from age – and from the coal works nearby. Strangely enough, there are four taps of different size by the sink.

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase Nuclear Bunker

A metallic stair to the left side of the main corridor leads to the upper floor. Here you can find another narrow corridor, leading to a series of small service rooms closed by normal wooden doors. There are signs telling what you should wear when accessing some of these doors, like gas masks, gloves, boots – or maybe what gear you could find there. I guess these rooms were connected somehow with the ventilation system, cause big pipes can be seen running near the ceiling here.

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase Nuclear Bunker

Still upstairs, walking towards the facade of the bunker you find a tight door giving access to the ventilation system. This appears quite complicated, with several smaller tight doors, but it is arguable that ventilation had to be a major concern in case of a nuclear attack to the deposit and also for storing high-tech gear in the best possible conditions. Original air filters are still in place, but the compressors and fans have been taken away. Sunlight comes in through the round manhole you see on the front facade of the bunker.

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase Nuclear Bunker

Proceeding downstairs towards the back-end of the bunker you find a large hall with a monster double door totally similar to the external door of the bunker. Also here, warning signs in Cyrillic are written on the inside of the door. Look at the cap of my 10-22 wide lens for a size comparison!

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase Nuclear Bunker

The storage room is very large and empty. There are two long ventilation pipes in the upper corners, going all the way down to the far extremity of the room. Two small doors can be found in the room on the same side of the entry double door. They give access to two smaller rooms, where there used to be engines to open and close the extra-heavy halves of the double door. There is also trace of a lighting system, but this has been likely salvaged and used somewhere else – this is typical to most of the wiring and electric plants in former USSR installations.

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase Nuclear Bunker

Back to the entrance, you can spot a loading/unloading platform for trucks totally similar to Finsterwalde and Rechlin/Lärz.

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase Nuclear Bunker

You may get a further view of the inside of the bunker through this video from the YouTube channel of a friend, who provided much of the info to reach the site.

Getting there and moving around

The airbase and its premises are today in the village of Szprotawa. You can reach the gate of the bunker by car. Approaching the village from the south along the roads 297 or 12, which meet just south of the village, you may then take the road called Sosnowa. It points north and straight into the base. After about .25 miles the road will turn left. Just before that, you will see a paved road taking to the right. Keep on it as it will go through the former grounds of the base, now invaded by vegetation, where you will spot old aircraft shelters. The pavement will turn into concrete slabs at some point. Follow the road until it points south. You will find the gate with red stars and a no trespassing sign just after crossing an unpaved service road. You may park on the roadside and get past the gate by walk to avoid misunderstandings.

As pointed out, the area is privately owned and not open to the public. You need to get permission to step inside, and it might not be granted. You are likely to meet workers and watchdogs who will bark at you. I gesticulated in front of the workers, showed my camera and photographic gear, and they appeared not to care much about me taking pictures around. I spent a pretty long time undisturbed in the bunker, which is basically unused by the local business, but decided not to stimulate any discussion by taking too many pictures of the area ahead of it, which is actively used.

Szprotawa/Wiechlice Airbase

The fact that the airbase in Szprotawa – also known as Wiechlice – was supplied with a warhead bunker for tactical nuclear weapons tells much about its relevance at the time. Today, the territory of the base has been divided and partly sold to private businesses.

On one side, this has implied severe alterations to the original plan, with taxiways made unrecognizable, demolished or highly modified buildings, and so on. On the pros side, the huge runway can be freely accessed, and except for the extremities, it is still in relatively good shape, with the original centerline and other markings still visible.

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase

The base offers also some classic Soviet Type B hangars, typical to the mid-Sixties to mid-Seventies period. The giant reinforced concrete doors have been taken away. On the inside walls, writing in Cyrillic is abundant.

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase

On the day of my visit there, a local ‘war race’ (official site) – a kind of gymkhana – was taking place, making use of the post-apocalyptic scenario of the deserted base to setup a great running circuit – much fun!

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase War Race

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase War Race

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase War Race

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase War Race

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase War Race

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase War Race

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase War Race

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase War Race

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase

A tank was performing some acrobatics for the crowds on a terminal part of the former runway – a very nice and unusual sight!

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase

The site is completed by an extensive network of preserved service ways and some smaller buildings, generally not in a good shape.

Szprotawa Wiechlice Soviet Airbase

Getting there and moving around

Similarly to the approach to the atomic bunker, you might take on the road called Sosnowa from road 297 or 12. The road points into the base. At the end of the road, turn right and you will point directly to the runway. You will see several aircraft shelters in this area. You can park where you like, or you can reach the runway and move freely on it.

Pstraze Former Soviet Military Village and Bunkers

In its history the base of Pstraze hosted tank regiments, which would train on the extensive proving grounds nearby. A large secluded town used to be located just out of the fence, for civilian servicemen and for the families of Soviet staff.

Accessing the site from the south you are likely to meet what remains of the extensive housing, today completely demolished. Notwithstanding the rather depressing appearance of this area, this is a real mine of memorabilia and collectibles, in the form of garments – buckles, buttons, shoes,… – and items of everyday use – mugs, dishes, pharmaceuticals, canned food,… This is probably a result of the content of many apartments having been dumped in the area. I left with a shopping bag full of stuff, from a couple of gas masks to a metal buckle with hammer and sickle, a doll, Russian canned meat, and more!

Trzebien Pstraze Abandoned Soviet Base

Moving north from this area, you meet scant remains of the original fence, telling you are entering the former military part of the site. There are a pretty large road and even a railway, both still serviceable today, even though not much used.

Trzebien Pstraze Abandoned Soviet Base

The following pictures are from a visit in 2018 – unfortunately, the buildings in this site have all basically disappeared as of summer 2020, when I visited for a second time to check out the bunkers and monuments, still there at that date (see later).

The first buildings were to be found north of the railway line, shrouded in the trees. In the southeastern corner a number of concrete platforms which might have been the foundations of soft, wooden buildings could be seen first. From there, pointing to the center of the former base you might spot a quantity of two/three-levels buildings, designed around the very same architecture. There used to be really many, and aligned along the service roads of the base, they form the majority of the ensemble.

Trzebien Pstraze Abandoned Soviet Base

Some different buildings in the military town could be found in the center. First and foremost, a movie theater.

Trzebien Pstraze Abandoned Soviet Base

The front part with the main entrance and a foyer had already collapsed entirely in 2018, but the theater was still in place at that time. The seats were gone, but the structure was sizable, telling about the great number of people that composed the staff of the base in the days of operation.

On the frame of the ceiling a series of names of locations were probably painted by the troops stationed here, or somebody who was tasked with maintenance works at some point.

A second interesting building could be found cross the street with respect to the movie theater. It is not very clear what its original function was, possibly a mall. It featured four halls at the corners, accessible with small flights of stairs from the outside, and larger halls inside. It had just one level, and a pretty broad extension.

Trzebien Pstraze Abandoned Soviet Base

This is what remained of this building in 2020.

