Germany trip: Fliegerhorst Schleswig
Early on June 12th, we drove up to Fliegerhorst Schleswig (ETNS), home of Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader (TaktLwG) 51 “Immelmann”. The Panavia Tornado will be retired from Luftwaffe service in the near future, so this trip was likely our last chance to photograph them in action.
Upon arrival in the village of Jagel, where the Luftwaffe Tornado base is located, we found the main road clogged with cars towing camping trailers. It was Thursday so this seemed a bit odd, and we would later learn that there was a festival starting in the area. We were eventually able to make our way to spot 3 and begin the agonizing wait for something to happen. After a brief period, other spotters arrived at the spot, boosting our confidence that there would be flying ops this day.
The first sign of action was the base fire truck, and this would become the signal at each subsequent airbase we visited. If the fire truck was parked near the runway, there would be some fighters operating. Soon after, the sound of auxiliary power units (APU) appeared and the winds favoured runway 05. We considered moving to another spot but, as we found out, the roads near the departure end of runway 05 were likely clogged up by the camping trailers we encountered coming in. We decided to stay at spot 3 and see what we could photograph. The noise of the jets taking off In full afterburner was simply awesome. Our position also gave us a good view of the fighters conducting overhead breaks when returning to land.
While we were having lunch at the nearby Burger King, we received a message suggesting we make our way to spot 4 and details about how to get there despite the camping traffic. We hopped back in the car right away, as we were informed that the afternoon flying would start around 230pm.
Sure enough, at the expected time, jets began to come alive in various hardened aircraft shelters (HAS) on the base. Spot 4 provided some stellar opportunities for close taxi & lineup shots, as well as potential hearing loss from the afterburners! After the last of the Tornados had departed, we walked along the base fence to spot 5 in preparation for their return about an hour later.
The last of the “Tonkas” having landed, we thanked other spotters for their help. It is always more fun when you meet local spotters, they always know what is happening and where it is best to be. We returned to Hamburg later in the evening to get some food and some rest before our next base visit: Fliegerhorst Laage.
(Click on an image to enlarge)
