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.

Berlin Airlift 70th Anniversary Celebrations in Schleswig-Jagel

July 14, 2019July 14, 2019 CarloRLeave a comment

The blockade imposed by Stalin on the jointly administrated city of Berlin in the spring of 1948 dissipated any doubts on the post-WWII attitude of the Soviet Union towards their former allies in the west. The ensuing joint effort to support the trapped population of Berlin resulted in one of the major airlift operations in history – the Berlin Airlift, or Luftbrücke in German language. In June 2019, 70 years after the end of the blockade, Germany hosted a great celebration for the anniversary of this vital operation.

History – in Brief

The blockade started slowly, with trains crossing the Soviet occupied territory – soon to become administrated as a new state, the communist German Democratic Republic – between Berlin and western Germany forced to stop and go back, truck routes closed, increased controls at border checkpoints. In early summer, the city was completely isolated from the west.

The Soviets tried to motivate the move with treaty violations by the western forces, but this did not receive much credit by the administration of President Truman in the US, nor in Britain, France, or the occupied territories of western Germany. To mitigate the lack of coal, food, drugs and other goods of primary use for the local population, the joint forces of the United States, Britain, France, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand set up a massive airlift under the coordination of the US military.

Over roughly a year more than 275’000 flights were carried out, mainly between three airfields in the territory of western Germany – Jagel, Fassberg and Wiesbaden – occupied by the western Allies, to Berlin Tempelhof downtown airport (see this post), as well as other land and water bases in the cut-off urban area. These were operated with a variety of transport aircraft, including Douglas C-47 and C-54 twin and four-propeller cargo planes manufactured in the US, as well as several British models, including some Shorts seaplanes.

Stalin opted to avoid an escalation. The blockade was finally lifted by the Soviets on May 12, 1949. The situation was stabilized with the birth of the Federal Republic of Germany in the west, and of the opposing German Democratic Republic in the east, later the same year. The western sectors of Berlin were to remain an enclave of the free world deep in the communist bloc for slightly more than another 40 years, when the GDR – aka DDR in German language – finally ceased to exist, and the re-unification started.

A great museum tracing the history of the presence of the western Allies in Berlin, telling the history of the Airlift in great detail, is the Allied Museum (website here) in the former US sector of Berlin-Zehlendorf.

70th Anniversary Celebrations in Germany

In 2019 the 70th year since the end of the blockade, lifted as a result of the airlift effectively sustaining the population of Berlin for an entire year, was celebrated with the patronage of the German government with a series of unique aircraft-related events. The most prominent were a few formation flights of an incredible group of historical aircraft, between the airfields formerly used as supply bases for the airlift.

One of these, the still-active military airfield of Jagel, in Schleswig-Holstein some 60 miles north of Hamburg, hosted a ‘spotter day’ on June 13th, 2019, when a few hundreds photographers were admitted for the whole day on the premises of the airbase, to assist to the landing, departure and flypast of a fleet of nine Douglas C-47, a major workhorse in the days of the airlift.

This marked possibly the largest grouping of such historic aircraft in Europe since many years. But what made the event even more unique – besides the weather, incredibly mild for the region… – was the origin of the aircraft, which except for one are all based in the US. They crossed the Atlantic once more to parade in the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the D-Day in Normandy, attended also by President Trump and Charles, Prince of Wales. A few days after, they toured Germany for the 70th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift.

Besides the commemoration flight, normal flying activity was carried out during the spotter day around the airbase, so this was a good chance to assist to flight operations by Tornados and Typhoons of the German Air Force, as well as other military aircraft.

Historical Flight – Fly-in

A single C-47 arrived earlier than all others, anticipating the massive fly-in of the full wing of Douglas C-47 twin-prop liners. Later on, a flypast all Skytrains to take part in the event started from the east of the field. The aircraft then landed one by one, taxied ahead of the photographers and after a stop of a few hours, took off in a row for another location in Germany.

Jagel Spotterday 2019 70th Anniversary Berlin Airlift Douglas C-47 DC-3

Jagel Spotterday 2019 70th Anniversary Berlin Airlift Douglas DC-3 C-47

Jagel Spotterday 2019 70th Anniversary Berlin Airlift Douglas C-47 DC-3

US Air Force C-47A/DC-3C ‘Miss Virginia’

The first aircraft to come was ex-USAAF 43-30655, built in 1943 as a military C-47A. The aircraft fell in private hands in the 1970s, after yeast stored in Arizona, when it was converted into an DC-3C, an energized version of the original 1930s design. It spent the 1980s in Colombia, then returned to the US as a utility aircraft. It was finally acquired for restoration and given the nice US Air Mobility Command colors it bears today. It flies with the civilian registration N47E.

Jagel Spotterday 2019 70th Anniversary Berlin Airlift Douglas C-47A US Air Force 0-30665

Golden Age Tours C-41A

This incredible aircraft, now in civilian hands since long, is a unique example of an executive version of the original 1935 DC-3. Built in 1938, it entered military service soon after as a private flight for Maj. General Henry ‘Hap’ Arnold – an instrumental figure in the reorganization of the US military forces upon the early 1940s. It went on keeping its original executive configuration, and today it is lent out for special flights and for filming purposes from its base near San Francisco, CA. It bears the civilian registration N341A.