Trzebien Pstraze Abandoned Soviet Base Bunker Granit

Another interesting building could be found further west, towards the limit of the military town. It featured a gracious cantilever roof above the entrance, albeit in a pretty bad shape. Inside, it was composed of an immense hall, but maybe there used to be dividing frames and walls. Traces of a reception desk suggest some form of service – pool, gym, spa? – was provided here, and the same is true for the halls to the back, featuring tiled floors and walls.

Trzebien Pstraze Abandoned Soviet Base

Further interesting mystery buildings could be found on the northern limit of the site. There was a large, two-levels square building with an inner courtyard, somewhat elevated with respect to the surrounding area. Ahead of the entrance there was a pavement decoration with a wind rose. The facade was sober but somewhat more modern than all the other buildings. A command building, or a school maybe? There was also a smaller building on top of a similar low hill cross the street, but the roof had totally collapsed already in 2018.

Trzebien Pstraze Abandoned Soviet Base

There were also traces of a relax area with benches. A statue of Lenin would just complete the setting – possibly there was one, or some monuments, but nothing remains today here.

Trzebien Pstraze Abandoned Soviet Base

All in all, the place was really impressive for its extensive size and the unreal quietness and ‘Soviet ghost aura’ pervading the area…

Trzebien Pstraze Abandoned Soviet Base

It should be said that with respect to other bases of the same type, the buildings here appeared really rotting and unsafe already in 2018. Most of the roofs had collapsed or had been willingly demolished, so the walls were exposed to the weather. Not many reasons remain to check out this area, except for chance is that you will leave with some CCCP-marked souvenir!

More interesting are a couple of monuments to be found scattered on the territory of the base, and as of 2020 somewhat unexpectedly spared despite demolition works in full swing.

The first is located on a crossing between two major unpaved roads of the base. It is made of three large slabs of concrete. The center one is clearly celebrating an anniversary from the closing stages or the end of WWII, when this area fell under control by the Soviets.

Trzebien Pstraze Abandoned Soviet Base Monument

The one to the left is fading, and the iconography is not very clear.

Trzebien Pstraze Abandoned Soviet Base Monument

It is also interesting that both this and the center panels appear to have been updated over time – there are multiple layers of paint in some spots, and as the most recent are fading, the older ones are surfacing, creating a somewhat blurred image, difficult to interpret.

The right panel is basically a big head of Lenin, with beams coming out of it. There is also a fading inscription to one side. From b/w photographs, it can be perceived more clearly that face traits were once there, making the portrait somewhat more elaborated.

Trzebien Pstraze Abandoned Soviet Base Monument

The second monument is much smaller and secluded. It is basically a commemoration slab concerning the soviet war effort in the Great Patriotic War.

Trzebien Pstraze Abandoned Soviet Base Monument

Unfortunately, side decoration is likely missing, as well as part of the inscription.

Trzebien Pstraze Abandoned Soviet Base Monument

Possibly the only reason to visit the place today is the part to the northern end of the town. There you can find (in 2020) a well preserved set of Granit-type bunkers. This type of bunkers was simple, basically made of an interred straight tunnel with two gates to the opposite entrances. They were built for many different uses, ranging from soft shelter of war material (like assembled missiles) to protected command posts. Granit bunkers appeared relatively late in the Cold War years (late 1970s), and are typical to several bases in the Eastern bloc (see for instance here or here for more examples).

A peculiarity of Pstraze is the fact that not just one, but three Granit bunkers were built in a very small area, with access well below ground level, and with two big access ramps for trucks each, reaching the two opposite ends of each bunker.

Here are pictures from the easternmost. Trees were painted on the concrete lids to the side of the entrances for deception. Access for trucks is really steep, but the ramps are still today in a relatively good shape.

Trzebien Pstraze Abandoned Soviet Base Bunker Granit

To the far end of this bunker the lids have been partly torn. The entries to the ramps are guarded by turrets.

Trzebien Pstraze Abandoned Soviet Base Bunker Granit

The second bunker is similar in construction to the first.

Trzebien Pstraze Abandoned Soviet Base Bunker Granit

The last Granit is more strange. The front and back entries have been deeply modified at some point in history, closing them with a kind of concrete gate, strongly reducing the size of the entrance. This might have been a command post. Traces of a suspended canopy can be found on the access ramps for trucks.

Trzebien Pstraze Abandoned Soviet Base Bunker Granit

Looking inside, you may notice the same trees painted on the original side lids. This further testifies the external concrete structures came at a later stage.

Trzebien Pstraze Abandoned Soviet Base Bunker Granit

Leaving this area and going back to the military village, you may notice a fence existed once dividing the two sectors, as typical in most soviet installations.

Trzebien Pstraze Abandoned Soviet Base Bunker Granit

Getting there and moving around

I had not the time to explore the access points thoroughly, but I found a fairly accessible way in driving close to the ghost base from the road 297 in Stara Oleszna. The main obstacle between the road 297 to the base is river Bobr, which is not just a small creek, and can be passed only with a bridge. There is one for light vehicles in Stara Oleszna. It is well maintained, cause there are people living on the other bank of the river who rely on it. Keep on the road leaving the bridge to the west. After about .4 miles you will come to a T-shaped crossing, where you need to take to the north. There are warning signs, and the road turns unpaved. After about .15 miles you will find a prohibition sign for cars. You may leave your car there and continue by foot.

From this direction you will meet first demolished housing on your left, then you will cross the railway and main service road (paved). From there you can start your exploration. Unfortunately, as of 2020 there is not much left to see of the village, except the two monuments. Further north, you can find the Granit bunkers, which may make for an interesting sight especially for more military-minded subjects.

Secret Soviet Missile Bases in the GDR

January 14, 2018February 16, 2021 CarloRLeave a comment

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Driving less than one hour north from Berlin, Germany to the beautiful region of the Oberhavel, you can find some largely forgotten relics of an untold chapter of the Cold War, when Khrushchev secretly deployed nuclear missiles to hit European targets, for the first time outside of the Soviet Union – years before the Cuban missile crisis.

History – in brief

Germany held an undisputed lead on missile technology at the end of WWII. Similarly to the US, the missile program of the USSR started soon after Hitler’s army was defeated, and benefited from the capture and transfer of hundreds of German rocket scientists. These German engineers started by reproducing the German A-4 – also known as the in-famous V-2 -, the worlds first surface-to-surface missile to reach mass production. The corresponding Soviet design was named R-1, and similarly to the original A-4 it had a very short-range – less than 200 miles – and a payload too low for carrying a nuclear warhead, hence it could not be used to pose a strategic threat to the western enemies even in Europe from within the borders of the Communist bloc.

After long and intensive research efforts towards the increase in range, payload and accuracy of rockets, and aimed at improving yield, mass efficiency and miniaturization on the side of nuclear weapons, the Soviets finally could deploy the first intermediate range strategic missile, in the form of the R-5M – or SS-3 Shyster in the western databases – by mid-1956. With a range of 800 miles and a payload of 2800 lbs, this 60 ft-long missile could carry a single 300 kilotons nuclear warhead with basically autonomous inertial guidance, and radio correction to increase accuracy. Similarly to the A-4, propulsion was based on alcohol as fuel and highly volatile liquid-oxygen as oxidizer. Operation and maintenance of this high-technology surface-launched system was a very complicated task, requiring well-trained, specialized staff in large numbers. Several Engineering Brigades were established during the Fifties for this purpose, and their numbers and relevance went on increasing with time, as the range, yield and number of strategic missiles was rising with no pause in the following years.

