Uetersen Airfield is an

aerodrome An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

near the town of

Uetersen Uetersen (, formerly known as ''Ütersen (Holstein)'') is a town in the Pinneberg (district), district of Pinneberg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approximately south of Elmshorn, and northwest of Hamburg at the small Pinnau Ri ...

in the district of

Pinneberg Pinneberg (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Pinnbarg'') is a town in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany. It is the capital of the Pinneberg (district), district of Pinneberg and has a population of about 43,500 inhabitants. Pinneb ...

within the municipalities of Heist and

Appen Appen is a municipality in the district of Pinneberg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approximately 3 km west of Pinneberg, and 20 km northwest of Hamburg. It is twinned with the village of Polegate, near Eastbourne ...

History

As early as 1928, there were deliberations to construct a

glider Glider may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...

landing field in Uetersen, but it took several years before the first aircraft would take flight. In June 1933 the first glider lifted off and 69 gliders were started until 1934. The biggest challenge, however, was that the sports grounds had to share with the local sports clubs and a large number of people were always present. The airfield was transformed into a military airfield in the summer of 1935 when the

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...

was completed. On July 25, 1936, the first motor aircraft landed, piloted by a flight-student of the Flying School Magdeburg. The military-airfield was used in

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 ...

by the

Ju 52 The Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed ''Tante Ju'' ("Aunt Ju") and ''Iron Annie'') is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers. Development of the Ju 52 commenced during 1930, headed by German aeron ...

Heinkel He 111 The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a "wolf in sheep's clothing". Due to restrictions placed on Germany after th ...

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

and

Bf 110 The Messerschmitt Bf 110, often known unofficially as the Me 110,Because it was built before ''Bayerische Flugzeugwerke'' became Messerschmitt AG in July 1938, the Bf 110 was never officially given the designation Me 110. is a twin-engine (Des ...

and several crashes occurred, killing people. It was also connected to the international airfreight network. The German

Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...

began operating the air cargo route Uetersen-

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 ...

on January 29, 1940. The Royal Air Force remained here until the end of November 1955. The airfield was renamed Marseille Barracks (''Marseille-Kaserne'') on October 24, 1975, named after German

fighter pilot A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...

Hans-Joachim Marseille Hans-Joachim Marseille (; 13 December 1919 – 30 September 1942) was a German Luftwaffe fighter pilot and flying ace during World War II. He is noted for his aerial battles during the North African Campaign and his Bohemian lifestyle. One o ...

. On May 13, 1987 private pilot

Mathias Rust Mathias Rust (born 1 June 1968) is a German aviator known for his flight that ended with a landing near Red Square in Moscow on 28 May 1987. A teenage amateur pilot, he flew from Helsinki, Finland, to Moscow, being tracked several times by Sov ...

took off from Uetersen, flying a Cessna F172P, registration D-ECJB, and eventually landed in

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːətʲ) is one of the oldest and largest squares in Moscow, the capital of Russia. Owing to its historical significance and the adjacent historical build ...

Moscow. The airfield was also home of German Air Force Museum Uetersen from 1956 until 1995, when Luftwaffenmuseum der Bundeswehr was relocated to Berlin-Gatow. In the 1970s, a Goodyear Blimp N2A airship was a guest. Today's airfield is used exclusively for civil purposes. The wings & wheels event was done annually here.

Airlines companies, clubs and destinations

The following airlines offer regular scheduled and charter flights at Uetersen Airfield: *It is the homebase for the business charter operations of

Air Hamburg Air Hamburg Luftverkehrsgesellschaft mbH (also known as AIR HAMBURG) is an open-base charter airline headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. According to its own statement, it is the "largest provider of charter business aviation in Europe". In 200 ...

, the biggest company located at the airfield. *Luftsportverein Kreis Pinneberg e. V. LSV (gliding flight) *Sailing club Uetersen e.V. SCU (gliding flight) *Aero-Club Pinneberg e.V. (motor flight) *Hamburger Luftsport e.V. (roof club of some Hamburg air sports clubs, motor and gliding flight) *Canair aviation company and pilot training, *Nordcopters GmbH (Helicopter Flight School & Aviation Company), *HanseAIR, flying school for private pilots, aerobatics and airplane, *AerialSign, (aerial advertising).

Major incidents

* 1. On July 29, 1999, a

Cessna 152 The Cessna 152 is an American two-seat, fixed- tricycle-gear, general aviation airplane, used primarily for flight training and personal use. It was based on the earlier Cessna 150 incorporating a number of minor design changes and a slightly ...

crashed while attempting a go-around during landing. The flight instructor died, the student survived but was seriously injured. * 2. On February 12, 2000, a Ruschmeyer R90 crashed on runway 27. All 3 occupants were killed. * 3. On September 2, 2009, a

Robinson R22 The Robinson R22 is a two-seat, two-bladed, single-engine light utility helicopter manufactured by Robinson Helicopter Company. It was designed in 1973 by Frank D. Robinson, and has been in production since 1979. Development The majority of fli ...

being used for training crashed shortly after takeoff. The

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

was completely destroyed, the pilot survived. * 4. On March 18, 2010, a

crashed on the

during landing. One of the two occupants was lightly injured in the accident. * 5. On August 7, 2013, a

Cessna 172 The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is an American four-seat, single-engine, high wing, fixed-wing aircraft made by the Cessna Aircraft Company.

(REG. D-EGUP) crashed into a nearby forest after takeoff. Both occupants were killed. * 6. On March 22, 2019, a Van's RV 12 crashed into trees during landing with engine problems. Both occupants were uninjured. * 7. On September 2, 2021, a B&F Technik FK-9 Mark II D-MNOM at the north south direction curve made a too close approach at the wrong side of the airfield building, crashed on the Trees at Parking Lot and felt to ground, suffered serious injuries and ultralight airplane was complete destroyed.

Curiosities

* The former

German Air Force The German Air Force (german: Luftwaffe, lit=air weapon or air arm, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ''Bundeswehr'') was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War a ...

Canadair Sabre The Canadair Sabre is a jet fighter aircraft built by Canadair under licence from North American Aviation. A variant of the North American F-86 Sabre, it was produced until 1958 and used primarily by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) until ...

CL-13B Mk.6 JB+110 Luftwaffe, Construction Number 1643, with its

Turbine A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced by a turbine can be used for generating e ...

removed remains on display in the parking lot. It was on exhibit at the museum until the relocation of the museum to Berlin.

References

External links