Jagel Spotterday 2019 70th Anniversary Berlin Airlift Douglas DC-3 N341A

Jagel Spotterday 2019 70th Anniversary Berlin Airlift Douglas C-47 DC-3

Jagel Spotterday 2019 70th Anniversary Berlin Airlift Douglas DC-3 N341A

Jagel Spotterday 2019 70th Anniversary Berlin Airlift Douglas C-47 DC-3

Jagel Spotterday 2019 70th Anniversary Berlin Airlift Douglas DC-3 N341A

USAAF C-47A 43-30647 ‘Virginia Ann’

This aircraft was in service with the USAAF since 1943. It took part to the D-Day operations with the name ‘Virginia Ann’, but was put on storage soon after WWII. It later went to private owners and was based in many domestic locations, including being part of the famous Planes of Fame collection in Chino, CA (see this post). Today it is still based on the West Coast, with the registration N62CC.

Jagel Spotterday 2019 70th Anniversary Berlin Airlift Douglas C-47A USAAF 330647 N62CC

Jagel Spotterday 2019 70th Anniversary Berlin Airlift Douglas C-47 DC-3

Jagel Spotterday 2019 70th Anniversary Berlin Airlift Douglas C-47A USAAF 330647 N62CC

Chalair C-47B

This C-47B was built among the latest in May 1945. It was surplus for the USAAF soon after WWII, so it joined the Royal Air Force inventory, and from there it left for Canada, where it enjoyed many years of service as a VIP transport in the Royal Canadian Air Force until the 1970s. It reportedly served as a Royal Flight for the Queen of England during a visit to Canada. After withdrawal from active service and changing hands several times in Canada, it was finally acquired in France and totally restored in the late 2000s. It flies with the registration F-AZOX.

Jagel Spotterday 2019 70th Anniversary Berlin Airlift Douglas C-47B ChalAir F-AZOX

Jagel Spotterday 2019 70th Anniversary Berlin Airlift Douglas C-47 DC-3

Jagel Spotterday 2019 70th Anniversary Berlin Airlift Douglas C-47B ChalAir F-AZOX

Johnson Flying Service, Inc. C-47 ‘Miss Montana’

This incredible aircraft was built soon after the WWII, and as many other surplus C-47, it moved to the civilian market. This aircraft was used in firefighting operations over the Northern Rockies, and was even involved in a tragic accident, crashing in the water causing fatalities. It was drawn back to a second life through the effort of the Museum of Mountain Flying in Missoula, Montana, where it is based now, with the registration N24320.

Jagel Spotterday 2019 70th Anniversary Berlin Airlift Douglas DC-3A NC24320 Johnson Flying Service Inc.

Legend Airways C-47D/DC-3C ‘Liberty’

A true combat veteran of WWII, this aircraft was pressed into service with the USAAF in mid-1943, and took part in operations in Algeria and the Mediterranean, as well as the D-Day in Normandy, where it sustained direct hits from German anti-aircraft guns. Soon after the turbulent war years, after returning to the US it fell into private hands in the south as a corporate transport. It kept the role, undergoing several upgrades, until it was finally acquired for a lavish restoration and cabin refurbishment, which gave it its current appearance. It is based in Colorado, where it is being operated for pleasure flights and filming, with the registration N25641.

Jagel Spotterday 2019 70th Anniversary Berlin Airlift Douglas DC-3C N25641 Legend Airways

Jagel Spotterday 2019 70th Anniversary Berlin Airlift Douglas C-47 DC-3

Jagel Spotterday 2019 70th Anniversary Berlin Airlift Douglas DC-3C N25641 Legend Airways

Pan American Airways System C-47B/DC-3

This aircraft had an adventurous history between its entry into service in 1944 and the early 1950s. It was originally allocated to the Chinese National Aviation Corporation, which in the war years carried out covert flights over a route known as the ‘hump’. These allowed resupply of Chinese forces from the British Empire in India, through resupply flights over the high peaks of western Tibet. This aircraft flew on that very dangerous route, until the breakdown of the Japanese forces and the end of WWII. As the Chinese National Aviation Corporation reverted back to normal operations, this aircraft was turned into a commuter between Hong-Kong and Canton. In the meanwhile, Mao Tse-Tung communist revolution subjugated China overturning the government. The new dictatorship tried to grab as many aircraft as possible, which in the meanwhile tried to escape from the country, assisted by western powers. This very aircraft, after some years on ground in China, was finally allowed to leave for the US, where it arrived in 1953. Since then it was refurbished as a corporate aircraft, and enjoyed a long career, being finally restored with a VIP internal layout and carefully reconstructed 1953 on-board systems. It is registered as N877MG.

