Forgotten Cold War Bases Around Prague

Todays Czech Republic was born from the peaceful split of Czechoslovakia in 1993. The latter was founded after WWI from the ashes of the Austrian Empire. Its well-developed industrial plants and proximity with Germany made it a primary target in the expansion phase of the Third Reich – in fact, after the Munich Agreement a large part of the territory of Czechoslovakia was annexed to Germany in 1938.

Towards the end of WWII, Czechoslovakia was conquered by both the Soviet Red Army and US troops. As a result of diplomacy moves soon after WWII, a new free republic was founded. Unfortunately, as soon as 1948 the local Communist Party conquered power with a coup d’état, turning this Country into a Soviet satellite.

From a military viewpoint, this period saw the adoption of Soviet supplies and organization standards. Czechoslovakia shared a border with the Ukraine, hence with the USSR. Yet the stability and reliability – from a USSR standpoint – of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia, differently from other countries under soviet influence – like Poland – meant a certain level of autonomy in the setup of the armed forces, which were not massively present over the territory of the country during the 1950s and 1960s, until 1968.

The Prague Spring, triggered by the announced reforms of the leader of the Czechoslovakian Communist Party Alexander Dubcek, brought Brezhnev-led USSR to fear a loss of control of that industrialized region, creating a dangerous diplomatic affair and a bad example for other Soviet-controlled countries.  The Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, codenamed ‘Operation Danube’, was launched in August 1968.

The operation led to the successful occupation of the country by more than 250’000 troops from the USSR, Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria. Since that time, and until 1989 with the overthrowing of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia, the Red Army was present over the territory of this country, taking control and developing bases formerly managed by the local armed forces. The two largest airbases in the country, Ralsko and Milovice, both less than 40 miles away from Prague, were among the installations taken over by the USSR.

Despite this, the already developed Czechoslovakian Army maintained a high standard of proficiency and supply, thanks also to the local production of top-quality weapons. The local army was responsible of the Czechoslovakian sector of the anti-aircraft barrier of the western border of the Eastern Bloc, which was built in the 1980s based on advanced Soviet material, namely the SA-5 Gammon surface-to-air missiles. Furthermore, the city of Prague was protected by a network of anti-aircraft missile batteries based on the SA-3 Goa. Anti-atomic bunkers were built both in Prague for civil defense (see this post), and in more remote areas of the country for the government and for the military chain of command (see this post).

After the end of communism both in Czechoslovakia and the USSR, the departure of the newborn Czech Republic from the influence of Russia, and the reconfiguration of the Czech Army in view of the new geopolitical situation in the 1990s, the majority of the former military installations were shut down and abandoned – a scenario totally similar to all former Soviet-controlled countries, which had known an exponential increase in the military presence over the years of the Cold War, which could not be supported any more by the economies of the new independent Countries (see for instance here or here). Furthermore, like in every other country in the Eastern Bloc, the retreating staff of the Red Army and their families left extensive ghost towns (see for instance this post).

Today, after substantial demolition works and years spent under the action of the elements, a few traces remain of these witnesses of the Cold War. Yet as of 2018 some notable relics of this bygone era could still be found, conveniently reachable from Prague.

This post covers Milovice Red Army airbase, possibly better known through the name of the local Soviet town of Bozi Dar, two abandoned anti-aircraft missile batteries for the protection of Prague – Tocna and Miskovice – and an anti-aircraft battery in the vicinity of Dobris, south of Prague, once a focal point of the anti-aircraft defense of the European border of the Eastern Bloc, against NATO forces. Photographs were taken in summer 2018.

Map

The following map is very basic, and helps just to highlight the location of the four subjects of this chapter in the Prague region. The reason for not being more explicit is that the Dobris and Milovice bases are possibly not publicly accessible. Concerning Tocna and Miskovice, they are rather small installations, thus not difficult to explore.

As usual with this kind of attraction, approaching by car is the only way possible, due to the remoteness of the locations. Once there, much walking on uneven terrain is required. A tripod and torchlight are highly recommended for indoor exploration, and a cell phone with a GPS may be handy for moving around especially in Dobris and Milovice.

Navigate this post – click on links to scroll

Sights

Milovice Airbase

Much before being turned into one of the busiest and largest Soviet airports in central Europe, the airbase in Milovice had experienced a long history of upgrades and developments. Activated in the 1920s on military grounds previously established by the Austrian Emperor, the airfield was actively used by the Luftwaffe in the years of the Nazi occupation and WWII. Later on, it was turned into a major base of the Czechoslovakian Air Force, with MiGs reportedly operating from there as soon as a hardened runway was built in the early 1950s.

Before the Soviet invasion of 1968, the staff of the base used to stay in the village of Milovice, on the southwestern corner of the base.

After the Soviets came to occupy the field, they built from scratch a new, self-sufficient village on the northern side of the base, where Soviet troops and their families could live segregated from the local community. This village was named Bozi Dar. The Soviets developed the facilities of the base enormously, lengthening the runway to almost 8’500 ft, building about 40 reinforced hangars sized for MiG-21 and later MiG-23/27, and more than 25 open-air landing bays for Mi-8 and Mi-24 attack helicopters. The base featured also large open-air aprons for transport aircraft, which reportedly operated many military transport flights to and from the USSR with larger cargo aircraft.

A storage for nuclear warheads for tactical weapons was built to the south of the runway, with two Granit-type concrete containers.

Today this once prominent base is largely abandoned. The village of Bozi Dar, while surprisingly still hosting some form of business in a few surviving smaller buildings, has been almost completely demolished, leaving behind the depressing view of piles of rubble. The village had been ceded to private owners after the withdrawal of the Russian troops, but all proposed restoration ideas have come to nothing, and the by-then rotting buildings have met their fate in the early 2010s.

The northwestern corner of the airport is the richest in relics. Approaching the airport from this corner, you first meet significant remains of the double fence once delimiting the perimeter of the airbase.

In the same area, it is possible to find the helicopter aprons, almost untouched, with scant yet visible remains of tarmac repairs and typical airport area signs and delimiters painted on the ground.

From the same northwestern corner, you may go ahead along a former main road of the base looking east. South of the road you may soon spot the reinforced aircraft shelters built in this part of the airbase.

North of the road, you can see two unusual constructions, looking like fortresses of the Atlantic Wall (see here). These are likely part of the reinforced fuel resupply system, a pretty interesting feature of the Misovice airbase. These two reinforced tanks were only a part of a huge network of pipelines and reservoirs, which allowed to store most of the fuel in the vicinity of the base, but not on it, to prevent damages in case of an attack. The two reinforced tanks served only the immediate needs of the aircraft and helicopter fleet, and were designed to withstand a direct hit. This system was put in place by the Czechoslovakians, before the Soviets took over the base. You can spot the reinforced concrete roofs of the two reservoirs emerging from the bushes.

The aircraft shelters of this area are all shut. You can walk around, ahead and over them as well – useful for getting a panorama view of the base.

From the top of the shelters you can get a view of the open-air apron, and of part of the runway. The airport is today closed, but after the military quit, some ultra-light and RC aircraft activities were carried out from the area.

Having a close look at the gates of the hangars, you may notice they are made of concrete, really sturdy. Small engines to operate the gates can still be found on the sides of most of these hangars.

In the same area you can find a former cabin, probably hosting a power generation unit or something alike.

Further west, you can find a large unarmored hangar, most likely from older times than 1968. This was probably for maintenance activities. The windows on top of the front façade bear ‘KPSS’ in Cyrillic – this is the Russian acronym for the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. This is probably only part of the original writing. Further right, there is a Czechoslovakian flag, possibly from the later years when the base was operated.

The building of the maintenance hangar is composed of a very large main hall, and many smaller rooms all around its perimeter.  Electric plugs and switches bear writings in Cyrillic. Today, there is also monumental pile of used tires!

On the walls of the main hall there are traces of Soviet murals and Cyrillic inscriptions – most of them are fading.

The rooms along the long side of the hangar are mainly heavily damaged and spoiled.

The rooms along the short sides are in a bad shape, but something more remains of the original furniture, including some doors and windows. The traces here suggest a more aesthetically pleasant design, not just purely functional – look at the doors and handles, more like those of a canteen than of a mechanic workshop.

