Kjeller Airfield (; ) is a military and general aviation aerodrome located in Kjeller in Lillestrøm in Akershus county, Norway. Situated on the outskirts of Lillestrøm, it is east northeast of Oslo, making it the aerodrome closest to the capital. The field has a single asphalt runway numbered 12–30, with a declared distance of . The airport is owned by the Norwegian Defence Logistics Organization, while civilian operations are carried out by Kjeller Aero Senter. The main military activity is the Aerospace Industrial Maintenance Norway, the main maintenance facility for the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF).
The aerodrome became the first in Norway when it was established in September 1912 to serve the Norwegian Army Air Service. The break-out of World War I resulted in a major expansion of the airfield, followed by military aircraft factory Kjeller Flyfabrikk moving to Kjeller in 1916. Gradual expansions took place in the following decades. The airfield was occupied by the Luftwaffe on 10 April 1940, resulting in Junkers, Daimler-Benz, BMW and Brinker Eisenwerk establishing various maintenance facilities. After liberation in 1945, the RNoAF converted Kjeller to a maintenance base and placed the Air Force Logistics Command there from 1952. Runway expansions took place in 1951, 1959 and 1975.
History Establishment Kjeller Airfield was the first aerodrome established in Norway. The need for an aerodrome for the Norwegian Army Air Service arose in September 1912, after the first four pilots had been trained and the two first aircraft, Maurice Farman Longhorns, obtained.Arheim: 7 Two of the pilots went scouting around Lillestrøm on 8 September to find a suitable location for an airfield, and settled on Kjeller after two days of reconnaissance. The area was selected because of its vicinity to the capital and its flat geography.Kjeller: 6 The first aircraft, Ganger Rolf, was hauled to Kjeller by horse on 14 September, where it was assembled and flew for the first time on 21 September.Kjeller: 7 Construction of a hangar was subcontracted to Strømmens Trævarefabrik on 13 September, and the structure was completed on 27 September.Kjeller: 8 The first flight to another aerodrome took place on 3 October, when a plane flew to what is today Trondheim Airport, piloted by Einar Sem-Jacobsen, the commander at Kjeller.Kjeller: 10
At first the airfield was no more than a plot .Kjeller: 80 The army rented space at Kjeller Farm, which was owned by M. H. Brøther and Minister of Foreign Affairs Nils Claus Ihlen. The farm had a telephone and provided office space and living spaces for the airfield staff. The army thus hired a cook for the establishment.Kjeller: 14 Aircraft would often land at various fields in Skedsmo as part of the training.Kjeller: 13 The airport was gradually expanded and within a year of the opening measured . Polar explorer Roald Amundsen started his flight training in 1913 and took Norway's first civilian pilot's license on 11 June 1914.Kjeller: 16 On 18 August 1913 two departments were established at Kjeller: a technical and a tactical. The former had the responsibility for introductory training and maintenance, while the latter had advanced training and flight operations. These two divisions remained until they were merged in 1917.Kjeller: 41
With the break-out of World War I in 1914 the airfield became subject to a major expansion. In two years the field was expanded from rented land to owned land, of which the airport itself.Kjeller: 17 This took place by the state buying a lot on the other side of the creek of Sogna. Hence there were two areas of the aerodrome, which both served as runways. The original was known as Skoleplassen, the newer as Granasletta, later as the "outer airport".Kjeller: 83 At the time the border between the then independent municipalities of Skedsmo and Lillestrøm ran through the airport.Kjeller: 85 The airport was organized such that it was supposed to cultivate spare areas on its land. The army expected that this was done such that it gave earnings, while keeping it suitable for flights.
