Construction of the airport started in 1943 by the Luftwaffe who stationed a detachment of Jagdgeschwader 5 (JS5) there.
It was originally being restored by The White 1 Foundation in Kissimmee, Florida, until its 2012 transfer to the Collings Foundation in Stow, Massachusetts.
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After combat with USAAF B-17's on 27 May 1944, he was killed when his Bf 109 crashed after hitting high tension cables while forced-landing near Chevry, France.
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The lone surviving Fw 190F model that served with JG 5 is under restoration in Massachusetts to possibly become the first restored, original F-series BMW 801 radial-engined Fw 190 since the end of World War II to fly again in coming years.
During the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany, Kirkenes was one of the many bases for the German Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe's Jagdgeschwader 5, and apart from that, the area served as a main base for supplies to the Murmansk front (see Lapland War).
Jagdgeschwader 26 | Jagdgeschwader 54 | Jagdgeschwader 5 | Jagdgeschwader 3 | Jagdgeschwader 7 | Jagdgeschwader 53 | Jagdgeschwader 51 | Jagdgeschwader 300 | Jagdgeschwader 11 |