Flugplatz Sömmerda-Dermsdorf

Sömmerda-Dermsdorf Airport is a regional airport in Germany. It is located 3NM northeast of Sömmerda and 14km north of Erfurt, in the German state of Thuringia. It supports general aviation with no commercial airline service scheduled.HistoryThe airfield was built in 1934 as a military air base for the Luftwaffe and as a civilian "Air Office" . The establishment of the airfield was a turning point for the town of Kölleda, which doubled in population as a result of the increase in employment after its opening in 1935. A railway connection was completed in 1936, along with the Fliegerhorts barracks. At the same time it was rebuilt into one of the largest Fliegerhorste in Germany. Over time 112 buildings were constructed.During World War II, Fliegerhorst Kölleda became an aircraft maintenance facility, servicing mainly Dornier aircraft, and was classified as "secret". It stocked many parts for several models of Dornier bombers, but it had no flying units assigned. It was a long time before the Allies recognised the airfield. The reason was astonishingly simple: the Germans had live sheep grazing its fields for camouflage, and it was usually covered in a haze because of its boggy subsoil. A fake airfield further distracted attention from the actual air field. The airfield used a large portion of forced labour from countries like Belgium, France, the Netherlands and the Soviet Union. It was finally located by Allied reconnaissance aircraft and on 4 July 1944 the airfield was finally bombed in 5 waves between 9 and 10am. Seven people died on the ground in the attack.