Stavanger Airport , Forus Stavanger Airport , Forus ( : ) is a former airport located at Forus in the intersection of the municipalities of Stavanger , Sola and Sandnes . It was built as a military air base by the Luftwaffe following the German occupation of Norway in April 1940 . It was gradually expanded so that it by 1943 consisted of three runways , the longest . The airfield was connected by a taxiway to Sola Air Station . The airport served as an offensive base during the Battle of Britain , and was afterwards made part of the defensive Festung Norwegen . The hangars saw a limited use after the end of World War II . From 1966 it was taken into use by Helikopter Service , who operated their offshore helicopter services out of Forus to the Ekofisk and Frigg platforms in the North Sea . The heliport saw a major upgrade in 1977 , but was after long discussions and delays moved to Stavanger Airport , Sola in 1989 . The area is now used for a combination of industry and office buildings . History . World War II . During the early planning in 1933 of the construction of Stavanger Airport , Sola , the location at Stokkavassbot at Forus had been proposed as a suitable site for an airport , but was discarded in relation to Sola . By 1940 , Sola was one of three airfields in Norway . On 3 April 1940 , five days before the German occupation of Norway set in , a German Junkers Ju 88 bomber flew over the area and made a forced landing on a field in the area . Before the police were able to apprehend the four airmen , they had set ablaze their aircraft . The aircraft had been shot down by the Royal Navy in the North Sea and had been allowed to land in Norway because of its neutrality . On 9 April , Sola was captured by 132 German paratrooper s , allowing three hundred aircraft to be stationed there . However , the Luftwaffe was concerned about the concentration of the aircraft , as they would be vulnerable for just a single , successful bombing raid . They therefore intended to spread the aircraft over a larger area . Sola , in combination with Kristiansand Airport , Kjevik , was of vital importance for two strategic concerns : controlling Skagerak , and for a planned invasion of the British Isles . The Germans had developed extensive military plans existed , with possibilities of it expanded towards Forus and a maximum extension to seven runways , of which four would be located in the Forus area . The longest of these was planned to be long . Construction commenced immediately after the invasion had set foot . The Wehrmacht had set a deadline of 15 August for the expansion to be completed , in time for the Battle of Britain to commence . Luftflotte 5 had a group at the airbase . From 10 April the Luftwaffe needed fifty men for painting , which a contractor in Stavanger was willing to carry out . Gradually the need for a workforce increased as the construction continued . Requisition of the land necessary took place on 19 April , when 3 , 000 people and 6 , 000 animals were chased from their homes . Work at Forus commenced on 21 April , originally by putting 350 Norwegian prisoners of war to work , in violation with the Hague Convention . The Wehrmacht initially demanded a workforce of 2 , 000 , which was largely gathered through coercion . A force of 65 Heinkel He 111 s participated from Sola and Kjevik in the raid on Britain , but it was so unsuccessful that Luftflotte 5 would no longer play a role in attacks on Britain . The Wehrmacht gave up on its original plan on 15 September , which also changed the anticipated role for Sola and Forus . The importance of Sola and Forus thus became the need to defend from British attacks , rather than offense . Forus became part of Festung Stavanger — a heavy construction of defensive structures in Jæren — which played a key role in Festung Norwegen . This massive endeavor created a surge in the demand for labor , while the wartime halt to commerce escalated unemployment . Construction was therefore typically carried out by Norwegians , partially voluntary , partially out of dire hunger and partially by force . After the war progressed , work was gradually taken more over by Russian prisoners of war . Organisation Todt was the central contractor of the works , although they subcontracted much of the work to Norwegian companies . Initially a concrete runway was built at Forus . The need for labor increased steadily , and eventually reached 6 , 000 men . The road between Sola and Sande was closed because it came in the way of the runway , forcing the Germans to build a new connection road . Most of the hangars were completed in 1941 . Work on Løvenstrasse , which connected Forus to Sola , commenced in 1943 . Three runways were completed by 1944 . Military interlude . The day following the German surrender on 8 May 1945 , Allied aircraft landed and took control over Forus and Sola . At the time there were twenty - six German aircraft at Forus , which included eight Arado Ar 234 jet bombers and fourteen Messerschmitt Bf 108 utility planes . All but two of the German aircraft were destroyed and buried in a dump near the airport . Later that year the airport was taken over by the Directorate for Enemy Property . Most inventory was gradually sold , until the facility was taken over by the state in 1947 . After the war ended there was a discussion as to what Stavanger ' s two airports should be used for . A government proposition from 1947 called for Sola to be converted to a civilian airport and Forus to become a military air station . Parliament supported the notion on 12 December and granted NOK 1 million for construction to start on 1 February 1948 . However , the infrastructure at Forus was in worse condition than the authorities had anticipated . In violation with the parliamentary legislation , the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Transport and Communications struck a deal on 22 May , whereby both the military and civilian operations would be located at Sola . However , a limited amount of repairs were carried out at Forus for another year . The airport ' s value was estimated at NOK 20 million . A sabotage of the drainage system was discovered in 1949 , which explained many of the technical challenges affiliated with the runways . This was decisive in putting off the military desire to hang on to the facility . Sola Air Station took the three large hangars and a barracks into use , while the rest of the airfield was decommissioned . A NOK 6 . 