Herdla
Encyclopedia
Askøy
Askøy is a municipality in the county of Hordaland, Norway. Since the opening of the Askøy Bridge leading to the mainland in Bergen in 1992, the population has increased rapidly. Its population growth is as of 2008 among the highest in Norway...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, at the north end of the island of Askøy
Askøy (island)
Askøy is an island in Western Norway. Since the opening of the Askøy Bridge leading to the mainland in Bergen in 1992, the population has increased rapidly. In north lay the island Herdla....
. The island was part of the municipality of Herdla
Herdla
Herdla is an island in Askøy, Norway, at the north end of the island of Askøy. The island was part of the municipality of Herdla until 1 January 1964. The island has a nature reserve with 220 registered species of birds...
until 1 January 1964. The island has a nature reserve with 220 registered species of birds. During the Second World War, there was an air base and coastal fortifications on the island.
Air base and coastal fortifications
During the Second World War, all of Herdla was in effect a military base for the German LuftwaffeLuftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
. The flat area "Herdlevalen" was considered a good place for an airport. The air base at Herdla was important to defend the west coast of Norway against Allied attacks. Many fortifications were built to hinder possibly invading forces.
All civilians had to leave the island. In 1945 they came back to an island full of military installations.
Herdla was seriously considered as the site for Bergen's main airport. After the war the air traffic control for the Bergen area was placed at Herdla. However, in 1955, the airport was finally built at Flesland
Bergen Airport, Flesland
Bergen Airport, Flesland is an international airport located southwest of Bergen, Norway. Opened in 1955, it is the second-busiest airport in Norway, with 5,296,325 passengers in 2010. Flesland is operated by the state-owned Avinor...
instead, since that would not require boat to reach it.
After the war some of the military installations were assimilated into the Royal Norwegian Coastal Artillery, who also built a series of new installations on the island. In recent years the fortress has been used for training new recruits for the coastal artillery
Coastal artillery
Coastal artillery is the branch of armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications....
, but the fortress was permanently closed in 2000 as a part of a major restructuring of the Norwegian Armed Forces
Norwegian Defence Force
The Norwegian Armed Forces numbers about 23,000 personnel, including civilian employees. According to mobilisation plans , the strength during full mobilisation would be approximately 83,000 combatant personnel. Norway has mandatory military service for men and voluntary service for women...
, when the Royal Norwegian Coastal Artillery was decommissioned.