Ålesund Airport, Sørneset

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Ålesund Airport, Sørneset
Ålesund sjøflyplass, Sørneset

Aradi 196 at Sorneset.png

Luftwaffe Arado Ar 196 at the airport during the 1940s
Summary
Airport type Private
Serves Ålesund, Norway
Location Sørneset, Ålesund
Elevation  AMSL 0 m / 0 ft
Coordinates 62°28′07″N6°13′35″E / 62.46868°N 6.22640°E / 62.46868; 6.22640 Coordinates: 62°28′07″N6°13′35″E / 62.46868°N 6.22640°E / 62.46868; 6.22640
Map
Relief Map of Norway.png
Airplane silhouette.svg
Sørvika
Location in Norway
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
Water

Ålesund Airport, Sørneset (Norwegian : Ålesund sjøflyplass, Sørneset) was a water aerodrome and later heliport situated at Nørvevika and later Sørneset in Ålesund, Norway. The airport was, to a varying degree, used between 1929 and 1979. It has since been demolished.

Norwegian language North Germanic language spoken in Norway

Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken mainly in Norway, where it is the official language. Along with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a dialect continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional varieties, and some Norwegian and Swedish dialects, in particular, are very close. These Scandinavian languages, together with Faroese and Icelandic as well as some extinct languages, constitute the North Germanic languages. Faroese and Icelandic are hardly mutually intelligible with Norwegian in their spoken form because continental Scandinavian has diverged from them. While the two Germanic languages with the greatest numbers of speakers, English and German, have close similarities with Norwegian, neither is mutually intelligible with it. Norwegian is a descendant of Old Norse, the common language of the Germanic peoples living in Scandinavia during the Viking Era.

Heliport airport designed for helicopter use

A heliport is an area of land, water, or structure used or intended to be used for the landing and takeoff of helicopters, and includes its buildings and facilities. In other words, it is a small airport suitable for use by helicopters and some other vertical lift platforms. Designated heliports typically contain one or more touchdown and liftoff area and may also have limited facilities such as fuel or hangars. In some larger towns and cities, customs facilities may also be available.

Ålesund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal, Norway

Ålesund is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal County, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sunnmøre and the centre of the Ålesund Region. It is a sea port and is noted for its concentration of Art Nouveau architecture. The town of Ålesund is the administrative centre of Ålesund Municipality, as well as the principal shipping town of the Sunnmøre district.

Contents

The first use of Nørvevika was in November 1929 as a temporary base for the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service. When Norwegian Air Lines commenced scheduled flights along the coast in 1935, they also took the facilities into use. The Navy Air Service returned in 1939 and decided to build a base, but there was no time to carry out the plans before the German invasion the following year. The Luftwaffe used the base for two Arado Ar 196 from 1941 to 1943, moving the base to Sørneset during the Second World War.

Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service

The Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service was alongside the Norwegian Army Air Service the forerunner to the modern-day Royal Norwegian Air Force.

Det Norske Luftfartselskap A/S or DNL, trading internationally as Norwegian Air Lines, was an airline and flag carrier of Norway. Founded in 1927, it operated domestic and international routes from 1935 to 1941 and from 1946 to 1951. It became one of the three founders of Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) and became one of its three holding companies from 1951, with a 28% stake and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. DNL was renamed SAS Norge ASA in 1996 and was merged in 2001 to create the SAS Group.

Operation Weserübung code name for Germanys assault on Denmark and Norway during the Second World War

Operation Weserübung was the code name for Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway during the Second World War and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign. The name comes from the German for "Operation Weser-Exercise", the Weser being a German river.

Lufttransport moved to the base in 1946 and carried out commercial flights in 1948 and 1949. After shutting down, these were taken over by Vestlandske Luftfartsselskap in 1950. They were retained until 1957, and the following season Ålesund Airport, Vigra opened. The final operator at Sørneset was Mørefly, who at first operated seaplanes and later focused on helicopters. They abandoned the site in 1979, moving to Vigra.

Ålesund Airport, Vigra airport

Ålesund Airport, Vigra is an international airport serving the town of Ålesund, Norway. It is located on the island of Vigra in Giske and features a 2,314-meter (7,592 ft) runway aligned 07/25. The airport served 1,077,209 passengers in 2013, making it the tenth-busiest airport in the country. Scheduled services are provided domestically to Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim by Scandinavian Airlines (SAS)¸ Norwegian Air Shuttle and Widerøe. International scheduled services are provided by Air Baltic, KLM Cityhopper, Norwegian, SAS and Wizz Air.