Especially on the eastern side of the hangar, evident remains of a sauna and steam room tend to confirm the function of this area as a recreational facility. Having such facilities close to the runway would not be strange – something similar can be found for instance in Soviet airbase in Wittstock, in the former GDR (see here).

Leaving the hangar to the north you can find several fences, and leaving the airport you may meet the original double fence with barbed wire – almost untouched from Soviet times, so may you need to walk along it to find a way through!

All around the former airport it is possible to find memorabilia and items of interest – mugs, metal pieces, fuel tanks,…

Getting there and moving around

As said, while largely abandoned and mainly unfenced, this area is likely all private property. Moving around does pose some safety issues, for when walking in the bushes and wild grass you may stumble due to abandoned cables or barbed wire at the level of your ankles. The main hangar is not completely rotting, but it is unlikely that it underwent maintenance in recent years. The adjoining small buildings are probably even more dangerous due to risk of collapse.

The village of Bozi Dar does not deserve any attention, unless possibly if you are looking for memorabilia – all buildings are completely gone. The area to the south of the runway where the nuclear facility used to be has been completely demolished. It was reportedly similar to the one preserved in Grossenhain, next to Dresden in the former GDR (see here).

Approaching the airport from the northwest is convenient, for there is chance of parking on the side of the perimeter road, far from the unwanted attention of the locals. There are some local businesses insisting in the last buildings of Bozi Dar, and possibly on the apron, but probably there are not real security issues in entering the base area by foot – there are no barriers nor prohibition signs whatsoever, except for cars. The area of the base is very large – it is an airport after all… – and visiting the northwestern corner may take about 2 hours for a well-trained subject, including time for all the pictures.

Tocna Missile Battery

This is part of the former network of missile batteries for the anti-aircraft defense of Prague, operated by Czechoslovakian 71st Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade. This ring of protection was established in the 1970s. The base in Tocna was equipped with approximately 12 batteries of 5P71 two-rocket trolleys for the Soviet SA-2 Goa, which in the Soviet classification is known as S-125 Neva (or Petchora for the exported version). This is a popular model from the early 1960s, adopted in many countries outside of the USSR and the Eastern Bloc over the years, and still deployed today. These 24 missiles had a range of roughly 20 miles and a ceiling of more than 50’000 ft. The electronic gears for target acquisition and missile guidance comprised the trailer-mounted P-15 acquisition radar and SNR-125 tracking and guidance radar – all Soviet supply.

Similar to other batteries of the kind, Tocna was divided in two smaller sectors, one with the barracks, parking, living facilities for the troops and fuel storage, and one with reinforced shelters where the missiles were stored, and open-air aprons from where they could be launched. Today, the former sector is part of a local institution, and is separated by a fence from the latter sector, which is totally abandoned and can be accessed.

The missile area is located on top of a small hill. You can get access to the area starting from the gate of the former guard sector (still in use, inaccessible). Taking uphill you will soon meet the old inner wall of the base, which originally divided the guard part from the missile sector. Traces of the camo paint still adorn the concrete wall.

The storage facilities are basically four barrel-vaulted halls inside a shelter. The shelter could be accessed from two opposite sides. Each of the four halls could host three twin-rocket trolleys.

Dark and narrow passages connect the blind ends of the vaulted halls, and give access to a small protection area, where personnel could stay for protection in case the base was attacked from the air.

As you can see from the pictures, unfortunately the halls are in a very bad shape, covered in stupid graffiti and full of rubbish.

On top of the halls, there is a circular wall probably intended for the guidance radar. The missiles could be extracted from the shelters and prepared for launch from predetermined areas of the base.

On the western side of the shelter you can find a command building, which today is barely accessible due to piles of rubbish obstructing the door. This is used as sporting ground by paint-ball teams. The emerging foundation wall of the shelter area was covered in camo nets, with some remains still in place today.

On the northern end of the base you can find two more smaller shelters, with a large round hole in the roof giving access to where two large antennas can be found still today. These do not look like highly directional radar antennas, but more like usual communication antennas – maybe they are not originally from the time, yet they look unmaintained and rotting. The two shelters were possibly for control/communication trailers, or for power generators. These too are in a very bad shape today.

Getting there and moving around

The former base has been split into two parts. One is still run by some public service, and cannot be accessed. The other – the rocket storage part – is totally abandoned and can be accessed without clear restrictions. Some paint-ball activities are (or used to be) carried out around here – but apparently only rarely. During my visit I came across two people walking their dogs, and was alone for the rest of the time.

The place can be easily reached by car in the southeastern outskirts of Prague. Parking is possible right ahead of the gate of the public service in the still active area – there is a large apron where your car will not be noticed.

The site is rather compact, but the terrain is uneven and steep. Anyway, considering also the very bad shape of the installation, visiting will not take more than 45 minutes.

Miskovice Missile Battery

This site is similar to the one in Tocna both in history and function. Unfortunately, possibly due to the immediate vicinity to a nearby village, this site was completely demolished. Only few traces remain of the original installation.

Accessing via the only way possible, you will soon meet traces of the outer fence, with vertical concrete posts and barbed wire.

The framework of inner roads can still be seen, albeit invaded by vegetation. The only visible remains are the round wall for the radar, and part of the access door to one of the shelters.

Getting there and moving around

I went to the Miskovice site as I expected it to be in a much better shape. Clearly, demolition works have hit here months before my visit, so that basically nothing remains here to see – just another lost occasion of sparing a piece of military history from total oblivion. While not far from Prague and easy to reach, I would not suggest to waste time in this location.

Dobris Missile Base

Together with another sister site in the vicinity of Brno (Rapotice), the Dobris base was part of the Czechoslovakian stronghold of the anti-aircraft defense line of the Eastern Bloc, countering intrusion from the nearby NATO forces operating mainly from West Germany.

This defense line was implemented in the final years of the Brezhnev leadership in the early 1980s, and comprised of ten missile bases, located in Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria. It was based on the advanced SA-5 Gammon surface-to-air missile, known in the Soviet archives as S-200 Vega. Designed in the late 1960s, this massive anti-aircraft missile is still in service in many countries, offering a range of over 180 miles, a top altitude over 120’000 ft and a peak speed over Mach 4. It can carry a 450 lb warhead of conventional explosive, or a 25-kilotons nuclear warhead.

The missile battery of the SA-5 is typically composed of six 5P72 launchers, and a single radar 5N62 illuminating the target up to a distance of 180 miles.

The Dobris site, operated by the Czechoslovakian 71st Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade, is an example of a really advanced launch facility for the SA-5 type. It is composed of three launch areas, with six launchers each, and correspondingly three 5N62 Square Pair radar antennas, making the three launch areas capable of working in parallel. Further antenna systems included a O-14 Tall King and a PRV-17 Odd Pair early warning radars, providing a seeking range of more than 350 miles at an altitude of 100’000 ft.

The area of the base in Dobris is correspondingly pretty large. The most notable feature are the incredible 60-ft-high concrete platforms where the square pair radars used to be placed. These structures are really unique, and clearly date from the latter, hi-tech stage of the Cold War era. The base was operative only in 1985, after four years of construction, carried out in secrecy by a force of 1’500 men. The areas was protected from intrusion by land, with a barbed wire fence and a concrete wall with watchtowers. All technical trails for operating the radar antennas and coordinating an attack, plus all power generators were sheltered in concrete bunkers, dug in the ground and covered in camo paint.

The base was deactivated at some point after the end of communism, for sure by the early 2000s. A private business has taken over the property, and a modern research center has been erected on the southern part of the former base. Thanks to its secluded location, sufficiently far from the city and deep in the trees, the area has come to our days in a relatively good shape. Due to the vicinity with a running business, exploring the launch part of the complex may be risky. This post covers only the more remote northern part, with the radar facilities and the control bunker.

Accessing the site from the north through the external fence and concrete wall still in good shape, you soon come to the first bunker, connected with the early warning O-14 Tall King. The bunker features two halls, which could host a control and signal processing trailer, and a power generation unit for the antenna. A corridor leads to a back door emerging to the ground level.