Jagel Spotterday 2019 70th Anniversary Berlin Airlift Douglas DC-3 N877MG Pan American Airways System

Jagel Spotterday 2019 70th Anniversary Berlin Airlift Douglas C-47 DC-3

Jagel Spotterday 2019 70th Anniversary Berlin Airlift Douglas DC-3 N877MG Pan American Airways System

USAAF C-47DL 43-15087

The aircraft you see flying is indeed a WWII veteran, but not with the colors you see today. The number 43-15087 on the tail refers to a C-47 which actually took part to the operations over Normandy on June 6th, 1944. But the airframe you actually see entered service with the USAAF as a personnel transport in North Africa and the Middle East in 1943. It then went to the Armee de l’Air in France, then to civilian operators in France and back in the US after the 1960s. There it was later restored and changed livery several times for special occasions, like the 75th anniversary of the D-Day – the ‘9X-P’ designation you see now. It is based in Texas, with the US registration N150D.

Jagel Spotterday 2019 70th Anniversary Berlin Airlift Douglas C-47A USAAF 315087 N150D

USAAF C-47 42-26044 ‘Placid Lassie’

Pressed into service in the summer of 1943, this aircraft is a true combat veteran, having flown on June 6th, 1944 over Normandy, and in September 1944 for several times over Flanders during the ill-fated operation ‘Market Garden’. It then went on as a civilian transport in the continental US. After years spent in disrepair, it was drawn back to life in the 2000s, and is now flown by a foundation dedicated to the crew of ‘1D-N’ during WWII.

Jagel Spotterday 2019 70th Anniversary Berlin Airlift Douglas C-47A USAAF 224064 N74589

German Air Force Aircraft

As the historical flight performed basically a fly-in and fly-out, in the few hours between them the aircraft of the German Air Force – the Luftwaffe – and of the Navy – the Marine – based at Jagel flew for the public. There were also German aircraft taken there in preparation for the day of the Armed Forces – Tag des Bundeswehr – to be celebrated the following week-end with an open day of the base.

Jagel is the home base for the Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 51 ‘Immelmann’, which currently operates the Panavia Tornado. These massive swing-wing aircraft flew in several time slots during the spotter day.

Jagel Spotterday 2019 Tornado ECR 46+49 Luftwaffe

Jagel Spotterday 2019 Tornado ECR 46+44 Luftwaffe

Jagel Spotterday 2019 Tornado ECR 46+32 Luftwaffe

Jagel Spotterday 2019 Tornado ECR 46+49 Luftwaffe

Jagel Spotterday 2019 Tornado ECR 46+35 Luftwaffe

Jagel Spotterday 2019 Tornado ECR 46+49 Luftwaffe

Jagel Spotterday 2019 Tornado ECR 46+44 Luftwaffe

Jagel Spotterday 2019 Tornado Luftwaffe

Jagel Spotterday 2019 Tornado ECR 46+35 Luftwaffe

Jagel Spotterday 2019 Tornado Luftwaffe

Jagel Spotterday 2019 Tornado IDS 43+25 Luftwaffe Immelmann

Jagel Spotterday 2019 Tornado ECR 46+32 Luftwaffe

Small formations demonstrated refueling abilities.

Jagel Spotterday 2019 Tornado ECR Luftwaffe

Jagel Spotterday 2019 Tornado Refuelling Luftwaffe

Jagel Spotterday 2019 Tornado Luftwaffe

Some passages were performed at high speed, with maximum sweep.

Jagel Spotterday 2019 Tornado IDS 43+25 Luftwaffe Immelmann

One of the aircraft has been painted in a flamboyant celebration livery, with the portrait of Max Immelman, a German WWI ace, on the vertical tail.

Jagel Spotterday 2019 Tornado IDS 43+25 Luftwaffe Immelmann

Another impressive performance was given by a Eurofighter Typhoon, a massive delta-winged twin-jet with a tail-less, all-moving canard configuration. This compares well in size with the Super Hornet – a pretty massive attack aircraft.

Jagel Spotterday 2019 Eurofighter Typhoon Luftwaffe 31+08

This very aircraft is from the Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 31 ‘Boelcke’, based in Nörvenich.

At some point in the day, there was a flypast of a single Lockheed P-3 Orion, on strength to the German Navy – Marine. On its double passage it was possible to see the large racks for sonobuoys under the belly of this four-propeller aircraft.

Jagel Spotterday 2019 Lockheed P3 Orion 60+07 Marine

There were also exhibitions by some rotorcrafts, including a huge Sikorsky CH-53G, an Airbus H145 and a larger NH-90, the most modern of the three. The very dark camo livery made them pretty difficult to photograph, despite a rather wide zoom lens I was using for the task.

Jagel Spotterday 2019 H145 76+02 Luftwaffe

Jagel Spotterday 2019 Sikorsky CH-53G 84+38 Luftwaffe

Jagel Spotterday 2019 NH90 78+36 Heer

Jagel Spotterday 2019 Sikorsky CH-53G 84+38 Luftwaffe

Finally, a pretty rare aircraft, albeit possibly not so eye-catching, a single Dornier Do-28 military light transport landed in the evening.

