Słupsk-Redzikowo Airport is a disused civil airport in

Słupsk Słupsk (; , ; formerly german: Stolp, ; also known by several alternative names) is a city with powiat rights located on the Słupia River in the Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland, in the historical region of Pomerania or more specific ...

(100,000 inhabitants), northern Poland. Its airport in Słupsk-

Redzikowo Redzikowo (German: ''Reitz'', Kashubian: ''Redzëkòwò'') is a village in northern Poland, located in Gmina Słupsk, Słupsk County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, 5 km to the east of Słupsk. It has 405 inhabitants (2006). Just to the north ...

, that has a 7,200-foot-long runway, and a record of serving domestic flights to the popular seaside destination close to the Baltic sea. In the 1980s there were scheduled flights to

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

and

Koszalin Koszalin (pronounced ; csb, Kòszalëno; formerly german: Köslin, ) is a city in northwestern Poland, in Western Pomerania. It is located south of the Baltic Sea coast, and intersected by the river Dzierżęcinka. Koszalin is also a county-sta ...

, and before World War II to Berlin and

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was name ...

. It covers approximately 2.5 million people in its catchment area, and many popular seaside resorts. Słupsk participates in the "DEAR" project, that supports the local authorities trying to revive its airports.

History

The airfield Stolp-West was opened in 1916 for the Imperial German ''Luftstreitkräfte'', after the

Versailles Treaty The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 19 ...

the airfield was used as a civilian airport. It became a vital connection to East Prussia, which was cut off from mainland

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

by the

Polish Corridor The Polish Corridor (german: Polnischer Korridor; pl, Pomorze, Polski Korytarz), also known as the Danzig Corridor, Corridor to the Sea or Gdańsk Corridor, was a territory located in the region of Pomerelia (Pomeranian Voivodeship, easter ...

. In 1921, the "Luftverkehrsgesellschaft Pommern" was founded which operated from Stolp-West. The

Deutsche Luft Hansa ''Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G.'' (from 1933 styled as ''Deutsche Lufthansa'' and also known as ''Luft Hansa'', ''Lufthansa'', or DLH) was a German airline, serving as flag carrier of the country during the later years of the Weimar Republic and t ...

started to use the airport in 1926, a large hangar for six aircraft was built and the airfield served as an intermediate between

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, Stettin and the Free City of Danzig and

. In 1935, a new

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 ...

airfield Stolp-Reitz was built. 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 opposing ...

, the airbase served as a basis for Sturzkampfgeschwader 2"Immelmann" (

Ju 87B The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka (from ''Sturzkampfflugzeug'', "dive bomber") was a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935. The Ju 87 made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's Cond ...

) between May and September 1939, the I./Trägergruppe 186 (

) and the naval Ju 87B divebombers intended for service on board of

German aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin The German aircraft carrier ''Graf Zeppelin'' was the lead ship in a class of two carriers of the same name ordered by the ''Kriegsmarine'' of Nazi Germany. She was the only aircraft carrier launched by Germany and represented part of the ''Kr ...

. In January 1940, it became home to the second squadron of the third Fighter School (II./Jagdfliegerschule 3). Units of the Jagdgeschwader 54 and the

Jagdgeschwader 103 ''Jagdgeschwader'' 103 (JG 103) was a ''Luftwaffe'' fighter-training-wing of World War II. It was formed at Bad Aibling Bad Aibling () is a spa town and former district seat in Bavaria on the river Mangfall, located some southeast of Munic ...

were stationed at the base. Stolp-Reitz was never attacked by Allied bomber, the airfield was blown up on 8 March 1945 just before the Red Army reached the region. After the Second World War, it was used by the Red Army until 1950. Later regular connection to Katowice, Koszalin, Warsaw and Wrocław were established. 190812-N-AW818-875

Beginning in 2016, the airfield is in the process of being demolished as part of the construction of the

Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System The Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System (Aegis BMD or ABMD), also known as ''Sea-Based Midcourse'', is a United States Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency program developed to provide missile defense against short to intermediat ...

and has been renamed Naval Support Facility Redzikowo.

Airport infrastructure

There exists a railroad line to the terminal that can be used for passenger service.

References

External links

IL website of the revitalisation campaign
Defunct airports in Poland Buildings and structures in Słupsk {{Poland-airport-stub