Take a look at this great drone footage of the Sperenberg Airfield. The military complex, constructed originally for the Prussian Army, was adapted for rocket testing during WWII.
It was here where the first V-1 and V-2 were tested by Wernher von Braun, a pioneer in rocket science. The facilities were later moved to Peenemunde, as the Soviet offensive threatened to overrun the airfield and capture sensitive German technology.
After the war, the site was used as a training ground for members of both the Red Army and the East German Army. In the late 1950s, the site expanded. It became a Soviet military airfield suitable for launching heavy transport planes. On this occasion, a command post bunker for use by the 226th Transportfliegerregiments was constructed. It had dimensions of 28×16 meters and it can be seen on the video.
Additional parking ramps were constructed to the northwest, along with centrally placed hangars, and combined east and central electrical facilities. After the completion of these works in May 1974, the joint Soviet-DDR construction teams extended the concrete runway to 2,500 meters (8,200 ft) and created an additional parallel grass runway.
They’ve also created an additional four taxiways with a north-south orientation, and two taxiways parallel to the runway in an east-west orientation, which led to the extended passenger terminal.
After the reunification of Germany in 1989-1990, the Soviets agreed to abandon the airfield and place it under the jurisdiction of the Federal Government by 1994. The East German president, Erich Honecker spent his last day in Germany on the Sperenberg Airfield, before he was flown to Moscow.
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