Trondheim Airport, Jonsvatnet
Trondheim Airport, Jonsvatnet Trondheim sjøflyplass, Jonsvatnet | |||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||
Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
Serves | Trondheim | ||||||||||
Location | Valset, Jonsvatnet, Trondheim, Norway | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 63°23′27″N 010°33′11″E / 63.39083°N 10.55306°E | ||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
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Trondheim Airport, Jonsvatnet (
During
History
Construction and early years
The initial service commenced on 7 July 1935 and was operated using an eight-passenger Junkers W 34, Ternen.[3] The first flight came at a time with fog in Trondheim and the pilot chose to land at Skansen instead of Jonsvatnet, as he claimed he could not find the lake in the fog.[4] As there were no available boats and—as determined after a short while—the lake was not fog-covered, the aircraft flew onwards to Jonsvatnet.[1] DNL hired two pilots for the route; they swapped places in Trondheim.[3] The service had three weekly round-trip flights, with stops in Bergen, Ålesund, Molde, Kristiansund, Brønnøysund, Sandnessjøen, Bodø, Svolvær, Narvik, Harstad and Tromsø. Twelve flights in each direction were carried out that season,[5] ending on 3 August.[1]
The trial operation was successful and DNL and the postal service decided to commence permanent services from the following season.[2] The city engineer was given the responsibility to plan an airport. He noted that there were plans for an airport to be built at Heimdal, but that such an airport would be at least five years away. The port authority had considered the possibility of using Ilsvika on the fjord, but the site was exposed to waves and would need the expansion of a causeway. Three locations at Jonsvatnet were considered: Valsetbukta, Kulsetbuka and Jervan. The former was found to be best suited and was also the closest to the city. Unlike during the trial flights the city concluded that the airport would need infrastructure to support operations. These included a floating wharf, a slipway to avoid aircraft being damaged if they should blow on land and a terminal building.[6]
The plans were approved by the municipal council in February 1936, allowing construction of the 18,000-Norwegian krone project to commence. Two-thirds of the investments went to building the floating wharfs. The terminal cost NOK 4,600, NOK 600 was used for an outhouse and a tool shed. NOK 700 was invested in providing water and sewer lines to the site and the last NOK 100 was used to upgrade the road. This was in contrast to most of the other water aerodromes along the coast, which lacked a wharf to which the aircraft could dock. The airport and the DNL route with the three-engine Junkers Ju 52 Havørn were opened on 7 June 1936.[7] The first season there were three weekly round trips.[8] Havørn crashed with the mountain of Lihesten on 16 June, killing all on board in the Havørn Accident.[9] Therefore, Ternen was put into service on the route until a new Ju 52, Falken, entered service on 28 June. The service was only flown for the summer.[10]
The airport had a manager, an assistant, a radio telegraphist and ground handling crew. Operation of the airport was carried out by the airline, which received a subsidy of NOK 1,400 from Trondheim Municipality. This included NOK 300 in rent. DNL chose
For the 1937 season the service was taken over by Widerøe, flew a route from Trondheim via Brønnøysund and Sandnessjøen to Bodø using a Bellanca 31-40. The route commenced on 3 July and flew five round trips per week until the season was completed on 30 September. The 1936 schedule was reintroduced in 1938, with DNL providing three weekly services between Bergen and Tromsø. In addition, Widerøe flew a post-only service the opposite direction each day.[10] In 1938 the municipal grants had increased to NOK 6,782, increasing to NOK 7,600 the following year. This was in part because the government required increased municipal contribution to the routes, which were largely financed through state subsidies.[14]
World War II
With the
The Wehrmacht, therefore, decided the following day that it would use the iced up lake of Jonsvatnet as a temporary air station, located between Valset and Malmannøya.
On 17 April, a Ju 87 was dispatched to conduct bombings during the
On 21 April, the attacks continued on Namsos and Åndalsnes. Two British ships, Penn and Hercules II, were hit. A Ju 87A had its nose fall through the ice. It was scavenged for all valuable spare parts before the airframe sank. The following day, a Messerschmitt Bf 109 crashed upon landing, ending upside down. Whitleys from the No. 625 Squadron RAF conducted reconnaissance on the airfield and concluded that there were sixteen aircraft still stationed there. However, the ice was beginning to melt and the Luftwaffe determined to start evacuation of the airfield, moving the aircraft to Værnes. A British reconnaissance mission on 25 April concluded that only two aircraft were left and that the airport was generally abandoned. An 800-meter (2,600 ft) wooden runway at Værnes was completed on 28 April.[21]
Soon the ice began to melt and crack, making the airfield unsuitable for aircraft operations. The Heinkel He 111 and Junkers Ju 88 aircraft were unable to take off and were, after their fuel tanks had been emptied, abandoned by the Luftwaffe and sank soon afterwards,[22] to a depth of 74 meters (243 ft).[23]
The German forces chose to not use Jonsvatnet as a primary civilian water aerodrome. Instead, it constructed such a facility at Trondheim Airport, Hommelvik and moved civilian flights there.[13] Construction of a water aerodrome on Jonsvatnet commenced in May. The Valset area was taken over by the Luftwaffe and used as a recreational area for German soldiers.[13] The airport was gradually expanded with a major complex of floating wharfs with three connectors to land. There were also built auxiliary installations.[12] The work was completed in 1942. However, Jonsvatnet remained a reserve airport, with Ilsvika and Hommelvik remaining the primary water aerodromes.[13] From 1943, there were upgrades to the defenses and communications systems, including the construction of four antenna masts.[24]