7 million estimate to bring the airport back into shape was found to be not worth the cost . After the war the Royal Norwegian Air Force considered using Forus as an air station . In 1959 and 1960 the military carried out an extensive renovation of the runway , mainly intended to make it more level . Holes were drilled at suitable places and a mixture of concrete , sand and earth was injected to get the concrete blocks to rise in the desired locations . In addition , the cracks between the blocks were cleaned and filled with asphalt . Of the 88 mines which had been built into the runway , 86 were removed in 1961 . The last two had to be blown up . Shortly after the renovations were completed , the military decided that it did not want to use the airfield . Løvenstrasse was converted to a public road in 1959 and 1960 , which cost 400 , 000 Norwegian krone . It is today largely part of National Road 44 . Part of the road was named Forusbeen in 1984 . Civilian operations . Esso Exploration Norway was in 1966 granted permission to search for oil on the Norwegian continental shelf southwest of Stavanger , in what became known as Ekofisk . Helikopter Service was contracted to fly crew to their rig , Ocean Traveller , and bought two Sikorsky S - 61 N helicopters to carry out the job . Helikopter Service made Forus its main base , signing agreement with the Ministry of Defense to lease the grounds , which remained owned by the state . Helikopter Service invested NOK 20 million in the two helicopters , as well as NOK 15 million in the airport . It took over one of the large hangars at Godeset as well as a number of smaller buildings left over from the war . The first flight took off on 18 July 1966 . The company flew 250 hours out of Forus in the first year of operation , although this increased to 4 , 500 hours in 1972 . By 1975 the company had built a complex at the airport . The government and local authorities decided in 1975 that Forus was to become a business district for the booming oil industry . A plot of of military land at Forus was therefore sold to Forus Industritomtselskap that year . At the same time Helikopter Service asked for negotiations with the state so they could purchase a sufficient lot to continue operations at Forus . This was met with local protests , including from the Norwegian Public Roads Administration , who stated it was too close to the highway , and from companies planing to establish themselves at Forus . Most of the complaints were directed at noise pollution . The following negotiations included four ministries and various government agencies . The main concern regarding an establishment at Sola was that it did not have sufficient space for a heliport . Stavanger City Council supported a continuation at Forus at its meeting on 1 December 1975 . Helikopter Service signed an agreement with Forus Industritomtselskap in January 1976 for the pruchase of of land . A new highway would cut their old premises in two and were therefore forced to build an all - new facility . Local protests endured and the city decided in 1977 to not approve the zoning plan . Negotiations were carried out by the Ministry of Transport , where at a meeting on 15 March 1977 a compromise was reached . Helikopter Service would build a terminal would could easily be converted to an industrial facility and this would be sold to Forus Industritomtselskap at an undecided point in the future . The airport would only receive operating permissions for a period of three years and the helicopter company would have to move to Sola at an undetermined future date . The new terminal was taken into use on 11 January 1978 , with the new facilities having cost NOK 33 million . By 1981 the investments had increased to NOK 50 million . The government extended the operating permit to 1 July 1982 on 26 June 1980 . A new heliport was being planned at Sola , but constant delays caused Forus to remain in use and gradually extensions of the operating permit . Helikopter Service therefore remained at Forus until 1989 . Facilities . Luftwaffe . The airport was located in the Forus area , which is at the intersection of three municipalities : Stavanger , Sandnes and Sola . The site is that of a former lake , Stokkavatnet , which had been drained to create agricultural land . The Luftwaffe facilities at Forus consisted of three runways . The main one measured and aligned southeast – northwest . It was crossed , not quite at a right angle at its southern end by a runway dimensioned . Another ran east – west and measured and crossed the main runway at the northern end . Forus was connected to Sola by way of a taxiway , named Løwenstrasse , allowing Forus and Sola to exchange aircraft . It connected to the main runway at the south To increase the airport ' s defensive position , the hangars were spread around the Sola , Forus and Jåttå area . Some farms had as many as eight hangars on their property . Most were simple constructions in non - reinforced concrete , typically with three walls and camouflage netting on the fourth side . Taxiways were normally built of wood . The three largest hangars were built at Godeset , two measuring and one . The Luftwaffe placed a series of dummy aircraft in suitable locations . The Luftwaffe built a series of other buildings and structures at the airfield . The largest non - hangar was known as the canteen and measured , including a hall . The buildings were collected in two main clusters , one around the large hangars and one around the canteen . The airfield was surrounded by an extensive network of anti - aircraft gun s . Forus had several factors which contributed to difficult aviation conditions and accidents . The runways were not well - leveled , in part because of poor workmanship and in part because of soft soil . The area had poor lift and was often covered in fog , and the area experienced difficult wind conditions and air pocket s . Hard landings and runway overruns were commonplace . Heliport . During the period Helikopter Service operated at Forus , the company had a monopoly on offshore helicopter flights . Forus Heliport served two offshore installations , Ekofisk and Frigg . They originally operated out of the old hangars , but from 1981 the airport had received a make - over . The new runway was long and had three pods .