Jagel Spotterday 2019 Dornier Do-28 59+11 Marine

Visiting Aircraft from Other Countries

Other aircraft landed and departed from the base, some possibly in preparation for the Tag des Bundeswehr to be held a couple of days later. These aircraft were not from Germany.

First, two more Tornadoes of the Italian Air Force landed at some point, and posed for photographers. They belong to the 6° Stormo ‘Diavoli Rossi’, based at Ghedi. A small devil’s face is painted on the vertical tail of these aircraft.

Jagel Spotterday 2019 Tornado 6 13 Italian Air Force

Jagel Spotterday 2019 Tornado Luftwaffe

Jagel Spotterday 2019 Tornado 6 41 Italian Air Force

Jagel Spotterday 2019 Tornado Italian Air Force

Jagel Spotterday 2019 Tornado 6 13 Italian Air Force

Jagel Spotterday 2019 Tornado Luftwaffe

A SAAB JAS-39 Gripen of the Hungarian Air Force, in a twin-seat configuration, landed soon after.

Jagel Spotterday 2019 SAAB JAS-39D Gripen 43 Hungarian Air Force

A single Aero L-159 Alca of the Czech Air Force appeared at some point.

Jagel Spotterday 2019 Aero L-159A Alca 6051 Czech Air Force

An Antonov An-26 of the Hungarian Air Force landed and later departed. An iconic Soviet-made transport, this sturdy workhorse is still flying in many Countries, both for the Armed Forces and for civilian operators as well.

Jagel Spotterday 2019 Antonov An-26 406 Hungarian Air Force

A single Pilatus PC-9 of the private company Qinetiq made an appearance.

Jagel Spotterday 2019 Pilatus PC-9 D-FGMT Qinetiq

Finally, two pretty rare Douglas A4 belonging to the Canadian private training company Jet Aces landed and taxied for the photographers, one of them in a rather eye-catching NATO anniversary commemoration livery.

Jagel Spotterday 2019 Douglas A-4 Top Aces Canada

Final Note

The Marine base of Schleswig-Jagel where this event took place was originally a Luftwaffe airfield, operated by the British military during the Berlin Airlift and until the early Sixties, and later handed over to the Federal Republic of Germany. It is still today an active airbase. There is no public access except on special occasions.

Warbirds in Texas

December 9, 2018September 28, 2019 CarloRLeave a comment

The immense state of Texas is in the foreground of the panorama of historical aviation, thanks especially to the CAF – the Commemorative Air Force (website here) – which maintains and operates some of the Nation’s finest airworthy warbirds. This privately financed, non-profit organization feeds the programs of many airshows everywhere in the US, and carries out an invaluable function in preserving the legacy of many aircraft designers, manufacturers and military servicemen especially from WWII and early Cold War years.

The birth of the CAF in Texas is not just by chance. The Lone Star State bolsters an extremely long and rich tradition in aviation. Training airfields were established in Texas earlier and in a number greater than any other State during WWI. Fort Worth was the birthplace of one of todays few surviving major airlines in the US – American Airlines – back in the early 1930s.

Aircraft manufacturers associated with Texas include Consolidated – most of the iconic WWII B-24 Liberator bombers were manufactured in Fort Worth – and North American. Consolidated later merged into Convair, owned by General Dynamics since the Fifties. Many aircraft of the Cold War era were actually manufactured in Fort Worth, including the record-breaking B-36 Peacemaker and B-58 Hustler, or the highly successful F-16 Fighting Falcon, still in service today in many air forces of the world, as well as a good deal of other types. As of today, Lockheed Martin and Bell Helicopters are both headquartered in Fort Worth.

Needless to recall, Houston has been one of the major focal points of world astronautics since the beginning of the space age.

In such a cultural setting, and considering the general financial wealth and the abundance of oil typical of Texas, it is not surprising that warbirds, even though fuel-thirsty and expensive to maintain, are present here in an exceptional concentration. Where possible, they are maintained in airworthy conditions, otherwise they are kept in great consideration in world-class air museums.

This post covers only four rich collections out of the many you can find in Texas. Two of them are ‘airworthy collections’, whereas in the other two warbirds are preserved for static display. Considered together, these four sites are probably already a good reason for an aviation-themed trip to Texas!

Photographs are from an extremely hot August 2018.

Navigate this post – click on links to scroll

Cavanaugh Fligth Museum, Addison, TX
Fort Worth Aviation Museum, Fort Worth, TX
Lone Star Flight Museum, Houston, TX
USS Lexington, Corpus Christi, TX

Cavanaugh Flight Museum, Addison, TX

This renowned collection just west of downtown Dallas is split between a big group of exceptionally well-kept and airworthy prop-driven aircraft, and a number of warbirds on static display, some of them jet-powered. Website here.

The museum occupies a few hangars on a very busy general aviation airport (Addison Airport), where executive jets, helicopters and smaller propeller-driven aircraft operate all around the clock.

The collection is hosted in four hangars and on an external apron where you can walk around freely. Not all aircraft are around here at any time, some having been flown out to some airshow, or for maintenance. In the first hangar you can find a handful of perfect airworthy replicas of WWI fighters from both sides of the front line.

