BERLIN TEMPELHOF

West Berlin had three aerodromes. Tempelhof, Tegel and Gatow. These were located in the American, French and British sectors, administration being the responsibility of the relevant allied authority. In addition, East Berlin had an airport at Schönefeld. The overall air traffic control of the three corridors was directed from American administered, Berlin Area Radar at Tempelhof (BARTCC) and, although in the American sector, was nevertheless, manned by nationals of all three allied powers.

Pan Am 727 at Tempelhof 13KB JPEG Until 1975, Berlin Tempelhof was the principal commercial airport in West Berlin. In 1895 Tempelhof had been an exercise ground for the Berlin garrison and was, historically, involved in some of the earliest adventures in aviation. As a matter of interest, during the NAZI period in 1938, the airport terminal construction had been so large that, even in 1975, Pan American was able to park its largest airport user, the Boeing 727, beneath a canopy forming part of what was one of the largest buildings in Europe. Due to its location, close to the centre of the city, during the seventies, the airfield was unsuitable for expansion and on the 1st. September 1975 the then principal operators in West Berlin, British Airways and Pan American, moved location to new facilities specially built at Tegel. Tegel had its origins as test area for some of the first rockets of Wehrner von Brown and had been transformed with alacrity (85 days) during the Berlin Air Lift in 1948 to accommodate the huge numbers of additional movements required during that epoch. Royal Air Force Gatow was never used commercially and since the end of the Wall, has been closed to become a museum dedicated to the Luftwaffe where one can now see military aircraft from both East and West Germany. Tempelhof Closed in October 2009
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