At the end of WWII, the territory of conquered Germany was split in four sectors by the then-Allies – the US, Great Britain, France and the USSR. A substantial part to the north-east of the country fell in Stalin’s hands. A few years later, following a re-organization of all territories occupied by the Red Army during WWII, the Soviet part of Germany was turned into a communist-led state known as German Democratic Republic (‘GDR’, or ‘DDR’ in German language).
Especially from a military standpoint, similar to Poland, and later Hungary and Czechoslovakia, this produced a kind of cohabitation. As a matter of fact, besides clearly backing the communist dictatorship in occupied countries, the Soviets did not quit at all from newly acquired western territories. On the contrary, thanks to the position on a potential war front had the Cold War turned hot, the westernmost Soviet-controlled countries – with the GDR on top – were stuffed with Soviet military bases, and hundreds of thousands troops. These shared the map with the national military, which in the GDR were known as NVA (an acronym standing for the German equivalent of ‘National People’s Army’).
The national and Soviet forces often took control of separated military facilities, and while operating in a coordinated fashion, they were substantially different entities. As said, this was typical to many Soviet-controlled countries. Yet especially on the relatively small East German territory, of high strategic value thanks to the shared border with the West, the total number of tank bases, training academies, air bases, missile bases, nuclear depots, shooting ranges, etc., reached an unrivaled world’s peak, when compared to the population or the size of the country.
Following the crisis leading to the end of the GDR in 1989, and the collapse of the USSR roughly two years later, all these military assets turned surplus. The German reunification, and the disappearance of a significant military opponent in the close vicinity of the border, triggered a rationalization of military resources in Germany. Most of the NVA bases were closed. The Soviet-controlled installations were evacuated more slowly – it took until 1994 to bring back to their Russian homeland the thousands of troops and tonnes of material stationed in Germany. Once returned to Germany, also most of these bases were deactivated and closed.
Since then, the fate of these former military facilities in Germany has been in the hands of local governments or national initiatives. As a matter of fact, following a few decades spent as ghost bases – a real paradise for urbex explorers! – most air bases have been converted into solar power plants. Some of them have retained an airport status, either with a very reduced runway, or in some cases being turned into full-scale commercial airports. There are exceptions too, as some are still at least partly abandoned, and while invaded by vegetation, they are still totally recognizable especially from above. Other bases, like tank bases or nuclear depots, while mostly earmarked for demolition, have been comparatively better ‘preserved’ – at least, they have been attacked by the state more slowly, so there is still much to see there.
You can find on this website several reports about quite a few of these military bases in the former GDR – especially airbases – from a ‘ground perspective’. Sometimes, it is difficult to appreciate the size, shape, as well as their concentration over the former GDR territory. In order to better show these aspects, now here you have a portrait of many of these bases from the air!
The photographs in the present post are from a single, two-hours flight on a Cessna 172 single-prop aircraft. The flight took place in July 2019. As you can see from the locations pinpointed on the map below, on our route we met not less than 15 former (or still active) military items. And this is just a short trip mostly in southern Brandenburg – i.e. the region immediately south of Berlin.
This report is a complement to other chapters on this site, yet it is especially interesting on its own, as a comprehensive bundle of aerial pics on this subject is not easy to find!
Sights
Points of interest are listed following the flight plan, which was flown roughly as on the map, in a counter-clockwise direction, starting from Reinsdorf Airfield.
Soviet Nuclear Bunker Stolzenhain
This one-of-a-kind facility – there were actually two such depots, but one is today demolished and inaccessible – used to be a major storage for nuclear weapons for the Soviet Western Group of Forces, which included all Soviet troops stationed in the GDR.
The bunker is today closed, but it apparently lies on private land, hence sparing it from being turned into something else (or simply flattened) by the local government. You can see a dedicated report in this chapter.
Vegetation has grown wild in the area, but from above you can clearly spot the rectangular perimeter of the external concrete wall. From north to south, an internal road crossed the rectangle in the middle.
The bunkers are half-interred, hence from above you can barely spot the entrances. These are aligned along a service road arranged in a hexagonal shape.
To the south of the bunker area, you can spot a former group of barracks and an access road heading west. Construction and demolition works are taking place in this area.
This is an active military installation, and actually quite an advanced one. It is tasked with monitoring the air operations over a large part of the airspace over Germany.
The origin of this half-interred technical installation can be traced to the 1970s, when the site was activated under responsibility of the NVA. Following the end of communist rule and after German reunification, unlike many others this site was not demolished, but instead it was developed further, and pressed into the defense chain of NATO since the mid-1990s.
Control and Reporting CRC Point Schönewalde NATO German Air Force Bundeswehr – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Control and Reporting CRC Point Schönewalde NATO German Air Force Bundeswehr – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Control and Reporting CRC Point Schönewalde NATO German Air Force Bundeswehr – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Control and Reporting CRC Point Schönewalde NATO German Air Force Bundeswehr – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
You can see many half-interred warehouses, garages for trucks, a smaller radar antenna to the west of the complex, close to a helipad.
Control and Reporting CRC Point Schönewalde NATO German Air Force Bundeswehr – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Control and Reporting CRC Point Schönewalde NATO German Air Force Bundeswehr – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Control and Reporting CRC Point Schönewalde NATO German Air Force Bundeswehr – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Control and Reporting CRC Point Schönewalde NATO German Air Force Bundeswehr – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
There is also a larger antenna to the northeastern corner of the CRC.
Control and Reporting CRC Point Schönewalde NATO German Air Force Bundeswehr – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Control and Reporting CRC Point Schönewalde NATO German Air Force Bundeswehr – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Control and Reporting CRC Point Schönewalde NATO German Air Force Bundeswehr – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Control and Reporting CRC Point Schönewalde NATO German Air Force Bundeswehr – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Holzdorf Air Base
This large airport used to be an airbase of the NVA. It is one of the few airports from the Cold War in the GDR which were turned into a full-scale modern airport. Today it is a base of the Bundeswehr, i.e. the German military.
As we approached from north, you can spot first typical large communist buildings, forming a citadel which is likely still today hosting troops and their families. There is also reportedly a flight academy for helicopters in this complex, north of the airport.
Holzdorf Air Base former NVA East Germany (DDR) Base – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Holzdorf Air Base former NVA East Germany (DDR) Base – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Holzdorf Air Base former NVA East Germany (DDR) Base – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
The airport features large hangars for military helicopters to the northwest of the runway.
Holzdorf Air Base former NVA East Germany (DDR) Base – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Holzdorf Air Base former NVA East Germany (DDR) Base – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Holzdorf Air Base former NVA East Germany (DDR) Base – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Holzdorf Air Base former NVA East Germany (DDR) Base – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
A rather old-styled control tower can be seen to the south of the runway.
Holzdorf Air Base former NVA East Germany (DDR) Base – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Falkenberg Air Base
We reached the southernmost point on our flight with the former Soviet base in Falkenberg. This old base dating to the 1930s went on to be developed into a Soviet base home to fighter aircraft, MiG-23 and later MiG-29. Close to the airfield, there used to be a SAM missile battery (to the west of the runway).
Approaching from the north-west, you can notice a small ghost town and a large technical area, with what appear to be big unreinforced maintenance hangars, today used for something else by local companies.
Falkenberg Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Falkenberg Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Falkenberg Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Falkenberg Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Falkenberg Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Falkenberg Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Falkenberg Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Falkenberg Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
The airport is today dedicated to light aviation activities. The runway has been shortened, and sadly large portions of the original airfield have been covered with solar cells.
Most interestingly, in the trees to the northwest of the runway, you can spot four unfinished aircraft shelters – possibly of the type AU-16, which could host both the MiG-23 and MiG-29. They look like short concrete tunnels. They should have been covered with land, but works were interrupted in 1990.
Falkenberg Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Falkenberg Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Falkenberg Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Falkenberg Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Falkenberg Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
More aircraft shelters – completed – can be found to the east of the field, today used for storage, as it is often the case.
Falkenberg Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Falkenberg Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Falkenberg Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Finsterwalde Air Base
This installation was operative since WWII, when the large hangars and control tower still in place to the south of the apron were built. The base went on serving as a Soviet base, hosting fighters and fighter-bombers of many kinds along its illustrious history. A visit to this site, with its nuclear depot, can be found in this chapter.