Reserve airport
After the war ended, DNL resumed flights from Trondheim in 1946, this time using Ilsvika as its main airport. Jonsvatnet was relegated to a reserve airport. With DNL introducing the larger
Trondheim Flyklubb
The aviation club signed a lease for lakeside property at Valset in 1967, intending to relocate their operations from Værnes to Jonsvatnet. A shed was donated to the club, and they established a base for their seaplanes and for the northernmost seaplane pilot school in the country. The club bought its first seaplane in 1967 and replaced it with a
Freighting
Investigations of the aircraft wrecks were carried out by the
Jonsvatnet is the main
The military received permission in 2003 to carry out more detailed searches for aircraft in the lake. An area of 54 hectares (130 acres) was searched, in which a He 111 and a Ju 88, both found in 1986, were identified. Remains of a Ju 88 and Ju 52 were found, although the latter had been crushed when additional pipes had been laid at a previous date. Another presumed sunk Ju 87 and a Bf 109 were never found, although far from all of the lake had been searched.[36]
Plans for raising the wrecks resumed in 2004, after the German Museum of Technology in Berlin offered to pay the cost of the work. They lacked a He 111 in their collection and were willing to trade an airworthy Lockheed F-104 Starfighter to the Norwegian Armed Forces Aircraft Collection in exchange for the two wrecks. Norwegian aviation museums had both a He 111 and Ju 88 and were therefore not interested in paying the cost of retrieving them.[23] The operation received support from the municipality and the Food Safety Authority, although it was opposed by Nature and Youth and the Museum of Natural History and Archaeology, who both stated that the process could pollute more than the aircraft just lying there.[22] The museum also questioned if sending wrecks to Germany was good heritage management.[30]
The military invited Artur von Casimir, the Heinkel's last pilot, to witness the operation, which commenced on 24 August 2004.[36] The lifting was carried out using a crane and eight pontoons from the military, and the Heinkel broke the surface on 3 September.[37] It was then dismounted on the beach by representatives from the museum. The Ju 88 surfaced on 6 September.[38] The operation was concluded on 15 September with the raising of a tail of a Ju 87 and three Junkers Jumo 211 engines. All the aircraft were well-preserved because of the water's constant temperature and low oxygen content.[39]
The Ministry of Transport and Communications determined in 2007 that the airport would have to close at the end of the 2013 season. The club appealed to
Facilities
The water aerodrome is located at Valset on the shore of Litjvatn, a bay of Jonsvatnet. Since 1967 it was operated by Trondheim Flyklubb, who in later years had two
References
- ^ a b c d Vik: 86
- ^ a b c Vik: 89
- ^ a b Vik: 87
- ^ Vik: 85
- ^ Vik: 88
- ^ Vik: 90
- ^ Vik: 92
- ^ Vik: 94
- ^ Vik: 95
- ^ a b Vik: 96
- ^ Vik: 98
- ^ a b Vik: 101
- ^ a b c d Vik: 102
- ^ Vik: 100
- ^ a b Glenne: 47
- ^ Johansen: 104
- ^ a b Glenne: 48
- ^ a b Glenne: 49
- ^ Glenne: 50
- ^ Glenne: 51
- ^ a b Glenne: 52
- ^ a b "– Heving av flyvrak kan bli en sensasjon for byen". Adresseavisen. 18 June 2004. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
- ^ a b Mæland, Kjetil (31 August 2004). "Tyskerne får hjem flyvrak". Nettavisen. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
- ^ Johansen: 107
- ^ Vik: 104
- ^ Vik: 105
- ^ a b Hafstad: 36
- ^ a b c Hafstad: 37
- ^ Hafstad: 38
- ^ a b "Flyvrakene i Jonsvatnet – kulturminner eller miljøproblem?". Adresseavisen. 18 June 2004. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
- ^ "Kyr og sjøfly i drikkevannet". Adresseavisen. 11 July 2001. Archived from the original on 18 December 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
- ^ a b "Vingeklippes i sjøfly-krangel". Adresseavisen. 19 August 2003. Archived from the original on 18 December 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
- ^ "Fjerner sjøflyene". Adresseavisen. 27 March 2003. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
- ^ "Flyklubben får lande på Litjvatnet". Adresseavisen. 24 October 2004. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
- ^ "Strid om sjøflyplass på Jonsvatnet". Adresseavisen. Norwegian News Agency. 3 April 2006. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
- ^ a b Glenne: 53
- ^ Glenne: 55
- ^ Glenne: 56
- ^ Glenne: 57
- ^ "– Sjøflyplass er en risiko for drikkevannet". Adresseavisen. Norwegian News Agency. 5 September 2010. Archived from the original on 7 September 2010. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
- ^ "– Ikke aktuelt med sjøfly på Jonsvatnet". P4 Radio Hele Norge. 26 August 2013. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
- ^ Sætervadet, Torkell. "Kroken på døra for nok en sjøflyhavn". Flynytt. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
- ^ "Vil fjerne sjøfly fra Jonsvatnet". Adresseavisen. 20 March 2003. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
Bibliography
- Glenne, Roar (2005). "Operation Jonsvatnet i 1940 og 2004". Strinda den gang da (in Norwegian). Trondheim: Strinda historielag. pp. 47–58. ISSN 1502-2315.
- Hafstad, Thor J. (1997). Trondheim flyklubbs historie gjennom 50 år (PDF) (in Norwegian). Trondheim: Trondheim flyklubb.
- Johansen, Asbjørn (2002). "Mine kringsminner fra Jonsvannstraktene". Strinda den gang da (in Norwegian). Trondheim: Strinda historielag. pp. 102–110. ISSN 1502-2315.
- Vik, Knut L. (2003). "Trondheim lufthavn Jonsvatnet 1935–1939". Strinda den gang da (PDF) (in Norwegian). Trondheim: Strinda historielag. pp. 85–107. ISSN 1502-2315. Archived from the original(PDF) on 18 December 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013.