Cavanaugh Flight Museum

Just besides are a North American B-25J-NC Mitchell, a ground strafing version of the famous medium-range bomber, and a veteran of WWII.

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Mitchell

Cavanaugh Flight Museum

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Mitchell

Cavanaugh Flight Museum

There are also a Vultee SNV-2 Valiant, a De Havilland Tiger Moth, a Ryan PT-22, all training planes from the Forties. In a corner you can see also a Piper L-4J, the military version of the J-3 Cub, and a Stinson L-5E, similar to the former in shape and mission type.

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Ryan

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Tiger Moth

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Cub

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Valiant

Cavanaugh Flight Museum

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Pitts

A Pitts Special aerobatic biplane is hanging from the ceiling in an inverted attitude.

The second hangar hosts a Fairchild PT-19 Cornell, an ubiquitous US military trainer from the Forties, in a distinctive light blue colorway with a yellow fin. Together with a yellow Stearman N2S-4 Kaydet biplane and a North American T-6 Texan, both good old trainers, they share the scene with a handful of stunningly preserved icons from WWII.

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Texan

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Stearman

Cavanaugh Flight Museum

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Stearman

These include a Grumman F-4 Wildcat and a massive Grumman TBF Avenger – both in the dark blue colorway of the US Navy.

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Avenger

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Wildcat

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Yak-3

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Messerschmitt

Just besides are a licensed version of the Messerschmitt Bf-109G of Nazi Germany built by Hispano Aircraft in Spain, and a nice replica of a Soviet Yakovlev Yak-3M.

Cross the apron, you can find some more great classics from the Forties. There are an immaculate Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, and two North American T-28 Trojan trainers in the colors of the Navy. In the background you can spot a sizable Heinkel He-111 twin, a licensed version manufactured by CASA in Spain.

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Warhawk

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Trojan

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Heinkel 111

The last hangar shelters an aggressive Douglas A-1H Skyraider in the colors of the USAF. This version of the massive single-prop features a single seat and is especially reinforced for increased bomb load to carry on ground attack missions.

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Skyraider

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Sabre

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Phantom

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Panther

This is surrounded by a series of pretty famous jet attack aircraft, including a McDonnell-Douglas F-4C Phantom II, a North American F-86 Sabre and a Grumman F-9F-2B Panther with foldable wings and the distinctive blue and red colors of the Navy.

There are also two classic fighters from WWII, a Supermarine Spitfire Mk.VIII and a North American P-51D Mustang. The latter is so polished that you can clearly see your image reflected in its skin panels!

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Mustang

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Spitfire

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Mustang

On the outside apron you can see parked three Soviet-made jets from WWII – a MiG-15 UTI and a MiG-17 in the colors of the Red Army, and a more recent MiG-21 in the colors of the North Vietnamese Air Force. Close by, a PZL Iskra trainer, once ubiquitous in the former Soviet bloc.

Cavanaugh Flight Museum MiG-15

Cavanaugh Flight Museum MiG-17

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Iskra

Cavanaugh Flight Museum MiG-17

Cavanaugh Flight Museum MiG-21

There are also a Lockheed F-104A Starfighter, a Grumman S-2F-1 Tracker patrol aircraft of the Navy with folded wings, a Republic F-105 Thunderchief awaiting restoration, and a Vought A-7 Corsair II.

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Tracker

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Corsair

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Starfighter

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Thunderchief

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Corsair

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Thunderchief

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Tracker

Scattered around the museum are also a few helicopters, and even a Sherman tank.

Cavanaugh Flight Museum

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Sherman

Cavanaugh Flight Museum

During my visit I could see two movements of aircraft taxiing out for take-off. The first was a Cessna O-2 Skymaster, a model extensively used in Vietnam for FAC missions. This has been refurbished with fake underwing rockets. You can see it in the vid below.

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Skymaster

Cavanaugh Flight Museum

The second was a Douglas EA-1E Skyraider in gray Navy colors. This is the early warning version, designed for a crew of three and originally mounting a dedicated radar platform. You can watch (and hear!) the difficult startup of the huge Wright radial engine – it was around 100°F outside! – and the aircraft taxiing with folded wings. Unfolding starts only seconds before the aircraft gets out of sight.

Cavanaugh Flight Museum Skyraider

Forth Worth Aviation Museum, Fort Worth, TX

This museum hosts a little but highly valuable collection of US aircraft on static display. The museum is totally volunteer-run. These folks are doing an exceptional job preserving their aircraft. As you can see from the pictures, there are many exemplars being actively refurbished in a hangar to the back. The museum is located on the southeast corner of Fort Worth Meacham general aviation airport. Website here.

All aircraft are preserved outside, but you get access to the museum grounds through a lounge, stacked with wonderful memorabilia, technical specimens, paintings and rare pictures.

Fort Worth Aviation Museum

A showcase is devoted to the Convair B-58 Hustler, a record-setting Mach 2 bomber from the Fifties, produced in slightly more than 100 exemplars, which were all manufactured in Fort Worth. This iconic delta wing, four-engined jet was exceptional for the number of ‘firsts’. Among them, it was the first aircraft with a computerized flight control system and an integrated navigation platform. You can spot part of this analog computer, a bulky stack of black metal parts.