Approaching from the southwest, we flew over the nuclear storage bunker, made for nuclear warheads to supply aircraft operating from here. The columns once holding the crane to lift the warheads can be clearly spotted.
Finsterwalde Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) Nuclear Bunker – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Finsterwalde Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) Nuclear Bunker – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Finsterwalde Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) Nuclear Bunker – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Finsterwalde Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) Nuclear Bunker – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Finsterwalde Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) Nuclear Bunker – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Finsterwalde Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) Nuclear Bunker – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Finsterwalde Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) Nuclear Bunker – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Finsterwalde Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) Nuclear Bunker – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Finsterwalde Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) Nuclear Bunker – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Finsterwalde Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) Nuclear Bunker – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Finsterwalde Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) Nuclear Bunker – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Finsterwalde Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) Nuclear Bunker – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Finsterwalde Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) Nuclear Bunker – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Finsterwalde Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) Nuclear Bunker – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
There is also a group of Soviet-style houses for the families of the troops. Apparently somebody is still living there!
Finsterwalde Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) Nuclear Bunker – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Finsterwalde Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) Nuclear Bunker – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
The base was enlarged with reinforced shelters to the north and southwest of the runway. The large hangars to the south are still in use with local companies, some of course connected with flight operations – this airport is still active for general aviation operations.
Finsterwalde Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) Nuclear Bunker – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Finsterwalde Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) Nuclear Bunker – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Finsterwalde Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) Nuclear Bunker – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Finsterwalde Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) Nuclear Bunker – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Finsterwalde Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) Nuclear Bunker – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Finsterwalde Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) Nuclear Bunker – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Finsterwalde Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) Nuclear Bunker – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Finsterwalde Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) Nuclear Bunker – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Finsterwalde Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) Nuclear Bunker – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Finsterwalde Abandoned Soviet Base East Germany (DDR) Nuclear Bunker – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Enroute to the next waypoint, we flew over a natural preserve, which offered some quite spectacular sights.
Naturpark Lausitz – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Naturpark Lausitz – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Naturpark Lausitz – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Naturpark Lausitz – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Naturpark Lausitz – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Naturpark Lausitz – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Alteno-Luckwalde Air Base
This airfield north of Finsterwalde was a reserve airport of the East German NVA. While never developed to the extent of primary airfields, it was among the few reserve air bases to receive an asphalt runway.
Today, the view is rather desolating – the airfield has been totally covered with solar cells.
Alteno Fliegerhorst Luckau Abandoned NVA East Germany (DDR) Air Force Base – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Alteno Fliegerhorst Luckau Abandoned NVA East Germany (DDR) Air Force Base – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Alteno Fliegerhorst Luckau Abandoned NVA East Germany (DDR) Air Force Base – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Alteno Fliegerhorst Luckau Abandoned NVA East Germany (DDR) Air Force Base – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Alteno Fliegerhorst Luckau Abandoned NVA East Germany (DDR) Air Force Base – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Brand-Briesen Air Base
This WWII base was selected for quick and substantial improvement since the early Cold War years, and went on to be one of the most developed Soviet air bases in the former GDR. In the beginning it hosted Ilyushin Il-28 bombers, but in the jet age it was home to a number of different squadrons and aircraft types. You can find the results of the exploration of a part of this base in this chapter.
Approaching from the south, you first spot an immense hangar, conceived at the turning of the century for commercial airships, and later turned into a water park – Tropical Island.
Brand Abandoned Soviet Air Base Nuclear Bunker East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Brand Abandoned Soviet Air Base Nuclear Bunker East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
But more interestingly, to the south of the airfield – unusually far from it, actually – you can find a depot for nuclear weapons, to supply the aircraft operating from the base. Similar to Finsterwalde, the pillars once holding the crane for lifting the warheads can be clearly seen.
Brand Abandoned Soviet Air Base Nuclear Bunker East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Brand Abandoned Soviet Air Base Nuclear Bunker East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Brand Abandoned Soviet Air Base Nuclear Bunker East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Brand Abandoned Soviet Air Base Nuclear Bunker East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Brand Abandoned Soviet Air Base Nuclear Bunker East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Brand Abandoned Soviet Air Base Nuclear Bunker East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Brand Abandoned Soviet Air Base Nuclear Bunker East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Brand Abandoned Soviet Air Base Nuclear Bunker East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Still to the south of the airfield, the local citadel for the troops is today an interesting ghost town.
Brand Abandoned Soviet Air Base Nuclear Bunker East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Brand Abandoned Soviet Air Base Nuclear Bunker East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Brand Abandoned Soviet Air Base Nuclear Bunker East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Brand Abandoned Soviet Air Base Nuclear Bunker East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Brand Abandoned Soviet Air Base Nuclear Bunker East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Brand Abandoned Soviet Air Base Nuclear Bunker East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
As you may notice, the airfield is today closed, and has been largely converted into a recreation park. Incredibly, they decided to build an array of small houses on the former premises of the airport, and in close proximity to the monster airship hangar.
Brand Abandoned Soviet Air Base Nuclear Bunker East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Brand Abandoned Soviet Air Base Nuclear Bunker East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Brand Abandoned Soviet Air Base Nuclear Bunker East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Brand Abandoned Soviet Air Base Nuclear Bunker East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Yet some relics from the past function of the air base are to be found scattered around. These include aircraft shelters, and more rare engine testing facilities – V-shaped concrete walls emerging from the grass nearby some of the shelters.
Brand Abandoned Soviet Air Base Nuclear Bunker East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Brand Abandoned Soviet Air Base Nuclear Bunker East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Kleinköris Air Base
This airbase was activated in the late 1960s as a reserve airfield for the East German NVA. It was used for exercises, and as a home base for helicopters of the Volkspolizei, i.e. the police of the GDR. After deactivation, it was used as a military storage for a while, and finally closed.
Kleinköris Löpten Abandoned NVA Air Base East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Kleinköris Löpten Abandoned NVA Air Base East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
The appearance, perfectly evident from the air, is rather unusual – it features a long grassy runway, with concrete taxiways at the ends. To the reports from the time, this is the original configuration of the airbase. Luckily, it is basically still intact.
Kleinköris Löpten Abandoned NVA Air Base East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Kleinköris Löpten Abandoned NVA Air Base East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Kleinköris Löpten Abandoned NVA Air Base East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Wünsdorf
The name of this small town will be forever linked to the two military high commands which were headquartered on its premises – Hitler’s OKW first, and the command of the Soviet Western Group of Forces for the full span of the Cold War. You can find a dedicated chapter here.
From above, you can get a nice view of the extension and shape of this military town, as well as good portraits of some of the highlights in it. Approaching from the southeast, you first meet the most famous building in Wünsdorf, the officers’ house. This majestic building dates from the early 20th century. It knew an extensive renovation during the Cold War years, as an officers’ club for the Soviet Red Army.
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
This huge building features a statue of Lenin on one side. In the wings to the back, you can find a swimming pool and a theater. The round building with a mural is a late Soviet addition, and once hosted a circular panorama painting.
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
The high command occupied the buildings north of the officers’ club, today converted into something else.
Another highlight of Wünsdorf are the many bunkers. These include the Maybach bunkers from Hitler’s era, once hosting the OKW. These were designed for deception as living houses, but could withstand aerial bombardment. They were blown by the Soviet, with only partial success. The Zeppelin bunkers, like cusped concrete towers, were designed to resist bombardment, by deviating air-dropped bombs falling from above along the sidewalls and down to the ground nearby.
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Soviet bunkers were located very close to the array of Maybach bunkers. They are largely interred, and from above you can see some concrete tunnels in the trees.
The railway line and station is an historical track from the time. The Wünsdorf-Moscow line operated in both ways on a daily basis. The service was suspended only in 1994, at the very end of the withdrawal of the last occupation troops to Russia – for many, the symbolic end of Soviet occupation.
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
The buildings for those stationed in Wünsdorf and their families were really many. Today this town, having lost its original core business, is largely uninhabited.
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Wünsdorf Soviet Nazi Military Headquarters Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Sperenberg Air Base
Not far from Wünsdorf, you can find the former Soviet air base of Sperenberg. This immense transport base used to be a major logistic base for the Soviets, which operated from here with their monster cargo planes. More on this base can be found in this chapter.
Approaching from the east, you first meet the buildings for the troops, to the east of the airport and close to the village.