Mørefly

Mørefly A/S was an airline and general aviation company which operated between 1955 and 1995. Based in Ålesund and later Giske, Norway, it was involved in a wide range of operations, the most dominant being air ambulance services and helicopter services. Mørefly was based at Ålesund Airport, Sørneset until 1979 and thereafter at Ålesund Airport, Vigra. During its peak in the mid 1990s it had 150 employees and annual revenue of 250 million Norwegian krone (NOK).

Helicopter Type of rotor craft in which lift and thrust are supplied by rotors

A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward, and laterally. These attributes allow helicopters to be used in congested or isolated areas where fixed-wing aircraft and many forms of VTOL aircraft cannot perform.

History

Establishment

Sporadic flights with seaplanes to Ålesund started in 1920, although not with more than a few private flights per year. [1] From November 1929 the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service set up a base at Skutvika near the town center, which they used to search for herring. This base was found to be unsuitable due to the amount of ship traffic. [2] When they returned the following year, the Herring Association had instead selected a more suitable base at Nørvevika. There they established at wooden shed with a tin roof which acted as a hangar for two Hansa-Brandenburg W.33 aircraft. [3] Due to harsh treatment the winter weather gave the aircraft, the air service terminated these operations the following year. [4]

Atlantic herring species of herring in the family Clupeidae

Atlantic herring is a herring in the family Clupeidae. It is one of the most abundant fish species in the world. Atlantic herrings can be found on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, congregating in large schools. They can grow up to 45 centimetres (18 in) in length and weigh up to 1.1 kilograms (2.4 lb). They feed on copepods, krill and small fish, while their natural predators are seals, whales, cod and other larger fish.

Hansa-Brandenburg W.33

Hansa-Brandenburg W.33 was a German two-seat, low-wing single-engined seaplane, which had been designed by Hansa und Brandenburgische Flugzeugwerke during World War I. Although the W.33 was built in relatively small numbers, the design was widely recognized as successful and numerous copies and license built versions were built by the hundreds after World War I.

Norwegian Air Lines carried out a trial postal route from Ålesund to Tromsø for four weeks in 1934, using a Junkers W 34 from 7 June to 3 August. [5] The trials were successful and the following year the airline commenced flights with the larger Junkers Ju 52. [6] The routes were summer-only; for instance in 1938 they lasted from 4 April to 30 September. [7] These services continued until 4 September 1939, when all commercial flights were banned. [6]

Tromsø Municipality in Troms, Norway

Tromsø is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø. Outside Norway, Tromso and Tromsö are alternative spellings of the name.

Junkers W 34 aircraft

The Junkers W 34 was a German-built, single-engine, passenger and transport aircraft. Developed in the 1920s, it was taken into service in 1926. The passenger version could take a pilot and five passengers. The aircraft was developed from the Junkers W 33. Further development led to the Junkers Ju 46.

Junkers Ju 52 airliner and military transport aircraft

The Junkers Ju 52/3m is a German transport aircraft manufactured from 1931 to 1952, initially designed with a single engine but subsequently produced as a trimotor. It had both civilian and military service during the 1930s and 1940s. In a civilian role, it flew with over 12 air carriers including Swissair and Deutsche Luft Hansa as an airliner and freight hauler. In a military role, it flew with the Luftwaffe as a troop and cargo transport and briefly as a medium bomber. The Ju 52 continued in postwar service with military and civilian air fleets well into the 1980s. The aircraft has continued to be used well beyond that date for purposes such as sightseeing.

The need for a naval seaplane base in Ålesund resumed in 1939. This was caused by the Phoney War and the need to station aircraft along the Møre og Romsdal coast to maintain Norwegian neutrality. Nørvevika was found to be the most suitable location and selected. [8] Funding of 225,000 Norwegian krone was granted, which would include a hangar which could fit three Heinkel He 115 seaplanes. However, the entire issue was stopped during the expropriation process. The site had several owners and one of these died in the process. No work had therefore been carried out upon the German invasion on 9 April 1940. [9]

Phoney War early period of World War II

The Phoney War was an eight-month period at the start of World War II, during which there was only one limited military land operation on the Western Front, when French troops invaded Germany's Saar district. The Phoney period began with the declaration of war by the United Kingdom and France against Nazi Germany on 3 September 1939, and ended with the German attack on France and the Low Countries on 10 May 1940. While there was no large-scale military action by Britain and France, they did begin economic warfare, and shut down German surface raiders. They created elaborate plans for numerous large-scale operations designed to swiftly and decisively cripple the German war effort. These included opening a French-British front in the Balkans; invading Norway to seize control of Germany's main source of iron ore; and a strike against the Soviet Union, to cut off its supply of oil to Germany. Only the Norway plan came to fruition, and it was too little too late in April 1940.

