1910 a plane designed by Ing. Boess of Kętrzyn (then Rasterburg) was built in a workshop owned by Friedrich Fest of Reszel (Rössel). It was a monoplane powered by a 50 HP engine. The machine was 10 metres long, had a wing span of 14 metres and weighed 450 kg.
1929 the giant dirigible, the LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin, flew over what is now Kętrzyn Wilamowo airfield. This was probably a stage of its round-the-world flight, which started in Lakehurst on 7 August and took a month to complete.
Specifications of LZ-127 Graf Zeppelin dirigible:
length: 236.6 metres,
diameter: 30.5 metres,
displacement 105,000 cubic meters, of which:
buoyancy gas (hydrogen) approx. 75,000 m3 propellant gas (Blau gas) approx. 30,000 m3
unladen weight: 58,000 kg, payload: 15,000
propulsion: 5 Maybach engines placed in nacelles, with 388 kW (530 KM) each,
maximum speed: 128 kph,
cruising speed was usually lower, in the 100-110 kph range, depending on wind force and direction, which affected both the speed and the range of the dirigible,
range: 10 000 km, or 12,000 km according to some sources (Cf. the remarks regarding wind speed above),
passengers: 20,
crew: 40.
1935 a general aviation airfield is opened, named after the village of Wilamowo (the village no longer exists)
1940 July decision is passed to build Hitler's secret headquarters called Wolf's Lair - the Wolfsschanze. It was made up of 200 structures; bunkers, barracks, power plants, a railway station and ,the most important , an airfield.
1941 December – a runway is opened after being extended. It was designed for Ju-52
(passenger version and the four-engined Focke-Wulf 200 Fw Condor , it was shaped the way it looks today – like the letter X.
1942 8 February,- a plane carrying Fritz Todt, minister for armaments of the Third Reich, crashes just after takeoff (This story is the topic of the article “Accident or murder” – using this link)
1944 20 July - after the abortive attempt on Hitler’s life, German officer Claus von Stauffenberg, Reserve Army chief of staff, flies to Berlin by a “He 111” plane.
1944 after 20 November the evacuation of Hitler’s ultrasecret Wolfsschanze headquarters begins followed by preparations for demolishing it
1945 24 January - heavy explosions shake the Gierłoż forest. This is German army sappers dynamiting away the “Wolfsschanze”. Depending on the size of the bunker, they needed 8 to 12 tons of explosives to destroy the solid structure.
1945 - the Red Army uses the abandoned airstrip
1954 at 1300 hours on 6 October, a plane carrying prisoner of state, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, took off from Wilamowo airfield. The Primate was being taken from the original place of exile in Stoczek Klasztorny to Prudnik in Opole voivodship.
1973 – 11 June – the Kętrzyn Aeroclub is set up
1976 - Farm Mechanization School specializing in teaching cropdusting techniques is set up at Karolewo. The students could use the Aviation Institute’s Experimental Centre “Agrolot”
1983 – the Aeroclub of Poland disbands Kętrzyn Aeroclub due to the lack of aeroclub activities and members’ activity as well as the absence of interest of local authorities in its operations. The airfield slowly falls into disrepair and nearly disappears from Poland’s aviation maps.
1998 - the airfield is sold to private persons using a tender procedure
1998 4 September - the founders of Lakeland Aeroclub meet
1998 18 September - positive outcome of the examination by Aeroclub of Poland of an application for the reactivation of Kętrzyn Aeroclub, which now operate under a changed name , as AEROKLB KRAINY JEZIOR - the Lakeland Aeroclub
1999 August - the first of a series of events aimed at bringing aviation closer to the people. This is teh beginning of an era of intense activity and revival of Kętrzyn Wilamowo airfield.
