Airfield Runways in Norway

[Larry deZeng]

Thanks for the additional comments.

I was surprised to discover the number of wartime airfields in Norway that had concrete runways, sometimes 2 and 3 of them. The percentage was many times greater than for the airfields in Germany. The great majority of the larger airfields in the Reich had grass surfaces and only the hangar aprons and taxiways were paved.

This is why I was puzzled to read in the source noted below that Norway's concrete runways were almost all with treseksjoner. Why would you use wooden sections or pallets with a concrete runway? If they were placed on top of the concrete, aircraft could neither take off or land. Anyway, that's what the authors of the book say in their one-paragraph write-up for each of the 28 airfields described (pages 313-20).

Hafsten, Bjørn, Ulf Larsstuvold, Bjørn Olsen and Sten Stenersen. Flyalarm: Luftkrigen Over Norge 1939-1945. Oslo: Sem & Stenersen A/S, 1991. ISBN: 82-7046-058-3. Hb (oversize). Dj. 328p. Heavily illus. Maps. Tables.

Here's an example:

Kjeller: ".........Rullebanen ble utbygget til 1 200 x 100 meter og fikk betongdekke med treseksjoner."

So this is why I thought treseksjoner might be lengths of sawmill lumber inserted between the sections of poured concrete for the reasons I stated earlier.

L.