German Aircraft Testing Sites

After World War One, testing on German aircraft was done in secret in Soviet Territory. As time went on, Germany brought aircraft development closer to large cities such as Munich, Augsburg, and Stuttgart. This worked out well during peacetime but easily fell victim to arial bombing attacks once America got involved with the war. Once these bombing raids started, more futuristic and secretive development projects were transfer further out of reach in places like Silesia, East Prussia, Sudetenland, and Bohemia.

Many of these factories were built in old underground mines, which were converted to factory and testing facilities. They were all equipped with elevators and underground train systems. Smokestacks were disguised as dilapidated medieval structures or other unassuming structures. The entrances to these bases were so well camouflaged in the forest, that one was overlooked by the American forces, and only discovered 6 weeks after the war, by youth playing.

In Sudetenland the Germans operated a runway to one of these aircraft factories which was located in the mountains. One side of the runway was sticking out of the mountain, like an exposed highway, while at the other end there was an entrance into the mountain, where the ground crews and hangers would be. From this entrance, aircraft would land and take off from. Landing here was much more difficult for aircraft to do, which required the German aircraft to come in a much lower speed, than needed for a traditional runway. The allies pick up on this and station 20 fighters to circle this whole in the mountains.