Avedøre Airfield (

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

: Avedøre Flyveplads), located in

Hvidovre Municipality Hvidovre Kommune is a municipality (Danish, '' kommune'') in Region Hovedstaden near Copenhagen on the island of Zealand (Sjælland) in eastern Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 22 km2, and has a total population of 53,416 (1 Januar ...

, west of central

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, is the oldest operational airfield in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. It is situated at the intersection of Gammel Køge Landevej with the Ring 3 motorway. It is now known s Aeronautisk Aktivitetscenter Avedøre (AAA) and used as a centre for vintage aircraft. The oldest buildings at the site are two wooden hangars that date from its establishment in 1917.

History

Avedøre Air Base was built for the Royal Danish Army's air squad in 1917. It originally covered an area of 500 by 500 metres and included runways and three hangars. One of the hangars was demolished in connection with an expansion of Gammel Køge Landevej in the 1930s. Twelve

Avro 504 The Avro 504 was a First World War biplane aircraft made by the Avro aircraft company and under licence by others. Production during the war totalled 8,970 and continued for almost 20 years, making it the most-produced aircraft of any kind tha ...

aircraft were stationed at the air base but flying was limited due to shortage of fuel and spare parts during World War I. Shortly after the war, '' Det Danske Luftfartsselskab'' (later

Scandinavian Airlines Scandinavian Airlines, more commonly known and styled as SAS, is the flag carrier of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. ''SAS'' is an abbreviation of the company's full name, Scandinavian Airlines System or legally Scandinavian Airlines System Denmark ...

) used the airfield for its first civilian test flights. The

Royal Danish Navy The Royal Danish Navy ( da, Søværnet) is the Naval warfare, sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Denmark, Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Isla ...

's air squad briefly operated out of Avedøre in 1921–23 before moving its activities to

Kastrup Kastrup () is a suburb of Copenhagen, Denmark, on the east coast of Amager in Tårnby Municipality. It is the site of Copenhagen Airport. In Danish, the airport is often called ''Kastrup Lufthavn'' (Kastrup Airport) or ''Københavns Lufthavn, Kast ...

. The premises were then taken over by the 6th Artillery Unit. The hangars were used for storage and the runways as a training ground.

Værløse Air Base Værløse Air Base (Danish language, Danish: Flyvestation Værløse) is a former Royal Danish Air Force air base located just south of Værløse, Furesø Municipality, 20 kilometres northwest of central Copenhagen, Denmark. Its ICAO code is EKVL. ...

was inaugurated in 1934, shortly after the foundation of the

Royal Danish Air Force The Royal Danish Air Force ( da, Flyvevåbnet, lit=The Flying weapon) (RDAF) is the aerial warfare force of The Kingdom of Denmark and one of the four branches of the Danish Defence. Initially being components of the Army and the Navy, it was ...

. Avedøre Airfield was taken over by the occupying German Forces during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The site was used for testing of bomber engines after repairs at A/S Nordwerk, a collaborationist company based in Copenhagen. The managing director of A/S Nordwerk was shot in 1945 a few kilometres from the airfield. After the war, the site was used as a storage facility by the Avedørelejren military installation and Hvidovre Municipality. There were plans to redevelop the site in the 1980s but it was instead decided to use it for recreational purposes. Avedøre Airfield was put up for sale by the government-owned property company Freja Ejendomme in December 2017.

Buildings

The two red painted hangars from 1917 were listed in 1976. They were constructed in timber so that they could easily be burned down in the event of war. The site also features an engine testing facility from 1943. Almost a hundred metres long, it consists of a row of 10 interconnected testing halls. A vintage aircraft from 1958 has been installed on the top of a column in front of the buildings.

Activities

The airfield is today used by various clubs associated with aircraft and aircraft history, collectively known as ''Aeronautisk Aktivitetscenter Avedøre'' (AAA). The hangars are used for restoration of vintage aircraft. The current runway opened in 2004. Avedøre Airfield also hosts an annual air show. The clubs arrange tours of the airfield.

References

External links

Aeronautisk Aktivitetscenter Avedøre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Avedore Airfield Hvidovre Municipality 1917 establishments in Denmark

History

Buildings

Activities

See also

References

External links