Holes in the ceiling allowed signal and power cables to reach the adjoining apron, where the antenna used to stay anchored. The Tall King was a massive 100-by-40 ft radar antenna, kept in place through six anchor points.

Pits and concrete pipes emerge from the ground all around the base. Moving southwest from the position of the Tall King radar, you will meet the monster structure supporting the Square Pair radar for one of the southernmost missile launch battery in the base (battery number 18 in the original maps). The support structure is accessible by a steep ramp, which allowed trailers for further electronic systems to climb on top of the platform.

The round wall on top of the platform provided the foundations of the radar antenna. Caution is needed here, for the center of the pavement is covered with some rubbish, deceiving a hole which allowed the power and signal cables of the antenna to run below the platform, and down into the nearby shelter.

The Square Pair operation trailers were hosted in that shelter, dug in the ground and featuring a single vault. Behind the main vault you can find smaller rooms with traces of technical gears – possibly for ventilation – and a service area for controllers and operators. A back door made access easier for the technical staff.

The service roads leading to the three high platforms for the Square Pair radar antennas meet in the same point, where the control bunker of the base can be found. This bunker is interred and very large. It features three entrances on the front façade, leading to as many vaults.

Each vault contained a power generator close to the entrance. The right vault contained the K-9 combat control trailer, with sensors and computers, from where the whole Dobris site was controlled. The central vault hosted a K-21M electrical distribution group, and the left vault the K-7 control group, which was used to monitor the status of the base and the accuracy of the targeting system. The graffiti on the sidewall of one of the vault clearly date to later than 1993, the year of Stephen Spielberg’s Jurassic Park feature!

To the blind end of the vaults a network of corridors and rooms can be accessed. This is interesting, for it features a protection system likely to be used in case of a serious threat to the base. This includes a system of tight doors, a ventilation system, showers and services typical to a decontamination facility.

This area is great fun to explore, but it is completely dark – a great environment for bats, like the one captured in this pic, purely by chance!

A powerful torchlight is mandatory for safely finding your way out. Traces of a control room – besides the trailer, which is clearly gone – can be found among other features of this interesting part of the bunker.

Just out of the control bunker you can find a building which served as a relax area for the troops. Traces of a gym can be found in one of the rooms.

To the back of the same bunker you get access to another platform for the Square Pair radar of the westernmost (number 17) missile launch area. The bunker for the control trailer can be found on the side of the platform, together with a soft cover for trucks or light vehicles.

Due to time constraints, the last platform was not explored. Leaving is convenient from the same point used for entering the area.

Getting there and moving around

As pointed out, the Dobris site has been partially converted into a modern research center, funded by the European Union and involving national universities. This occupies the southernmost part of the former base, close to the launch complexes.

Accessing the northern part of the site during the week-end is probably not very risky, yet you can immediately notice that the original external fence and wall have been repaired in recent times more than once, and inside there is an unpaved road kept free of any vegetation running along the wall. Coming close to the research center is not recommended, but the parts of the base portrayed in this post are clearly unused, with overgrown vegetation, dusty surfaces and rust everywhere.

Due to the intriguing history of the base and the good state of conservation, visiting is very rewarding. The area is a national park, and in case you miss the entrance you can relax with a walk in the trees. The area is pretty large, and visiting the only part portrayed in this post may take more than 2 hours, excluding time to and from the base. Much more would be needed if you decided to explore the rest of the base. A torchlight and a tripod are mandatory to explore the inside of the bunkers.

Soviet SS-12 Scaleboard Nuclear Missiles in the GDR

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A little known fragment of Cold War history concerns the deployment of ballistic missiles by the Soviet Union outside of its national borders. Considering the case of the GDR, aka DDR in German language, during the Cold War the westernmost communist dictatorship in Europe, this happened in several instances.

History – in brief

Two such episodes took place in the 1950s and early 1960s with strategic missiles – Shyster and Sandal – in the area of Fürstenberg and Vogelsang, located one hour north of Berlin by car (see this post), in the territory of the GDR. This deployments lasted only briefly, cause strategic missiles of much longer range were developed soon, allowing targeting western Europe and the US from within the USSR.

Since then, a nuclear striking force was allegedly present over the territory of the GDR at all times, as testified by a number of now abandoned nuclear warhead bunkers built on the premises of major Soviet airbases (see for instance this post, and links therein). This  force was mainly based on tactical warheads intended to be launched from aircraft.

From the 1960s to the early 1980s the USSR deployed also SCUD-A and SCUD-B short-range nuclear missile systems over the territory of some Soviet-controlled countries. This mobile-launched light weapons were stationed in the GDR in Königsbruck, Bischofswerda and Meissen, close to the border with Poland and the Czech Republic, as well as around Wünsdorf, were the high command of the Soviet forces in Germany was located (see this post). The improved SS-21 Scarab was added to the arsenal in Königsbruck in 1981, with a range similar to that of the SCUD systems.

Nuclear missiles appeared again in the GDR towards the end of the Cold War, in the years between 1984 and 1988. This time the Soviets used intermediate-range theater missiles, in the form of the SS-12 Scaleboard, a 500 kilotons, single-warhead tactical system, with a range of 500 miles and launched directly from a mobile launcher. The reason for this deployment was a kind of retaliation following the choice of the Reagan administration, together with some European NATO Countries including West Germany, Italy and Britain, to deploy intermediate-range missiles provided by the US in Western Europe.

This move by the western allies was part of the complicated and lengthy negotiations which would culminate in the INF treaty in late 1987, between the US and the USSR. In the end, this agreement led to a bilateral dismantlement of intermediate-range nuclear forces (‘INF’), including both the American Pershing II and the Soviet Scaleboard.

Talks aiming at counterbalancing the Soviet nuclear deterrent in Europe represented by the SS-20 Pioneer mobile-launched missiles, with a range of more than 3,000 miles, had been started in the closing phase of the Carter administration, with the USSR still led by Brezhnev. The goal of the operation from a western standpoint was the deactivation of this missile by the Soviets. The deployment of a huge force of hundreds of Pershing II tactical ballistic missiles and Gryphon cruise missiles by the US, ordered in 1983 by the Reagan administration in agreement with some European Countries, should stand as a precaution in case the desired deactivation of the SS-20 would not be obtained (see also this post). The NATO move was perhaps not interpreted as desired, and in response the USSR deployed the Scaleboard in the GDR, close to the border with the West in 1984, putting a halt to the talks.

Following the change in the leadership of the USSR, the INF treaty was later signed in 1987 by President Reagan and Gorbachev. The involved missiles deployed by both the US and the USSR, and not limited to the Gryphon, Pershing II and Scaleboard, were soon withdrawn starting in 1988. They were later decommissioned and physically destroyed.

Sights

Today, a few relics of this late episodes of the Cold War can be found in the former German Democratic Republic. The quick deployment of the Scaleboard meant that an existing Soviet missile brigade (119th) was relocated in mid-1984 from Gombori, in the Soviet Republic of Georgia, to locations in the GDR, namely Königsbruck and Bischofswerda near Dresden, and Warenshof and Wokuhl in Mecklenburg. Thanks to the improved mobility of the Scaleboard system, launched from mobile platforms, not much hardware was necessary for storing and operating the missile. Light shelters were quickly built to store the nuclear warheads and the missiles. These were connected by a network of short service roads made with prefabricated concrete slabs.

Following the withdrawal of the missiles, and later of all Soviet troops from the former GDR, these missile sites were demolished or invaded by nature. Apparently, nothing has survived in Königsbruck and in the bases in Mecklenburg, whereas in Bischofswerda significant remains are to be found, albeit not publicized at all, with a short walk in the trees.

This post provides a map and a few pictures to reach the former Bischofswerda missile base. Photographs were taken in late summer 2018.

Map

The following map highlights the location of the bunkers and the access points to the Bischofswerda site. During my visit I tried three accesses by car, and the northern access road – access point 1 on the map – is the only one where I could find a (small) parking area. The area is today in a forest, and there you cannot get to the bunkers with a car – prohibition signs can be found close to all three pinpointed access points. Some walking will be needed, but the area is nice and you are likely to see some wildlife – that was my case!

I noticed that the Ulmon map on my iPhone had the bunkers accurately pinpointed. In any case, a GPS and an electronic non-satellite map is strongly recommended, for the site is shrouded by high-grown vegetation, and barely visible on a satellite photograph.