Fort Worth Aviation Museum

There are scale models of the Cessna O-2 Skymaster, and based on the themes of the merchandise in the museum shop there is actually a predilection for that aircraft and the Rockwell OV-10 Bronco, which had a similar mission, i.e. observation, reconnaissance and forward air controller (FAC).

Fort Worth Aviation Museum

Actually, among the first aircraft you meet outside there is a Cessna Skymaster. I was so lucky to visit on August 19th, the National Aviation Day, when the museum recruited many veterans to stay besides their respective aircraft and tell their story. I spent a little time with Doc Lambert, Nail 66, one of the pilots of FAC missions over Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, who allowed me to have a long look inside his Skymaster. Among the testimonies of his war operations, he told me some anecdotes. Most FAC missions were performed with only the pilot on board, which caused a pretty high workload. Furthermore, the aircraft was not equipped to counteract any weapon shooting up from the ground. This meant that a typical flight was an uninterrupted sequence of strong turns to avoid being hit from ground fire, something that also helped in searching for grounded crews, or enemies hiding in the jungle. As a result, you had to be accustomed to such way of flying, or a strong sense of nausea would come to disturb you pretty soon. This regularly happened with visiting high-ranking USAF staff on demonstration flights…

Fort Worth Aviation Museum Skymaster

The museum owns another Skymaster, which was undergoing refurbishment in a black livery at the time of my visit, similarly to an operational USMC version of the OV-10 Bronco.

Fort Worth Aviation Museum Skymaster

Fort Worth Aviation Museum Bronco

Best preserved aircraft on the front row, which are clearly visible from the public road ahead of the museum, include a Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star training aircraft, and a Northrop F-5 Tiger II in a fake Soviet camouflage once used by aggressors in flight academies.

Fort Worth Aviation Museum Shooting Star

Fort Worth Aviation Museum Tiger

Fort Worth Aviation Museum Shooting Star

On the same row you can spot a Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, a type in service since the early Sixties, and shown here painted in the colors of the Navy. The beautifully restored Vought A-7B Corsair II nearby was deployed to Vietnam three times with VA-25 on board USS Ticonderoga and USS Ranger.

Fort Worth Aviation Museum Corsair

Fort Worth Aviation Museum Skyhawk

Next is a massive Republic F-105D Thunderchief, a very nice example of this Mach 2 fighter-bomber from the early Sixties. This very aircraft was stationed in Europe, tasked with carrying tactical nuclear ordnance. The roomy bomb bay designed for the scope can be observed from inside. After more than ten years in the USAF, this aircraft went on to serve with the Air National Guard in the Seventies, and was finally disposed of in 1983.

Fort Worth Aviation Museum Thunderchief

Right besides the F-105 you find a McDonnell-Douglas F-4C Phantom II in the colors of the USMC Aviation. This very aircraft is a Vietnam veteran, and it was later converted into a target drone, but luckily never used in this role. The collection features another F-4, again a Vietnam veteran.

Fort Worth Aviation Museum Phantom

Cutting edge technology from the late Seventies is represented by a Grumman F-14D Tomcat. This plane is a war veteran, it flew missions during Desert Storm and over Afghanistan, and it was often used on FAC missions and for training at home. It was retired in 2007.

Fort Worth Aviation Museum Tomcat

The Tomcat is sitting next to an imposing Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter. This too is a Vietnam veteran, and suffered also some damage on combat duty. The avionics of this big helicopter are totally analog. Next to it you can find a Convair TF-102 Delta Dagger interceptor built for combat and training. This very aircraft was flown by President George W. Bush.

Fort Worth Aviation Museum Sea Stallion

Fort Worth Aviation Museum Delta Dagger

Fort Worth Aviation Museum Sea Stallion

Other training aircraft on display from different ages include a Vultee BT-13 Valiant single-prop, a Cessna T-37B Tweet and a Douglas TA-4 Skyhawk. The latter was used extensively for training purposes on board USS Lexington.

Fort Worth Aviation Museum Skyhawk

Fort Worth Aviation Museum Tweet

Two totally authentic Navy veterans are a Vought F-8 Crusader and a McDonnell-Douglas F/A 18 Hornet. The first spent its early career on board USS Lexington and USS Ranger in multiple cruises in the Western Pacific during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, being later assigned to several Naval Air Stations along its more than 20 years long career. The Hornet was deployed operationally from the late Eighties on board USS Midway and later on USS Independence, and spent its final years in the Blue Angels – of which you see the vivid livery today – being finally retired in 2009.

Fort Worth Aviation Museum Hornet

Fort Worth Aviation Museum Crusader

A special feature of this museum is the only existing mock-up of the McDonnell-Douglas/General Dynamics A-12 Avenger II. Development of this attack aircraft was carried on in the Eighties and finally canceled by the Government. The flying wing configuration and the widespread adoption of composite materials made this platform unique, but also ahead of its times. This design was penalized by subsequent mass increases which caused its cancellation, but it represented a first chance to investigate concepts and technologies later adopted for operational aircraft flying today. The mock-up used to reside in the Fort Worth plant of General Dynamics, from where it made its way to the museum.

