| GeoffQRF | 18 Apr 2016 3:01 a.m. PST |
From: link Google translated: link During WW2, with German airbases under almost constant air attack and mostly unusable, new airfields had to be improvised. The Germans made good use of highways as makeshift runways, particularly for Me262s and Ju88s:
In the 1960s several roads were strengthened for use as 'Highway Emergency Landing Strips' with reinforced surfaces and hardened parking areas, to be used by NATO forces as emergency areas. In 1984 an exercise took place that saw several aircraft make use of one of these strips.
Video here: YouTube link From: link |
Roderick Robertson  | 18 Apr 2016 8:23 a.m. PST |
Man, how I hate tailgaters! |
| Chuckaroobob | 18 Apr 2016 9:24 a.m. PST |
I heard a rumor once that the US interstate highways were originally planned to have stretches strong and straight enough for aircraft use.
I wonder if its true? |
| Cold Steel | 18 Apr 2016 9:28 a.m. PST |
Chuck, yes, that is true. I know some stretches of I-95/295 in NJ and NC were backups for McGuire and Pope AFBs. |
| capncarp | 18 Apr 2016 4:06 p.m. PST |
+1 for Cold Steel: there were also "Reconstitution Teams" IIRC that were to meet aircraft at these alternate emergency backup sites with fuel, oil, ordnance loads, spare parts, and other items that would allow these survivors another strike. |
| Cicero | 18 Apr 2016 9:10 p.m. PST |
The RAF where very keen on the idea of using stretches of motorways for Harriers and Jaguars. The Swedes have been doing the same since the early 60s. The Singapore Air Force hold, if I remember correctly, bi-annual exercises on the Lim Chu Kang road next to the nearby air force base. The issue with this in wartime however is the problem of refugees clogging up the roads.
Interesting that many war gamers seem to think that civilians will be good boys and girls and stay at home! |
| Virginia Tory | 19 Apr 2016 9:30 a.m. PST |
Soviets practiced this as well. |
| Cicero | 19 Apr 2016 5:16 p.m. PST |
Yea. Anything that Frontal Aviation flew had to be able to take off from rough strips. |
| Red Fox | 20 Apr 2016 12:15 p.m. PST |
Remember a former boss of mine on holiday in Switzerland saying they were stopped with other traffic on the motorway by Swiss Military Police. Two bunker doors then opened in the mountain side, a pair of jets rolled out, lined up on the road, tipped the breaks and roared off into the mountains. Doors closed and the police waved the traffic on. Move along, nothing to see here sort of thing. Hardened facilities without even a runway to be seen. |
| deleted222222222 | 20 Apr 2016 3:24 p.m. PST |
If you look at the location of all major military installations that housed troops all had a major interstate that was designed to service them. The width of the lanes was based on the needs of the military vehicles in use at that time as well as transport. The height of the overpasses was set to allow transporters and other military items to pass under. |
| Rudysnelson | 22 Apr 2016 10:59 a.m. PST |
As I stated many years ago in a topic, when I was with the MI on an inspection trip, I examined the pre-designed chambers of some overpasses. This allowed explosives to be placed them in a hurry , so they could be collapsed and of no use to the enemy. |
| Ascent | 25 Apr 2016 3:14 a.m. PST |
a little while while back someone posted a link to google maps that showed a strip of autobahn obviously built for flight ops with an area at each end for servicing aircraft and turning them around. Wish I could find it. |
