Rhodos airfield Gadurra, Calato

[Zuendapprul]

Hello together,


my name is Rudi. I am from Germany and i live for 4-6 weeks/year on Rhodos island. Our house in located in Malonas, near the Gadurra river and Kalathos airfield.


Some years ago I heard about the FW 200 that was left on the airfield and started to do some research there.
The final aim of my investigation is to provide a summary of facts and then/now pictures of all 3 airports at Rhodes, which were used in WW2.


I also want to analyze the distribution of all the airplane parts around the Island to their finding location. (e.g. Fw 200, JU52)


The first airfiled i want to start is Gadourra, Gadurra, Calato, Kalathos or whatever else it was called airfield. GPS: 36.145953, 28.066232


I am looking for any information available. especially things from the early days, aerial pictures, videos, reports, findings of material. etc.


If someone from here has Greek contacts for me i would also be very happy. ( Maybe Pierre ?)


My next trip there will start in a few days. We will take some pictures (from the same location as some old ones i already have) to find the old remains and reconstruct the flypath&approach of a Ju52 in 1943 from which i have a video.


Thanks for any information!


Regards,
Rudi

[edwest2]

Hello Rudi,


The situation was complicated since Italian forces were there. Here is a site in Italian that may offer some help.

https://www.dodecaneso.org/


From wikipedia:


The airport was built in 1938 during the Italian occupation of the Dodecanese as a base for the Regia Aeronautica and was called Aeroporto di Martisa "G.Pessi Parvis" and its Italian airport code was 801. It housed a squadron of Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 and a squadron of Fiat CR.32 biplane fighters. In 1940, during World War II, it was bombed by the British Royal Air Force but stayed under Italian control until the Dodecanese Campaign, when it fell under German control.


Best,
Ed

[Larry deZeng]

Rudi,

The Rhodes airfields can be found here:

http://www.ww2.dk/Airfields%20-%20Gr...Dodecanese.pdf

I hope this helps!

L.

[Zuendapprul]

Hello all together


i am very impressed about all the answers and how fast...

THANK YOU!


I will put all this Information into my research.


Does anyone of you know where to get some historic aerial pictures? (spy pictures?)

I have already reconstructed a lot of the infrastructure at the southern side of the airfield and the "hill" near the coast which is now military restricted area.
There should have been fuel dumps in the west and a bomb dump in the north, next to Gadurra river. There are also pictures of tunnels which i couldn't locate.

An older guy from Rhodes town told me a lot about planes which have been hidden in the north western area, about 2.5 to 3km



Another interesting topic is, that there are aeroplane parts all over the area. I found a complete aileron of a JU 52 about 5km from the airfield.


regards,
Rudi

[Chris Goss]

This might be of interest which should a Fw 200 under attack at Calato on 31 Mar 45. I might have other shots taken earlier in the war

[Zuendapprul]

Hello Criss,

perfect! I already have this picture, but if you would have some more, it would be great!

Thank you in advance!

regards,
Rudi

[Chris Goss]

Rudi: Suggest you get a hold of my book "Combat over the Mediterranean" and PM me afterwards. I will be away until 7 Oct 19 though

[VtwinVince]

Hi Rudi,

I lived for a year in Lahania, apparently there is a crashed JU52 in the sea just off Plimiri. I tried to find it, but no luck. I did find many smaller bits at the site of the old Italian barracks, but that was a long time ago. Good luck with your research.

[Zuendapprul]

Hello together,

@ Chris: I wanted to buy your book, but it isn't available in Germany within the next 14 days. I would need it till 09/21.
Is it possible to buy an electronic version of it? Or do you know a dealer who can send it to me faster? PM doesn't work with my account, but don't know why..

@Vtwinvince:
Thank you for this input! I just called a friend from Pefkos (the one with the orange Plane). He has heard about a wreck in that area. If everything goes, we will go down and have a look.
Which Italian barracks do you mean? In Kalathos?



tanks,
Rudi

[VtwinVince]

Hi Rudi,

I lived there a long time ago, so I'm not sure if the barracks foundations are still there, but it was located on a promontory just near the village. There was much evidence of fighting there, including barbed wire, trenches and many spent casings. I talked to the keeper of the cemetery in Plimiri, and he witnessed the actual combat between Allied fighters and the JU, apparently it crashed into the sea about a kilometre off the beach, and several bodies washed ashore, which he helped to bury.