M&A - Militair Historisches Museum Gatow - 2016

Militair Historisches Museum Gatow

Berlin Germany - Militair Historisches Museum Gatow 2016

The Luftwaffenmuseum opened its doors to the public in 1994 after moving from Uetersen to the historic airfield at Berlin-Gatow. In 2011 it was renamed the Militärhistorisches Museum der Bundeswehr.

The airfield itself dates back to 1934 and was used by the Luftwaffe as a major training base, captured by the Russians in 1945 it was turned over to the British occupation force. It then played an integral part in the Berlin airlift of 1948/49 where one third of the allied air traffic landed and departed from the two runways. During the Cold War period it was the epicentre of Western military intelligence, finally being handed to the Bundeswehr in 1994 after the departure of Allied forces from Berlin.

The museum is currently open Tuesday – Sunday between 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. It has plenty of parking spaces and can be easily reached by BVG bus route 135, exit at the bus stop "Seekorso" or "Kurpromenade" from there, a walk of approximately 10 minutes will take you to the Museum. . Entry is free and give yourself at least two to three hours to complete your tour of the one million square meter site, which has over 70 aircraft preserved and many more in various stages of restoration and storage. Photographic opportunities are very easy, especially with the large outside collection which are well placed around Flugplatz.

Author & photography

Warren Hardcastle