The former military facilities can be visited
Luftzeugamt Erprobungsstelle See
The Erprobungsstelle See (also: E-Stelle See) existed since 1928 on the Priwall peninsula in Lübeck-Travemünde and served until the end of the Second World War for the testing of aircraft, especially airplanes.
As a predecessor of the Bundeswehr's Wehrtechnische Dienststellen, it served to test Wehrmacht military equipment. It consisted of several maintenance hangars, a landing strip, a slipway, and an air traffic control tower. The favorable location with a large open area on land (approx. 1 km diameter) and the water surface of the Pötenitzer Wiek allowed for the testing of seaplanes and amphibious aircraft here. Since 1938, there was an aircraft carrier landing deck with an arresting gear system on the E-Stelle See site for testing carrier landings, carrier aircraft, and the arresting gear system itself. In Pötenitz, already on the Mecklenburg shore of the Pötenitzer Wiek, was the Luftzeugamt Pötenitz, of which extensive ruins, overgrown by nature, are preserved in the wooded shoreline. This also includes a former pier on the Mecklenburg shore.
Aircraft weapons were initially tested by the E-Stelle See itself and from 1937 at the Erprobungsstelle für Flugzeugbewaffnung in Tarnewitz on the current site of the Weiße Wiek.
Testing Groups 1933+
- Group A: Navigation, Radio, Seafaring Equipment, Special Military Installations
- Group B: Operation of Aircraft, Ships, Docks, Catapults and Vehicles, Ground Services
- Group E: Flight Service, Provision of Pilots
- Group F: Aircraft Testing, Preparation, Execution and Evaluation of Measurements, Reports, Assessments
- Group G: Testing of On-board Equipment and Flight Measurement Devices, Laboratory, Precision Mechanical Workshop, Photo Service, Duplication
- Group M: Engines, Propellers, Aggregates, Workshop and Test Stands
In 1936, the groups were given the identifier E for Erprobung (testing) and a number, by which the group's area of responsibility could be recognized. In 1938, these identifiers were changed again. Thus, E1 (Aircraft) became E7 (Aircraft and Installation), while E3 (Engines) became E8 (Engines) and after the relocation of engine testing to the Erprobungsstelle Rechlin, E8 became the identifier for the testing group for flight operations technology on aircraft carriers and the testing of flight operations procedures on aircraft carriers.
- June 1914 Entry of Flugzeugwerft Lübeck-Travemünde into the commercial register
- June 1914 First flight of an aircraft
- August 1917 Transfer of the aircraft shipyard to Fokker
- September 1918 Transfer of the shipyard to Caspar-Werke
- April 1926 Commencement of passenger flights. Priwall became the "Reichsflughafen" (Reich Airport) with an aircraft shipyard and Europe-wide flight connections. Among other things, in summer there was an aircraft shuttle service Hamburg–Travemünde for the wealthier public and a flight route Hamburg–Travemünde–Copenhagen.
- Early 1928 Seaplane Testing Center. Its head became Hermann Moll, the former head of Caspar-Werke.
- April 1, 1928. Chief pilot and head of the "Fluggruppe" became Ernst-August Roth.
- January 1929 Foundation of the Testing Center of the Reichsverband der Deutschen Luftfahrtindustrie
- June 1934 Cessation of passenger air traffic
- May 1945 Closure of the testing center at the end of the war
Memorial Sites+
On Wiekstraße, there is a stele made of bricks, to which an aircraft propeller is attached. This is a "Memorial for the fallen comrades of the Erprobungsstelle Travemünde 1929–1945"
Between the beach promenade and the Maritim Hotel, a historic propeller is displayed, intended to commemorate the history of Priwall as a seaplane testing site.
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Source: Wikipedia · Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RuineenLuftzeugamtSee.JPG
This description draws on the facts documented in the linked Wikipedia article; Wikipedia content is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Wording and editing: Mobile History.
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