Please note that the POIs related to the missile bunkers on the map above have been placed by hand, and may be not very accurate. I noticed the Google base map does not show all the service roads connecting the bunkers. These roads are not maintained any more for vehicles, but they can still be used by hikers. Anyway, I tried to reconstruct the basic network with green lines – please zoom in to see them.

Bischofswerda SS-12 Scaleboard Missile Bunkers

Accessing the site from the northernmost entry point (access point 1 on the map), you will soon meet a former service/administration building for the troops, in pure Soviet style from the Eighties – see the terminal passenger in Sperenberg here, from the same years. It was built in 1983, and today it is used in the warm season as a service building for boy scouts and other forest-related activities. A  placard quickly recalls its history. The Soviets (then Russians) left the place in 1993, and the barracks originally built in the area for servicemen stationed there were completely demolished soon after.

From the service building, the area of the missile shelters can be reached with a quick walk along a broad and almost flat road – you might easily drive to the place, if only it was not forbidden.

The bunkers are grouped around a small square area with concrete slabs on the ground. Despite the short distance from the square to the shelters, these are totally unapparent, and you may have a hard time getting closer to them if you do not have a GPS and some electronic map. Zoom in on the map above for some basic directions concerning this part of the missile site.

While they have not been demolished, all bunkers are abandoned with only one exception, and they are effectively hidden by wild vegetation.

There are bunkers of three types. The majority are hangars for storage of the missiles. There were four launchers with two missiles each, totaling eight missiles on the Bischofswerda site. The nuclear warheads were stored separately from the missiles, and quickly installed only in case an order to attack was issued. Bunker N on the map is the former storage for the nuclear warheads. Access is not possible due to the wild vegetation and the partial sealing of the sliding door with a pile of land. Yet the distinctive polygon-shaped metal access door can still be seen, different from that of all other bunkers.

The storage bunker A can be neared more easily. You can notice the totally different construction with respect to the nuclear warhead bunker N. The door of this bunker is sealed too.

Between bunker A and B there are traces of a construction, possibly another bunker, today completely interred.

The missile bunker B is open, and used as a storage for wood logs. There are also parts of the original ventilation system. The construction components of the shelter are similar to those you can find in other Soviet missile launch bases (see for instance this post). Yet the size of the bunker is rather small compared to similar facilities built for strategic missiles. This highlights the reduced cost of the preparation of a theater missile launch facility, with respect to its strategic missile counterparts.

On the far end of the complex (item Z on the map), you can find another bunker, at a glance similar to the other missile shelters. It was opened when I visited, and as you see from the pics there is an intermediate frame, dividing the hangar in two parts, connected by a passage. Considering the position and structure, I guess this was a command bunker, similar to those you see in other Soviet missile bases (like again this). There is a placard remembering the deployment of the Scaleboard system in this base, and inside somebody recently put a photograph of two former high-ranking staff from the US and Soviet Armies stationed in Germany at the time of the deployment, shaking hands in front of this very bunker. The photo was taken years after the decommissioning of the site.

Two other missile shelters, C and D on the map, close the tour. One of them is open, the other is sealed and barely reachable due to vegetation.

Special Feature – 119th Missile Brigade barracks in Gombori, Georgia

As mentioned above, the Soviet 119th Missile Brigade was tasked with running the theater missile installations hastily prepared in locations in Germany. To this purpose, the 119th was relocated in May 1984 from Gombori, Georgia, then a Soviet Socialist Republic in the realm of the USSR. It left back to Gombori at the end of the German deployment in March 1988. By that time, it converted to another missile platform, following the coincidental phase-out of the SS-12. For the time of the ‘German leave’, the 119th was under the responsibility of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, headquartered in Wünsdorf (see this post).

In the following pictures, taken on another trip (2019), you can see the abandoned barracks of the 119th in Gombori. This site was code-named ‘Tbilisi Army Barracks Gombori AL 12’ by the US, due to the proximity with the Georgian capital city, Tbilisi.

The 119th Missile Brigade moved away from Georgia after the USSR broke apart. It relocated to Elanskiy, Russia.

Getting there and moving around

As already pointed out, getting close to the site is possible by car, but touring the place will require a walk of roughly 1.5-2. I suggest leaving the car at access point 1 on the map. The site missile is not maintained except for the former service building, where you can find picnic tables and related facilities. The building was closed for the season already at the beginning of September, but the area around the building is not abandoned. The former service roads in the trees are maintained as well.

On the other hand, the area of the bunkers is basically abandoned, except for the Z bunker on the map, which is not maintained, but bears a placard on the front façade. Walking around does not pose any particular difficulty, but you should go prepared to face nettles, brambles and wild vegetation around the bunkers. Carefully watch your step, for there are open manholes scattered on the ground, probably part of the original underground electric supply system.

Visiting may take a bit more than 1 hour for the interested subject – something more if you want to take good pictures. A tripod is strongly advised also for external photographs, cause the trees effectively stop sunlight, so the area is mainly dark.

Soviet Bases and Bunkers in Southwest Poland

Similarly to other sovereign Countries in the Warsaw Pact, post-WWII Poland had to host Soviet troops on its territory. These often lived in segregated towns built anew close to larger airbases and tank firing ranges.

Such installations flourished in many European satellites of the USSR especially at the beginning of the Cold War, as a result of several factors. On one hand, the political situation was still rather unstable especially in recently occupied Countries like Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary, so a military presence was deemed necessary by the Soviets for keeping the status quo. Furthermore, in the early Fifties, Stalin was allegedly programming a final blow on war-battered western Europe to place the entire continent under communist rule, gaining direct and year-round access to the non-freezing Atlantic Ocean. On the other hand, the performance of early jet military aircraft, and somewhat later of early missiles, was still rather limited especially in terms of range, and called for the setup of outposts in the peripheral regions of the Soviet-controlled zone to allow planning serious military operations beyond the border.

In the final years of the Soviet Union, communism began to rapidly retreat from central Europe, as more and more nations profited from the internal problems of the USSR and rebelled against dictatorship, opting for democracy. Troops from the USSR were ordered back to their mother country. The great majority of the military assets were taken back to Russia, including not only weapons, aircraft, tanks, trucks and anything with an engine, but also plants, pipelines, antennas, TVs, refrigerators, etc. from virtually all military bases and Soviet villages nearby.

What stood as a tangible trace of the Soviet presence were all major infrastructures – airbases, missile launch pads, bunkers, deposits, railway stations, barracks,… – and housing for troops and their families.

As a quick glimpse into what can be found today, this chapter covers a small area to the southwest of Poland, just north of ‘pottery town’ Boleslawiec. The territory of the once prominent airbase of Szprotawa has been opened to private businesses, which now occupy concrete shelters presumably made for MiG-23, MiG-27 or Su-17. The huge runway is used for test driving and related activities. Even the nuclear Bazalt-type warhead storage has been partly taken over by a local company. Yet a good part of the runway, many aircraft shelters and the reinforced part of the warhead storage make for an impressive and evocative sight.

Fifteen minutes south from Szprotawa, the former military base of Pstraze used to be a focal point of near-border military activities, carried out within an extensive shooting ground nearby. Until recently, substantial traces of a secluded Soviet military town could be found in the trees. Despite the generally poor condition of the barracks and technical buildings, and demolition work going around on the former premises of the base, from portraits taken in 2018 you can still get a good idea of how seriously the USSR invested in these outposts on foreign territory, by just looking at the quantity and size of the existing buildings. On a later visit (2020), almost everything had been wiped out in Pstraze, leaving behind a triple of Granit-type bunkers, still very interesting to visit, and much concrete debris.

For more Soviet sites in Poland you may also check this post.

Photographs of this chapter come from two short-stays in the area, in early September 2018 and August 2020. I acquired a good deal of information from a friend in Poland, who is also the owner of this interesting channel on YouTube.

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Sights

Szprotawa/Wiechlice Nuclear Warhead Bunker

The plan of the airbase in Szprotawa is very similar to the one of Brand in the former German Democratic Republic, less than two hours to the northwest of this site in Poland (see this chapter). The orientation of the runway is similar, there are aircraft shelters to the south, and about .75 miles southeast of the airport it is possible to find a major storage area, which includes a bunker for atomic warheads. The connection road is today publicly accessible, and the typical Soviet concrete slabs are holding on in their place still today, allowing a convenient access by car.