Sperenberg Soviet Airlift Air Force Base Transport Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Sperenberg Soviet Airlift Air Force Base Transport Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Sperenberg Soviet Airlift Air Force Base Transport Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
An aerial view allows to clearly capture the shape of the base, with two large parallel taxiways with a huge array of parking bays for transport aircraft, and a long runway – still basically intact! – to the south.
Sperenberg Soviet Airlift Air Force Base Transport Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Sperenberg Soviet Airlift Air Force Base Transport Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Sperenberg Soviet Airlift Air Force Base Transport Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Sperenberg Soviet Airlift Air Force Base Transport Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Sperenberg Soviet Airlift Air Force Base Transport Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Sperenberg Soviet Airlift Air Force Base Transport Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Sperenberg Soviet Airlift Air Force Base Transport Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Sperenberg Soviet Airlift Air Force Base Transport Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Sperenberg Soviet Airlift Air Force Base Transport Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Sperenberg Soviet Airlift Air Force Base Transport Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Sperenberg Soviet Airlift Air Force Base Transport Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Sperenberg Soviet Airlift Air Force Base Transport Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
A large hangar with an inscription in Russian can be found to the east, whereas a small terminal building can be spotted ahead of a large apron to the west.
Sperenberg Soviet Airlift Air Force Base Transport Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Sperenberg Soviet Airlift Air Force Base Transport Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Sperenberg Soviet Airlift Air Force Base Transport Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Sperenberg Soviet Airlift Air Force Base Transport Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Sperenberg Soviet Airlift Air Force Base Transport Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Sperenberg Soviet Airlift Air Force Base Transport Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Sperenberg Soviet Airlift Air Force Base Transport Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Sperenberg Soviet Airlift Air Force Base Transport Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Sperenberg Soviet Airlift Air Force Base Transport Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Sperenberg Soviet Airlift Air Force Base Transport Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Sperenberg Soviet Airlift Air Force Base Transport Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Today the airport is closed, but rumors have surfaced more than once concerning its evaluation as a third airport for Berlin. This may justify its missed conversion into another desolating field of solar cells.
Kummersdorf Military Laboratory
A bit of an outsider here, Kummersdorf holds a very relevant place in the history of war technique thanks to pre-Soviet activity. In the late 1920s the Germans established here an experimental laboratory especially dedicated to novel weapons. It can be said that western rocketry was born here, since the group of Walther Dornberger, later joined by Wernher von Braun, started operations on liquid-propelled rockets in this lab.
Activities later moved to somewhere else, and finally landed in Peenemünde – see this dedicated chapter.
The laboratory in Kummersdorf was used also during WWII to test captured material, especially enemy tanks. Following the end of WWII, the Soviets took over the facility, but turned it into a more standard military base.
Kummersdorf Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Kummersdorf Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Kummersdorf Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Kummersdorf Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Kummersdorf Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
The red barracks in typical German style can be clearly seen from above. Most of the post-WWII depots are falling apart, but the area is really huge.
Forst Zinna Military Base
This base is located to the northeast of Jüterbog-Altes Lager, a huge Imperial, Nazi and later Soviet military complex, including two shooting ranges, a few airfields, an academy and many barracks.
Forst Zinna base was operative in the years of the Third Reich, named after Adolf Hitler himself. It went on to become a large base for the artillery groups training in the nearby shooting ranges. A dedicated chapter can be found here.
Forst Zinna Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Forst Zinna Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Forst Zinna Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Forst Zinna Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Forst Zinna Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Forst Zinna Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Forst Zinna Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Forst Zinna Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Forst Zinna Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Forst Zinna Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
From above, it is clear that demolition works are slowly wiping out the base. Yet there is much housing left to visit. Typical German buildings share the area with shabby Soviet ‘socialist housing’. A bridge passing over a major road and railway track going to Berlin links the base to the shooting range north of it.
Altes Lager Shooting Range and Barracks
The shooting range north of Forst Zinna is pointed with concrete control towers. The area is very extensive, and quite more convenient to explore from above!
Juterbog/Altes Lager Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Altes Lager Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Altes Lager Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Altes Lager Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Altes Lager Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Altes Lager Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Altes Lager Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Altes Lager Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Altes Lager Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Altes Lager Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Altes Lager Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Closer to Altes Lager, many barracks can be seen aligned along a major road. From the style, these appear to be from an older time than the Soviet occupation years.
Jüterbog-Altes Lager Training Academy
This pretty unique piece of architecture dates from the years of the Führer, and used to be an academy for air force technicians. It was later turned into a military academy for Soviet staff, and a KGB office was reportedly active here too. A report can be found in this chapter.
From above you can better capture the plant of the complex. The half-circle to the north hosted a big theater in the basement.
Juterbog/Altes Lager Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Altes Lager Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Altes Lager Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Altes Lager Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Altes Lager Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Altes Lager Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Altes Lager Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Altes Lager Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Most strikingly, in the western part of the complex you can see sporting facilities which have been completely refurbished, and are actually in use. These include a football field and some tennis courts. There is also a pool, but this has not been refurbished.
Jüterbog-Niedergörsdorf Air Base
This large air base was jointly operated by the NVA and Soviet air force. You can find a report in this chapter.
Approaching from the northwest you can see aircraft shelters, whereas to the northeast you find an array of large maintenance hangars. These have been turned into something else, including a test driving facility, which chopped part of the original apron.
Juterbog/Niedergörsdorf Soviet NVA Air Force Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Niedergörsdorf Soviet NVA Air Force Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Niedergörsdorf Soviet NVA Air Force Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Niedergörsdorf Soviet NVA Air Force Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
To the south of the runway, the base used to feature a large number of parking bays for helicopters. The runway has not been physically cut, albeit a central section of the original concrete has been taken away. Air operations today are apparently limited to ultralights and trikes.
Juterbog/Niedergörsdorf Soviet NVA Air Force Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Niedergörsdorf Soviet NVA Air Force Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Niedergörsdorf Soviet NVA Air Force Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Niedergörsdorf Soviet NVA Air Force Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Niedergörsdorf Soviet NVA Air Force Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Niedergörsdorf Soviet NVA Air Force Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Niedergörsdorf Soviet NVA Air Force Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Niedergörsdorf Soviet NVA Air Force Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Niedergörsdorf Soviet NVA Air Force Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Niedergörsdorf Soviet NVA Air Force Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Niedergörsdorf Soviet NVA Air Force Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Niedergörsdorf Soviet NVA Air Force Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
A menacing army of solar cells is attacking the perimeter of the base from the east! An unmissable sight next to this base (to the east) is a former aircraft shelter turned into a private collection of Soviet memorabilia – Shelter Albrecht (covered in this post).
Juterbog/Niedergörsdorf Soviet NVA Air Force Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Enroute to the next waypoint, you can clearly spot from the air a military hospital complex (see this chapter) – rather famous among urbex fanatics… – and other service buildings.
Juterbog/Altes Lager Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Altes Lager Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog/Altes Lager Soviet Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Jüterbog-Damm Air Base
This base dates to the years of the German Empire. It was forcibly demilitarized after WWI, but strongly developed in the years of the Third Reich, with the construction of large concrete hangars and service facilities, and a grassy airstrip good for fighter planes of the era.
Following conquer by Soviet forces, the airbase was partly dismantled, but at some point a SAM battery appeared on this site.
Today you can appreciate the size and special shape of the concrete hangars, a true engineering masterpiece from pre-WWII years.
Juterbog-Damm WWI-WWII Luftwaffe Air Force Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog-Damm WWI-WWII Luftwaffe Air Force Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog-Damm WWI-WWII Luftwaffe Air Force Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog-Damm WWI-WWII Luftwaffe Air Force Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Juterbog-Damm WWI-WWII Luftwaffe Air Force Base Abandoned East Germany (DDR) – Aerial View Picture Luftbild
Landing in Reinsdorf
Finally, you can see here a vid of the perfect approach and landing into the touristic airfield of Reinsdorf, about two hours after take-off!
Practical Notes
This flight was carried out from Reinsdorf Airfield (ICAO: EDOD), located about 10 miles southeast of Jüterbog, the most sizable town in the neighborhood. The airfield is roughly 1 hour driving south of downtown Berlin, very easy to reach with a car.
The flight would have not been possible without the help of a fantastic couple, Mrs. Kolditz and her husband, who own a nice French-built Cessna 172 from the mid-1960s, D-EBLD, portrayed here.
