SCHORFHEIDE AIRFIELD

Document Type: 
Collection: 
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP80-00810A002800500001-8
Release Decision: 
RIPPUB
Original Classification: 
S
Document Page Count: 
4
Document Creation Date: 
December 27, 2016
Document Release Date: 
June 11, 2013
Sequence Number: 
1
Case Number: 
Publication Date: 
October 20, 1953
Content Type: 
REPORT
File: 
AttachmentSize
PDF icon CIA-RDP80-00810A002800500001-8.pdf429.54 KB
Body: 
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/06/11: CIA-RDP80-0081 OA002800500001-8 CLASSIFICATION Sl 'TTn1 /CO1 T .CL - U.S. OTICI. LS OL Ll S E C U R I T Y IT _ COQ N R`(e... East Germany REPORT TOPIC. EVALUATION DATE OF CONTEN DATE OBTAINED. REFERENCES_ ~t.CE OBTAINED) M 'E PREPARED 20 October 1953 PAGES _ ENCLOSURES (No. & TYPE)__ REMARKS 1, After July 1952, a German construction superintendant was in charge of the three construction staffs, i.e. fo? concrete constructions, earth works and above ground construction at Schorfheide airfield, Construction orderu and money were received from the Soviet Air Fora Construction Department in Werder9 Major Oleynik (fnu) was in'charge of the Schorfheide airfield project. Construction work itself was supervised by a Soviet construction staff from Leipzig, The following officers belonged to this staff. Lieutenant Colonel Khomotov (fnu), chief,, Lieutenant Colonel Yelesov (fnu), chief engineer,, Lieutenant Colonel Aleteyev (fnu),, administration, Major Kovba.ssaI(fnu), machines and tools and Major Sharov (fnu) above ground constructions. It was believed that the runway would be completed before I October 1953 which had been fixed as target date. 2. The Soviet construction staff had. moved. up the completion date of Schorfheide airfield which originally was set for October 1955, '3. By early September 1953, the concreting of the runway was completed and only the joints between the individual slabs had still. to be filled and cracked slabs to be repaired. 4, On the night of 7 to 8 September 1953, the temporary HO-building and its stocks were destroyed br fire. It was assured that the fire was caused by sabotage. 5. The concreting of the runway was completed on schedule in early September 1953 After that date the field was cleared and the first railroad rails and construc- tion tools were moved from the construction site. A ditch leading along the northern edge of the runway was dug as deep as the concrete layer. The bottom of the ditch was compacted and then the ditch was filled with coarse edged gra- vel. Another ditch of this type was allegedly to be dug along the southern edge of the runway. On both sides of the runway, 30 meter strips were be "Mg leveled and prepared f'or sodding. 6, After early September, all efforts were concentrated on the construction of the taxiways. All concreting machines were employed for this purpose. Mushroom-sha- ped handstands were staked out and leveled on both sides of the taxiways, which CEA'C;3l IC "T1;Jilt :aEC' i,2/'COP TROL U.S. CTIFFICIAL,', C1 LY 50X1-HUM Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/06/11: CIA-RDP80-0081 OA002800500001-8 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/06/11: CIA-RDP80-0081 OA002800500001-8 SEC 'lifA/CONTR0L - U.S. L.'! F'ICI LS ONLY 50X1-HUM branched of at right angles from the cast. and west end of the rimway0 Two roads?, parallel to the taxiway and about 14 msters apart from it were ex tended into the field. The concrete surfaces 15 centimeters thick which had been applied manually was completed on 12 September 19530 7, eSazlPl u es of concrete were tester in a temporary building located in the middle between runway and t a ci?way north of the cement containers. Only. Soviet and German engineers and ec nic? ars had access to this a< ea, In front of the temporary building German wdrkmen prepared concrete samples w .3 cb were 20 x 20 centimeters, T' e samples were treated like the concrete slabs of the runway for a couple of days and were tested for pressure resin- ta.nce. The water and cement contents of the concrete samples ,say; frequently ' changed? In the cement containers, the various shipments of cement were sto- red sepa_L atsdl y and pie .es indicated the date of arrival and origin of ship- ment. All cement had come from Karlsdori 0 8. On the night of 7 to 8 Sepe.em er, the emporasu. y building of the HO building burned down, The area was Mien st rrounded by an Imps 3i~is d fence and guarded by VP0 SS1) personnel: participated in the investigations into the cause of the fire. The day before the fire, large a ioun?trs of money were received by the HO and it was rumored that the building was burned down to disguise a robbery. 9, A construction situ whi ould not be seen from the Gross loch. , Zehdenick road was located between Gr -unewa id and Ku tsch = ag:. A forest ace d. branching off from the aforementioned road lead through Jagen 103 (forest district) to the cons- truction site., The workers were daily waken there by bus, Two pref. erica ed buildings were already completed at the construction site and. more such bu 1.' dings and a road were under construction, fuel or .rim--m- nition depot ias concerned, 50X1-HUM 100 In early ,September 19539 the concreting of the runway was completed and the joint? between the concrete slabs were being filled with bitumen. The concre- ting of the taxiway was delayed by ''the breakdonr of one of the concreting 50X1-HUM mac'hin'es? 7. , Work on the road leading to the fuel depot was discontinued L). early Sep tuber, Six -its h, d already been dug