Remains of Runway Fliegerhorst Venlo

During the construction of the runways, the Bauleitung and contractors used concrete from the Limburgs Fa. ENCI from Maastricht (photo of construction process).
The runways were constructed in segments. The complete tracks were smeared with a layer of tar (see detail photo) and then painted in different shades of green for camouflage. The latter so that from the air it looked as if there were several plots of farmland.
The camouflage even went so far that existing sand paths were 'permeated' over the runways by means of a lighter color of paint (see aerial photo).

Halfway through, the municipality of Venlo started a major clean-up campaign to clear up the amount of unexploded explosives. Unfortunately, the runways were lost and the concrete slabs were almost all ground up. This does not alter the fact that the contours of the runways can still be seen today.

Today, two cover plates are all that remains of the total 4100 meter runway that Fliegerhorst Venlo had.
Like a kind of modern hunebed, these plates remind us of the war years. These remnants are also called the concrete picnic or ping-pong table by many people.

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Source

• Text: Axel Repping
• Photos: Axel Repping (1, 2, 3), NIMH (4), Gemeentearchief Venlo (5)