Cessna 172 D-EBLD Flugplatz Reinsdorf East Germany – Scenic Flight
There are some features making this very aircraft ideal for aerial pictures. Besides the high-wing configuration, this exemplar features a side window which can be completely opened, allowing for an unobstructed view of the scenery below.
The man is a former NVA pilot, something that must have played a part in him accepting to set up this very unusual flight plan! His great ability as a pilot helped much in having the aircraft in the right position to take the desired aerial pictures.
Thanks to the availability of the Kolditz family, setting up the flight was an easy task, even operating from abroad and through much Google-translation!
Another key-element in this adventure was Federico, a friend of mine sharing my passion for flying, who lives in Berlin, and played an essential part in co-financing the flight and translating between me and the pilot, as – perhaps incredibly, considering the content of this website… – I don’t speak German.
If you are interested in sightseeing flights south of Berlin, I suggest inquiring with the folks at Reinsdorf, a very active airfield with many facilities for touristic and pleasure flights. Website here.
Since during WWII, and even more during the early Cold War period, the Soviet Union invested much in the creation of a world-class aviation industry, capable of competing against those in the US and Britain. The confrontation between the two sides of the Iron Curtain, lasting until the early Nineties, resulted in an unprecedented boost in aviation technology, which grew very quickly to a level of sophistication which could be hardly imagined just a few years earlier.
Both military and civil transportation benefited from this development, with a tangible result – a wide multiplicity of aircraft models, with different shapes, missions and performance. A such diversity is not any more typical to these days, when new aircraft designs are very rare and, at least at a glance, extremely similar in shape.
The Soviet Union based much of its propaganda actions on the show of technological achievements and military might. As aviation has been for long – and maybe still is – an immediate expression of a Nation’s technology and power, large aviation-themed exhibits flourished over the territory of the USSR (see also this and this post).
This post provides an insight into two such collections, found in the capital cities of two former Socialist Republics within the borders of the Soviet Union – Minsk, Belarus and Kiev, Ukraine. Photographs were taken in April 2018.
Museum of Aviation Technology – Main Branch – Minsk, Belarus
This classic Soviet collection showcases all the major models in service with the Air Force of the Soviet Red Army. Today Belarus, albeit enjoying a strong economical relationship with Russia, is an independent country, with a size and a geographical location making an immense air power not necessary, nor economically viable. Hence the non negligible size of this museum can be explained with the past (Soviet) history of Belarus, which used to be a key territory between Communist Russia and the European satellites of the USSR.
The first aircraft you are likely to meet are the earliest of the collection – a propeller-driven Yakovlev Yak-18 and Yak-52. Close by a small building is devoted to space explorations, and hosts memorabilia and a Soyuz reentry capsule.
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Yak
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Yak
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Space Hall
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Space Hall
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Space Hall
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Space Hall
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Let L-29
The MiG design bureau, traditionally associated to high-performance fighter and attack aircraft, is well represented in this collection. Close to one another are a MiG-15, MiG-17, MiG-19, MiG-21, MiG-23, MiG-27 and MiG-29, basically covering the major production items of this firm over the full span of the Cold War.
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum MiG-17
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum MiG-27
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum MiG-29
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum MiG-29
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum MiG-29
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum MiG-27
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum MiG-27
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum MiG-29
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum MiG-29
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum MiG-23
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum MiG-27
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum MiG-21
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum MiG-17
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum MiG-19
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum MiG-21
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum MiG-17
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum MiG-23
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum MiG-21
The MiG family is completed by a MiG-25 twin jet interceptor, capable of a Mach 2.8 speed. This is present in the collection in two exemplars, including a pretty rare training version – MiG-25PU -, with a distinctive ‘double cockpit’ similar to those of the training version of the Lockheed U-2.
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum MiG-25 Trainer
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum MiG-25
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum MiG-25
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum MiG-25
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum MiG-25
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum MiG-25
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum MiG-25
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum MiG-25
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum MiG-25
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum MiG-25
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum MiG-25
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum MiG-25
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum MiG-25
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum MiG-25
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum MiG-25
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum MiG-25
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum MiG-25
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum MiG-25
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum MiG-25
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum MiG-25
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum MiG-25
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum MiG-25
Another well-represented manufacturer in the collection is the Sukhoi bureau, with a Su-7, Su-17, Su-24 and Su-25. The Su-24 is sitting besides the MiG-25, making for a fair size comparison – search for the cover of my wide lens in the pic of the main wheel of the MiG-25! These two aircraft are really massive compared to the earlier Su-7 and Su-17, and of course to the nearby Su-25 – an insidious and heavily armed aircraft, despite the clumsy appearance, as the many underwing pylons suggest!
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Sukhoi Su-7
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Sukhoi Su-17
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Sukhoi Su-24
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Sukhoi Su-25
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Sukhoi Su-25
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Sukhoi Su-25
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Sukhoi Su-17
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Sukhoi Su-25
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Sukhoi Su-24
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Sukhoi Su-24
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Sukhoi Su-25
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Sukhoi Su-25
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Sukhoi Su-17
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Sukhoi Su-24
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Sukhoi Su-17
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Sukhoi Su-24
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Sukhoi Su-7
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Sukhoi Su-7
A more recent Sukhoi design on site is the Su-27, put close to the MiG-29 and clearly outsizing it.
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Sukhoi Su-27
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Sukhoi Su-27
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Sukhoi Su-27
Yakovlev products, besides the already cited oldtimers, include a Yak-28 and a rare Yak-25, a pretty old-looking twin jet.
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Yakovlev Yak-28
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Yakovlev Yak-25
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Yakovlev Yak-28
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Yakovlev Yak-25
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Yakovlev Yak-25
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Yakovlev Yak-28
Among the few Soviet design in use today, the helicopters of the Mil and Kamov design bureaus are represented in the collection by a Mi-1, Mi-2, Mi-8, Mi-24 and Ka-26 placed side by side. Furthermore, there was some Mil helicopter activity over the airfield nearby when I visited.
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Mil
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Mil Mi-24
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Mil Mi-1
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Mil Mi-4
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Mil Mi-6
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Mil
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Mil
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Mil
The impressive Mi-24, a very aggressive-looking and highly successful attack helicopter with a peculiar rear compartments, was totally accessible when I visited. The mainly analog cockpit with a number of levers, gauges, switches and controls, suggests a conspicuous workload by the pilot! An interesting item on the cockpit is what appears to be an analog navigation system or tactical display, composed of a a paper map and a cruciform sight surfing over it, showing the current position of the helicopter.
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Mil Mi-24
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Mil Mi-24
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Mil Mi-24
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Mil Mi-24 Cockpit
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Mil Mi-24 Cockpit
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Mil Mi-24 Cockpit
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Mil Mi-24 Cockpit
The fat-looking rubber ventilation fan and the bulbous windscreen remember you this is a Soviet product – in case the labels in Cyrillic were not enough!
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Mil Mi-24 Cockpit
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Mil Mi-24 Cockpit
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Mil Mi-24 Cockpit
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Mil Mi-24 Cockpit
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Mil Mi-24 Cockpit
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Mil Mi-24 Cockpit
The back compartment may accommodate several troops, albeit not in a stand up position, or cargo/additional fuel. It is not totally separated from the cockpit.
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Mil Mi-24
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Mil Mi-24 Cabin
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Mil Mi-24 Cabin
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Mil Mi-24 Cabin
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Mil Mi-24 Cabin
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Mil Mi-24 Cabin
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Mil Mi-24 Cabin
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Mil Mi-24 Cabin
Besides military aircraft, there is also a group of military/civil transports. These include an older yet still widespread Antonov An-2 single prop. A similarly old Ilyushin Il-14 twin props is on display nearby.
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Antonov An-2
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Antonov An-2
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Antonov An-2
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Antonov An-2
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Antonov An-2
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Antonov An-2
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Antonov An-2
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Ilyushin Il-14
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Ilyushin Il-14
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Ilyushin Il-14
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Ilyushin Il-14
More recent aircraft include and Antonov An-26, not a rare sight in the former Communist countries of the world, and Il-18 and a larger An-12 four-props, and some jets – two Yak-40 including one formerly operated for state flights, and an ubiquitous Tupolev Tu-134 formerly of Aeroflot. A true icon of the Cold War, the equivalent of the MD-80 for the USSR, this fuel thirsty aircraft is likely to be retired by its last operator in Russia later this year.