The area of the nuclear storage was heavily guarded, and much of the original buildings and fence, including the original gates, is still in place. The reason for that is a private business operating these days in the area. This is both good an bad, for most buildings are reasonably well preserved – i.e. in better condition than in similar, but totally abandoned sites – but they are surrounded by deposits of coal, heavy mechanical components and industry materials and machinery.

Above all, you cannot access the place freely, for there are trucks going in and out and workers moving around.

From the access road you go through a first gate with red stars, which is apparently blocked open. Between this area and the deposit/inner fenced area, there are some buildings, which include a (possibly) former housing block and a smaller technical building with a unique Soviet-themed fresco in a very good state of conservation. Today, most buildings around this apron appear unused.

Close by the green gate giving access to the secured part of the installation, there are a small building where somebody is still living today. The gate looks original from the Cold War era. The inhabited building is at least partly original, bearing writings in Cyrillic on the front wall. A red-star-shaped flag pedestal and another statue pedestal with writings in Cyrillic can be found on the two sides of the gate.

From the gate and along the perimeter of the high security part you can still spot the original fence – the usual concrete posts with lines of barbed wire, typical to Soviet military installations.

The fenced area is very large, comparatively more extensive than in Brand and other places where nuclear warheads used to be stored. There are here several depots for trucks, numbered, with wooden gates, still today bearing extensive markings in Russian language.

The centerpiece of the area is of course the nuclear warhead bunker. Located in the eastern part of the fenced area, this is similar to those you can find for instance in other Soviet airbases like Brand, Finsterwalde (see this chapter) and Rechlin/Lärz (see this chapter), in the former German Democratic Republic. A huge difference is that this nuclear bunker has been left open!

Ahead of the entrance you can find a preserved concrete structure, where a crane for loading/unloading operations used to be mounted. This structure is taller than the front facade of the bunker. A unique feature here are the trees painted on the pillars of this structure, which considering the today fading colors, appear to be original from Soviet times.

The facade of the bunker features a massive curved double door. Inside there are warning signs in Russian. The door gives access to a  wide corridor leading through the bunker to the storage chamber.

The corridor could be split in two sections by an impressive square tight door, which retracted to the left hand side of the corridor when open. This is how you can see it today. I guess this tight door was installed to withstand a nuclear attack to the site. As a matter of fact, nuclear deposits and facilities were among the top targets of the military forces of both opponents during the Cold War.

To the right hand side of the corridor, a smaller tight door gives access to a narrow pedestrian corridor, leading out of the bunker through a small door on the facade. Unfortunately, this door is shut today, and blocked by a pile of wood from the outside.

After passing the big tight door, you can spot some smaller doors leading to service rooms on both sides of the corridor. There is also a passage leading to a toilet. The latter looks pretty fine, apart from some dust from age – and from the coal works nearby. Strangely enough, there are four taps of different size by the sink.

A metallic stair to the left side of the main corridor leads to the upper floor. Here you can find another narrow corridor, leading to a series of small service rooms closed by normal wooden doors. There are signs telling what you should wear when accessing some of these doors, like gas masks, gloves, boots – or maybe what gear you could find there. I guess these rooms were connected somehow with the ventilation system, cause big pipes can be seen running near the ceiling here.

Still upstairs, walking towards the facade of the bunker you find a tight door giving access to the ventilation system. This appears quite complicated, with several smaller tight doors, but it is arguable that ventilation had to be a major concern in case of a nuclear attack to the deposit and also for storing high-tech gear in the best possible conditions. Original air filters are still in place, but the compressors and fans have been taken away. Sunlight comes in through the round manhole you see on the front facade of the bunker.

Proceeding downstairs towards the back-end of the bunker you find a large hall with a monster double door totally similar to the external door of the bunker. Also here, warning signs in Cyrillic are written on the inside of the door. Look at the cap of my 10-22 wide lens for a size comparison!

The storage room is very large and empty. There are two long ventilation pipes in the upper corners, going all the way down to the far extremity of the room. Two small doors can be found in the room on the same side of the entry double door. They give access to two smaller rooms, where there used to be engines to open and close the extra-heavy halves of the double door. There is also trace of a lighting system, but this has been likely salvaged and used somewhere else – this is typical to most of the wiring and electric plants in former USSR installations.

Back to the entrance, you can spot a loading/unloading platform for trucks totally similar to Finsterwalde and Rechlin/Lärz.

You may get a further view of the inside of the bunker through this video from the YouTube channel of a friend, who provided much of the info to reach the site.

Getting there and moving around

The airbase and its premises are today in the village of Szprotawa. You can reach the gate of the bunker by car. Approaching the village from the south along the roads 297 or 12, which meet just south of the village, you may then take the road called Sosnowa. It points north and straight into the base. After about .25 miles the road will turn left. Just before that, you will see a paved road taking to the right. Keep on it as it will go through the former grounds of the base, now invaded by vegetation, where you will spot old aircraft shelters. The pavement will turn into concrete slabs at some point. Follow the road until it points south. You will find the gate with red stars and a no trespassing sign just after crossing an unpaved service road. You may park on the roadside and get past the gate by walk to avoid misunderstandings.

As pointed out, the area is privately owned and not open to the public. You need to get permission to step inside, and it might not be granted. You are likely to meet workers and watchdogs who will bark at you. I gesticulated in front of the workers, showed my camera and photographic gear, and they appeared not to care much about me taking pictures around. I spent a pretty long time undisturbed in the bunker, which is basically unused by the local business, but decided not to stimulate any discussion by taking too many pictures of the area ahead of it, which is actively used.

Szprotawa/Wiechlice Airbase

The fact that the airbase in Szprotawa – also known as Wiechlice – was supplied with a warhead bunker for tactical nuclear weapons tells much about its relevance at the time. Today, the territory of the base has been divided and partly sold to private businesses.

On one side, this has implied severe alterations to the original plan, with taxiways made unrecognizable, demolished or highly modified buildings, and so on. On the pros side, the huge runway can be freely accessed, and except for the extremities, it is still in relatively good shape, with the original centerline and other markings still visible.

The base offers also some classic Soviet Type B hangars, typical to the mid-Sixties to mid-Seventies period. The giant reinforced concrete doors have been taken away. On the inside walls, writing in Cyrillic is abundant.

On the day of my visit there, a local ‘war race’ (official site) – a kind of gymkhana – was taking place, making use of the post-apocalyptic scenario of the deserted base to setup a great running circuit – much fun!

A tank was performing some acrobatics for the crowds on a terminal part of the former runway – a very nice and unusual sight!

The site is completed by an extensive network of preserved service ways and some smaller buildings, generally not in a good shape.

Getting there and moving around

Similarly to the approach to the atomic bunker, you might take on the road called Sosnowa from road 297 or 12. The road points into the base. At the end of the road, turn right and you will point directly to the runway. You will see several aircraft shelters in this area. You can park where you like, or you can reach the runway and move freely on it.

Pstraze Former Soviet Military Village and Bunkers

In its history the base of Pstraze hosted tank regiments, which would train on the extensive proving grounds nearby. A large secluded town used to be located just out of the fence, for civilian servicemen and for the families of Soviet staff.

Accessing the site from the south you are likely to meet what remains of the extensive housing, today completely demolished. Notwithstanding the rather depressing appearance of this area, this is a real mine of memorabilia and collectibles, in the form of garments – buckles, buttons, shoes,… – and items of everyday use – mugs, dishes, pharmaceuticals, canned food,… This is probably a result of the content of many apartments having been dumped in the area. I left with a shopping bag full of stuff, from a couple of gas masks to a metal buckle with hammer and sickle, a doll, Russian canned meat, and more!

Moving north from this area, you meet scant remains of the original fence, telling you are entering the former military part of the site. There are a pretty large road and even a railway, both still serviceable today, even though not much used.

The following pictures are from a visit in 2018 – unfortunately, the buildings in this site have all basically disappeared as of summer 2020, when I visited for a second time to check out the bunkers and monuments, still there at that date (see later).

