Stene-Ostend

51°12'24"N 002°54'36"E

Runway: grass flying field 

Stene-Ostend airfield (Dutch: vliegveld Stene-Oostende, French: Aérogare Ostende) was an airfield 100 kilometers northwest of Brussels. 
It was founded when, during World War I, a field near Stene (close to Ostend) was used as a military airfield.
On 23 May 1923, along with the founding of Sabena (the Belgian national airway), a DeHavilland DH9 of Sabena made a landing at Stene airfield, before crossing the English Channel for London. The occasion marked the first mail flight between Brussels and London, and of the establishment of the first connection from Belgium to England. Over the years the airfield would grow into a proper airport, called Stene-Oostende.
From 1936 the management of the airport recognised the field would soon outgrow their need for more space. It therefore began looking for an alternative site, which they found 5 kilometers (ca. 3 miles) southwest of Ostend, a mere 2 miles from Stene-Ostend. However, it was not until World War II that the Luftwaffe built the proposed new airfield.


Ostend-Stene airfield from the air. From the lack of aircraft visible, the photo is probably an Allied reconnaissance photo (private coll. Jean-Valéry Masset)

Stene-Ostend did not reopen after the war. Only one building of the former airfield remains: a hangar, now converted into a leasure center. The former station building, which was converted into a tavern located at Steensedijk 186, Oostende, was abandoned and demolished some time after 2005. A nearby city street following the contours of the former airfield is called 'Oud Vliegveld' (English: Old Airfield). All are located only 800meters (2400feet) from the eastern tip of the runway of the present day airport Bruges-Ostend.


Ostend Station Building after conversion to a tavern, photographed in 1996. The text on the face of the bulding spelled "Aèro-gare Ostende" (source).


Aerial photo of the former airfield in 2011. The airfield has been completely built over with a new residential area and an expansion to the Ostend cemetary to the north (Google Earth)