Fort Worth Aviation Museum Avenger

Other Cold War planes include a General Dynamics F-111E Aardvark, built in Fort Worth and assigned to Japan and Europe along its long operational career spanning the years 1969-90, and a Rockwell OV-10 Bronco formerly in service with the USAF.

Fort Worth Aviation Museum Bronco

Fort Worth Aviation Museum Aardvark

Fort Worth Aviation Museum

Lone Star Flight Museum, Houston, TX

This stunning museum is located on the premises of the Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base. The installation is centered on a collection of mainly airworthy warbirds and classic planes.. It is really top quality, surely among the best displays of the kind in the Nation. Besides that, they offer a well-designed, recently-made, fresh presentation of the history of aviation in Texas, as well as didactic labs explaining the principles of flight through experiments and simulators. You can find their website here.

There are also meeting rooms and galleries for art exhibitions. Really a place to be for enthusiasts of ‘flying oldies’!

The collection is not huge, but it boasts a good number of notable aircraft still flying today. In the first hangar you can find many iconic designs from the Thirties and Forties. There are a North American T-6 Texan and two beautiful Stearman PT-17 Kaydet trainers.

Lone Star Flight Museum Texan

Lone Star Flight Museum Stearman Kaydet

A centerpiece of the collection is an extraordinary Republic P-47 Thunderbolt – the fastest propeller driven aircraft ever – in a majestic colorway from WWII years.

Lone Star Flight Museum Thunderbolt

At the center of the hangar, much room is taken by an airworthy example of the mighty Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. Together with a few other models, this formed the backbone of the US bombing capacity during WWII. Stunningly restored, this aircraft can be booked for pleasure flights!

Lone Star Flight Museum Flying Fortress

Further aircraft on display in this hangar are a Piper L-4H, its civil counterpart, the J-3 Cub, and a similarly looking Stinson OY-1 Sentinel in military colors.

Lone Star Flight Museum Piper Cub

Lone Star Flight Museum Stinson Sentinel

Lone Star Flight Museum Piper Cub

Lone Star Flight Museum Stinson Sentinel

A true rarity is a stylish Beechcraft D-17 ‘Staggerwing’. This aircraft was conceived in the Thirties as one of the first ‘executive aircraft’, with good handling capabilities, and nice interiors to provide good comfort on board. Despite all efforts, visibility from the front windscreen is probably not very good…

Lone Star Flight Museum Staggerwing

A Grumman F-6F Hellcat, an authentic warbird from WWII, painted in the colors of the Navy, a Fairchild trainer and an ubiquitous general aviation Beechcraft Baron complete the exhibition in the first hangar.

Lone Star Flight Museum Hellcat

Lone Star Flight Museum Ryan

Lone Star Flight Museum Baron

The second hangar hosts both prop-driven and jet-driven aircraft, most of them airworthy or otherwise being restored. The most classic designs in this room are a North American B-25 Mitchell medium-range bomber, a Douglas DC-3, a Douglas SBD Dauntless and a Grumman TBM Avenger.

Interestingly, the Mitchell is the only in the world painted in the colors of the Doolittle Raiders. This very aircraft did not see action during WWII, but later being flown by the CIA on covert missions, it was involved in JFK’s failed attempt to invade Cuba, overflying the Bay of Pigs in the days of operations.

Lone Star Flight Museum Mitchell

The DC-3 flew extensively with American Airlines and later TransTexas Airways – later to be ingested by Continental, hence the livery – and is still airworthy today. Both the SBD and TBM on display are from WWII days, and are still flying today after restoration work.

Lone Star Flight Museum DC-3

While possibly disappearing in front of its illustrious colleagues in this hangar, an honest Cessna T-41 Mescalero represents here the training branch of the armed forces. This is basically the military version of the C-172, probably the aircraft manufactured in the highest numbers in history, and a platform where pilots of all sorts spend part of their training still today. The colors are very nice, and this aircraft is the cheapest you can rent for a ride at the Lone Star Flight Museum.

Lone Star Flight Museum Mescalero

Lone Star Flight Museum Dauntless

Lone Star Flight Museum Avenger

Lone Star Flight Museum Dauntless

Lone Star Flight Museum Avenger

In the same hangar you can find also (slightly) more modern aircraft. There are three jet-powered aircraft from the early Cold War period. One is a Lockheed T-33A trainer, a very successful aircraft sold in high numbers in the late Forties. More impressing is an authentic Soviet MiG-15, which spent its years in service with the Chinese Air Force and saw action in Korea, opposing the F-86A in the first jet vs. jet campaign in history.

Lone Star Flight Museum Shooting Star

Lone Star Flight Museum MiG-15

A Polish-built MiG-17 in an incredible ‘Red Banner’ celebration colorway completes the trio.