For the USSR, already led by Khrushchev at that time, the commissioning of the R-5M platform meant that for the first time targets in the enemy Countries of Western Europe could be placed under the menace of a nuclear attack, carried out by means of missiles traveling at a speed so high that made them virtually undetectable and unstoppable. The Soviet Union now owned a strategic missile force, but the problem of range was still hard to tackle.

It was at this point that, after years of cogitation and secret papers, the deployment of the R-5M to the ‘border Countries’ of the communist empire started to take a tangible form. The reason was simple – while the range of the Shyster was not enough to reach any target from within the USSR, it could hit at least Britain, Northern France, Belgium and the US bases in the western half of Germany from some ‘satellite Country’, namely from the territory of the German Democratic Republic.

After inspection, the area between the small towns of Fürstenberg and Vogelsang – isolated in a pretty large, wild and unpopulated area, deep in the countryside about 35 miles north of Berlin and 12 miles from each other, but linked to the railway system – were selected by the higher ranks of the Soviet Army in 1957 for the deployment of missile launch facilities for the R-5M.

Construction works were started in total secrecy, enlarging and modifying Soviet military installations where some tank divisions were quartered. Even the top levels of the government and military staff of the GDR were unaware of the operation – codenamed ‘Atom’ by the Soviet high command. The Soviets carried out much of the work themselves, but they could not avoid to involve local civil workers for ‘unclassified tasks’, and they eventually came to suspect that something unusual was going on. Agents of – at least, but probably not only – the secret service of Federal Germany transmitted the news to their headquarters beyond the Iron Curtain. Yet documents become available decades after, following the end of the Cold War, show that not much detailed information existed in the archives of the intelligence of Western Countries about this deployment – further highlighting the ‘top secret’ level of the operation. This was actually the first deployment of Soviet strategic weapons outside the USSR ever, years before the more famous operation ‘Anadyr’ causing the Cuban missile crisis in 1962 – a scenario very similar to operation ‘Atom’, but with the US instead of western Europe directly within range of Soviet missiles.

Barracks, recreation and service buildings, concrete launch ramps, connection roads, bunkers for atomic warheads, and everything that was needed both for storing all subsystems and for supporting launch operations was built during 1958 both in Vogelsang and Fürstenberg. Two artillery units and two specialized accompanying technical units arrived in January 1959, together with 12 missiles transported by train, as reported again by secret agents. At the same time, upon reaching completion of the construction works all civil workers were dismissed, and today we know that the nuclear warheads arrived under heavy escort in May 1959 by train.

As typical in the chess game between the two superpowers in the years of Khrushchev, Eisenhower and Kennedy, after years of preparation operation ‘Atom’ was suddenly interrupted only three months after the Shyster had become operative in the GDR, in August 1959. An order to withdraw immediately was issued, and all missiles and related units were temporarily relocated in Kaliningrad, Russia, from where they were short of range and not any more a threat for the West.

But this is not the end of the story. In March 1959 the new R-12 missile, also known as SS-4 Sandal and later deployed to Cuba, became operative with a range of 1300 miles and a single high-yield, 2.3 megaton nuclear warhead. In September 1961 the Khrushchev administration issued an order to deploy a missile regiment constituted anew for the purpose with R-12 missiles to the GDR – an operation codenamed ‘Tuman’ (‘fog’ in English).

The high-ranking staff responsible for the operation inspected the bases of Vogelsang and Fürstenberg the same month, and issued orders for some preparation work to be carried out for making these facilities suitable for the new R-12 missile. As a result, two launch pads were set up in the trees between the two military bases. Each of them comprised light service buildings, concrete platforms for the launch gantries and support vehicles, fuel storages, guard bunkers. Gravel roads were prepared to connect the launch platforms with the two main bases, where Sandal missiles could be hidden and sheltered in the bunkers already manufactured for the Shyster.

The staff of the new regiment was engaged in intensive training activities and launch simulations in the USSR until the end of 1961, and all material and troops were kept ready for moving by train at the railway station of Zhitovichi, Belarus, at that time inside the Soviet Union, to the now ready bases in the GDR.

Again, after all preparations the order to deploy was never issued, and by mid 1962 ‘Tuman’ was halted and the special regiment disbanded. This second attempt to place Soviet missiles out of the USSR was canceled just months before the deployment to Cuba, and soon after the R-14 missile had become operative in April 1961. This missile, known as SS-5 Skean, had the same warhead but roughly twice the range of the SS-4 Sandal, mainly thanks to a different propellant. With this system all western Europe could now be targeted from behind the border of the USSR, making deployment to satellite Countries in Europe unnecessary.

Similarly to operation ‘Atom’, even though preparation works probably did not go unnoticed by the few people in the area, this story remained basically undisclosed until at least the mid 1990s, after the – by then – Russian armed forces left the territory of the former GDR, and both Vogelsang and Fürstenberg, which after the early Sixties had continued to work as military bases for some Soviet tank divisions, were finally shut down and abandoned.

Sights

As argued in other chapters on this website dealing with former Soviet installations over the territory of the former GDR, todays Germany – comprehensibly – does not seem interested in preserving any legacy of this inconvenient past. For the case of Vogelsang and Fürstenberg, the remoteness and amenity of the area has facilitated a new birth of these two as well as other nearby centers, which are today lovely destinations for local tourism especially from Berlin, with nice lakes, cycleways, many canals and hiking trails in the trees. As these two military bases with their weird stories have been a well kept secret since their inception, there is probably no reason for the local communities to publicize them now.

As a result, both bases are being strongly reclaimed by nature, and little remains today of these once prominent – albeit secret – installations.

Yet from a historical perspective the missile installations in Vogelsang and Fürstenberg make for a proof of the seriously dangerous and determined attitude of Khrushchev and the Soviet Union towards increasing the power of the USSR on the international scene by means of military actions. Especially in 1959 with the deployment of the Shyster, the stage for a crisis with an unpredictable outcome was prepared in Europe, but for some reason luckily this was not exploited. Furthermore, this happened some years before the Cuban missile crisis, incorrectly accepted as the first such experiment in Soviet history.

Both bases in Vogelsang and Fürstenberg present some traces of the activity of the missile units. While most of the buildings connected with the missile operations have been demolished, including unreinforced hangars for storing the missiles, bunkers for nuclear warheads can be found on both sites – these are much stronger, and demolition work would be very difficult, so these hangars have been simply closed and left there. Vogelsang is covered in a dedicated chapter, while the scant remains of the Fürstenberg barracks and the nuclear storage there will be shown in this post.