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Antonov An-26
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Antonov An-26
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Antonov An-26
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Ilyushin Il-18
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Ejection seat
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Yakovlev Yak-40
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Tupolev Tu-134
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Tupolev Tu-134
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Yakovlev Yak-40
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Tupolev Tu-134
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Tupolev Tu-134
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Antonov An-12
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Antonov An-12
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Antonov An-12
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Antonov An-12
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Yakovlev Yak-40
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Yakovlev Yak-40
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Yakovlev Yak-40
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Tupolev Tu-134
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Tupolev Tu-134
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Yakovlev Yak-40
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Yakovlev Yak-40
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Tupolev Tu-134
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Tupolev Tu-134
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Antonov An-24
Properly put among other transport aircraft, a huge Mi-26 transport helicopter is sitting between the An-12 and Tu-134. This is the heaviest single helicopter of traditional configuration ever built. By a rough comparison, the length of the fuselage is greater than that of the two transport aircraft! It is really hard to think this machine can be pushed into the sky… yet the immense, eight-bladed main rotor apparently can carry out the task! The Mi-26 is still today in service with several Countries, mostly in private hands.
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Mil Mi.26
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Mil Mi.26
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Mil Mi.26
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Mil Mi.26
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Belarus Air Museum Mil Mi.26
Finally, an unusual circular box-wing experimental aircraft completes the collection. Not easy to design well, nor very nice to see in this case, the box-wing concept has surfaced more than once in history as an advantageous alternative to increase lift while reducing drag.
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Prototype
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Prototype
Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum
All in all, a very nice collection worth a quick detour from downtown Minsk.
Getting there
The place is open as a regular museum. The official website, all in the local idiom, is here. There is a nice resource site covering the history of all aircraft in the museum in detail – and much more about aircraft displays in Belarus – here. Some Google-translating will be necessary, but basic info like opening times and how to reach can be easily found this way.
The location is by the small local Borovaya Airfield, which is still active today with light GA traffic. Less than one mile from the junction between Minsk Beltway and the M3 going north. I would recommend a car for getting there, parking is available right in front of the ticket booth.
Visiting may take from 1.5 to 3 hours depending on your level of interest in Soviet aviation, and the number of pictures you want to take!
Museum of Aviation Technology – Airport Branch – Minsk Airport, Belarus
This open-air and unfenced collection is located right besides the passenger terminal of Minsk Airport. Here you can find a series of transport aircraft of Soviet make, conveniently parked side by side and easy to capture with a camera.
Minsk Airport Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Tupolev Tu-154
Minsk Airport Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Tupolev Tu-154
Minsk Airport Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Tupolev Tu-154
Minsk Airport Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Tupolev Tu-154
Minsk Airport Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Tupolev Tu-154
Minsk Airport Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Tupolev Tu-154
The two largest are a Tupolev Tu-154 three-engined commercial airliner, still in service in some countries of the world, and an Ilyushin Il-76 four-engined cargo. This is likely one of the most successful designs from the Soviet era, and is still a rather widespread aircraft today.
Minsk Airport Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Ilyushin Il-76
Minsk Airport Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Ilyushin Il-76
Minsk Airport Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Ilyushin Il-76
Minsk Airport Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Ilyushin Il-76
Minsk Airport Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Ilyushin Il-76
Minsk Airport Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Ilyushin Il-76
Minsk Airport Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Ilyushin Il-76
Minsk Airport Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Ilyushin Il-76
Minsk Airport Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Ilyushin Il-76
Smaller aircraft on display are a Tupolev Tu-134, an Antonov An-26, a Yakovlev Yak-40 and a colorful Antonov An-2.
Minsk Airport Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Tupolev Tu-134
Minsk Airport Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Tupolev Tu-134
Minsk Airport Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Tupolev Tu-134
Minsk Airport Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Antonov An-24
Minsk Airport Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Antonov An-24
Minsk Airport Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Tupolev Tu-134
Minsk Airport Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Yakovlev Yak-40
Minsk Airport Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Tupolev Tu-134
Minsk Airport Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Antonov An-2
Minsk Airport Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Antonov An-2
Minsk Airport Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Yakovlev Yak-40
Minsk Airport Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Antonov An-24
Minsk Airport Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Antonov An-2
Minsk Airport Museum of Aviation Technology Minsk Air Museum Tupolev Tu-134
Getting there
The display is located to the north of the passenger terminal of the airport of Minsk. Missing it is basically impossible when leaving or accessing the terminal from the front. There is a small parking area to the back of the aircraft, accessible from a road taking north from the main access road going to the terminal, immediately out of the airport toll booths.
Visiting is free and always possible, for the area is unfenced. You can’t board the aircraft, which are in a relatively good shape and lighted at night. A nice stop before leaving the country by air, the sight may be visited in 45 minutes, including time for all pictures.
Ukraine State Aviation Museum – Kiev, Ukraine
Among the air museum of former Soviet countries this is probably one of the richest and most interesting. The collection boasts some pretty rare aircraft from the military and commercial fields as well, all purely and distinctively Soviet. Plus there is a local depot carrying out some preservation projects, acquiring aircraft and restoring them to a good, non-flying condition.
With an immense territory, a numerous population and a strategically relevant position – including an access to the Black Sea – Ukraine enjoyed a primary role in the realm of the USSR. It was also the home base of many aircraft – especially heavy bombers – in the strategic Air Force of the Red Army. Many of them were actually ‘trapped’ in Ukraine when this nation left the Union, in the years of turmoil leading to its final collapse. Many Tupolev Tu-160s, still today forming the backbone of the Russian strategic air force, were purchased back from Russia in a later time. Since then, the national interest to maintain an air force comparable in size to that of the Soviet era has dropped, and most Cold War era assets have been retired from active duty, eventually feeding air collections like the one in Kiev.
Furthermore, besides more recent military designs the collection features some transport aircraft otherwise hard to see these days.
[Note: on the day of my visit the museum grounds hosted a fancy classic-car-themed festival. I discovered this when on site. As you will easily notice, the pictures below are often very far from optimal, due to the need to exclude some unwanted item, like hot-dog booths, dinner tables and historical buses from the composition. However, I hope the pics give an idea of the size and quality of the exhibition.]
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Ilyushin Il-14
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Ilyushin Il-18
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Ilyushin Il-18
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Ilyushin Il-18
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Ilyushin Il-18
Transport aircraft from early Soviet times include an Ilyushin Il-14 twin prop, an Il-18 four-props, and a very rare and nicely restored Tupolev Tu-104 twin jet. This particular design was later used as a starting point for the highly successful Tu-134, which features a very similar fuselage and cabin layout. The engines partially engulfed in the wing are really elegant – a typical feature of the 1950s, they witness the age of the design.
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-104
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-104
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-104
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-104
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-104
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-104
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-104
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-104
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-104
The Tupolev bureau is represented also by the Tu-154 three-engined jet, and multiple exemplars of the ubiquitous Tu-134.
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-134
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-134
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-154
Even bigger aircraft from the commercial field include an Ilyushin Il-62, with a distinctive four-tail-engines configuration, similar to the Vickers VC-10 – this time, a typical 1960s feature! You can walk under the bigger aircraft of the collection, and to the back of the Il-62 you can notice the unusual support wheel added for increased stability during loading/unloading operations to avoid tipping. This was retracted before taxiing. Ukraine makes use of Il-62s to this day for state flights.
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Ilyushin Il-62
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Ilyushin Il-62
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Ilyushin Il-62
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Ilyushin Il-62
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Ilyushin Il-62
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Ilyushin Il-62
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Ilyushin Il-62
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Ilyushin Il-62
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Ilyushin Il-62
A rare Soviet four-engined long-hauler from the Eighties is the Ilyushin Il-86. This is still flying in scant numbers in the Russian Air Force and with a few commercial operators. Looking mostly like an early Airbus from the 1970s, the cockpit arrangement, the multi-purpose big access door and some details in the aerodynamic design add a Soviet twist.
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Ilyushin Il-86
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Ilyushin Il-86
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Ilyushin Il-86
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Ilyushin Il-86
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Ilyushin Il-86
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Ilyushin Il-86
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Ilyushin Il-86
Transport aircraft include a heavy Ilyushin Il-76 and plenty of lighter Antonovs, including An-24s, An-26s and an An-30 twin props, plus two single-engined An-2s.
