Welzow: Air Base

Welzow Air Base on a US satellite image from 04 October 1965 - 1: Airfield; 2: Barracks; 3: Ammunition depot; 4: Taxiway to the remote dispersal area; 5: Remote dispersal northeast of Dörrwalde; 6: Inner radio beacon; a: Main road 169; b: Cottbus - Großenhain railway line; c: disused railway section between Bahnsdorf and Sedlitz; d: new railway line to bypass the opencast mine; e: main road 156 and railway line to Knappenrode; f: object new or under construction, presumably in connection with the opencast lignite mine; no longer in existence today, northern shore of lake Sedlitzer See; g: Opencast mine, today lake Sedlitzer See. Places: Allmosen, Bahnsdorf, Lieske, Sornoer Buden, Welzow.

The airfield - The movement area of the former Fliegerhorst is still recognizable as open space in the north. In the middle of the left are the houses of the Lindenhof settlement. There are 40 Il-28 aircraft on the field, probably the Il-28R reconnaissance variant. Two of them are probably out of service. In addition, 2 transport aircraft Li-2 are recognizable.

Barracks - From the bottom right, the railway spur leads to the site.

Southwestern part - At the bottom left is the Weißer Berg hill.

Circle - Purpose?

Northwestern corner of the air base - The taxiway leads out of the airfield area (below right), crosses the railway line Cottbus - Großenhain at ground level (middle of picture) and then bends approximately to the west (top left). From here it is about 2.8 km to the decentralization area.

Overview - The dispersal has 20 prepared aircraft parkings. The two paths on the left side of the picture lead to Dörrwalde

Northeastern part - The branch to the north is about 250 m long.

Western part - The western branch is about 800 m long.

Inner radio beacon (Middle Marker), about 830 m to the northeast of the runway threshold. - 1: radio beacon; a: northwestern foothills of Welzow; b: railway line comming from Neupetershain and running north through Welzow; c: Railway line coming from Neupetershain and passing Welzow to the south and from which the connecting track to the airfield leaves.

Area of today's lake Sedlitz - 1: Aerodrome; a, b: open-pit mine. Places Lieske, Rosendorf, Sorno.

Rosendorf (sorbian Zasrjew) in Niederlausitz (Lower Lusatia) on 04 October 1965 - Later the place had to give way to open-pit mining and was demolished (devastated). On the lower right the Oberer Landgraben creek can be seen. The radio station from 1955 mentioned above must have been in the area of (1). Today lake Sedlitzer See.

Sorno (previously Wendisch Sorno, sorbian Žarnow) on 04 October 1965 - This village, too, was later demolished for the open-pit lignite mining, which can already be seen on the left and bottom right of this picture. Today Lake Sedlitz.

16 May 1979 - 1: Airfield, now with two parallel runways; 2: taxiway; 3: remote dispersal area; 4: inner radio beacon (new); 5: outer radio beacon south of Geisendorf; 6: There are two parallel lanes from the airfield to the outer radio beacon; a: Meanwhile, the Sedlitz open-pit mine has reached its maximum extent and is about to be closed.