Rognan Airfield (, ) is a private

aerodrome An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes inc ...

situated in the village of

Rognan Rognan is a village and the administrative centre of Saltdal Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The village is located at the head of the Saltdal Fjord (the innermost part of the Skjerstad Fjord). It is located about north of the villag ...

Saltdal Municipality Saltdal () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of ...

Nordland Nordland (; , , , ) is one of the three northernmost Counties of Norway, counties in Norway in the Northern Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Trøndelag in the south, Norrbotten County in Sweden to the east, Västerbotten County to t ...

county,

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 ...

. The municipal airfield features a grass runway aligned 01/19. It is used for recreational flying and is operated by Saltdal Flyklubb. The aerodrome was built by

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 ...

during 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 ...

. Construction began in 1941 and the field opened the following year, featuring a wood and concrete runway. It served mostly as a reserve airfield for Bodø Air Station. Rognan was abandoned as a military airbase after the end of the war.

History

An aerodrome in Rognan was first considered by the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

during the Norwegian Campaign in May 1940, although the plans were never carried through. Instead, construction was carried out by Luftwaffe. Preliminary work started in late 1941 and the aerodrome was completed the following year. It received a runway measuring , with a combined wooden and concrete surface. However, the Luftwaffe made little use of the airfield, retaining it mostly as a reserve airport for Bodø Air Station.Hafsten: 317 For a period, a squadron of

Junkers Ju 52 The Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed ''Tante Ju'' ("Aunt Ju") and ''Iron Annie'') is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers. First introduced during 1930 as a civilian airliner, it was adapted int ...

transporters were stationed at Rognan. After the war, the airfield was taken over by the municipality and used for general aviation. A contributing factor has been the high load on

Bodø Airport Bodø Airport is a civil airport in the town of Bodø in Bodø Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. Located just south of the city centre, on the westernmost tip of the Bodø peninsula, it shares facilities with the military air force base ...

, which has caused restrictions on use by recreational aircraft. Sailplane activities were particularly allocated to Rognan. Saltdal Flyklubb was established as a local aviation club in 1993. It took over the responsibility for operating the aerodrome, although it remained owned by the municipality.

Facilities

Rognan Airfield is located in the village of Rognan, west of population center. It is situated north and west of the river Saltelva and the

Nordland Line The Nordland Line (, ) is a railway line between Trondheim and Bodø, Norway. It is the longest in Norway and lacks electrification. The route runs through Trøndelag and Nordland counties, carrying a combination of commuter, long-haul passenge ...

. The airport consists of a grass runway measuring . It is aligned 01/19, roughly north–south. The aerodrome is owned by Saltdal Municipality and operated by Saltdal Flyklubb, the sole regular operator at the field. It has a reference altitude of

above mean sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

. During the Second World War the airfield consisted of a runway measuring . The offices, barracks and communications centre were located in the village, southwest of the runway. There were two defensive

20 mm gun The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons based on an original German Becker Type M2 20 mm cannon design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models employ ...

positions. Organizationally, Rognan Airfield was subordinate to Bodø Air Station.

References

Bibliography

* {{authority control Airports in Nordland Airports in the Arctic Luftwaffe airports in Norway Saltdal 1942 establishments in Norway Airports established in 1942 Military installations in Nordland