The army established a pilot school on 1 July 1914, which initially accepted four regular students and one mechanic. By September both Longhorns had been wrecked and written off, stopping further training. By then only one pupil had completed the course. Training resumed after new aircraft were delivered in mid-1915.Kjeller: 19 Hærens Flyvemaskinfabrikk, which had been established in 1914 in Sagene in Oslo,Kjeller: 58 moved to Kjeller in May 1916, at the same time the airport was flooded. Four sheds were constructed for the factory.Kjeller: 61 By 1917 a long hangar had been completed.Kjeller: 47
Early years From 1 July 1916 a one-year military pilot training school was established and one of the hangars was converted to a barracks. Four hundred people applied and twenty were selected for the first class. The first seventeen were certified in June 1917,Kjeller: 20 using Maurice Farman Shorthorns, and organized as its own department. From 1919 the Kjeller-built FF 5 were taken into use.Kjeller: 21 In addition to pilots, the school was responsible for training mechanics.Kjeller: 25 Most years the school would carry out a major four-week exercise in February–March at a different location than the airport.Kjeller: 27
The Søndenfjeldske Air Wing was formally established in 1917, but did not become operative until 1919, when it had accumulated a combined twenty Farman F.40 and Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2. A new barracks was completed in early 1918. On 31 May 1919 the a fire struck two of the hangars, burning them to the ground. The insurance money was used to build two new hangars, which were completed in 1923.Kjeller: 22 The school started using the Kjeller-built FF 9 trainer planes from 1922. By 1921 the army concluded that the quality of the aircraft being manufactured at Kjeller did not meet that of internationally produced machines. Hærens Flyvemaskinfabrikk therefore started license-production of aircraft from 1924.Kjeller: 71
The air wing carried out trial scheduled flights to Hamar and Fredrikstad during the summer of 1920, using the two-seat BE-2s. Eighty-four trips were flown, carrying thirty-five passengers and with five accidents.Kjeller: 44 The air wings main exercise took place in July and August every year. It received Bristol F.2B Fighters in 1921, Hannover Cl.V in 1924Kjeller: 42 and Fokker C.V in 1928.Kjeller: 43 The barracks was expanded in 1926 and again in 1930.Kjeller: 23 Funding for a garrison at Kjeller was secured from 1933, allowing a permanent staff and the establishment of a full-time workshop.Kjeller: 50
The airfield was struck by heavy flooding in 1916, 1927, 1931 and 1934.Kjeller: 108 Because of the recurring floods, the army decided to conduct drainage of the field. Because the creek Sogna flowed between the two sections of the airport, it was desired to build a connection between the two. Sogna was placed in a pipeline, allowing it to bypass the aerodrome on its way to Nitelva. Construction started in 1929, but lack of funding delayed completion until 1934.Kjeller: 84 From 1932 the school introduced license-built variants of the De Havilland Moth and Tiger Moth.
In 1933 there were various proposals to start commercial flights to Oslo. KLM investigated Kjeller as a possible site for the extension of their service to Copenhagen, but found that Kjeller did not meet their standards. Thus by 1935 the runway had been expanded to . Although sown with grass, the runway often could not withstand the landing forces of the aircraft.Kjeller: 86 The airfield owner was also concerned with floods and decided to elevate the runway by by filling it up with garbage from Oslo. A trial was run with 5,000 tonnes and described as a success by the army, proposing that a spur from the Trunk Line be built to Kjeller for all of Oslo's of garbage be disposed at the airfield. However local residents complained about the stench and effectively halted the project.Kjeller: 87
Lufthansa started a service to Kjeller during the summer of 1936 as a tentative solution while their seaplane was being overhauled. They put a seventeen-passenger Junkers Ju 52 into the service to London, Copenhagen, Hamburg and Amsterdam. The service was especially popular with travelers to London, as they did not have to transfer at Copenhagen, and the route saw a typical ten to twelve passengers for each of the daily departures. Ground transport was carried out by motor coach, which took twenty-five minutes from Oslo. This was about the same as the ferry used to Gressholmen Airport. Regular services started on 1 June 1938 and lasted until 10 October. The following year the route was transferred to the newly opened Oslo Airport, Fornebu.Kjeller: 97 Lufthansa also carried out a trial flight with a Focke-Wulf Fw 200 on 13 August 1938.Kjeller: 98
World War II On the day before Operation Weserübung, which started the German occupation of Norway on 8 April 1940, warning was received by the air base commander, Harald Normann. The aircraft were evacuated and camouflaged. At the time the airfield was covered in snow, forcing the aircraft to use skis. A large shipment of technical equipment had just been shipped to Sola Air Station, which was unsuccessfully attempted recalled. At two o'clock in the morning of 9 April the aircraft were commanded to fly to Steinsfjorden at sunrise. The first departed at 05:15.Kjeller: 111
By the time the Luftwaffe attack had set in at 7:55, seven aircraft had been evacuated and were used throughout the Norwegian campaign.Kjeller: 112 One person was killed when the Heinkel He 111 aircraft from Kampfgeschwader 4 bombed the aerodrome to shatters. Because the battalion was the initial target, people at the aircraft factory had time to evacuate.Kjeller: 114 The bombers came in at altitudes below , occasionally as low as . The anti-aircraft guns fired 97 shots, but were unable to shoot down any aircraft, although unconfirmed hits were reported.Kjeller: 115 After three hours of attack the airfield lay in ruins.Kjeller: 116 Minister of Defense Birger Ljungberg announced at 14:07 that Oslo, including Kjeller Airfield, was regarded as lost and all units were ordered to cease fire. However, machine gun fire hit a German Ju 52 transport aircraft at 15:15.Kjeller: 117
To support the scrambling of men at Gardermoen Air Station and Trandum, it was important to delay a German offensive across Nitelva. Thus one hundred men from the airport were, against the orders of the minister, commanded to put up a defense along the river. The assignment was difficult as there was a large amount of private vehicles evacuating individuals from the capital.Kjeller: 118 The official surrender of the airport and factory took place on 10 April at 08:30. Civilian employees were given a few weeks off before they were ordered to clean up the facilities. Military employees were eventually sent to their hometowns.Kjeller: 119 The first German aircraft, a Ju 52, landed at Kjeller on 10 April at 12:30. After mounting skis it was able to depart three and a half hours later.Kjeller: 120