Nordeney

53°42'00"N 007°09'14"E

Runway: Wadden Sea - water

Nordeney air station (german: Seeflugstation Norderney) was an air station 440 kilometer west-northwest of Berlin.
Norderney island already came into contact with aviation before World War I, when tourists could already see the first sight seeing flights. This changed when the military recognised the strategic importance of the island.
The German Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) realised fortifications and a small Naval Aviation Station (german: Seeflugstation) between 1914 and 1916. The seaplane base (German: Seeflugstation) consisted of a small slipway and a shed. Soon the station expanded with three hangars and two larger slipways. This proved to be inadequate, so a flying field for land based aircraft was also constructed on the west side of the island.


This three seat Gotha WD-7 was built as one of seven (serialled 670 to 676) built as torpedo-dropping trainers during 1916. Powered by two 120hp Mercedes DIIs, the machines had a top level speed of 85mph, while their normal operating range was 295 miles. The aircraft seen here operated from Norderney naval seaplane base (flyingmachines.ru).


A Brandenburg W19 from Norderney showing the white chevron unit marking on the rear fuselage. Itself an enlarged, more powerful version of the W12 with extended action radius, it had been outdated by the Brandenburg W29 monoplane before it could reach the front line units in serious numbers (flyingmachines.ru).


This Brandenburg W29 (2532) was from a 30-aircraft production batch ordered in April 1918. Powered by a 150hp Benz engine and fitted with two forward-firing machine-guns, it was accepted by the Navy in late July and is shown wearing the double white bands on the rear fuselage that denoted the Starboard Watch of Norderney Naval Air Station (flyingmachines.ru).

The constand erosion of the islands west side meant another construction had to be built, which shapes the island to this day. By drilling steel plates into the coast a steep promenade was created. The dry land behind it created the space for an airstrip and parking facilities. By 1918 the Seeflugstation Nordeney had become the largest in Germany.
World War I ended on 11 November 1918 with the signing of an armistice. On 28 June 1919 the Versailles Treaty came into force, which forced Germany to its almost complete disarmament. Despite the rigorous disarmament for its Army, Air Force and Navy, the Navy was allowed to maintain and expand its existing maritime fortresses and shore batteries within a 50 km radius. Since the seaplanes were used from the air station in mine clearance, this allowed them to keep the air station.
In 1922 the Nordeney Airfield Company was founded, owned by the German State, the State Bremen, the municipality of Nordeney and the Norddeutsche Lloyd. Its objective was to run civilian traffic to Nordeney and develop oceanic flight. Limitations to civilian flight by the Allies of World War I were lifted in 1925, and the airfield became a civilian airfield. The Fliegerhorst (as it was known on the island) was however not only used by the new Luft Hansa for its North Sea Flying Service (Nordseeflugdienst). It was also used by the front company SEVERA (SEeflug-VERsuchsAnstalt), founded by the Defence department and Luft Hansa. It developed Naval flying until the takeover by the National-Socialists in 1933.
In 1928 a new crane was ordered and by moving the Hafenstrasse to the north, the airfield was enlarged at a cost of one million Reichsmark.

From 1934 Lufthansa began using Ju-52 aircraft for holidaymakers. The last civilian building to be completed was the station building with a restaurant. 
The airfield was taken over by the Luftwaffe in 1936. A time of major redevelopment began, and a large hangar with an engine test stand was built on the north side of the Hafenstrasse. The 15t crane built in 1928 was taken down, rebuilt at Langeoog and replaced with a new 20t crane. In addition a large 22t aircraft crane was built. It was the largest of its kind in Germany, and finished in 1937.


The large 22t aircraft crane and three hangars Anton, Berta and Caesar at Norderney in 1938. This photo was recently found at a flea market in Germany by Dirk Lachmuth, who sent it to flugplaetze-der-luftwaffe.de.

Between November 1939 and April 1940 the airfield was home to no less than 6 squadrons. They were amongst the first with war missions. Magnetic mines were dropped in the Thames estuary and British harbours, causing great damage to English shipping. Obviously these missions came with severe losses. An overview of the units (and their aircraft) assigned can be viewed at festungnorderney.de (in German).
On 1 August 1939 the first Seenotstaffel (lit: Sea Ermergency Squadron, today better known as SAR) was set up at Bad Zwischenahn, but the unit moved to Norderney only 2 weeks later. They were headquartered in the old station building and the aircraft were parked in Hangar B. Initially equipped with He.59 Double deckers, they reequipped with Do-24 flying boats over the course of the war. Their aircraft were all white, marked with large red crosses and stripped of all armament, at least until the start of the war. Over the course of the war the internationally recognised Red Crosses were more and more ignored and many SAR aircraft were shot down by the British. Protests files with the International Red Cross (IRC) were to no avail, resulting in the gradual armament of the aircraft. Later it was discovered that the Germans had not assigned these SAR aircraft as such with the IRC in Switzerland.
With the occupation of the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Denmark and Norway, many of the Seenotstaffel were dispersed to those countries. Some of those Staffel ultimately became SAR districts (Seenotbezirke) themselves (Schellingwoude, Hourtin and Stavanger). Only 4 Seenotgruppe remained at Norderney. As war progressed the Norderney Seenotgruppe not only saved German aviators, but more and more often also English and American aviators. Additionally the unit was tasked with the training of new Recue pilots in the training squadron (Ergänzungsstaffel).
During the war Norderney was bombed only in 1940 and 1941. At some time during the war the Germans dug trenches across the airfield to make its use for allied air assualts impossible.


Wreckage of an allied bomber at Norderney in 1943 (dhm.de).


Collage of reconnaissance photos of Norderney on 10 October 1944.


The area shown above with drawn in the approximate locations of buildings (as originally found on festung-norderney.de.ms)

After the war the island was occupied by British troops. They tore down the air station and local railroad and took over control of the islands hotels. Norderney became a Leave Center for the British Army Of the Rhine (BAOR), which lasted until 1952.


The former Seefliegerhorst at Norderney photographed in 1965 (photo via Rolf Wurster).

Today the former airfield forms part of the village of Nordeney. Much of the airfield has been built over with homes. On the south side there appear some remains of the old flying boat slipways and platforms. Most has been built over with a new ferry pier and roads however.


The location of the former Seefliegerhorst in 2006 (Google Earth).