Langeoog

53°44'13"N 007°28'54"E (fmr Fliegerhorst)

53°44'57"N 007°29'92"E (Current airport)

Runway: ../.. - unknown dimensions - surface unknown (fmr Fliegerhorst)
Runway: ../.. - unknown dimensions - surface unknown (fmr Fliegerhorst)
Runway: 05/23 - 600x15meters - CONCRETE (current airport)

In 1936 it was decided that severeal airfields were to be built to defend the German homeland from attacks from the air..
One of these airfields was to be built at the East-Frisian island of Langeoog and its mission was to be a base for air defense fighters.
Sand was drawn form the Wadden Sea and used to raise a terrain of 150hectares to a 6meter height.
Additionally two areas to the north side received housing for the families of the Luftwaffe personnel that was to be stationed at the island.
When war did break out the airfield was not fully finished yet
This resulted in damage to the llight fighters that had begun using the field, forcing the Luftwaffe to construct a repair facility at the airfield.


As of 28 January 1940 the East-Frisian Islands were placed under military law, which meant Langeoog came under the command of the commander of Fliegerhorst Wittmundhafen.
During the war several fighter squadrons are based at Langeoog for longer or shorter (usually the latter) periods of time.
in the last years of the war they are replaced by mine detecting aircraft, tasked with finding floating British mines that are hindering shipping along the German coast.
After the war the airbase was taken over by the British military, but instead of using it as an air base they use it to house refugees from the Baltic provinces of pre-war Germany.
It served in this role until the early 1960s.

Part of the buildings were later used as a boarding school for children with social problems.
The school existed at least until 1989.
Their main housing building, rumoured to be a half swastika, burned down before 2010.







Taxi track at the former Fliegerhorst Langeoog, June 2010 (Wikimedia)

Today most of the former Fliegerhorst is overgrown with trees, but from the air the aircraft parkings and even the position of the runways is still clearly visible.
The taxi track around the airfield is still largely complete and in fairly good condition.
In the small forest that now covers the runways tracks can still be clearly found.






track in the forest at the former Fliegerhorst Langeoog, 2007 (Wikimedia)

Strangely the location was not used to build the current airport at Langeoog (Verkehrslandeplatz Langeoog, ICAO: EDWL).
Instead the municipality opted to build a completely new airport adjacent to the former base to the east.
Considering the island does not have much arable land in the first place, the decision is at least remarkable.
The airport has a daily service to mainland Germany by Inselflieger using B/N Islanders.





Fliegerhorst Langeoog and Langeoog Airport, 2009 (Google Earth)