Mandal Airfield () was a

military air base An airbase (stylised air base in American English), sometimes referred to as a military airbase, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base, is an aerodrome or airport used as a mi ...

situated at Vestnes in

Lindesnes Lindesnes () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Manda ...

municipality,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. It featured a wooden runway measuring . Built by the German

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

in 1940 after Nazi Germany occupied Norway, it remained in use for the rest of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Lista Air Station opened in April 1941, after which Mandal remained only a reserve airfield. A 1950 proposal to rejuvenate it as a civilian airport was turned down by the municipal council.

History

Following the German invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940, the Luftwaffe secured

Kristiansand Airport, Kjevik Kristiansand Airport (; ) is an international airport serving Kristiansand Municipality in Agder county, Norway. The airport is located in the district of Tveit in the Oddernes borough, about by road and by air from the center of town of Krist ...

and

Sola Air Station Sola Air Station () is a base for the Royal Norwegian Air Force. It is located in Sola municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. Rescue Helicopter Service is stationed at Sola along with Helicopter Squadron 330. Also located at Sola is Stavang ...

, the two land airports along the south coast of Norway. The Luftwaffe quickly assessed that there would be need for an additional airfield located between

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...

and

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

. Work therefore commenced on building Mandal Airfield, which was completed in August 1940. The airfield remained an important site for

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domina ...

which participated in the Norwegian Campaign. However, by Mandal's completion the Luftwaffe had concluded that

Lista Lista is a former municipality located in the old Vest-Agder county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1965. The administrative centre was the village of Vanse where Vanse Church is located. Lista municip ...

would be a more suitable site for a major air base. Planning started in August 1940 and Mandal remained in use until April 1941. It was then closed down and operations moved to Lista Air Station. A further expansion of Mandal took place in 1944, with more taxiways and aircraft stands, although these were never used. No squadrons were ever stationed at Mandal and it was closed at the end of the war in 1945. Civilian interest in the airfield arose in 1950. The struggling Kristiansand-based airline Sørfly proposed that it could use Mandal as a base for

charter flights Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flights ...

. The issue was discussed by Mandal Municipal Council, but it decided not to allow the reopening of the airfield.

Facilities

Mandal Airfield was situated at Vestnes, located just west of the town center of Mandal. It featured a wooden runway which measured .

References

{{Portal bar, Aviation, Norway Airports in Agder Defunct airports in Norway Luftwaffe airports in Norway Lindesnes 1940 establishments in Norway 1945 disestablishments in Norway Airports established in 1940 Military installations in Agder