Stavanger Airport, Forus
| Stavanger Airport, Forus Stavanger lufthavn, Forus |
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|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: none – ICAO: none | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Military, later civil heliport | ||
| Serves | Stavanger | ||
| Location | Forus | ||
| Built | 1940 | ||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| m | ft | ||
| Concrete | |||
| Concrete | |||
| Helipads | |||
| Number | Length | Surface | |
| m | ft | ||
| Concrete | |||
Stavanger Airport, Forus (Norwegian: Stavanger lufthavn, Forus) is a closed military airport located in the Forus area, in the municipalities Stavanger, Sola and Sandnes.[1] It was built for Luftwaffe by the German occupational forces during World War II, on farm land cultivated at the site of the former lake Stokkavatnet.[2] The airport was later used as a heliport, Forus Heliport, until it was closed in 1989.[citation needed] The area has later been developed for industry.[3]
[edit] History
The construction of the airport started in 1940 by the German forces, who saw strategic advantages with two airports close to each other. The construction was demanding due to varying groundwork, and large areas of bog. Ditches were dug to Gandsfjord and Hafrsfjord.[citation needed] Most of the airport was finished in 1941, but due to difficult weather conditions Forus was not used as an operative base by the German forces, and used mostly for test flights and maintenance.[citation needed] The airport consisted of three concrete runways, including one 1,950 meter main runway.[1] Three large hangars were built, as was a 5,000 m taxiway between Forus and Sola Airport.[citation needed]
From 1944 Jagdgeschwader 5 was stationed at Forus with Messerschmitt Bf 109G and Focke-Wulf Fw 190A aircraft. In 1945 a squadron of Arado Ar 234 was also moved to Forus. After the liberation on May 8, 1945 the Royal Norwegian Air Force used the hangars at Forus for maintenance, with the stationing of F84 Thunderjets. The Air Force was originally planning on only using Sola until Forus was expanded, but the latter never happened.[citation needed]
At the end of the 1960s the offshore oil platforms in the North Sea started needing helicopter support, and Forus was chosen as a helicopter base. Helikoper Service was the largest operator at Forus, and in 1968 they rented the one large hangar to house its two Sikorsky S-61N helicopers. Helicopter operations were moved to Sola in 1989 when the new heliport was opened there, and Forus was then closed.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Forus flyplass" (in Norwegian). Stavanger byleksikon. Stavanger: Wigestrand. 2008. p. 175. ISBN 978-82-8140-017-7.
- ^ "Stokkavatn (Forus)" (in Norwegian). Stavanger byleksikon. Stavanger: Wigestrand. 2008. p. 512. ISBN 978-82-8140-017-7.
- ^ "Forus Næringspark AS" (in Norwegian). Stavanger byleksikon. Stavanger: Wigestrand. 2008. p. 176. ISBN 978-82-8140-017-7.
Coordinates: 58°53′32″N 5°42′27″E / 58.89222°N 5.7075°E
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