Posted on by Marco

Rangsdorf

Whilst going through my aircraft slides collection (I’m currently in the process of digitizing them) I came across an interesting set of slides, some of which I had almost but forgotten.

Back in the early nineties, the former Eastern Block countries were the place to be for any serious aircraft spotter. Suddenly we had access to MiG’s, Sukhoi’s and a whole bunch of “new” air forces. Of special interest was the Soviet air force, still based in numbers in former East-Germany, before they had retrieved all their assets back to the motherland.

For those amongst us interested in old, derelict aircraft, or “wrecks and relics” as we tend to call these, there was during the period no better place than Rangsdorf, where the Soviet air force not only appeared to have a helicopter maintenance facility, but also an aircraft graveyard. The place wasn’t really accessible of course, and we never were able to roam this “dump” hunting for aircraft construction numbers as we very much would have liked to do. But at least the dump was located near to the fence with few if anyone around bothering us about having a good look and taking photographs.

Here are some I made in April 1991. To me, it feels like only last year or so. I fact, it’s more than twenty years now…

Two battered Mi-8 Hip’s, one of them coded 45 yellow.
An upside-down MiG-27 Flogger features prominently in this image. Mi-8TB Hip’s 26 yellow and 51 white are in much better shape in the background. Likely they are 3506 of 41OVE and 4737 of 178OVP respectively.
Mi-8TB Hip 3137 / 90 yellow of 336OVP stands rotor-less and apparently dangerously close to the dump. In the background Mi-8TB Hip 70 white whose identity remains unknown.
VIP Mi-8PS 02 red also remains to be an unknown.
21 yellow is the other Mi-8 Hip already featured in the first image. It has been identified with construction-number 9710602.
Mi-2 Hoplite 22 (yes it is) red accompanied by an unknown Mi-8 Hip.
At least two MiG-23 Floggers here, 74 blue being one of them. A small piece of Il-14 Crate in the foreground.
Mi-8 Hip 23 red seems to be in the middle of being scrapped.
The other Mi-2 Hoplite present: the former 80 yellow.
A rare Yak-28 Brewer obviously not destined for eternity.
Finally, the Yak-28 again, Mi-24 Hind 15 red, and a section of Il-28 Beagle in centre image. To the rear of the Beagle appears to lie another Yak.

Those interested in numbers may have a look at my log.

Marco