Alperstedt

51°05'10"N 011°04'45"E

Runway n/a - grass

Airfield Alperstedt (german: Flugplatz Alperstedt, also known as Fliegerhorst Alperstedt) was an airfield 14 kilometers north of Erfurt, Thuringia in Germany.
The airfield was built before 1939, because it became operational as an Einsatzhafen that year.
During the war it was home to JG3 "Udet" and JG302 flying Bf109 and FW190A dayfighters in defense of Berlin (from 1944 onwards).
The fighters were dispersed around the airfield under camouflage netting.

Unfortunately no maps or images of the airfield before 2000 were located.

Before the war it was planned that after the "Victorious end of the war" Alperstedt would become a civilian airfield called Erfurt-Nord.
Things were to go different however.
The Americans overran the airfield on 12 April 1945, and handed the aifield over to the Soviet Army on 29 July 1945.
The Soviets did not see a need for the projected airfield, and transfered authority over to Erfurt.
It was then converted for agricultural use, although the railway connection ( a single track on the line Erfurt-Sömmerda) remained intact.

 



Location of the former airfield Alperstedt in 2000 (Google Earth), showing the model aircraft airfield on the north side


When Germany was reunited a small ultralight and R/C-model aircraft airfield was set up on the north side of the airfield.
A small housing project was set up on the west side, to allow for the southern expansion of the village of Alperstedt.
Ultralight flying stopped in early 2009, leaving the R/C modelclub as the sole aviation activity at the former Einsathafen.

 



Remains of the railway connection for Alperstedt.