Possibly more intriguing – for more dedicated explorers – and difficult to find are the rocket launch pads. Two launch pads for the R-5M exist, on the premises of Vogelsang and Fürstenberg bases. Eight further pads are placed in two groups of four, in the large territory extending between the two military bases. These are totally abandoned, forgotten deep in the trees, possibly the only tangible testimony of the planned deployment of the SS-4 Sandal in the GDR. These are also covered in this post.

Photographs were taken in August 2017.

Map

Due to the wild vegetation and to the shape of the launching pads – which are concrete slabs today mostly covered by a thin layer of mud, moss and lichens – spotting these ‘archeological findings’ is getting more and more challenging. To ease the search I created a Google map of the launch pads. No coverage of what remains of the nearby bases of Vogelsang and Fürstenberg is provided on the map, as whether those places are interdicted to the public or free to visit is a matter of discussion.

Besides the position of the pads themselves, you can find what are car-accessible roads to get near to pinpointed POIs and suggested trail/trail-heads.

Navigate this post – Click on links to scroll

R-5M/SS-3 Shyster Missile Launch Pad and Nuclear Bunker, Fürstenberg
Housing at Fürstenberg Military Base
R-5M/SS-3 Shyster Missile Launch Pad, Vogelsang
R-12/SS-4 Sandal Missile Launch Pads, South-East of Fürstenberg
R-12/SS-4 Sandal Missile Launch Pads, North of Vogelsang
Templin Soviet Airbase – Totally Gone

R-5M/SS-3 Shyster Missile Launch Pad and Nuclear Bunker, Fürstenberg

There is one missile launch pad in Fürstenberg, built for the Shyster missile. The local road along the western border of the military base divides its premises from the launch pad, which today can be neared with walking on an easy trail which was probably a Soviet gravel road in its origin, wide enough to allow moving the missile on a trolley.

Like all other launch pads in the area, the central piece is a narrow rectangular concrete slab about 30 ft long, with a prominent metal crown set in it, with a diameter of about 5-6 ft. The crown is a piece of technology, even though today it is covered in rust and with an unattractive brownish color. It was used to anchor the small gantry put under the missile to keep it in the launch position. The missile was transported on a trolley in a horizontal position, and lifted to a vertical attitude before launch.

Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Launch Pad

The most visible difference between the launch pads for the SS-3 Shyster and for the SS-4 Sandal – the latter being a couple of years younger, as shown above – lies in the metal crown. The crown of the Shyster is smaller and more like a polygon, where that for the Sandal – see later – is more round shaped, mostly resembling a watch bezel.

The concrete slabs had to withstand the intense thrust and heat of the missile without breaking into pieces. I guess – but I am not sure – some of the piping leading to these slabs – not visible here but next to other launch pads – may have been installed for a water cooling system.

The launch pad is the most visible item of a more complex system, comprising fuel and oxidizer storages, an electric generator, a control cabin and other gear. All this was placed in partly interred dugouts, which in Fürstenberg are today basically all gone.

On the premises of the Fürstenberg base and very close to the launch site there are two bunkers, possibly for the missile and nuclear warheads. The size and construction of the larger bunker, which has two doors on the two faces, suggests a use as a missile storage bunker, possibly suitable both for the Shyster and the Sandal, which despite the totally different performance were not so different in shape and size.

Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base

Today both bunkers are totally closed and inaccessible, the smaller one – possibly for warheads – has been turned into a shelter for bats. You can see the inside of the batbunker through the batslot!

Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base

Conspicuous traces of the barbed wire fences and prefabricated concrete wall marking the perimeter of the area are still in place.

Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base

Housing at Fürstenberg Military Base

Similarly to Vogelsang (see here), in Fürstenberg there are traces of what was once a large Soviet base, with housing for many people and service buildings. There are buildings in at least two styles, suggesting construction works were carried out in different stages. Multi-storey buildings are more recent, and similar to those you can find in the former airbase of Brand (see here) – among others.

Furstenberg Lychen Nuclear Missile Base

A large part of the buildings has been demolished, and there is comparatively less to see here than in Vogelsang. Yet the place looks haunted also in clear air and bright sunlight, so the area may be worth a visit for the enthusiasts of Soviet ghosts!

R-5M/SS-3 Shyster Missile Launch Pad, Vogelsang

A portrait of the launch pad in Vogelsang from another visit is provided also in a dedicated chapter of this website. For completeness, here are some new photos.

While similar to the that of Fürstenberg, this launch pad is far better conserved, but not easy to spot from the access road of the base. The system of trenches and dugouts for all technical gear needed to prepare and control the launch can be spotted very easily all around. Note the polygonal shape of the metal crown typical of the Shyster system.

Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad

There are also traces of military material, possibly unearthed due to some more recent demolition work, like old ‘CCCP-made’ batteries, metal boxes, protective metal panels and more.

Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad

Some of the trenches have been flooded, and you would better go prepared to face thousands of biting midges and mosquitoes – take it seriously, otherwise you are not going to withstand their attacks for more than 5 seconds!

Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad

Visible traces of the barbed wire fence from Soviet times can be found along the access road.

Vogelsang Nuclear Missile Launch Pad

In Vogelsang the location of the launch pad is much farther away from the nuclear warhead storage and missile deposit area than in Fürstenberg, and from the housing and service buildings of the military base. Everything is more scattered, and much more walking is needed to find this launch site, due to its distance from the local road.

R-12/SS-4 Sandal Missile Launch Pads, South-East of Fürstenberg

A first set of four launch pads for the Sandal missile can be found in a small area deep in a forest, on a flat terrain. This was associated to Fürstenberg for supply. The pads are placed at a walking distance from each other. Differently from the Shyster sites, the Sandal sites are not close to any building, and the gravel connection roads are in many cases not visible, or they have been more recently modified by the forest service. Plus they are not maintained in any way, and are today barely visible.

Searching for these findings is very funny if you like this kind of activities. You will definitely feel like Indiana Jones – or Lara Croft – while searching for the missile launch pads, but you have no chance to find them unless you have a GPS. You won’t need more than an iPhone with a decent free GPS app and good deal of patience, but without both ingredients you’d better give up from the start. Look at the pictures where I have my iPhone in one hand to see the ‘exact’ coordinates – some tolerance is needed, since my free app was not professional, and the trees above are very effective in jamming the satellite signal.

Of the four pads in this first site – possibly identified as BSP-1 by Soviet staff – I explored only three due to unfortunate time constraints. Proceeding from the west to the east, on site number 3 on the map I could not find even the concrete slab of the launch pad! Only a small unreadable metal sign has been left for posterity.

R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg

Launch pad number 2 on the map can be spotted once you are close. The concrete platform is partly unearthed and the corners can be seen. A gap in the trees on the area also help to find the perimeter of the rectangular concrete slab, which is otherwise shrouded by low vegetation.

R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg

The metal crown of the SS-4 Sandal is bigger and different in shape from those of the SS-3 Shyster, as anticipated – it is almost circular, not polygonal. I found exactly the same type of metal rig in some much bigger launch bases for SS-4 missiles in Latvia (see here).