out at the construct ,on. site0 12. About 150 mmaeters south of `the Grvre?..al.d~Co 1 .n ,F1eB field-pat 'n. a road w s built through the woods from the Vietman.:n dorf - Gross Doell r highs a_ , This road extended is an easterly direction to a loading rami,. , The cc~mulet .d part o: the road waa four meters wide and had a concrete corer of 15 centimeters, The distance between the southern edge, of ibhis road and the croesing point of the tracks with the Vie e111n,' `tr~rinscorl' Gross D1oerOroad was 30 xre't,.v!:rss'o. 13 , it was previously reported that boards we ve erected beside the s spur track. Board 11.3 was 20 meters east of the Vietm.nnsdor f - Gross Doe ll a road, board 11 was located at the branch of the spur track leading to the cement hsed In. the north,, which in 't-;urn was located 375 me e s west of the :s 'amia nedor Gross Doolin road. 14. In early September 1953 the temporary 110 ng burned don. The fire broke mm.?t around midnight and could not be e'xtIri uia" ed? All stocks were e estrq; ed by the fire, Carpenters rescued the chief of the HO score: and -tho female emp? oyme from the f ? i v estigations were 'pen t:l. ted because iaboto:g@ $ s su.speca ted, SEGRE /WkI ROL ? U.S. OFT, ICIALS ONLY Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/06/11: CIA-RDP80-0081 OA002800500001-8 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/06/11: CIA-RDP80-0081 OA002800500001-8 SECRET/CONTROL.. UaS, OFF ICIALS OJ LY comp ate as much concreting work as possible befare the beginning of cold weather. Work wa's to be started on the construction of a northern to 3waya which was to be bui! t in the same way as the southern taxi .,ay . During the winter concrete components for revetments are to be produced. 60 On 11 ,Septembers Construction Super_i n tenant Koet s (fn.?) n personnel chief Sitzig (fnu) and 25 construction workers, among them the so-called best wor.50X1-HUM kere, went to a special meeting' in tie Prenzlau district. Ora't;,ew ola1 attended this mee -ling and spoke during the demonstration? The Plinister President sub_ sequentlyy received some of the wori;er s A a was SUTre:?,ara-le yr 'seveca.l. detectives. 50X1-HUM l7 By .19 Septembers about half of the joints between the concrete slabs of the -ray had. "been f=-lled with bitumen, Starting in the east the excavation along the northern edge of the runway had been filled with roars fir;=rye while the excavations along the southern border of the field were being levelled and rolledo During this work it was determined that some of the concrete slabs of ?rhe rura. ayT w,,-ere only 36 to 37 centimeters thick. The Soviet construction s`iaff demanded that these slabs be removed and that new slabs be cnct- 50X1-HUM l& The concreting of the I.a ciwaG s was being continued` Each taxi say consisted of three cone e to la nes each 7.' meters wide. By 19 September the outer concrete strips were concreted or the taxiways extending from the ends of the runway and on the north.-south, taxiway; in Jagen 190. The north-south taxiway in Jagen i9/4. was coanletoed except for the second half of the middle sectiono On the east,-west taxiway the concrete strip along the southorn edge was concreted e.sceot for the space needed i-or the spy. t.vac' 0 Along 1"h'e northern edge the con-Crete strip was completed from the east up to the north -;south taxiway , i s Jagen 1.90 and from the west up to the spur track. Two roads, 15 meters wide,, were under constructILC from the ' ends of the 'un wav. parallel to the taxi'viays, in the direction of the field. The distance b tween theses roads and the taxiways was about 119 meters The con mewing of the hard stands had not been started c3. s Yep o 19- i or k' on the fuel damp located in the northern portion of Jagen 162 were continued, and excavations for a Second fuel dump located just north of the spur track in the northern. part of Jagen 158 were- started Both fuel dumps were to be cor-nect ed by a road running parallel to and 25 meters distant from the railroad tracko 20 A guard }.noese was eompleted near the technical depot located in Reiersdorfer F orst~, about twp kilometer s west-southwest of GL ewaldo The administration building under construction was half completed9 ` he construction site was lo- cated in the woods about 700 meters north of the Oross-Doe?lin 3e1hderick road and Just west of the way leading to S orkow?? In the woods each of the roads about 800 m,I_eter north of the buildings four clearings were eu dablished and 3evellsd the distance between the individual clearings being about 200 meters. Members of the construction sbaff stated that permanent storage buildings i?ro? Mbly for bombs were to be ereceted there SECRET/CONTROL - U0So OFFICIALS ONLY Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/06/11: CIA-RDP80-0081 OA002800500001-8 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/06/11: CIA-RDP80-0081 OA002800500001-8 SG T/CONTROL - U.S. OFFICIALS ONLY 21. Between 8 February and 16 September 1953, incoming material shipments;, io.ciuded 42,76L76 tons of Portland cemen t$ 54, 566.99 tons of 7/15 gra- vel, 722 ,,823.24 24 tons. of 15/30 gravel and 215, 599016 tons of smalll, grain gravel. 2 p Gcr i~t. Except for g4aa joa Kovbassa, all officers were previously epor edc as having these assignmazzits. 50X1-HUM .The technical depot is located. in 3agen ]O3 west southwest off` OrKzneP ald and not Jagell 103 northeast of Kuryschlago 50X1-HUM SECRET/CONTROL U.S. OFFICIALS ONLY Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/06/11: CIA-RDP80-0081 OA002800500001-8