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Ilyushin Il-76
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Ilyushin Il-76
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Ilyushin Il-76
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Ilyushin Il-76
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Ilyushin Il-76
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Antonov An-30
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Antonov An-30
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Ilyushin Il-76
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Ilyushin Il-76
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Antonov An-30
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Antonov An-30
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Antonov An-26
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Antonov An-26
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Antonov An-26
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Antonov An-26
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Antonov An-26
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Antonov An-26
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Antonov An-26
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Antonov An-26
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Antonov An-24
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Antonov An-24
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Antonov An-26
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Antonov An-2
A pretty unique sight you get in this museum is the An-71. This AWACS from the 1980s never entered production, and the one on display is the third and last prototype. The interesting solution with a radome on top of the tail promised to reduce overall drag, saving on a dedicated radome pylon. On the other hand the radome placed so far from the centerline clearly created some controllability issues and raised stress on the vertical tail. Antonov was an Ukrainian firm active till recently, so the only other An-71 still in existence is also in Ukraine.
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Antonov An-71
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Antonov An-71
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Antonov An-71
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Antonov An-71
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Antonov An-71
Smaller transports include two executive Yakovlev Yak-40.
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Yakovlev Yak-40
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Yakovlev Yak-40
Going to the military part of the exhibition, lighter aircraft include a number from the MiG family, including MiG-15, MiG-17, MiG-19, MiG-21, MiG-23, MiG-25, MiG-27 and MiG-29.
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev MiG-17
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev MiG-15
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev MiG-15
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev MiG-17
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev MiG-25
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev MiG-25
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev MiG-25
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev MiG-25
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev MiG-25
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev MiG-29
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev MiG-29
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev MiG-27
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev MiG-23
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev MiG-23
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev MiG-21
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev MiG-19
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev MiG-19
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev MiG-21
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev MiG-21
Two Let trainers are on display, close by a rich array of Sukhois, which include Su-7, Su-15, Su-17, Su-20, Su-24 and Su-25.
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Sukhoi Su-7
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Sukhoi Su-15
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Sukhoi Su-17
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Sukhoi Su-17
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Sukhoi Su-20
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Sukhoi Su-25
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Sukhoi Su-20
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Sukhoi Su-25
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Sukhoi Su-24
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Sukhoi Su-24
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Yakovlev Yak-28
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Yakovlev Yak-28
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Let L-29
Two very rare examples of Beriev seaplanes are on display, namely the Be-6 and Be-12.
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Beriev Be-12
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Beriev Be-6
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Beriev Be-6
Close by, there is a rich collection of Mil and Kamov helicopters. These include an older version of Mi-24, featured in the third chapter of the John Rambo series, and lacking the bulbous canopy typical to more recent upgrades. The monster size Mi-6 and Mi-26 are also on display.
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Mil Mi-24
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Mil Mi-24
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Mil Mi-8
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Mil Mi-24
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Mil Mi-8
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Mil Mi-6
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Mil Mi-26
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Mil Mi-24
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Mil Mi-6
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Kamov Ka-27
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Mil Mi-6
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Mil Mi-26
Finally, there is a row of really rare and unmissable Tupolev bombers. These include a Tu-142, possibly one of the most iconic aircraft of the Cold War, and a real workhorse flying from the early 1970s well into this millennium – still firmly in service in Russia and until 2017 also in India. A very big bird, with a menacing and evoking appearance – really a Soviet ghost!
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-142
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-142
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-142
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-142
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-142
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-142
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-142
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-142
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-142
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-142
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-142
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-142
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-142
Then follow three different versions of the Tupolev Tu-22M, a supersonic strategic bomber still active today in Russia, India and even purchased in post-Soviet times by China. The three exemplars are different, the oldest belongs to the pre-series evaluation batch, whereas the other two are from two production batches resulting from substantial improvements. In particular, the final version from the 1980s features different – F-15-like – engine inlets, more powerful engines, and correspondingly a much better performance.
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-22M2
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-22M0
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-22M0
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-22M2
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-22M2
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-22M3
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-22M3
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-22M3
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-22M2
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-22M2
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-22M2
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-22M3
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-22M3
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-22M3
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-22M3
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-22M3
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-22M3
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-22M3
Also of great interest is the rare Tu-134UBL, a modified version of the airliner with a cone similar to that of the Tu-22M, manufactured for training the crews of the Tu-22M.
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-134UBL
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-134UBL
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-134UBL
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Tupolev Tu-134UBL
The museum is complemented by an aircraft shelter, some experimental aircraft and older propeller-driven trainers.
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Shelter
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Shelter
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Yak
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Antonov Izdelie 181 Prototype
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Yakovlev Yak-18
State Aviation Museum Ukraine Kiev Antonov Izdelie 181 Prototype
Getting there
The museum is located in Kiev, on the premises of the city airport ‘Igor Sikorsky’ – one of the founders of US helicopter industry was from Ukraine! Kiev is a very large town for European standards, with a population of 5.5 millions and a totally crazy and chaotic traffic. I would not advise driving on your own in this town even if you – like me – enjoy driving, so reaching the museum is definitely easier (and wiser) with a taxi. Taxi cabs are very cheap and easy to find anywhere in town.
Reaching from downtown Kiev by taxi may easily take 30 minutes, mainly due to the nightmarish traffic jams affecting the town.
Please note that the museum is not by the airport terminal, but from there it is about 0.8 miles along an unpleasant road. So you’d better instruct your driver to go to the museum and not to the terminal when going there. If you can’t see a taxi when leaving, you may walk to the terminal where you have chance to find one. That was my plan, but a taxi finally showed up in front of the museum after a five minutes hopeful wait also when I was leaving.
The museum has a very complete and modern website with a full English translation, making organization much easier.
Due to the size and features of the collection, visiting may easily take 2 to 3 hours or more for an interested person, especially when taking pictures.
Special feature – Kiev Boryspil Airport
The main commercial airport in Kiev – Boryspil – is likely where you will enter or leave the Country. The traffic there is almost monopolized by the local Ukrainian Airlines, with international flights also by other majors from western Europe and neighbor Countries. At the moment there is just one busy terminal between two parallel runways. From inside the terminal looking east over the eastern runway it is possible to spot a military area, with a fleet of former Soviet transports and helicopters in various colors, including ‘UN’ markings, Ukrainian Air Force and Aeroflot – which acted also a military transport service in the Soviet era.
Among these aircraft are An-24s, An-26s and An-30s, plus Il-76s, Tu-134s and An-12s. Most aircraft look derelict and some partly cannibalized.
Kiev Boryspil Airport Military Apron Ilyushin Il-76
Kiev Boryspil Airport Military Apron Ilyushin Il-76
Kiev Boryspil Airport Military Apron Ilyushin Il-76
Kiev Boryspil Airport Military Apron Ilyushin Il-76
Kiev Boryspil Airport Military Apron Ilyushin Il-76
Kiev Boryspil Airport Military Apron Antonov An-12
Kiev Boryspil Airport Military Apron Yakovlev Yak-40
Kiev Boryspil Airport Military Apron Yakovlev Yak-40
Kiev Boryspil Airport Military Apron Ilyushin Il-76
Kiev Boryspil Airport Military Apron Boeing 737
Kiev Boryspil Airport Military Apron Antonov An-24
Kiev Boryspil Airport Military Apron Antonov An-24
Kiev Boryspil Airport Military Apron Antonov An-30
Kiev Boryspil Airport Military Apron Antonov An-24
Kiev Boryspil Airport Military Apron Tupolev Tu-134
Kiev Boryspil Airport Military Apron Yakovlev Yak-40
Kiev Boryspil Airport Military Apron Antonov An-24
Kiev Boryspil Airport Military Apron Antonov An-24
Kiev Boryspil Airport Military Apron Antonov An-24
Kiev Boryspil Airport Military Apron Ilyushin Il-76
Kiev Boryspil Airport Military Apron Ilyushin Il-76
To the northern end of that area, it is possible to spot two Ilyushin Il-62s in very good condition. The Ukrainian government was using this aircraft at least until 2014 for state flights.
