Use
In autumn 1947 the airfield was occupied for three weeks by Soviet fighters from Köthen and Zerbst, which took part in manoeuvres from here. In June 1948 Dessau was again occupied by about 25 aircraft from Zerbst.
In 1949 the runway was extended and the work was completed in summer. In September 1949 already 60 to 80 airplanes are stationed on the airfield, presumably two regiments with Lavochkin La-9. About February 1950 the first Soviet jets come to Dessau with airplanes of the types MiG-15 and Yakovlev Yak-17. In the following months the propeller-driven La-9s are taken out of service and a regiment with about 30 MiG-15s and a few training aircraft remains on the airfield. The MiG-15s have red three-digit numbers starting with a 3. Four airplanes are in constant readiness.
At the beginning of October 1951 the MiG-15 were withdrawn from Dessau. A few days later, on October 5, 1951, the Soviet ground attack regiment with about 50 aircraft Ilyushin Il-10 previously stationed at the
Berlin-Staaken Airfield moves to Dessau. On 26 December 1952 the regiment was transferred to
Brandis Airfield.
Aircraft of the Soviet Forces at Dessau airfield
Lavochkin La-9
Yakovlev Yak-17
Mikoyan MiG-15 FAGOT
Ilyushin Il-10
The airfield is taken over by the East Germany and already in December 1952 the reconstruction of the Junkers factories for a GDR aviation industry begins. In cooperation with other companies, MiG-15 aircraft are to be produced here. The drawings were prepared by the "Materialamt" Pirna-Sonnenstein. A MiG-15 was also assembled in Pirna, which was to be transferred to Dessau in August 1953 for use in the flight testing department for training. Also the Reichsbahnausbesserungswerk (Raw) railway repair shop Dessau is planned to be integrated into the production process and rebuilt accordingly, to deliver the first MiG-15 in December 1953. After the popular uprising on 17 June 1953, however, all activities are stopped. The Pirna Materialamt is dissolved and the Raw Dessau hall is sold back to the Deutsche Reichsbahn for 3.5 million East Marks.
In late summer 1953, the Kasernierte Volkspolizei (KVP), the covered forerunner of the National People's Army, moved into the airfield buildings. However, there are no aircraft stationed on the airfield, only occasionally it is used by Soviet air units during manoeuvres. In March/April 1955, prefabricated parts for two halls were transported to Pirna-Sonnenstein. The halls were originally to be built in Dessau, for which the foundations were cast in March/April 1953. However, after the construction of the GDR aviation industry was stopped in June 1953, the parts lay unused on the airfield.
From 1957 transport aircraft of the GDR's National People's Army (NVA) are stationed in Dessau, which carry out training operations, as "Transport Flying School". Airplanes of the types Aero L-60, Antonov An-2 and Ilyushin Il-14 as well as helicopters Mil Mi-4 and Mi-1/SM-1 are used. On 4 November 1963 the Il-14 move to
Dresden-Klotzsche Airfield and Dessau is primarily used only by gliders of the East German pre-military organization "Gesellschaft für Sport und Technik". In 1979 gliding is stopped and the airfield closed. NVA documents indicate, however, that also in the 1980s the area is assigned to the Fliegertechnische Bataillon 34 (FTB-34) from
Brandenburg Briest and thus at least the intention of a renewed aeronautical use could not be completely excluded. At this time the airfield is probably also the helipad HSLP 1025 for the Radio Reconnaissance Regiment 2 (FuAR-2), which have its barracks at the airfield.
Aircraft and helicopters of the East German National People's Army (NVA) at Dessau airfield
Ilyushin Il-14
Antonov An-2
Mil Mi-1 / PZL SM-1
Mil Mi-4
(Sources: CIA and others; Aicraft silhouettes: AirVectors / GVG, Public Domain)