R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg

The trenches and shallow dugouts for all components of the missile system can be spotted all around, albeit made mimetic and very difficult to capture with a camera, due to the underbrush hiding them and smoothing their profile. The trenches and the concrete pad are connected by a system of concrete pipelines. Metal frames with hinges, once made for doors giving access to the pipelines, can be spotted very close to the concrete platform. Maybe these were used also for a water cooling system to avoid the explosion of the launch pad, subject to the exhaust of the rocket engine at launch.

R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg

Walking to the the launch pad number 1 on the map you may come across what remains of a concrete booth, possibly a control cabin.

R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg

Launch pad number 1 is very similar to number 2, but here part of the side of the platform is unearthed and clearly visible.

R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg

It is noteworthy that no trace exists of any serious fence around the Sandal launch sites, differently from all other Soviet installations of various kinds I have visited all over the former GDR. Recalling the SS-4 launch sites were never operative, perhaps the Soviets did not really complete the construction works, and the cordoned area was marked only with some ‘soft barrier’ which could be removed leaving no trace.

Please note that the access road to get near to this site is car-accessible, but it is narrow, unpaved, with muddy spots, covered with fallen leaves and in some sections with sand. I could reach my destination with a station wagon without particular difficulty on a dry day in summer, but I would say the best vehicle type for this roads in any weather would be a smaller, possibly AWD car. Needless to say, you will need some form of protection for your feet and legs to approach the launch pads, but there are no bad insects in the area.

R-12/SS-4 Sandal Missile Launch Pads, North of Vogelsang

The second Sandal launch site – possibly named BSP-2 by the Soviets, but historical sources are not very clear – is associated to Vogelsang, which is roughly 4 miles south, from which it should have been supplied. Despite the similar role, this installation is very different from the previous one.

The launch pads are almost square, not rectangular. The missile facilities are built on top of a steep small hill, not on flat terrain, with the four launch pads much closer to each other than in the previous site. They have been put along a circular pattern, not straight as for the previous installation. It looks like this site was developed further than the previous one, for much more conspicuous remains of dugouts, and even what seems to be a guard post with a firing loophole, can be spotted here.

Starting from the easternmost pad number 1, the concrete platform is pretty well conserved and the metal crown for the SS-4 is easy to find. There are traces of metal wiring, and concrete pipelines all around.

R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg

Approaching the northernmost launch pad – number 2 on the map – it is possible to see remains of large dugouts, possibly for fuel deposits or other technical stuff.

R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg

Number 2 is poorly conserved and difficult to get access to. The terrain around is muddy and covered by a thick forest of 3-feet high nettles. The metal crown has almost disappeared under a nice layer of moss.

R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg

Launch pad number 3 to the west is connected to what looks like a nearby pool by a concrete pipeline, suggesting a cooling system, but maybe this was a dugout for a generator or something electric, with wiring connecting this gear to the missile through the concrete pipe. Also here the metal crown is today barely visible.

R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg

The last launch pad – number 4 on the map – is located to the south of the site, and poorly conserved. It was partly covered by a pile of cut branches when I visited. A strange item nearby the platform, where part of the metal crown can be spotted pretty easily, is an angle-shaped iron bar with a big bolt in it, emerging from the ground – and almost killing me, making me stumble!

R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg

Except for the obvious need for proper walking gear, this place is easy to reach by foot along a nice, prepared nature trail – see map.

R-12 SS-4 Sandal Nuclear Missile Launch Pad Vogelsang Furstenberg

The SS-4 launch pads are not publicized nor maintained, perhaps even somewhat voluntarily hidden, but the trail passes very close to them, so getting near is easy. There is a small lovely pond at the base of the hill, and the area is pretty wet. As a result, also here there are thousands of biting insects around – don’t forget your insect repellent!

Templin Soviet Airbase – Totally Gone

As a Cold War historian, aviation enthusiast, archaeologist, dark tourist or Soviet fan (?), you may be tempted to go to the nearby super-base of Templin, once one of the largest and more advanced Soviet airbases over the territory of the GDR.

Well, don’t waste your time. Sadly, the area of the base – in all its extension – has been converted into a gigantic solar power plant, owned and run by Siemens. It is totally fenced and full of obstacles, prohibition signs and CC-cameras. The scant remains of some housing are not accessible. There is also a small circuit track on the old apron, where some companies offer extreme driving experiences. Nothing interesting here, not any more.

Templin Former Soviet Base

Soviet Airbases in the GDR – Third Chapter

June 17, 2017February 16, 2021 CarloR2 Comments

	The BEST pictures from Soviet bases in the GDR ALL in ONE BOOK!
	Soviet Ghosts in Germany
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As mentioned in previous chapters on the same topic – you can find the first and second here – the territory of the GDR was cluttered with an uncommonly high number of military bases, run either by the local Armed Forces of the GDR (‘German Democratic Republic’) or by the Soviet Union. This was also due to the great strategic relevance of the area, placed right in the center of Europe and on the border with ‘the West’.

Soon after the reunification of the two halves of Germany and the withdrawal of the Red Army after the collapse of the USSR, most Soviet/Russian bases in Germany were deemed unnecessary by the new federal government, hence they were converted into something else. Airbases have been turned most typically into solar powerplants or, more rarely, into general aviation airports. Armored cavalry training areas have been largely cleaned up, and allocated as land for reforestation.

Despite large parts of these installations having been recycled to some other function, substantial traces – and sometimes even more – of these once prominent and populated bases can be found still today. These include many technical buildings, like aircraft shelters, hangars for maintenance, weapon storages, bunkers, … as well as housing and buildings for the families of Soviet troopers. Needless to say, this kind of stuff is of primary interest for urban explorers and war historians as well, for these places – besides being really creepy and often preserving a ‘Soviet ghost aura’ which may appeal to a part of the public… – are usually full of lively traces of the Soviet occupation, like signs in Cyrillic alphabet, murals, monuments and Lenin’s heads, which make for an interesting memento of the recent past, when the map of Europe looked pretty much different from now.

In this post you can find a pictorial description of a visit to the two airbases of Sperenberg and Finsterwalde, south of Berlin, the airbase of Grossenhain, close to Dresden, plus a quick chapter on the former tank regiment base of Zeithain, close to the sport town of Riesa – not an airbase, but convenient to visit and well worth a quick stop when going to Grossenhain. Photographs have been taken in spring 2017.

As for the second chapter, some historical photos from the collectible book Rote Plätze – Russische Miltärfluglplätze Deutschland 1945-1994 have been included to allow for a ‘now and then’ comparison. I do not own the copyright for those pics.

Navigate this post – Click on links to scroll

Sperenberg
Grossenhain
Finsterwalde
Zeithain
Riesa

Sperenberg

The Soviet airbase of Sperenberg stands out in the panorama of the facilities of the Red Army in the GDR for two reasons.

