Stavanger Airport, Forus Stavanger lufthavn, Forus |
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Airport type | Military, later civil heliport | ||||||||||||||||||
Owner/Operator |
Luftwaffe (1940–45) Royal Norwegian Air Force (1945–1966) Helikopter Service (1966–88) |
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Serves | Stavanger, Norway | ||||||||||||||||||
Location | Forus | ||||||||||||||||||
Built | 1940 | ||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 58°53′32″N 5°42′27″E / 58.89222°N 5.70750°ECoordinates: 58°53′32″N 5°42′27″E / 58.89222°N 5.70750°E | ||||||||||||||||||
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Stavanger Airport, Forus (Norwegian: Stavanger lufthavn, Forus: ICAO: ENFO) is a former airport located at Forus in the intersection of the municipalities of Stavanger, Sola and Sandnes. It was built as a military air base by the Luftwaffe following the German occupation of Norway in April 1940. It was gradually expanded so that it by 1943 consisted of three runways, the longest 1,950 meters (6,400 ft). The airfield was connected by a 3.6-kilometer (2.2 mi) taxiway to Sola Air Station. The airport served as an offensive base during the Battle of Britain, and was afterwards made part of the defensive Festung Norwegen.
The hangars saw a limited use after the end of World War II. From 1966 it was taken into use by Helikopter Service, who operated their offshore helicopter services out of Forus to the Ekofisk and Frigg platforms in the North Sea. The heliport saw a major upgrade in 1977, but was after long discussions and delays moved to Stavanger Airport, Sola in 1989. The area has since been redeveloped into a combination of industry and office buildings.
During the early planning in 1933 of the construction of Stavanger Airport, Sola, the location at Stokkavassbot at Forus had been proposed as a suitable site for an airport, but was discarded in relation to Sola. By 1940, Sola was one of three airfields in Norway. On 3 April 1940, five days before the German occupation of Norway set in, a German Junkers Ju 88 bomber flew over the area and made a forced landing on a field in the area. Before the police were able to apprehend the four airmen, they had set ablaze their aircraft. The aircraft had been shot down by the Royal Navy in the North Sea and had been allowed to land in Norway because of its neutrality.