Sola Air Station

Sola Air Station
A Westland Sea King helicopter operated by 330 Squadron at Sola Air Station
IATA: SVG ICAO: ENZV
Summary
Airport type	Military/Public
Operator	Royal Norwegian Air Force
Location	Stavanger
Elevation AMSL	9 m / 29 ft
Coordinates	58°52′36″N 05°38′16″E / 58.87667°N 5.63778°E / 58.87667; 5.63778
Map
Sola Location in Norway
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 18/36 2,856 9,369 Asphalt 11/29 2,449 8,035 Asphalt

Sola Air Station (IATA: SVG, ICAO: ENZV) (Norwegian: Sola flystasjon) in Sola municipality in Norway is operated by the Royal Norwegian Air Force. Air Wing 134 is stationed at Sola along with helicopter Squadron 330.

Also located at Sola is Stavanger Airport, Sola and an aviation museum. Near Sola, at Jåttå in Stavanger is NATOs Joint Warfare Center.

330 Squadron operates Westland Sea King search and rescue helicopters. The 12 helicopters are also detached to Rygge Air Station, Ørland Main Air Station, Bodø Main Air Station and Banak Air Station, with one helicopter on stand-by at any given time.

Sola Air Station was founded at May 29, 1937 by King Haakon VII, and an air show with 42 aircrafrt marked the occasion. In 1939, it was decided to station military aircraft on the airfield (because of the tense situation unfolding in Europe at the time). August 5, 1939, the first Caproni Ca.310 bomber landed here.

On April 9, 1940, in reaction to the German invasion of Norway, the bomber squadron was ordered to the east, but before they could take off, six German aircraft attacked. The bombers were damaged, only a few getting airborne to later be abandoned elsewhere and the airport was seized. Here, the first opposed landing by paratroopers took place as 132 German fallschirmjägers from 1st battalion of the 1st Regiment, 7th Flieger Division were dropped on the airfield. Around 3 fallschirmjägers became casualties as the air station's sole completed machine gun bunker fired on the attackers until being knocked out by a hand grenade, seriously wounding the gunner.