Firstly, it was not an attack base, but the primary logistic airport of the Soviets in Eastern Germany. The place was developed with air transport in mind, so differently from most bases around, there are no shelters for deadly MiGs or Sukhois ‘mosquitos’, but instead enormous open-air aprons, hangars and parking bays for Antonov and Ilyushin monster-size transports, as well as for bulky Mil helicopters. The place even bolsters a small passenger terminal for military staff, a truly unique feature. The proximity to Wünsdorf, a small town in Brandenburg which since the end of WWII and until 1994 hosted the headquarters of the Soviet Forces in Germany (covered in this post), may have played a role in defining the function of this base.

Secondarily, Sperenberg was simply shut down at the time of the withdrawal of Soviet/Russian forces, but was never converted into something else – at least at the time of writing. This makes it truly a one-of-a-kind item for lovers of ‘ghost airbases’, for here everything, including all taxiways and the runway, is still there. Nature is fiercely reclaiming much of the area, which is nowadays completely surrounded and partly submerged by a wild forest – making the silent remains of the base look even more creepy, unnatural and haunted…

The installation is also very big – similar to an average-size civil airport – , and besides the airside part, there is also an extensive array of residential buildings for the troops. For the major point of interest of the place is the preserved – for now… – airport infrastructure, I concentrated on that, neglecting the barracks and housing. This was also due to the latter being closer to the old main gate to the base, and standing to the available information there are rangers and local citizens who sometimes keep that part under watch. With only a basic knowledge of German, I think it’s better to take all countermeasures to avoid misunderstandings, thus enjoying a reasonably safe and undisturbed exploration…

Sights

In order to reduce the chance of a contact with the locals, it makes sense to intrude into the perimeter from the northeast, heading southwest directly to the center of the airport, leaving the housing part to the east. This will result in a multi-miles walk in the trees, along former service roads, now seldom used by woodcutters. Sooner or later, you will meet the original fence of the base, with concrete posts, barbed wire and an unpaved service road for service cars running all around it.

Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base

In order to make your way through the wilderness, unless you are from that very district and have a (very) good knowledge of the area, you will need a GPS. I profitably used the Ulmon app on my iPhone. It worked perfectly, all paths were precisely indicated. The external fence around the northwest area is very well preserved. The function of the first group of buildings I came across with is not very clear. You can clearly spot them on aerial photos of the base, to the northwest of the main part of the apron, connected to the airside area with a long straight service road aligned in a northwest-southeast direction.

Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base

I guess the facility may have been a former fuel deposit – there is a large maneuver area possibly for trucks, an inner fence for further protection, a water deposit, possibly for firefighting, and a strange array of aligned pipe ends made of concrete, pointing vertically.

Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base

Going southwards to reach the apron area, I came across an abandoned… Soviet boot, plus some more mysterious buildings, clearly blown up at a certain point in history, and possibly not built by the Soviets. These resembled in shape the cannon bunkers placed by Nazi Germany on the northern coast of France, constituting the backbone of the ‘Atlantic Wall’. Maybe residuals from an even farther back era?

Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base

After crossing another fence – again, concrete posts and barbed wire – and going through a really wild trail in the trees, basically not signed except for traces of animals everywhere, I appeared on the apron in the northwesternmost part of the airport, with a huge array of parking bays for transport aircraft. Reportedly Antonov An-12s and Tupolev Tu-134s used to be placed in this area, as you can see also from historical pictures.

Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base

The proportions of the abandoned airport are really striking. Taking a closer look at many of the parking bays, it is possible to find substantial traces of the original delimiting and direction strips for aircraft. The apron is made of the typical Soviet slabs, not coated with asphalt as typical for most airports in the West.

Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base

Moving south from the parking area, which unwinds along an east-western direction – as it is clear from the aerial pictures – , walking along a connection taxiway it is possible to notice its uncommon width, which is not typical to attack bases, but necessary for a transport base operating with Soviet giants.

Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base

Accessing the southern east-western taxiway from the west, it is possible to find a very special feature of Sperenberg – the passenger terminal. The small terminal is located to the north of a dedicated apron for passenger/mail loading and unloading.

Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base

The terminal area is made of two main buildings. One is probably older, with a large glass window looking to the apron. A gazebo and some small walkways suggest the place was intended for waiting, and for ‘quasi-civil’ operations.

Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base

The main terminal bears the date ‘1986’. From historical pictures, you can notice that it underwent some modifications during the few years of operations, which ceased by the year 1994. In particular, the central window on the front façade, made for the baggage treadmill, was bricked up at a certain point.

Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base

The inside of the building has been totally spoiled, except for some wallpaper on the ceiling.

Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base

A couple of strange movable structures, possibly extendable covered passages for passenger loading operations, can be found on the apron and in the trees besides the former terminal. Also these can be spotted in one of the aerial photographs. They are full of unofficial mottos and signatures of Soviet troops, written in Cyrillic.

Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base

From the area of the terminal it’s a – relatively – short walk to the western end of the runway.

Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base

Moving eastwards from the terminal along the southernmost main taxiway, you come across several interesting items, including a Soviet control tower and many parking bays for large helicopters.

Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base

The only hangar on the airport can be found on a very wide taxiway connecting the two parallel east-western main taxiways. The hangar, albeit appearing rather big at a glance, was probably used for maintenance of helicopters and smaller transports, as large Soviet transports need a much bigger size. Traces of a motto on the front of the hangar, obviously in Cyrillic, can be seen today.

Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base

This also are quite mysterious, for on the photos from the last days of operations the inscription cannot be spotted. It was probably covered in Russian, post-Soviet times, reappearing now as the paint coat is fading.

Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base

Also in the area around the hangar another control tower, possibly from an older age, can be spotted, but not accessed.

Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base

Taking again to the east along the southern taxiway, more helicopter parking bays can be found, and finally another large aircraft parking area. From pictures from the time, this area was used for parking mainly An-12s, some of them with the tail leaning over the grass. Many interesting strips and indications for aircraft can be found in this area, with writings in Cyrillic, together with strongpoints for anchoring aircraft to the ground.

Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base

From the end of the taxiway, where more interesting signs on the ground can still be found – one of them telling ‘cars must stop here’ – it’s again pretty easy to come to the eastern end of the runway. The connection taxiway descents gently towards the runway.

Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base

Here some of the original lights can be found. Some slabs close to the end of the runway appear highly damaged, like they were stricken from above. Possibly some overweight plane heavy-landed here at some point?

Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base

Leaving north from the eastern end of the runway, crossing both main east-western taxiways, you can point back to the fence of the airport. Going further east you would reach the housing area, which I did not explore. Going north I came across an abandoned railway track, and a railway/truck interchange area. Finally, I reached the usual barbed wire and I left in the trees. I had to walk again along a very nice multi-miles track in the wilderness back to where I had parked.

Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base

Now that I was fine with the goals of the exploration, I moved to the main gate – where you are quite exposed and it’s easier to get spotted – to take some pictures from the outside. These can be compared to an historical pic from post-Soviet times – see the Russian Eagle to the left of the gate.

Flugplatz Sperenberg – Abandoned Soviet Base

Another set of exciting pictures from the air, taken during a special flight over this area, can be found in this chapter.