Kiev Boryspil Airport Military Apron Ilyushin Il-62
Kiev Boryspil Airport Military Apron US Air Force C-17
When I left I noticed a pretty unusual cargo for this region – a USAF C-17 from the 452nd AMW, March AFB, Riverside, CA. An impossible sight during the Cold War, still pretty unexpected these days!
Due to its strategic relevance to the Soviet empire in the years of the Cold War, the territory of the former German Democratic Republic, or ‘GDR’, experienced an uncommonly intense military presence, growing over the years from soon after WWII to the end of the Soviet Union and the retreat of Russian troops to their home Country.
The coexisting armies of Eastern Germany and of the Soviet Union each managed land, sea and air groups operating from the GDR. As a result, still today the countryside of the former communist-ruled part of Germany is full of airports – many of them abandoned or converted to solar powerplants – and former tank training camps.
Besides this hardware, leaving clear traces reaching to this day, the quick collapse of the Soviet system and the end of the Cold War generated an enormous quantity of military surplus at all levels in the mid-Nineties.
In particular, soon after reunification the People’s Air Force of Eastern Germany was merged with the West-German ‘Luftwaffe’, whose name was retained and which became the German Air Force still operating today. The result of the merger was not ideal from a logistic and supply chain point of view, with too many aircraft and helicopters with radically different designs – implying different spare parts, maintenance procedures, specialized training, … Consequently, all Soviet models, which had been the backbone of the East German forces, were soon stricken-off the military register, many of them going to private collections.
For this reason, you can often find former GDR aircraft in museums all over Europe. Clearly, many of them remained in the territory of their bygone mother Country, enriching local air collections and museums. This post is about four less-known gems of the kind close to Berlin and Leipzig. These photographs were taken during visits in 2017 and 2021.
This collection is located on the outskirts of the town of Cottbus, easily reachable about 70 miles southeast of Berlin. The premises occupied by this mainly open-air museum are to the south of the former local airport/base which was more recently converted into another solar plant. Actually, a hangar from here dating from WWII was dismounted and relocated to the state of Virginia.
The collection here is very rich, the majority of aircraft are kept in a well-maintained, non-flying condition, with a pretty large area devoted to aircraft restoration, and a well prepared and perfectly presented inside part with memorabilia, artifacts, aircraft parts, models, … – all in all, a primary attraction of the kind, well worth visiting for any aviation enthusiasts.
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
By passing the gates you will walk between a part of an Airbus A380 used for testing – a bit of an outlier for a military museum… – and an array of MiG-21, MiG-23 and MiG-27 formerly in service with the air force of the GDR.
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
The display of these aircraft side by side, the MiG-21s also in multiple different variants, is very interesting for making comparisons and spot both obvious and less evident differences between these iconic Soviet models.
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
A more rare, recently restored MiG-17 is proudly standing in front of the entrance to the main building of the museum.
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Other highlights of the collection include two Sukhoi Su-22 aircraft. One of them bears markings of the Luftwaffe, suggesting it was used for some time in the air force of reunified Germany. The difference in size between the two massive Sukhois and the sleek MiGs is apparent having them sitting close to each other!
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
On the grass closer to the former runway are some Soviet helicopters, including a very well-preserved Mil-24 attack helicopter, also in Luftwaffe colors.
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Close by, a couple of other MiGs in a bare metal colorway – one of them from Tschekoslowakia – can be spotted, together with some old western models, in the original colors of the Luftwaffe – these include an F-84, F-86, T-33 and a rare Italian G-91.
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Other less aggressive aircraft in the area include a Let L-200 twin-propeller aircraft possibly for training, a Yakovlev Yak-11 acrobatic aircraft and some other aircraft for training, observation or crop dusting.
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
A full array of service trucks from various Soviet manufacturers are aligned in an open hangar, where a Soviet anti-aircraft SA-2 missile with its light launch gantry is also present.
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
The inside collection – not the usual dirty-and-dusty collection typical of wannabe air-museums, but instead a clean and well-presented, good-level small museum in itself – shows something on the local history of the former airport, various jettisonable seats from Soviet aircraft from different times, technical schemes for maintenance and training, as well as local findings of aeronautical interest. Among the latter, some pretty rare parts of downed aircraft from WWII, both from Nazi Germany and from the Allies – including the Soviet Union.
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Also interesting was a temporary exhibition about the MiG-21 and its world-class success. The only thing I regret about the inside part is that all explanations were given in German only.
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus – Airport Museum
Some very interesting findings on the outside include a largely complete wreck of a Focke-Wulf FW190, what appears to be a bulky Napier Sabre II 24-cylinders engine, possibly from a Hawker Tempest or typhoon, a MiG-15 awaiting restoration, plus other engines and aircraft parts.
I would recommend this place for a dedicated visit about 1,5-2 hours long, especially if you are touring the area south of Berlin, very rich in terms of recent and past military history.
Getting there
Cottbus can be reached quickly by train from Berlin, but the museum is far from the town center. Going by car is definitely more convenient, a very fast highway going to the border with Poland – a few miles away – connecting Berlin and Cottbus in about 1 hour. Contact and information from their official website (in German, but basic info on opening times and location can be obtained very easily with some Google translation). Small parking nearby.
Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
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The Luftfahrtmuseum – i.e. aviation museum – in Finowfurt has taken over a part of the former Soviet airbase of Finow, about 35 miles northeast of Berlin. Over the last two decades of the Cold War, this airbase was pretty busy with high-performance Soviet MiGs, ranging from the older MiG-21 fighter-interceptor, the ubiquitous MiG-23 fighter, the rare super-fast MiG-25 interceptor, and up to the modern MiG-29.
Finow received a plethora of aircraft shelters, including the older AU-13 for MiG-21 and -23, but also AU-16(2) and AU-16(3), the former intended for the Yak-28 and MiG-25, the latter for the MiG-29. The picture below portray the relatively rare AU-16(2), with its non-circular vault, in the still-active part of the airport in Finowfurt, today a general aviation field.
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
The museum, encompassing the northwestern corner of the former military premises, offers the chance to walk close and inside AU-13 shelters, with their heavy reinforced doors, self-actuated by means of motors mounted close to their own bodies, and moving on a rail.
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Parked ahead of a group of such shelters, a MiG-21 and a MiG-23 make for a scenario closely resembling the days of operation of this former Soviet installation. The shelters are interspersed with former technical gear from the base, including searchlights of evident Soviet make – see the writings in Cyrillic.
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
A spherical dome on top of one of the shelters may have been the case for a rotating aerial.
An Ilyushin Il-14 old two-engined transport and a Yakovlev Yak-28 bomber sit on the opposite sides of a former taxiway, typically built with large concrete slabs.
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
To the far end of the museum area, a low building, possibly a former canteen or technical facility, hosts a nice collection of artifacts, which tell much about the history of Finow over the years. For instance, during the Third Reich, this airbase was involved in testing the Allied aircraft landed in emergency on German territory – models of B-17 and B-24 in the unusual colors of the Luftwaffe witness this episode.
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Of course, most of the material on display is from Soviet times. An original schematic of the base, and old signs in Russian – both propaganda posters and more technical explanations – are included in this collection.
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Also a few naive paintings from Soviet times have been preserved.
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
An interesting collection of Soviet technical gear includes aircraft cameras for optical imagery, helmets, flying suits, as well as weapons partly dismantled possibly for instructional purposes.
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Ahead of the small museum building, a statue of Lenin can be found, possibly relocated from another spot of the former Soviet base.
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
On a spot nearby, anti-aircraft and theater missiles can be found together with ranging aerials – as well as an ubiquitous Antonov An-2 transport biplane.
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
An imposing sight in the museum is a freshly refurbished Tupolev Tu-134, in the colors of the East German flag-carrier Interflug. It was not the case on the day of my visit, but it is likely the aircraft can be boarded on some occasions. Nearby, also a large Mil helicopter – a former transport – can be found ahead of yet another aircraft shelter.
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
On display in the latter are some aircraft jet engines, as well as some communications rigs, and some explanatory panels, likely from a former technical school for air personnel.
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
A particularly interesting collection is hosted in an adjoining shelter, wisely converted for the scope. It is based on relics from crashed aircraft, from the years of WWII. A very active group of aviation archaeologists operates in Finow, and this fantastic display is the result of their preservation effort.
