Pitomnik Airfield
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Top
Pitomnik Airfield
For other uses, see Pitomnik.
| Pitomnik Airfield | |
|---|---|
| Volgograd, Russia | |
| Type | Military Airfield |
| Coordinates | 48°44′33″N 44°15′00″E / 48.7425°N 44.25°E |
| Controlled by | Luftwaffe |
| Battles/wars | Battle of Stalingrad |
The Pitomnik airfield (Russian: питомник, lit. plant nursery) was an airfield in Russia, the primary of the seven airfields used by the German Wehrmacht during the Battle of Stalingrad within the city.[1]
From Pitomnik, flights went to the two main airfields outside the pocket, Tatsinskaya and Morozovskaya.
|
Contents
|
Overview
Pitomnik was captured by the German 6th Army when it linked up there with the 4th Panzer Army on 3 September 1942.[2]
The airfield at Pitomnik was one of seven airfields within Stalingrad when the 6th Army was encircled and the only one properly equipped to handle large amounts of traffic. It was equipped with lights for night operation.[3]
Alongside with anti aircraft guns, the airfield was protected by fighter planes of the first group of the Jagdgeschwader 3, its other groups being stationed outside the pocket.[4] In mid-January, the remaining planes of the group were ordered to leave the pocket.[5]
The airfield was used to fly out the female hospital staff, when the hopelessness of the situation became apparent. Of the male medical staff, none were allowed to leave, and none left. The edges of the runway were filled with wounded German soldiers whose conditions were deemed not serious enough. Only the ambulant were flown out.[6]
From 15 January, Pitomnik came under artillery fire of the Red Army and two days later, the airfield was captured, leaving the 6th Army with Gumrak as its only supply airfield. Karpovka had already fallen on 13 January and alongside Pitomnik, four other airfields fell on 17 January.[7] Gumrak eventually fell on 23 January, leaving the 6th Army without any means of direct support.[8]
As of 2009, the location of the Pitomnik Airfield is used as farmland.[9]
Battle of Stalingrad airfields
Pocket airfields
Seven airfields were used inside the pocket to supply the 6th Army:
- Pitomnik
- Bolshaia Rossoshka
- Stalingradski
- Gumrak, now Volgograd International Airport
- Basargino
- Voroponovo
- Karpovka
External airfields
Eleven airfields were used to supply the 6th Army from outside of the pocket:
- Morozovskaya
- Tatsinskaya
- Sverovo
- Salsk
- Stalino-Nord
- Novocherkassk
- Lugansk
- Gorlovka
- Makeevka
- Kostiantynivka
- Rostov
See also
Sources
References
- ^ World War II Google book review, page: 1219, multiple authors, publisher: ABC-CLIO, accessed: 9 March 2009
- ^ Chronology of World War II accessed: 9 March 2009
- ^ The airlift December 1942 accessed: 9 March 2009
- ^ Jagdgeschwader 3 accessed: 9 March 2009
- ^ More Bf 109 Aces of the Russian Front author: John Weal, publisher: Osprey Publishing, Google book review, accessed: 9 March 2009
- ^ Medicine at the Battle of Stalingrad Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, author: Rober Kaplan, published: February 2000, accessed: 9 March 2009
- ^ The Great Patriotic War - 1943 accessed: 9 March 2009
- ^ Das Wolf - Third Reich militaria January 1943, accessed: 9 March 2009
- ^ Stalingrad 2001 - Photos accessed: 10 March 2009
External links
- Stalingrad - The Battle on the Steppe with current pictures of the area
- Pictures of Pitomnik & Stalingrad (German)
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Related Videos:
Top
Pitomnik Airfield
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
Wikipedia on Answers.com
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Pitomnik Airfield.
Read more