page_title: Tromsø Airport, Skattøra
section_title: Royal Norwegian Air Force operations
hierarchical_section_title: Tromsø Airport, Skattøra / History / Royal Norwegian Air Force operations
caption_attribution_description: English: Dornier Do 24 and two other aircraft at Tromsø Airport, Skattøra
context_page_description: Tromsø Airport, Skattøra, also known by its military designation Skattøra Naval Air Station was a water aerodrome and air base situated at Skattøra in the city of Tromsø in Tromsø Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. Construction began in 1938 and the aerodrome was in use until 1975. At its peak it was the largest water airport in Northern Europe.
  The first water airport in Tromsø was located at the port in the city center and opened in 1935 to serve Norwegian Air Lines flights. Skattøra was first built by the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service, with construction starting in 1938. With the break-out of the Second World War in Norway on 9 April 1940, Skattøra was the home to Heinkel He 115 and Marinens Flyvebaatfabrikk M.F.11, which participated in the Norwegian Campaign. From June the air station was taken over by Luftwaffe. They expanded the facilities and made it the center for its seaplane fleet in the North Atlantic.
  The Royal Norwegian Air Force took over Skattøra in 1945 and from 1947 it was designated a main air station.
context_section_description: The RNoAF returned to Skattøra in May 1945, after the end of the war. The No. 8601 Demolition Squadron RAF was flown to Tromsø to demolish the majority of the Luftwaffe's aircraft. Two Do 24 were taken over by the RNoAF. They were crewed with German pilots and were used to transport German soldiers to conduct minesweeping, as well as to act as ambulances. They were moved to Fornebu Air Station in October, but returned for the 1946 season.
  No. 21 Communication Flight was set up at Skattøra almost immediately after the surrender. They flew Noorduyn Norseman transporters. This task was taken over by the Small Transport Wing in 1946. They would retain between two and four Norsemen at the airport until its closing for military operations. Skattøra was also the base for three Junkers Ju 52 transports of the 335 Squadron from 22 June to November 1945.
  The 333 Squadron was from 1 January 1946 equipped with Consolidated PBY Catalinas. A detachment of these were station at Skattøra. Their main task was transporting freight, passengers and goods to Svalbard, including the communities of Longyearbyen, Isfjord Radio, Ny-Ålesund, Hopen and Bjørnøya. The squadron also performed search and rescue and air ambulance missions.
  Two-thirds of the building complex at the station was demolished in the remainder of 1945. This was done to secure building material for the reconstruction of Finnmark. For instance Gunnarnes Chapel is a former barracks built at Skattøra. Skattøra was the only naval air station of the Navy Air Service to resume use after the war. All other seaplane bases were jointly located with land airport. The Air Force decided in 1947 to make Skattøra one of its five main air stations—and the only one of these to be a water airport. The Air Force and the civilian aviation authorities determined that Norway would receive two area control centers for its air traffic control. One of these was located at Tromsø and located in the subterranean structure at Marielund. This also acted as a rescue coordination center. The fire station was converted to a joint control tower and weather station.
  With the advent of the Korean War, the 333 Squadron was moved from Sola Air Station to Skattøra in 1950. Their new main mission was surveillance of the northern sea area of the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea. The squadron moved back to Sola in May 1952, although a detachment remained in Tromsø. From 1953 to 1 November 1955 the squadron also operated Noorduyn Norseman transporters. Flights to Svalbard and Jan Mayen were then flown out of Bodø Main Air Station, although they did not have sufficient range for these missions and had to land at Tromsø for refueling. The Catalinas therefore continued to operate out of Skattøra until 1959.
  The Royal Norwegian Navy had a small guard unit at Skattøra from 1945 to 1949. From 1954 the 21 Communication Flight was equipped with de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otters, to supplements its Norsemen. They originally had pontoons, later they received amphibious pontoons. The air artillery set up a unit at Skattøra in 1955, with the task of providing air defense for Tromsø. They remained until 1960.
  With Norway's entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization a large amount of funding was allocated to building new land airports. This and the technological development meant that seaplanes would no longer be a central part of the Air Force. Skattøra was during the 1950s the only NATO water air station. However, it would take over a decade before the other infrastructure and aircraft had reached such a standard that the air station could be closed. With the replacement of the Catalinas with Grumman HU-16 Albatross, the northern detachment of the 333 Squadron relocated to Andøya Air Station. The military activity at Skattøra was therefore terminated in March 1959. However, Albatrosses would continue to use the civilian airport throughout the 1960s.
  The Navy returned to Skattøra in 1962 and used the hangar as a depot. It also had a surveillance vessel, Havørn, which was disguised as a fishing vessel. During the preamble f
caption: Dornier Do 24 at Skattøra in 1945–46
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