The first buildings were to be found north of the railway line, shrouded in the trees. In the southeastern corner a number of concrete platforms which might have been the foundations of soft, wooden buildings could be seen first. From there, pointing to the center of the former base you might spot a quantity of two/three-levels buildings, designed around the very same architecture. There used to be really many, and aligned along the service roads of the base, they form the majority of the ensemble.

Some different buildings in the military town could be found in the center. First and foremost, a movie theater.

The front part with the main entrance and a foyer had already collapsed entirely in 2018, but the theater was still in place at that time. The seats were gone, but the structure was sizable, telling about the great number of people that composed the staff of the base in the days of operation.

On the frame of the ceiling a series of names of locations were probably painted by the troops stationed here, or somebody who was tasked with maintenance works at some point.

A second interesting building could be found cross the street with respect to the movie theater. It is not very clear what its original function was, possibly a mall. It featured four halls at the corners, accessible with small flights of stairs from the outside, and larger halls inside. It had just one level, and a pretty broad extension.

This is what remained of this building in 2020.

Another interesting building could be found further west, towards the limit of the military town. It featured a gracious cantilever roof above the entrance, albeit in a pretty bad shape. Inside, it was composed of an immense hall, but maybe there used to be dividing frames and walls. Traces of a reception desk suggest some form of service – pool, gym, spa? – was provided here, and the same is true for the halls to the back, featuring tiled floors and walls.

Further interesting mystery buildings could be found on the northern limit of the site. There was a large, two-levels square building with an inner courtyard, somewhat elevated with respect to the surrounding area. Ahead of the entrance there was a pavement decoration with a wind rose. The facade was sober but somewhat more modern than all the other buildings. A command building, or a school maybe? There was also a smaller building on top of a similar low hill cross the street, but the roof had totally collapsed already in 2018.

There were also traces of a relax area with benches. A statue of Lenin would just complete the setting – possibly there was one, or some monuments, but nothing remains today here.

All in all, the place was really impressive for its extensive size and the unreal quietness and ‘Soviet ghost aura’ pervading the area…

It should be said that with respect to other bases of the same type, the buildings here appeared really rotting and unsafe already in 2018. Most of the roofs had collapsed or had been willingly demolished, so the walls were exposed to the weather. Not many reasons remain to check out this area, except for chance is that you will leave with some CCCP-marked souvenir!

More interesting are a couple of monuments to be found scattered on the territory of the base, and as of 2020 somewhat unexpectedly spared despite demolition works in full swing.

The first is located on a crossing between two major unpaved roads of the base. It is made of three large slabs of concrete. The center one is clearly celebrating an anniversary from the closing stages or the end of WWII, when this area fell under control by the Soviets.

The one to the left is fading, and the iconography is not very clear.

It is also interesting that both this and the center panels appear to have been updated over time – there are multiple layers of paint in some spots, and as the most recent are fading, the older ones are surfacing, creating a somewhat blurred image, difficult to interpret.

The right panel is basically a big head of Lenin, with beams coming out of it. There is also a fading inscription to one side. From b/w photographs, it can be perceived more clearly that face traits were once there, making the portrait somewhat more elaborated.

The second monument is much smaller and secluded. It is basically a commemoration slab concerning the soviet war effort in the Great Patriotic War.

Unfortunately, side decoration is likely missing, as well as part of the inscription.

Possibly the only reason to visit the place today is the part to the northern end of the town. There you can find (in 2020) a well preserved set of Granit-type bunkers. This type of bunkers was simple, basically made of an interred straight tunnel with two gates to the opposite entrances. They were built for many different uses, ranging from soft shelter of war material (like assembled missiles) to protected command posts. Granit bunkers appeared relatively late in the Cold War years (late 1970s), and are typical to several bases in the Eastern bloc (see for instance here or here for more examples).

A peculiarity of Pstraze is the fact that not just one, but three Granit bunkers were built in a very small area, with access well below ground level, and with two big access ramps for trucks each, reaching the two opposite ends of each bunker.

Here are pictures from the easternmost. Trees were painted on the concrete lids to the side of the entrances for deception. Access for trucks is really steep, but the ramps are still today in a relatively good shape.

To the far end of this bunker the lids have been partly torn. The entries to the ramps are guarded by turrets.

The second bunker is similar in construction to the first.

The last Granit is more strange. The front and back entries have been deeply modified at some point in history, closing them with a kind of concrete gate, strongly reducing the size of the entrance. This might have been a command post. Traces of a suspended canopy can be found on the access ramps for trucks.

Looking inside, you may notice the same trees painted on the original side lids. This further testifies the external concrete structures came at a later stage.

Leaving this area and going back to the military village, you may notice a fence existed once dividing the two sectors, as typical in most soviet installations.

Getting there and moving around

I had not the time to explore the access points thoroughly, but I found a fairly accessible way in driving close to the ghost base from the road 297 in Stara Oleszna. The main obstacle between the road 297 to the base is river Bobr, which is not just a small creek, and can be passed only with a bridge. There is one for light vehicles in Stara Oleszna. It is well maintained, cause there are people living on the other bank of the river who rely on it. Keep on the road leaving the bridge to the west. After about .4 miles you will come to a T-shaped crossing, where you need to take to the north. There are warning signs, and the road turns unpaved. After about .15 miles you will find a prohibition sign for cars. You may leave your car there and continue by foot.

From this direction you will meet first demolished housing on your left, then you will cross the railway and main service road (paved). From there you can start your exploration. Unfortunately, as of 2020 there is not much left to see of the village, except the two monuments. Further north, you can find the Granit bunkers, which may make for an interesting sight especially for more military-minded subjects.

Secret Soviet Missile Bases in the GDR

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Soviet Ghosts in Germany

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Driving less than one hour north from Berlin, Germany to the beautiful region of the Oberhavel, you can find some largely forgotten relics of an untold chapter of the Cold War, when Khrushchev secretly deployed nuclear missiles to hit European targets, for the first time outside of the Soviet Union – years before the Cuban missile crisis.

History – in brief

Germany held an undisputed lead on missile technology at the end of WWII. Similarly to the US, the missile program of the USSR started soon after Hitler’s army was defeated, and benefited from the capture and transfer of hundreds of German rocket scientists. These German engineers started by reproducing the German A-4 – also known as the in-famous V-2 -, the worlds first surface-to-surface missile to reach mass production. The corresponding Soviet design was named R-1, and similarly to the original A-4 it had a very short-range – less than 200 miles – and a payload too low for carrying a nuclear warhead, hence it could not be used to pose a strategic threat to the western enemies even in Europe from within the borders of the Communist bloc.

After long and intensive research efforts towards the increase in range, payload and accuracy of rockets, and aimed at improving yield, mass efficiency and miniaturization on the side of nuclear weapons, the Soviets finally could deploy the first intermediate range strategic missile, in the form of the R-5M – or SS-3 Shyster in the western databases – by mid-1956. With a range of 800 miles and a payload of 2800 lbs, this 60 ft-long missile could carry a single 300 kilotons nuclear warhead with basically autonomous inertial guidance, and radio correction to increase accuracy. Similarly to the A-4, propulsion was based on alcohol as fuel and highly volatile liquid-oxygen as oxidizer. Operation and maintenance of this high-technology surface-launched system was a very complicated task, requiring well-trained, specialized staff in large numbers. Several Engineering Brigades were established during the Fifties for this purpose, and their numbers and relevance went on increasing with time, as the range, yield and number of strategic missiles was rising with no pause in the following years.

For the USSR, already led by Khrushchev at that time, the commissioning of the R-5M platform meant that for the first time targets in the enemy Countries of Western Europe could be placed under the menace of a nuclear attack, carried out by means of missiles traveling at a speed so high that made them virtually undetectable and unstoppable. The Soviet Union now owned a strategic missile force, but the problem of range was still hard to tackle.

It was at this point that, after years of cogitation and secret papers, the deployment of the R-5M to the ‘border Countries’ of the communist empire started to take a tangible form. The reason was simple – while the range of the Shyster was not enough to reach any target from within the USSR, it could hit at least Britain, Northern France, Belgium and the US bases in the western half of Germany from some ‘satellite Country’, namely from the territory of the German Democratic Republic.