All in all, I would say Sperenberg was among the most interesting Soviet airbase in the GDR I’ve ever visited. You can really feel the ‘Soviet ghost aura’, for the place looks really like it was simply closed up and forgotten. And I didn’t even look at the housing part. The wilderness around is really nice to walk in spring, you will see many birds, deers and some say they have spotted boars. I walked something around 12 miles in the area, my stay lasted a full afternoon, and I noticed only a few people having a look around, far in the distance. So if you are looking for an evocative walk, mixing the pleasure of the countryside to serious, top-quality urban exploration in a former military setting, this is really a place to be!

Getting there and moving around

Sperenberg is located about 20 miles south from downtown Berlin. The unattractive village bearing this name can be conveniently reached by car, and the main gate to the base can be found to the west of it. If you don’t want to access the base from here – which may attract some unwanted attention – you may elect to go to the area of Kummersdorf a few miles north, park your car and cut through the wilderness to reach the area of the former airport. For doing that you will need a map. The Ulmon map on my iPhone was perfect for guiding me on the task, all major and almost all minor service roads were perfectly signed. Due to the size of the base, you may choose to reach the perimeter from different directions, especially if you are more interested in some part than another. It used to be a full-scale transport airport, so expect to walk a lot if you – like me – want to have a look to everything. Being placed in the deep countryside of Brandenburg, finding a parking place should not be a problem.

Grossenhain

The former base of Grossenhain, close to Dresden, has been in the focus of an important conversion plan. Much of the facilities – especially the many hangars – have been converted into something else, including busy factories and warehouses. The area of the airport has been reduced, and the majority of the original buildings – some of them dating back to the Nazi era – demolished. A small flight club operates from the southeastern quarter of the base, using the original runway. From a bird’s eye view, the area for flight operations has been sensibly reduced, but thanks to the conversion, most hangars are still in place, so it’s easy to get an idea of how the base looked like in the past.

Historical pictures show that this airbase was used for open days in the years of the GDR, and in the transition period between 1989 and the withdrawal of Russian troops.

Similarly to other bases in the GDR like Rechlin/Laerz, Jüterbog and Merseburg, this attack base hosted a model GRANIT special weapon storage (‘Sonderwaffenlager’). This is still preserved today, and makes for the most prominent feature of this base.

Sights

Three items make this base really attractive. First and foremost, a bunker for storing special weapons. Perhaps a unique case in the former GDR, the bunker has undergone a complete refurbishment, and it now appears like new.

Grossenhain – Abandoned Soviet Base

Flugplatz Grossenhain – Abandoned Soviet Base

The two imposing doors are preceded by a barbed wire fence. It is inaccessible, but it can be easily photographed from the outside. There is even an explanatory panel, both in German and Russian, with photographs from an older time.

Grossenhain – Abandoned Soviet Base

A second sight of interest is the former gate guardian of the base. It is a MiG-17 of the Aviation of the Red Army. It is placed on a concrete post – designed in a pure Soviet-style – with writings in Cyrillic. Pictures from the day of operations suggest a different background than the rotting hovel now behind it. The gray sky on the day of my visit added to the Cold War atmosphere of the place.

Grossenhain – Abandoned Soviet Base

Flugplatz Grossenhain – Abandoned Soviet Base

Finally, another sight of interest is a wooden round table from the age of the Nazi dictatorship, used to align flight instrumentation. It is very large, and perfectly preserved. An explanatory panel can be found also besides this item.

Grossenhain – Abandoned Soviet Base

All in all, while not a place for a real exploration – the area is very busy and not abandoned at all – Grossenhain offers some very unique items, keeping memory of its strong military past, surely worth a detour for the committed specialist.

Getting there and moving around

Grossenhain is about 20 miles north of Dresden, and just 8 miles north of world-famous Meissen – the birthplace of the Meissen pottery. The still active ‘flugplatz’ – local airport – is immediately north of this averaged-size village. Access is via the road N.101 or N.98, surrounding the airport area to the west and south respectively. There is no barrier except for the small flight club, many public roads have replaced the original taxiways and service roads. You can move in the former area of the airbase with your car and park at your convenience. Just be sure not to interfere with the many businesses in the area, especially big trucks going in and out on smaller roads.

Finsterwalde

This once prominent, very large airbase, is still in operation as a local airport. During the Cold War, this place was selected for storing nuclear warheads with a specially built facility. Other two installations of the kind existed over the territory of the GDR, namely Brand and Rechlin/Laerz.

Sights

The airport area is largely inaccessible, for the airbase is still an active general aviation airport. Among the most visible items in this part, a great example of a control tower from the years before WWII. It has been perfectly refurbished. Nearby are some very big hangars, today hosting some private business. Closer to the apron, some shelters from Soviet times are possibly used as hangars – they were shut when I visited. I could see a Transall C-160 parked outside, a really ubiquitous military transport in Germany, likely not any more managed by the Air Force.

Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base

Flugplatz Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base

The ‘ghost part’ of the base is located to the south of the airport. The ideal trailhead is a former railway station and interchange platform. From historical pictures, it’s easy to see this was very busy supplying materials to the base, where also extensive housing could be found in Soviet times.

Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base

Going south following a former service road, still used by woodcutters and acceptably maintained at least for an easy 0.8 miles walk, you can reach the old bunker for nuclear ordnance. It is preceded by parking areas, demolished truck depots and many service roads. The assembly should have looked like the one in Brand, but most of the buildings today are gone.

Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base

The bunker is not interred, so the size can be appreciated from the side. Unfortunately, the bunker has been left open, and at some time in its history it must have been set on fire, so the walls inside are covered in black soot, and exceptionally dark – unfortunately I couldn’t take an acceptable picture even with a torchlight. More recently, it has been used as a dump for common waste. The area is far from hygienic, with piles of garbage here and there. Furthermore, on the outside it was covered by stupid and ignorant graffiti.

Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base

Flugplatz Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base

On the plus side, the crane for maneuvering the ordnance ahead of the main door is still in place with its original roof. Also visible is the truck unloading dock, ahead of the entrance to the bunker.

Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base

To the west of the area of the bunker, along the public road giving access to today’s airport, some of the original Soviet housing can be seen, apparently still inhabited in some parts. The base offers also some aircraft shelters close to the southeastern corner, but these are used as storages, and they are fenced and inaccessible.

Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base

Flugplatz Finsterwalde – Abandoned Soviet Base

Another set of exciting pictures from the air, taken during a special flight over this area, can be found in this chapter.

Generally speaking, Finsterwalde deserves a visit for the still active part of the airport, and for the unique nuclear bunker – even though it is the worst preserved of the kind in the GDR, the ‘Soviet ghost aura’ can still be perceived. A visit of about 1-1.5 hour, including a walk to the bunker and back, may be enough for the entire installation.

Getting there and moving around

Finsterwalde is located about 20 miles east of Cottbus, and about 55 miles south of downtown Berlin. The town of Finsterwalde has also another GA airport, to the northwest of the urban area. The former base is located south, and can be reached looking for ‘Fliegerstrasse’ if leaving the city to the south on ‘Dresdner Strasse’, or for ‘Sudstrasse’ when leaving on the L60 to the southeast. In any case, less than 2 miles south of the city center. Parking is possible besides the control tower, or close to the former railway station. As written above, the place is not abandoned, there are small businesses all around and even some fields of solar cells. Anyway I didn’t attract any unwanted attention when exploring the abandoned building of the railway station – even though I am sure I was spotted by the cars passing by – and when heading by foot in the trees to reach the nuclear bunker.