Lone Star Flight Museum MiG-17

Close to the exit you can find a beautifully restored Douglas A-1D Skyraider. This aircraft is airworthy, and is an authentic veteran of both the Korean and Vietnam war, where it reportedly sustained extensive damage but was not shot down.

Lone Star Flight Museum Skyraider

Lone Star Flight Museum Cobra

There are also a Sikorsky helicopter used for commuting to oil platforms off the coast of Texas, and a Cobra attack helicopter.

Outside, as a gate guardian on one of the access roads leading to the base, you can spot a NASA Boeing 707 used for zero-gravity flights on behalf of Johnson Space Center.

Lone Star Flight Museum

Lone Star Flight Museum Clipper Painting

Lone Star Flight Museum 707 NASA

Lone Star Flight Museum NASA 707

USS Lexington, Corpus Christi, TX

‘Lady Lex’ – as it was affectionately called by its crews along its illustrious career – is an Essex class WWII aircraft carrier, and with 40 years of active service is by far the one that enjoyed the longest service life. Since the late Sixties it operated as a training platform, where many pilots of the Navy learned how to perform a carrier landing.

Today this majestic vessel is permanently moored on the bay of Corpus Christi, where it is home to a fascinating history museum covering her long operational history. The corresponding website is here.

USS Lexington

Highlights of the visit are first of all the ship’s bridge, from where you can also profit from a vantage view of the flight deck and of the bay – and of the thunderstorms afflicting the area in mid-August, of course.

USS Lexington

Similarly interesting are the lower deck where aircraft used to be stored. This is huge, and some historic aircraft can be found here as part of a number of small exhibitions.

USS Lexington

The forward compartments recall the attack of Pearl Harbor in 1941, and display also some artifacts from the time, including pieces of the ill-fated battleship Arizona, and a banner belonging to the older CV-2 Lexington – CV-16 being the number of this vessel in Navy inventory.

USS Lexington

An unusual topic is movies – some great scenes of ‘Pearl Harbor’ Hollywood drama starring Ben Affleck and Alec Baldwin were shot on USS Lexington, including an apparently genuine take-off of a B-25 from the flight deck! Other motion pictures partly shot on board Lexington are ‘Midway’ and the series ‘War and remembrance’.

Part of the quarters of high-ranking staff can be visited, including a canteen. These were typically used only when the ship was moored.

USS Lexington

Interestingly, it is possible to walk along the side decks of the ship, where anti-aircraft guns can be found and closely inspected.

USS Lexington

Finally, the flight deck hosts a number of aircraft, representing many types in service with the Navy, most of which found their way on the modernized flight deck of this old carrier, during combat assignment or on duty as a training vessel. Being exposed to a salty atmosphere and to the intense sun of the Texan coast, these aircraft have been somewhat coated, which gives them a ‘mock-up appearance’, but this is just an impression, for these aircraft are real and on loan from the National Museum of Naval Aviation.

USS Lexington

The aircraft to the stern of the ship are all pretty classic, and represent types which were actually flown from USS Lexington. They include the Douglas TA-4 Skyhawk trainer, the early Cold War Grumman F9F-8T Cougar fighter jet and the loosely similar McDonnell F2H-2 Banshee. This was designed as a fighter, but it was selected to cover primarily the reconnaissance role.

USS Lexington Skyhawk

USS Lexington Banshee

USS Lexington Aircraft

USS Lexington Hornet

USS Lexington Cougar

A workhorse which saw combat in Vietnam and all down to the First Gulf War is the Grumman A-6 Intruder, a tactical bomber with good penetration and low-level attack qualities. Differently from the Grumman F-14 Tomcat nearby to the bow of the ship, the Intruder could be operated from the relatively small deck USS Lexington.

USS Lexington

USS Lexington Intruder

USS Lexington Tomcat

USS Lexington Intruder

The Vought A-7 Corsair II attack aircraft and the North American T-2C Buckeye trainer both saw action from the deck of the Lady Lex. The Douglas A-3 Skywarrior is possibly the heaviest type to be operated from Navy carriers on a regular basis, and it is here represented by a tanker version in a blue colorway. Also this type was actually operated from the Lexington.

USS Lexington Corsair

USS Lexington Buckeye

USS Lexington Corsair

USS Lexington Buckeye

USS Lexington Skywarrior

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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History – in Brief

70th Anniversary Celebrations in Germany

Historical Flight – Fly-in

US Air Force C-47A/DC-3C ‘Miss Virginia’

Golden Age Tours C-41A

USAAF C-47A 43-30647 ‘Virginia Ann’

Chalair C-47B

Johnson Flying Service, Inc. C-47 ‘Miss Montana’

Legend Airways C-47D/DC-3C ‘Liberty’

Pan American Airways System C-47B/DC-3

USAAF C-47DL 43-15087

USAAF C-47 42-26044 ‘Placid Lassie’

German Air Force Aircraft

Visiting Aircraft from Other Countries

Final Note

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Navigate this post – click on links to scroll

Cavanaugh Flight Museum, Addison, TX

Forth Worth Aviation Museum, Fort Worth, TX

Lone Star Flight Museum, Houston, TX

USS Lexington, Corpus Christi, TX

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