Airport Kassel-Waldau

In 1924 this airfield was built on a former military location and initially it was intended for civil flights, while at the same time also Dietrich-Gobiet Flugzeugbau AG (DGF) started to build small sport planes.
From 1930 Fieseler Flugzeugbau started to use the airport as their test airport and continue to build planes here. In first instance only sportplanes and gliders, but in 1936 they won a contract with the Luftwaffe and they started to build their famous plane the Fieseler Storch. A bit later they also started to build the FW 190 and ME109 in license. This location was also known as ‘Werk III’ and was located in the northern and northwestern corner of the airport. In fact Fieseler had also factories in Bettenhausen (Werk I) and in Lohfelden (Werk II) and has been using forced labour who were located in several subcamps and locations throughout Kassel. Fieseler was also the one that designed and built the V1 (Fieseler Fi 103).
During the war the runway was made in concrete and was 800 meter long and as the Airport was located in the perimeter of Kassel it was protected by FLAK guns in and around the city, as well as some smaller FLAK guns around the airport. Furthermore a mock up airport was built in Crumbach that was almost similar to this one to function as a decoy.
On the 28th of July 1943 the American 8th Airforce attacked for the first time the Fieseler factories in Kassel including the airport. Afterwards they were regularly bombed by the English and the Americans
On the 4th of april 1945 the US Army took the airport and after repair works from the 17th until the 19th of April the US Airforce, they used it as a P-47 base for the 48th Fighter group. During that time the airport was known as Airfireld Kassel-Waldau Y-96.
In the picture you can see a piece of the original airfield that is still visible, all the rest of the airport is built upon in the meantime.

Do you have more information about this location? Inform us!

Source

• Text: Gio Theunissen
• Photos: Gio Theunissen