CCCP Flight School, Germany

CCCP Flight School is an abandoned military airfield and training camp in Germany. Originally this site is documented to have been an airship/Zeppelin port, established in the early 20th century. Solider barracks and hydrogen production plant were location along the small runway, to maintain the fleet. After the First World War, the site was re-established as a glider training camp. The Luftwaffe occupied the site in the 1930s, and developed a fully fledged military airbase to hone pilots aerial skills in preparation for war. The site was large, the size of a small town by the time the Second World War began.

Towards the end of the Second World War the Soviet Red Army took over the site, and stationed several units of the Soviet Air Force here. The runway was extended, and anti-aircraft missile batteries were set up to protect the base and assets. Aircraft squadrons of MiG-21, and later MiG-23, fighter jets were stationed here while this base was under Soviet control. The Russians abandoned the base in the mid-1990s during the unification of Germany, and the site has been falling into a state of decay ever since.

When we visited CCCP Flight School in the summer of 2016, it was totally stripped. The main staircase with Soviet mural was our first stop, closely followed by the lecture theatre. The theatre was in total darkness, so provided an opportunity for some competitive light painting amongst our group. Long curved corridors lead off from the main staircase, the walls covered with peeling paint.