Interior of the CargoLifter hall. Note the two people at the lower left for scale
The airfield was built by the Luftwaffe during the expansion of the military by Nazi Germany, between 1938 and 1939. When opened it had a single 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) runway.[1]
The airfield was occupied by the Red Army in May 1945. From this point forward, several units of the Soviet Air Force were stationed here. After extending the runway to 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) in the early 1950s, a 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) emergency runway and dispersal area were also added.[1]
This allowed the base to house a fighter regiment, which was equipped with air superiority fighter aircraft, requiring the construction, in 1970, of 10 Hardened aircraft shelters (HAS), and in 1972 a second parallel 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) main runway. In the late 1970s additional HAS's were added bringing their numbers to 24, with a nuclear alert bunker built in the early 1980s.[1]
With the reunification of Germany from 1989/1990, the Soviet Army agreed to return all military bases by the end of 1994. With the assistance of an airlift undertaken by Antonov An-22 aircraft, the airfield was handed back to the Federal Government of Germany in 1992.
In 1996, the CargoLifter company was founded in Wiesbaden, who intended to build airships. While the former north main runway was being demolished, CargoLifter began building the then-largest freebearing hall in the world in the centre of the site, where they intended to set up production of airships. The hall (360 m long, 220 m wide and 106 m high), was a freestanding steel-dome "barrel-bowl" construction, large enough to fit the Eiffel Tower on its side. The hangar was also equipped with a 180 m cutting table to manufacture the airship's envelope. Construction of the hall was complete in November 2000, at a cost of €78M.[1]
CargoLifter managed to construct operational prototypes, but went bankrupt in mid-2002.
In June 2003, receivers sold the hall and 500 hectares of grounds to Malaysian company Tanjong, who converted the hall into a leisure park called Tropical Islands Resort.[1]
ReferencesEdit
Lutz Freundta d Stefan Büttner, Stefan (2007). Rote Plätze - Russische Militärflugplätze in Deutschland 1945 - 1994. AeroLit Verlag.
^ abcde. Archived from the original on 2016-03-06. Retrieved 2012-10-27.
External linksEdit
My Tropical Islands
August 27, 2023
brand, briesen, airfield, redeveloped, military, base, located, briesen, brand, part, halbe, dahme, spreewald, brandenburg, germany, about, south, southeast, berlin, since, 2004, former, cargolifter, airship, hangar, been, converted, malaysian, company, tanjon. Brand Briesen Airfield is a redeveloped military air base located at Briesen Brand part of Halbe in Dahme Spreewald Brandenburg Germany about 60 km 37 mi south southeast of Berlin Since 2004 the former CargoLifter airship hangar has been converted by a Malaysian company Tanjong into a leisure resort called Tropical Islands Resort Brand Briesen AirfieldThe Cargolifter airship hangar at Brand BriesenIATA noneICAO EDUCSummaryLocationBrand GermanyOpened1939Built1938 1939In use1939 1994OccupantsLuftwaffe Soviet Air ForceCoordinates52 2 8 56 N 13 44 46 6 E 52 0357111 N 13 746278 E 52 0357111 13 746278MapBrand Briesen AirfieldLocation of airport in BrandenburgShow map of BrandenburgBrand Briesen AirfieldBrand Briesen Airfield Germany Show map of GermanyRunwaysDirection Length Surfaceft m2 500 concrete Contents 1 History 2 CargoLifter 3 Tropical Islands Resort 4 References 5 External linksHistory Edit Interior of the CargoLifter hall Note the two people at the lower left for scaleThe airfield was built by the Luftwaffe during the expansion of the military by Nazi Germany between 1938 and 1939 When opened it had a single 1 000 metres 3 300 ft runway 1 The airfield was occupied by the Red Army in May 1945 From this point forward several units of the Soviet Air Force were stationed here After extending the runway to 2 500 metres 8 200 ft in the early 1950s a 2 000 metres 6 600 ft emergency runway and dispersal area were also added 1 This allowed the base to house a fighter regiment which was equipped with air superiority fighter aircraft requiring the construction in 1970 of 10 Hardened aircraft shelters HAS and in 1972 a second parallel 2 500 metres 8 200 ft main runway In the late 1970s additional HAS s were added bringing their numbers to 24 with a nuclear alert bunker built in the early 1980s 1 With the reunification of Germany from 1989 1990 the Soviet Army agreed to return all military bases by the end of 1994 With the assistance of an airlift undertaken by Antonov An 22 aircraft the airfield was handed back to the Federal Government of Germany in 1992 CargoLifter EditMain article CargoLifter In 1996 the CargoLifter company was founded in Wiesbaden who intended to build airships While the former north main runway was being demolished CargoLifter began building the then largest freebearing hall in the world in the centre of the site where they intended to set up production of airships The hall 360 m long 220 m wide and 106 m high was a freestanding steel dome barrel bowl construction large enough to fit the Eiffel Tower on its side The hangar was also equipped with a 180 m cutting table to manufacture the airship s envelope Construction of the hall was complete in November 2000 at a cost of 78M 1 Tropical Islands Resort EditMain article Tropical Islands Resort CargoLifter managed to construct operational prototypes but went bankrupt in mid 2002 In June 2003 receivers sold the hall and 500 hectares of grounds to Malaysian company Tanjong who converted the hall into a leisure park called Tropical Islands Resort 1 References EditLutz Freundta d Stefan Buttner Stefan 2007 Rote Platze Russische Militarflugplatze in Deutschland 1945 1994 AeroLit Verlag a b c d e Abandoned amp Little Known Airfields Germany Brandenburg kreis Dahmen Spreewald Archived from the original on 2016 03 06 Retrieved 2012 10 27 External links EditMy Tropical Islands Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Brand Briesen Airfield amp oldid 1163738734, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
