Lundtofte Flyveplads
| Lundtofte Flyveplads | |
|---|---|
| Summary | |
| Location | Lundtofte, Denmark |
| Coordinates | 55°47′14″N 12°31′17″E / 55.78722°N 12.52139°ECoordinates: 55°47′14″N 12°31′17″E / 55.78722°N 12.52139°E |
| Map | |
 Lundtofte Flyveplads
|
|
Lundtofte Flyveplads (Lundtofte Aerodrome) is a former airport for both military and civilian use. Currently, the Technical University of Denmark is built on the site. The airport opened in 1917 and the last flight was in 1959.
The navy was looking for a new airfield location, since the Kløvermarken airfield they used at the time was to be closed soon due to the expansion of Copenhagen. A suitable area of around 7.7 hectares (19 acres) was found at Lundtofte. In March 1917, approval was given for the purchase of 22 hectares (54 acres) at the site and budget for construction of airfield facilities was reserved.
The airfield was inaugurated June 22, 1917. Five aircraft would fly from the old airfield of Kløvermarken to Lundtofte and back again. Chief of the two airfields Jeff HA Hammelev was flying one of the aircraft. The flight from Kløvermarken to Lundtofte went smoothly, and festivities were held at Lundtofte. However, shortly after their landing, thunderclouds appeared, and Hammelev, who had an important meeting in Copenhagen, took off to fly back to Kløvermarken together with a mechanic, to avoid the bad weather. At Ermelunden they were caught in the bad weather and crashed. Hammelev did not survive the crash, and the mechanic was badly injured.
Already two years after its inauguration, the airfield was rented out for civilian use. Air shows and aerobatics were organized on the site and planes took off from the airfield to drop flyers, display advertising banners and to distribute newspapers. In 1921 smuggling flights took off from Lundtofte, smuggling Danish silver coins to Sweden. After lawsuits, the company that exploited the airfield went bankrupt.
It wasn't until 1926 that the airfield was used more intensively again, with it being used for training flights from Kløvermarken. In 1934, most training was moved to Værløse and Lundtofte was mainly used to practice emergency landings.
In 1937 a Danish company started assembling Piper J-3 Cub aircraft at Lundtofte, and buyers could also learn to fly the aircraft from Lundtofte.
With the start of World War II and the resulting fuel rationing, most civilian activity at the airfield was discontinued.
...
Wikipedia