Artifacts range from engine parts to aircraft components from all the air forces involved in WWII, and include substantial remains from the wrecks of a Soviet Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmovik, and a German Föcke-Wulf FW-190, a high-performing fighter manufactured in great numbers, but today sadly very hard to find even in museums.
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Finally, closer to the former runway, two shelters cover a few helicopters, including some formerly in service with the Volkspolizei – the police of the GDR – as well as a MiG-15 with two seats for training, and a MiG-21.
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Outside on the grass, a MiG-27 fighter bomber and a MiG-17, both in the colors of the GDR Air Force (aka NVA).
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Approaching the exit, a deployable aircraft-stopping harness for emergencies can be seen, close to a movable SAM launcher from the NVA, and a massive Sukhoi Su-22 similarly in the colors of the NVA, like those to be found in Cottbus (see above).
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
The ticket office of the museum is hosted in a former technical facility with reinforced doors, possibly a storage for special ordnance.
Former Soviet Base & Air Museum Luftfahrtmuseum Finowfurt
Thanks to the proximity with Berlin and the wealth of interesting artifacts, this museum is a highly valuable Soviet counterpart to the Westwardly-oriented museum in Gatow (on a former British airfield near Potsdam, website here). Besides a rich collection of aircraft and technical gear, complemented by a display of interesting findings from the aviation archaeology group, Finow allows to get a flavor of how a Soviet base looked like in the days of operation. For aircraft enthusiasts, a visit may easily take 2 hours or more.
Getting there
The museum is conveniently located in Finowfurt, immediately out of the highway A11 (exit Eberswalde), going from Berlin to Szczecin in northern Poland. It is less than 1 hour driving from downtown Berlin. The museum is mostly open-air, with some collections hosted in former aircraft shelters. A large free parking is available on site. Website here. Please note that credit card may not be accepted. Going with cash is recommended.
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Heading to Berlin or the former GDR? Looking for traces of the Cold War open for a visit?
A Travel Guide to COLD WAR SITES in EAST GERMANY
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The museum of Rechlin can be found in the former premises of an Army research center dating from the years of the Third Reich. It is located in the open countryside, about 80 km north of Berlin, in the vicinity of lake Müritz. Following the Soviet occupation of the area in 1945, the center went on as a technical site of the Red Army.
The museum has restored the original buildings, and set up an exhibition mainly focused on the history of German military aeronautics. The exhibition is both indoor and outdoor.
The indoor part has on display a number of German aircraft, aircraft engines and several related parts, mainly from pre-WWII or WWII. A highlight of the show is a number of reconstructed exemplars, created putting together original parts and some reproduced components. Of course, the result is now airworthy, but considering how hard to find these aircraft are today in collections, this is a rare opportunity to have a first-hand look at how these models looked like.
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
A very interesting collection of original engines and components from the Third Reich period is on display. The level of engineering sophistication reached in the years of WWII is really astonishing. It was at that time that piston power reached its top development in aeronautics. Furthermore, the first jet engines entering production date from the final stages of WWII too, and are here represented.
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Another hangar is mostly dedicated to large 1:1 mock-ups of extremely rare German designs from WWI and WWII, including a Dornier Do-335 in a push-pull configuration, which have been accurately assembled, providing a vivid portrait of how these now very rare-to-find aircraft.
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Other exhibits include Soviet-made aircraft, partly dismounted for didactic purposes.
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
In another wing, the museum displays a rich exhibition of original artifacts from the era of Soviet occupation. These include many aircraft components, jettisonable seats, helmets, several radio components, papers and pictures.
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Simulators for aircraft and helicopter cockpits are also part of the display.
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Memorabilia include everyday items, Soviet newspapers, badges and celebration plates. The page of a German newspaper, from the date of the final withdrawal of then-Russian troops back home from Germany, titles ‘Farewell, Muzhiks!’ – really a momentous event.
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
In an adjoining room, uniforms and emblems from both the USSR forces and the East-German NVA can be found in display cases.
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
The outdoor exhibition is centered on a few original aircraft and helicopters, as well as fast motorboats and other vehicles. Aircraft include a MiG-21, MiG-23, and a massive Sukhoi Su-22.
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
As for helicopters, there are a Mil-2, Mil-24 and a Mil-8 – all Soviet-made. The latter two have the main rotor blades still dismounted.
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
Luftfahrttechnisches Museum Rechlin
The research center, and today the museum, is located just about 5 km north of Rechlin/Lärz airfield, active in the Third Reich in aeronautical research – Messerschmitt Me-163 Komet rocket-powered interceptors were studied here. The airfield became a large Soviet base from 1945 to the time when the then-Russian troops left. Today the airport has been converted for general aviation use. A report from an exploration of its premises can be found here.
Getting there
This is a proportionate collection, friendly to visit for everybody, in a nice rural setting. Memories from the history of aviation in Germany before and during WWII, as well as from Soviet operations taking place in the area – an often overlooked but crucial chapter in the military history of the GDR. The exact address is Am Claassee 1, 17248 Rechlin, Germany. Official website here. Visiting may require 45 minutes to 1.5 hours.
Flugwelt Altenburg/Nobitz
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A Travel Guide to COLD WAR SITES in EAST GERMANY
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Similarly to the museum in Cottbus and Finowfurt, this collection – whose name ‘Flugwelt’ translates into ‘World of Flight’ – is built on the premises of a former airbase – Altenburg/Nobitz, 20 miles south of Leipzig. Actually this was a very active center, managed by the Soviets who operated from here in the years of the Cold War with MiG-21, 23 and 27, and was also one of those sites in the GDR selected for nuclear weapons storage. Tactical missiles batteries were located also here in response to the deployment of Pershing missiles by the US on the territory of Western Germany. in the Eighties.
The airbase has been converted to non-military use, and today it is active mainly with general aviation flights. Some former hangars are used by private companies.
The air museum is made of two physically separated parts. The main building with the ticket office is the former entrance to the Soviet airbase. Here an incredible, original mural from Soviet times is still gracing the wall, together with a map of the airfield, again from Soviet times. From there you access the inside exhibition, cluttered with aircraft parts, engines, flight suits,… Not everything from the Soviet part of the Iron Curtain though, as uniforms and parts from Western Germany and other non-communist Countries can be spotted.
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Among the most interesting artifacts in the exhibition, a large explanatory scheme of a servo-actuation plant of an aircraft, with explanations in cyrillic alphabet, and a simulator for a radar mounted inside the MiG-21. Both really used training items, very uncommon to find.
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
A part of an A380, two gliders, some Interflug memorabilia – the flagship airline of the GDR – and tons of models and radio-transmission hardware complete the picture. Unfortunately, also here everything is in German only. The volunteers are welcoming and helpful, but unfortunately communication is not easy due to language issues.
In a first part of the open-air exhibition it is possible to find a couple of MiG-21, one East-German and the other Soviet, a helicopter of the Police of the GDR, plus other aircraft from the West-German Luftwaffe, namely a Dassault Atlantique patrol, a G-91 and an F-86.
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
The two MiGs have been carefully restored, and the Red Army one appears to have been a former gate guardian at Altenburg/Nobitz.
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Another part of the open-air collection can be found across the street, where a big Transall C-160 a Lockheed F-104 and a Sukhoi Su-22 can be spotted. The area is big and there is room for more aircraft – hopefully, this good-caring staff will have the chance to add even more items to their well-preserved collection in the future!
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Flugwelt Altenburg Nobitz – World of Flight
Curiously enough, the area was liberated from the Nazis by US troops in 1945, and handed over to the Soviets only after the end of WWII. A memorial stone remembers the actions of the US divisions fighting in the area in wartime.
Not time-expensive to visit (about 45 minutes to 1 hour for aircraft-minded people), besides a valuable aircraft collection and some rare artifacts of interest for aviation enthusiasts, this places offers the unique chance to enter a preserved gate building of a former Soviet airbase.
Getting there
The airport is located about two miles east of the nice historical town of Altenburg, itself about 30 minutes southeast of Leipzig. I would recommend going with a car and a good nav, for reaching the exact location of the museum may be a bit tricky with visual navigation. Website here, with some basic info also in English. The place is run by volunteers and it’s closed except during weekends in the good season, so carefully check opening times.