Zeithain

Sights

The countryside around the small sleepy town of Zeithain was once busy with tank operations, with extensive training grounds dating from before WWII. The Soviets maintained the original function of the installation. More recently, the area was mostly cleaned up, almost no buildings remain and trees have grown covering the once barren area for maneuvers, but the partially fenced former military zone still hides an item of great interest from the Cold War age.

It is a complete Soviet commemorative monument. The first part is a very unusual statue of Lenin, in a somewhat informal pose with a hand in his pocket. The centerpiece is a mural with a map showing the trail followed by the Soviets to reach Berlin during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45 – which is how Russians call WWII. The mural is extremely well preserved, I would say it was refurbished at some point in recent history.

Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base

The third and most impressive ingredient is a 6 feet tall head of Mother Russia. I would say this is the most beautifully made Soviet sculpture I know of in the GDR. It makes for a good rival, and possibly a winning one, for the three majestic Soviet monuments in Berlin, but with less pomp and more art. Really something with an artistic value.

Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base

The fourth and last component of the monument is another mural with portraits of Soviet soldiers and an inscription in Cyrillic.

Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base

The ensemble is really impressive, the silence and remoteness of the place clearly adding to your perception of it. A walkway leading to the center of the monument can be seen still today.

Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base

As I wrote, there is something strange in this particular monument, for it is too well preserved for an outdoor monument left behind since at least 1994. I guess somebody has been taking care of it in more recent times. Nonetheless, nature is wild around it, and overgrown trees partially hide the perspective.

Zeithain – Abandoned Soviet Base

As a practical indication, I must admit I took a high risk visiting this place, cause the former perimeter of the base is fenced, and I believe the grounds are now in private hands. The original entrance to the base – you can see the original control booth and the gate – was open when I arrived, but an unlocked padlock was hanging from the door. I heard some cars and trucks moving out when I was taking pictures. So basically I think I intruded into a private business, at the high risk of remaining locked inside – together with my car… I would suggest moving in by foot, in order to make escape easier, just in case you get locked in!

Getting there and moving around

The base of Zeithain is located about 3 miles north of central Riesa, a mid-sized town in the countryside 30 miles northwest of Dresden.

Getting to the entrance of the base maybe a bit tricky, for the area under the administration of Zeithain covers an extensive part of the local countryside, so if targeted with ‘Zeithain’ your nav will probably point in the middle of nowhere and pretty far from the base.

A time-saving way to reach the place is as follows. Start from the junction between the N.98 and N.169, located east of a small town. Take to the north on the N.169. The road goes off with a gentle bend to the right immediately after the junction. Then it becomes straight, and you will have a fuel station to your right, and a road departing to the left – ‘An der borntelle’ is the name of the road. Take it as it goes straight northwest for less than half a mile, till a sharp bend to the left. At the level of the bend, a smaller road – ‘Abendrothstrasse’ – goes off abruptly to the right. Take it, and again less than 0.5 miles ahead the road splits in two, the main road going slightly to the left. Leave the main road and keep going straight. You will see a gate and a wall to your right. This is the entrance to the former training base. I skip providing any further details about how to move on from there, for as I have explained I realized this is probably an actively managed private property. Visiting and taking pictures may take 15 to 30 minutes.

Riesa

Sights

This sleepy town, mostly famous for sports than for everything else, may be interesting for the location, very close to Zeithain – see description above – and for the presence of one of the remaining statues of Lenin in the former GDR. This statue is part of the local Soviet cemetery. Such cemeteries are not so rare and scattered over the immense territory conquered by the Soviets in Europe during WWII. Besides fallen soldiers buried in war cemeteries, due to the great number of Soviet troopers and their relatives in the GDR, I guess it was not uncommon for them to be buried abroad.

Riesa – Soviet Monument Lenin

The cemetery is still maintained today, and the statue still looked after as a part of it. This makes it pretty uncommon, for all other statues of Lenin in the GDR have been removed or abandoned. There is clearly some controversy about its placement in a public park in a town of today’s Germany, so it is possible the monument will be relocated at some point in history. For now, together with the ‘Socialist housing’ right behind it in the background of the cemetery, the monument makes for an unusual picture – a Soviet-style ‘postcard from the GDR’.

Riesa – Soviet Monument Lenin

Getting there and moving around

The small cemetery and monument are located to the southwest of Riesa, and can be reached easily where Poppitzer Strasse and Mergendorfer Strasse meet. You can park at your convenience close by. Visiting will not take more than 10 minutes.

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Sights

Norwegian Aviation Museum – Bodø

Civil aviation hall

Military aviation hall

Visiting

Norwegian Armed Forces Aircraft Collection – Oslo-Gardermoen

Late 20th century

Early Cold War

WWII aircraft

Further recent aircraft

Anti-aircraft defense system

Balcony

Visiting

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Soviet Ghosts in Germany

Sights

Soviet Nuclear Bunker Stolzenhain

Control and Reporting Center Schönewalde

Holzdorf Air Base

Falkenberg Air Base

Finsterwalde Air Base

Alteno-Luckwalde Air Base

Brand-Briesen Air Base

Kleinköris Air Base

Wünsdorf

Sperenberg Air Base

Kummersdorf Military Laboratory

Forst Zinna Military Base

Altes Lager Shooting Range and Barracks

Jüterbog-Altes Lager Training Academy

Jüterbog-Niedergörsdorf Air Base

Jüterbog-Damm Air Base

Landing in Reinsdorf

Practical Notes

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Sights

Soviet 2nd Guard Tank Army Headquarters, Fürstenberg/Havel

Getting there and moving around

Soviet Monument, Fürstenberg/Havel

Getting there and moving around

Soviet Memorial and Cemetery, Rathenow

A Travel Guide to COLD WAR SITES in EAST GERMANY

Second Edition - 2024

Getting there and moving around

Soviet Memorial and Cemetery, Blumberg

A Travel Guide to COLD WAR SITES in EAST GERMANY

Second Edition - 2024

Getting there and moving around

Free German Youth Academy & Joseph Goebbels Manor, Wandlitz

Getting there and moving around

Private Homes of the Members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the GDR, Waldsiedlung

A Travel Guide to COLD WAR SITES in EAST GERMANY

Second Edition - 2024

Getting there and moving around

Honecker Bunker, Prenden

Getting there and moving around

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Sights

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort

Getting there and moving around

Cold War Museum Langelandsfort

Getting there and moving around

Aalborg Defense and Garrison Museum

Getting there and moving around

Danish Museum of Flight

Getting there and moving around

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Soviet Ghosts in Germany

History – in brief

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Sights

Objekt 4000 – Stolzenhain

Main Gate and Outer Buildings

Bunker Area

Western Nuclear Storage Bunker

Eastern Nuclear Storage Bunker

Other Buildings