Did you know that RAF Gatow was once home to the only operational use of flying boats in central Europe? Picture this. You are standing right here where history unfolded. RAF Gatow a significant airfield in southwestern Berlin played a pivotal role during the Berlin Airlift. This very ground witnessed the remarkable feat of Short Sunderland flying boats transporting vital supplies across the Havel.
RAF Gatow wasn’t always a British airbase. It began its life in 1934 as a Luftwaffe staff and technical college. The college was renamed Luftkriegsschule 2 in 1940. Its satellite airfields were Güterfelde and Reinsdorf. Interestingly each barrack block was named after a famous German airman from World War I. The architect Ernst Sagebiel also designed Tempelhof Airport. Light bulbs from the 1930s still remained in the main hangars during RAF Gatow’s years of operation.
The end of World War II brought about a change in command. Soviet forces initially occupied the airfield. However after the Potsdam Conference part of the airfield was given to the British. The first RAF aircraft landed on July 2 1945. The base was renamed RAF Gatow. It adopted the motto Pons Heri Pons Hodie meaning A bridge yesterday a bridge today. Errol Barrow a future Prime Minister of Barbados served as a navigator at RAF Gatow. He even became godfather to the child of the Commander-in-Chief Sir Sholto Douglas.
RAF Gatow also served as a civilian airport briefly. British European Airways operated flights to Hamburg. The Berlin Airlift transformed Gatow. It received thousands of tons of supplies. The Royal Australian Air Force even gifted a Douglas Dakota to RAF Gatow in 1980. The Dakota still remains at Gatow inside the German Air Force barracks. The Handley Page Hastings a later transport aircraft used in the airlift is now in the Allied Museum.
The unique use of flying boats during the Berlin Blockade was a story of ingenuity. The flying boats especially Short Sunderlands ferried bulk salt from Hamburg. Salt was less corrosive to their anodised skins than to other aircraft. The novel Air Bridge by Hammond Innes accurately depicts RAF Gatow during this time.
After the airlift RAF Gatow remained active. It served the British Army’s Berlin Infantry Brigade. The airfield hosted several visits by Queen Elizabeth II and other royals. British independent airlines like British United Airways and Britannia Airways handled trooping flights. Two de Havilland Canada Chipmunks were used for reconnaissance over East Germany. Operation Schooner and Operation Nylon were covert photographic reconnaissance flights. All flights had to be notified to the Berlin Air Safety Center. The Soviets always stamped the Chipmunk Flight Notification Cards with Safety of Flight Not Guaranteed.
RAF Gatow also witnessed daring escapes from East Germany. In 1978 two brothers defected in a Zlin Z-42M. In 1979 an East German glider pilot sought asylum. In 1987 another pilot Thomas Krüger defected. His aircraft DDR-WOH now flies with a West German registration D-EWOH.
East Germany’s invasion plans were discovered after reunification. Operation CENTRE targeted RAF Gatow. Grenzregiment 34 was assigned to occupy the base. Plans were updated even as late as 1990.
After German reunification RAF Gatow closed in 1994. The airfield was later partially redeveloped into housing. Today part of the former airfield is General Steinhoff Kaserne home to the Luftwaffenmuseum der Bundeswehr. The museum showcases the airfield’s fascinating history. This place echoes with stories of courage defiance and collaboration. It is a fitting tribute to the airmen who once served at this pivotal base.