Hradčany Airport (in

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

''Letiště Hradčany'', often ''Letiště Ralsko'') is a former military airport within the area of

Ralsko Ralsko (german: Roll) is a town in Česká Lípa District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,100 inhabitants. It comprises area of the former military training area with Hradčany Air Base. Because of the former military ...

Liberec Region Liberec Region ( cs, Liberecký kraj, german: Reichenberger Region, pl, Kraj liberecki) is an administrative unit (Czech: ''kraj'') of the Czech Republic, located in the northernmost part of its historical region of Bohemia. It is named after i ...

, northern

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. Built toward the end of

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 ...

for the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

, it was expanded after the war. In 1968 the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

took control and set up a large air base here. However, after the Soviets left in 1991, the airport was abandoned and it is now neglected and damaged.

History

The area was used for military training during

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

and during the

First Republic of Czechoslovakia The First Czechoslovak Republic ( cs, První československá republika, sk, Prvá česko-slovenská republika), often colloquially referred to as the First Republic ( cs, První republika, Slovak: ''Prvá republika''), was the first Czechoslov ...

. Since 1938 the area was controlled by the ''

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

'' and used for training. In March 1945 the ''Wehrmacht'' built a field airport next to village Hradčany (''Kummer''). By April 1945 Stab and II./SG 2 of Luftwaffe's

Schlachtgeschwader 2 ''Schlachtgeschwader'' 2 (SG 2) ''Immelmann'' was a Luftwaffe dive-bomber wing of World War II. It was named after Max Immelmann, the first German pilot to earn the Pour le Mérite. This close-support ''Stuka'' unit fought principally in the so ...

were based here, while its I./SG 2 was in Austria, and III./SG 2 near Prague. The airport was also used by a wing of

Messerschmitt Me 262 The Messerschmitt Me 262, nicknamed ''Schwalbe'' (German: "Swallow") in fighter versions, or ''Sturmvogel'' (German: "Storm Bird") in fighter-bomber versions, is a fighter aircraft and fighter-bomber that was designed and produced by the Germa ...

at the end of the war, and later damaged by American bombing. After the war, German speaking inhabitants were expelled. On 30 October 1946 the Czechoslovakian Army closed up the area and established military base, later known as ''Military District Ralsko'' (''Vojenský újezd Ralsko''). In 1968, during the initial phases of

Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia The Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia refers to the events of 20–21 August 1968, when the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Rep ...

, Soviet planes shipped military materiel through the airport. The whole base was handed over to the newly established

Central Group of Forces The Central Group of Forces (Russian: Центральная группа войск) was a formation of the Soviet Armed Forces used to incorporate Soviet troops in Central Europe on two occasions: in Austria and Hungary from 1945 to 1955 and tr ...

of the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

. To host the Soviet 236th bomber-fighter squadron and part of the 131st air division the airport runway was expanded to 2,800 meters (width 60 m, one of the largest in Central Europe) and completely covered with concrete. Over forty hardened hangars hosted about 44

Mig-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nickna ...

fighters and

Mi-24 The Mil Mi-24 (russian: Миль Ми-24; NATO reporting name: Hind) is a large helicopter gunship, attack helicopter and low-capacity troop transport with room for eight passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and has been o ...

helicopters. Fuel tanks had capacity over 37,000 m³. Between 1945 and 1968 the Czechoslovak Air Force operated several regiments from Hradčany airfield: *46 Bomber Division (46 letecké bombardovací divize) between 1951 and 1955. *24 Bomber Regiment (24. letecký bombardovací pluk) between 1952 and 1954. *25 Bomber Regiment (25. letecký bombardovací pluk) between 1952 and 1954. *17 Fighter Regiment (17. stíhací letecký pluk) between 1955 and 1964. *26 Fighter Regiment (26. stíhací letecký pluk) between 1956 and 1958. *30 Fighter-Bomber Regiment (30. stíhací bombardovací letecký pluk) between 1958 and 1959. *2 Fighter-Bomber Regiment (2 stíhací bombardovací letecký pluk) between 1964 and 1968. Aircraft operated from the airfield included Arado Ar-96Bs, AS-11s, and MiG-15 (MiG-15, MiG-15bisR and MiG-15UTI).

Former airport

After the fall of the communist party from power in 1989, withdrawal of Soviet troops was negotiated in February 1990. The last soldier left the district in May 1991. The district lost its military status in the same year, was open to the public and on 1 January 1992 the village of Ralsko (area of 170 km², town since 2006) was established by joining of nine villages together. Between 1993 and 2004 the area was extensively cleaned up from chemical contamination and searched for unexploded ammunition. Soon after the airport was handed over to Czech authorities several projects has been proposed: setting up large cargo terminal here, to use it by

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

for engine tests, to attract a

low-cost carrier A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (occasionally referred to as '' no-frills'', ''budget'' or '' discount carrier'' or ''airline'', and abbreviated as ''LCC'') is an airline that is operated with an especially high emphasis on minimizing op ...

or create a Czech Scout base for huge events such as a

jamboree In Scouting, a jamboree is a large gathering of Scouting, Scouts who rally at a national or international level. History The 1st World Scout Jamboree was held in 1920, and was hosted by the United Kingdom. Since then, there have been twenty-thre ...

. Due to unwillingness and inability of authorise none of the plans has materialized. The state was unable even to provide protection of existing structures and these became target of vandals and looters and were completely devastated during the 1990s. The airport is now (without official certification) used by

ultralight Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with ailer ...

clubs, for unorganized car races and for

rave parties A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

. Newer plans propose to turn the location into a recreational area.

Notes

Literature

* Ladislav Lahoda: ''Průvodce bývalým vojenským prostorem Ralsko'' (''Guide through former military district Ralsko''), 2000, selfpublished. Shortened versio
online
(PDF).

External links

(in Czech) * Article about recent state of the airport
part 1part 2
collection o

(in Czech) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hradcany Airport Airports in the Czech Republic Czechoslovakia–Soviet Union relations Soviet Air Force bases Česká Lípa District Buildings and structures in the Liberec Region 1991 disestablishments in Czechoslovakia Military installations of the Soviet Union in other countries