Møre og Romsdal County (fylke) of Norway

Møre og RomsdalUrban East Norwegian: [²møːrə ɔ ˈrʊmsdɑːl](listen) is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Oppland and Sogn og Fjordane. The county administration is located in the town of Molde, while Ålesund is the largest town. The county is governed by the Møre og Romsdal County Municipality which includes an elected county council and a county mayor. The national government is represented by the county governor.

Norwegian krone currency of Norway and its dependent territories

The krone[ˈkruːnə], plural kroner, is the currency of Norway and its dependent territories. It is subdivided into 100 øre, which have existed only electronically since 2012. The name translates into English as crown.

Luftwaffe started looking for a site for an airport between Bergen and Trondheim in January 1941. At first they suggested Spjelkavik, but this was changed and Aukra Airport, Gossen built instead. However, the Luftwaffe still needed a base for seaplanes to operate near Ålesund. [10] For this they carried out the plans which the Naval Air Service had made and erected a seaplane base later in 1941. [6] This was at first built at Nørvevika, but was later relocated slightly to Sørneset. The ships were anchored to a buoy and a barracks was built on land. [11] It was manned with two Arado Ar 196 of 2. Kustenfliegergruppe 406. One of these crashed on 18 March 1943 at Rambjøra in Haram, killing both on board. [12] The second crashed at Volsdalen in Ålesund on 18 October. [13]

Scheduled services

The airline Lufttransport was founded in 1946 with a base at Sørneset. It eventually operated a fleet of four aircraft, including a Grumman Widgeon and a Fairchild 24. The airline built a hangar at the airport. It started a scheduled service to Oslo Airport, Fornebu three times a week in 1948, with stopovers in Molde and Kristiansund using the Widgeon. It also made attempts to fly to Bergen and Trondheim. However, the company had difficulties making a profit and shut down in 1949. [6] Ownership of the airport passed to Ålesund Bil og Flyservice. [14]

Vestlandske Luftfartselskap took over the coastal services in 1950. They operated summer routes from Bergen to Trondheim and hand intermediate stops in Ålesund and Kristiansund, later also in Molde. At first they used a four-passenger Republic RC-3 Seabee, later a Short SA.6 Sealand with twice the passenger capacity. The routes operated until 1957. They were considered taken over by Widerøe and Solbergfly, [14] but the 1958 opening of Ålesund Airport, Vigra made this an implausible ordeal. [15]

Mørefly

A group of enthusiasts bought a Luscombe 8 Silvaire and two years later they established the airline Mørefly. It took various general aviation contracted work, such as cargo transport, aerial photography and searching for herring steams. [16] It also took over ownership of the airport. [14] From 1957 they set up an air ambulance service out of Sørneset using a Seabee. [16]

Mørefly continued to operate various general aviation services out of Sørneset. From 1966 it also became a heliport when Mørefly bought its first helicopter, a Bell 47G4. [17] Operations included air ambulance, search and rescue, cargo transport, herring patrol, aerial photography and a scuba diver standby for the fishing fleet. [16]

The airline decided in 1977 that it would relocate to Vigra. It built a new hangar there and relocated in 1979, abandoning Sørneset as an aerodrome. [17] For a while the hangar was used by Ålesund Last og Buss. [18] The hangar and barracks were still in place in 1988, [11] but were in the early 1990s demolished and the area used for housing. [19]

Facilities

The water aerodrome was physically located at two different locations in the bay of Nørvevika. The first was named Nørvevik and the second Sørneset. [11] Sørneset is a headland situated on the island of Nørvøya, between the Nørvevika and Nørvesundet. [20] The water aerodrome consisted of a buoy, a slipway, a hangar and a barracks used for offices. In addition there was a small floating dock. [21] From 1966 the aerodrome also featured a helipad. [17]

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References

  1. ↑ Hjelle: 11
  2. ↑ Hafsten & Arheim: 62
  3. ↑ Hafsten & Arheim: 63
  4. ↑ Hafsten & Arheim: 64
  5. ↑ Nerdrum: 78
  6. 1 2 3 4 Hjelle: 12
  7. ↑ Nerdrum: 92
  8. ↑ Hafsten & Arheim: 42
  9. ↑ Hafsten & Arheim: 43
  10. ↑ Flatmark: 118
  11. 1 2 3 Flatmark: 126
  12. ↑ Flatmark: 214
  13. ↑ Flatmark: 228
  14. 1 2 3 Hjelle: 13
  15. ↑ Hjelle: 18
  16. 1 2 3 Hjelle: 121
  17. 1 2 3 Hjelle: 123
  18. ↑ Nilsen: 97
  19. ↑ Grytten (1998): 25
  20. ↑ Grytten (1997): 234
  21. ↑ Flatmark: 127

Bibliography

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