After inspection, the area between the small towns of Fürstenberg and Vogelsang – isolated in a pretty large, wild and unpopulated area, deep in the countryside about 35 miles north of Berlin and 12 miles from each other, but linked to the railway system – were selected by the higher ranks of the Soviet Army in 1957 for the deployment of missile launch facilities for the R-5M.

Construction works were started in total secrecy, enlarging and modifying Soviet military installations where some tank divisions were quartered. Even the top levels of the government and military staff of the GDR were unaware of the operation – codenamed ‘Atom’ by the Soviet high command. The Soviets carried out much of the work themselves, but they could not avoid to involve local civil workers for ‘unclassified tasks’, and they eventually came to suspect that something unusual was going on. Agents of – at least, but probably not only – the secret service of Federal Germany transmitted the news to their headquarters beyond the Iron Curtain. Yet documents become available decades after, following the end of the Cold War, show that not much detailed information existed in the archives of the intelligence of Western Countries about this deployment – further highlighting the ‘top secret’ level of the operation. This was actually the first deployment of Soviet strategic weapons outside the USSR ever, years before the more famous operation ‘Anadyr’ causing the Cuban missile crisis in 1962 – a scenario very similar to operation ‘Atom’, but with the US instead of western Europe directly within range of Soviet missiles.

Barracks, recreation and service buildings, concrete launch ramps, connection roads, bunkers for atomic warheads, and everything that was needed both for storing all subsystems and for supporting launch operations was built during 1958 both in Vogelsang and Fürstenberg. Two artillery units and two specialized accompanying technical units arrived in January 1959, together with 12 missiles transported by train, as reported again by secret agents. At the same time, upon reaching completion of the construction works all civil workers were dismissed, and today we know that the nuclear warheads arrived under heavy escort in May 1959 by train.

As typical in the chess game between the two superpowers in the years of Khrushchev, Eisenhower and Kennedy, after years of preparation operation ‘Atom’ was suddenly interrupted only three months after the Shyster had become operative in the GDR, in August 1959. An order to withdraw immediately was issued, and all missiles and related units were temporarily relocated in Kaliningrad, Russia, from where they were short of range and not any more a threat for the West.

But this is not the end of the story. In March 1959 the new R-12 missile, also known as SS-4 Sandal and later deployed to Cuba, became operative with a range of 1300 miles and a single high-yield, 2.3 megaton nuclear warhead. In September 1961 the Khrushchev administration issued an order to deploy a missile regiment constituted anew for the purpose with R-12 missiles to the GDR – an operation codenamed ‘Tuman’ (‘fog’ in English).

The high-ranking staff responsible for the operation inspected the bases of Vogelsang and Fürstenberg the same month, and issued orders for some preparation work to be carried out for making these facilities suitable for the new R-12 missile. As a result, two launch pads were set up in the trees between the two military bases. Each of them comprised light service buildings, concrete platforms for the launch gantries and support vehicles, fuel storages, guard bunkers. Gravel roads were prepared to connect the launch platforms with the two main bases, where Sandal missiles could be hidden and sheltered in the bunkers already manufactured for the Shyster.

The staff of the new regiment was engaged in intensive training activities and launch simulations in the USSR until the end of 1961, and all material and troops were kept ready for moving by train at the railway station of Zhitovichi, Belarus, at that time inside the Soviet Union, to the now ready bases in the GDR.

Again, after all preparations the order to deploy was never issued, and by mid 1962 ‘Tuman’ was halted and the special regiment disbanded. This second attempt to place Soviet missiles out of the USSR was canceled just months before the deployment to Cuba, and soon after the R-14 missile had become operative in April 1961. This missile, known as SS-5 Skean, had the same warhead but roughly twice the range of the SS-4 Sandal, mainly thanks to a different propellant. With this system all western Europe could now be targeted from behind the border of the USSR, making deployment to satellite Countries in Europe unnecessary.

Similarly to operation ‘Atom’, even though preparation works probably did not go unnoticed by the few people in the area, this story remained basically undisclosed until at least the mid 1990s, after the – by then – Russian armed forces left the territory of the former GDR, and both Vogelsang and Fürstenberg, which after the early Sixties had continued to work as military bases for some Soviet tank divisions, were finally shut down and abandoned.

Sights

As argued in other chapters on this website dealing with former Soviet installations over the territory of the former GDR, todays Germany – comprehensibly – does not seem interested in preserving any legacy of this inconvenient past. For the case of Vogelsang and Fürstenberg, the remoteness and amenity of the area has facilitated a new birth of these two as well as other nearby centers, which are today lovely destinations for local tourism especially from Berlin, with nice lakes, cycleways, many canals and hiking trails in the trees. As these two military bases with their weird stories have been a well kept secret since their inception, there is probably no reason for the local communities to publicize them now.

As a result, both bases are being strongly reclaimed by nature, and little remains today of these once prominent – albeit secret – installations.

Yet from a historical perspective the missile installations in Vogelsang and Fürstenberg make for a proof of the seriously dangerous and determined attitude of Khrushchev and the Soviet Union towards increasing the power of the USSR on the international scene by means of military actions. Especially in 1959 with the deployment of the Shyster, the stage for a crisis with an unpredictable outcome was prepared in Europe, but for some reason luckily this was not exploited. Furthermore, this happened some years before the Cuban missile crisis, incorrectly accepted as the first such experiment in Soviet history.

Both bases in Vogelsang and Fürstenberg present some traces of the activity of the missile units. While most of the buildings connected with the missile operations have been demolished, including unreinforced hangars for storing the missiles, bunkers for nuclear warheads can be found on both sites – these are much stronger, and demolition work would be very difficult, so these hangars have been simply closed and left there. Vogelsang is covered in a dedicated chapter, while the scant remains of the Fürstenberg barracks and the nuclear storage there will be shown in this post.

Possibly more intriguing – for more dedicated explorers – and difficult to find are the rocket launch pads. Two launch pads for the R-5M exist, on the premises of Vogelsang and Fürstenberg bases. Eight further pads are placed in two groups of four, in the large territory extending between the two military bases. These are totally abandoned, forgotten deep in the trees, possibly the only tangible testimony of the planned deployment of the SS-4 Sandal in the GDR. These are also covered in this post.

Photographs were taken in August 2017.

Map

Due to the wild vegetation and to the shape of the launching pads – which are concrete slabs today mostly covered by a thin layer of mud, moss and lichens – spotting these ‘archeological findings’ is getting more and more challenging. To ease the search I created a Google map of the launch pads. No coverage of what remains of the nearby bases of Vogelsang and Fürstenberg is provided on the map, as whether those places are interdicted to the public or free to visit is a matter of discussion.

Besides the position of the pads themselves, you can find what are car-accessible roads to get near to pinpointed POIs and suggested trail/trail-heads.

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R-5M/SS-3 Shyster Missile Launch Pad and Nuclear Bunker, Fürstenberg

There is one missile launch pad in Fürstenberg, built for the Shyster missile. The local road along the western border of the military base divides its premises from the launch pad, which today can be neared with walking on an easy trail which was probably a Soviet gravel road in its origin, wide enough to allow moving the missile on a trolley.

Like all other launch pads in the area, the central piece is a narrow rectangular concrete slab about 30 ft long, with a prominent metal crown set in it, with a diameter of about 5-6 ft. The crown is a piece of technology, even though today it is covered in rust and with an unattractive brownish color. It was used to anchor the small gantry put under the missile to keep it in the launch position. The missile was transported on a trolley in a horizontal position, and lifted to a vertical attitude before launch.

The most visible difference between the launch pads for the SS-3 Shyster and for the SS-4 Sandal – the latter being a couple of years younger, as shown above – lies in the metal crown. The crown of the Shyster is smaller and more like a polygon, where that for the Sandal – see later – is more round shaped, mostly resembling a watch bezel.

The concrete slabs had to withstand the intense thrust and heat of the missile without breaking into pieces. I guess – but I am not sure – some of the piping leading to these slabs – not visible here but next to other launch pads – may have been installed for a water cooling system.

The launch pad is the most visible item of a more complex system, comprising fuel and oxidizer storages, an electric generator, a control cabin and other gear. All this was placed in partly interred dugouts, which in Fürstenberg are today basically all gone.

On the premises of the Fürstenberg base and very close to the launch site there are two bunkers, possibly for the missile and nuclear warheads. The size and construction of the larger bunker, which has two doors on the two faces, suggests a use as a missile storage bunker, possibly suitable both for the Shyster and the Sandal, which despite the totally different performance were not so different in shape and size.

Today both bunkers are totally closed and inaccessible, the smaller one – possibly for warheads – has been turned into a shelter for bats. You can see the inside of the batbunker through the batslot!

Conspicuous traces of the barbed wire fences and prefabricated concrete wall marking the perimeter of the area are still in place.

Housing at Fürstenberg Military Base

Similarly to Vogelsang (see here), in Fürstenberg there are traces of what was once a large Soviet base, with housing for many people and service buildings. There are buildings in at least two styles, suggesting construction works were carried out in different stages. Multi-storey buildings are more recent, and similar to those you can find in the former airbase of Brand (see here) – among others.

A large part of the buildings has been demolished, and there is comparatively less to see here than in Vogelsang. Yet the place looks haunted also in clear air and bright sunlight, so the area may be worth a visit for the enthusiasts of Soviet ghosts!

R-5M/SS-3 Shyster Missile Launch Pad, Vogelsang

A portrait of the launch pad in Vogelsang from another visit is provided also in a dedicated chapter of this website. For completeness, here are some new photos.

While similar to the that of Fürstenberg, this launch pad is far better conserved, but not easy to spot from the access road of the base. The system of trenches and dugouts for all technical gear needed to prepare and control the launch can be spotted very easily all around. Note the polygonal shape of the metal crown typical of the Shyster system.

There are also traces of military material, possibly unearthed due to some more recent demolition work, like old ‘CCCP-made’ batteries, metal boxes, protective metal panels and more.

Some of the trenches have been flooded, and you would better go prepared to face thousands of biting midges and mosquitoes – take it seriously, otherwise you are not going to withstand their attacks for more than 5 seconds!

Visible traces of the barbed wire fence from Soviet times can be found along the access road.

In Vogelsang the location of the launch pad is much farther away from the nuclear warhead storage and missile deposit area than in Fürstenberg, and from the housing and service buildings of the military base. Everything is more scattered, and much more walking is needed to find this launch site, due to its distance from the local road.

R-12/SS-4 Sandal Missile Launch Pads, South-East of Fürstenberg

A first set of four launch pads for the Sandal missile can be found in a small area deep in a forest, on a flat terrain. This was associated to Fürstenberg for supply. The pads are placed at a walking distance from each other. Differently from the Shyster sites, the Sandal sites are not close to any building, and the gravel connection roads are in many cases not visible, or they have been more recently modified by the forest service. Plus they are not maintained in any way, and are today barely visible.

Searching for these findings is very funny if you like this kind of activities. You will definitely feel like Indiana Jones – or Lara Croft – while searching for the missile launch pads, but you have no chance to find them unless you have a GPS. You won’t need more than an iPhone with a decent free GPS app and good deal of patience, but without both ingredients you’d better give up from the start. Look at the pictures where I have my iPhone in one hand to see the ‘exact’ coordinates – some tolerance is needed, since my free app was not professional, and the trees above are very effective in jamming the satellite signal.

Of the four pads in this first site – possibly identified as BSP-1 by Soviet staff – I explored only three due to unfortunate time constraints. Proceeding from the west to the east, on site number 3 on the map I could not find even the concrete slab of the launch pad! Only a small unreadable metal sign has been left for posterity.

Launch pad number 2 on the map can be spotted once you are close. The concrete platform is partly unearthed and the corners can be seen. A gap in the trees on the area also help to find the perimeter of the rectangular concrete slab, which is otherwise shrouded by low vegetation.

The metal crown of the SS-4 Sandal is bigger and different in shape from those of the SS-3 Shyster, as anticipated – it is almost circular, not polygonal. I found exactly the same type of metal rig in some much bigger launch bases for SS-4 missiles in Latvia (see here).

The trenches and shallow dugouts for all components of the missile system can be spotted all around, albeit made mimetic and very difficult to capture with a camera, due to the underbrush hiding them and smoothing their profile. The trenches and the concrete pad are connected by a system of concrete pipelines. Metal frames with hinges, once made for doors giving access to the pipelines, can be spotted very close to the concrete platform. Maybe these were used also for a water cooling system to avoid the explosion of the launch pad, subject to the exhaust of the rocket engine at launch.

Walking to the the launch pad number 1 on the map you may come across what remains of a concrete booth, possibly a control cabin.

Launch pad number 1 is very similar to number 2, but here part of the side of the platform is unearthed and clearly visible.

It is noteworthy that no trace exists of any serious fence around the Sandal launch sites, differently from all other Soviet installations of various kinds I have visited all over the former GDR. Recalling the SS-4 launch sites were never operative, perhaps the Soviets did not really complete the construction works, and the cordoned area was marked only with some ‘soft barrier’ which could be removed leaving no trace.

Please note that the access road to get near to this site is car-accessible, but it is narrow, unpaved, with muddy spots, covered with fallen leaves and in some sections with sand. I could reach my destination with a station wagon without particular difficulty on a dry day in summer, but I would say the best vehicle type for this roads in any weather would be a smaller, possibly AWD car. Needless to say, you will need some form of protection for your feet and legs to approach the launch pads, but there are no bad insects in the area.

R-12/SS-4 Sandal Missile Launch Pads, North of Vogelsang

The second Sandal launch site – possibly named BSP-2 by the Soviets, but historical sources are not very clear – is associated to Vogelsang, which is roughly 4 miles south, from which it should have been supplied. Despite the similar role, this installation is very different from the previous one.

The launch pads are almost square, not rectangular. The missile facilities are built on top of a steep small hill, not on flat terrain, with the four launch pads much closer to each other than in the previous site. They have been put along a circular pattern, not straight as for the previous installation. It looks like this site was developed further than the previous one, for much more conspicuous remains of dugouts, and even what seems to be a guard post with a firing loophole, can be spotted here.

Starting from the easternmost pad number 1, the concrete platform is pretty well conserved and the metal crown for the SS-4 is easy to find. There are traces of metal wiring, and concrete pipelines all around.

Approaching the northernmost launch pad – number 2 on the map – it is possible to see remains of large dugouts, possibly for fuel deposits or other technical stuff.

Number 2 is poorly conserved and difficult to get access to. The terrain around is muddy and covered by a thick forest of 3-feet high nettles. The metal crown has almost disappeared under a nice layer of moss.

Launch pad number 3 to the west is connected to what looks like a nearby pool by a concrete pipeline, suggesting a cooling system, but maybe this was a dugout for a generator or something electric, with wiring connecting this gear to the missile through the concrete pipe. Also here the metal crown is today barely visible.

The last launch pad – number 4 on the map – is located to the south of the site, and poorly conserved. It was partly covered by a pile of cut branches when I visited. A strange item nearby the platform, where part of the metal crown can be spotted pretty easily, is an angle-shaped iron bar with a big bolt in it, emerging from the ground – and almost killing me, making me stumble!

Except for the obvious need for proper walking gear, this place is easy to reach by foot along a nice, prepared nature trail – see map.

The SS-4 launch pads are not publicized nor maintained, perhaps even somewhat voluntarily hidden, but the trail passes very close to them, so getting near is easy. There is a small lovely pond at the base of the hill, and the area is pretty wet. As a result, also here there are thousands of biting insects around – don’t forget your insect repellent!

Templin Soviet Airbase – Totally Gone

As a Cold War historian, aviation enthusiast, archaeologist, dark tourist or Soviet fan (?), you may be tempted to go to the nearby super-base of Templin, once one of the largest and more advanced Soviet airbases over the territory of the GDR.

Well, don’t waste your time. Sadly, the area of the base – in all its extension – has been converted into a gigantic solar power plant, owned and run by Siemens. It is totally fenced and full of obstacles, prohibition signs and CC-cameras. The scant remains of some housing are not accessible. There is also a small circuit track on the old apron, where some companies offer extreme driving experiences. Nothing interesting here, not any more.