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| WorldWar2.ro Forum > ARR - Romanian Royal Aeronautics > Otopeni and Clinceni airfields |
| Posted by: Gazolin April 15, 2006 08:07 pm |
| Another question I have is about Otopeni and Clinceni airfields – they both seem to be close by Bucharest. Is it the same airfield or not? Thanks! |
| Posted by: D13-th_Mytzu April 15, 2006 08:53 pm |
| Yes, both Otopeni and Clinceni are on same location. What I heard from someone working at Clinceni was that the germans made Clinceni and it is still functional today the way they made it then (it has very good drainage system - and it is a grass airfield). However I never met any ww2 source mentioning Clinceni airfiled.. it is still a misetry to me |
| Posted by: Dénes April 16, 2006 03:35 am |
| Otopeni and Clinceni are two different airfields. Gen. Dénes |
| Posted by: Victor April 16, 2006 07:44 am |
| Mytzu, Otopeni is North of Bucharest, on the road to Ploiesti, while Clinceni is to the Southwest, on the road to Alexandria. They were and still are two different locations. See: http://www.hartionline.ro/ro/harta/i7.html Clinceni is not visible in this square, it is just beyond Bragadiru. Go West one square and you will see it next to the Arges River. The airfield is still functional, mostly for gliders, from what I have seen there. |
| Posted by: Burner April 16, 2006 08:03 am |
| Otopeni, or Henri Coandă International airport (LROP) is the biggest Romanian airport, situated 16,5 km to the North of Bucharest. It's the hub of TAROM, and a part of it (South) is the airlift air base, Baza aeriana 90 Transport Aerian. Clinceni is West of Ploieşti and is just a grass runway and some hangars.  |
| Posted by: D13-th_Mytzu April 16, 2006 08:04 am |
lol - i know where Clinceni is.. I flew from it. What I said was: someone working at Clinceni said that the airfield was built by germans. What I am puzzled about it I found no references about it during ww2 like it didn't exist in ww2.. So it is still a mistery to me: did it exist during ww2 ? was it made by germans or not ? or maybe it was made by germans after ww2  Burner: Clinceni is near Bucharest not Ploiesti. Edited 2: ahh now I see the confusion "Yes, both Otopeni and Clinceni are on same location." , what I first understood from Gazolin was if Clinceni and Otopeni retained same location today as it did during ww2 (by reading his post again now I don't now why I understood that... probably too much beers ?) so I was just trying to say "yes they are on same location (as they were before)" . Sorry for me confusing things :] |
| Posted by: Burner April 16, 2006 08:11 am | ||
Hey, my bad.  I don't know why, but I was thinking of Strejnic airfield, near Ploieşti. Sorry 'bout that.  I too heard that Clinceni was built by the Germans, but I really don't know... |
| Posted by: Gazolin April 16, 2006 03:28 pm |
| Thanks for clearing this out for me, much appreciated! |
| Posted by: Cantacuzino April 16, 2006 05:55 pm | ||
For sure Otopeni airfield was made and used by germans ( big hangars and concrete airfield). Clinceni airfield was made by local people (payed by romanians not by germans). One local guy (farmer) told me that he worked there using his horse wagon ( transporta pamant cu caruta pt a ridica si nivela terenul ) |
| Posted by: Dénes April 16, 2006 06:42 pm |
| Here's how a German document describes Clinceni airfield: Civilian airfield, but suitable for Ju 87s. 15 km SW Bucharest 650 x 850 [m] landing field 5 buildings for airplanes and repair shops 1 massive hangar under construction, in 1942 [by the Germans?] Gen. Dénes |
| Posted by: D13-th_Mytzu April 16, 2006 07:02 pm |
| Excellent news, thanks Denes ! So Clinceni was in operation during ww2. Why is it there is no info so far about Clinceni being used during ww2 (in books found on the market). |
| Posted by: Cantacuzino April 16, 2006 08:04 pm | ||
Clinceni is a small airfield not so much suitable for military purpose. In the war when the alarm was given many planes should take off at once and need more than 650 x 850 mm grass. Small airfield are very good for military flying school. Clinceni was used after the war as a military school with planes like IAR 27, Fleet and IAR80. |
| Posted by: Dénes April 16, 2006 08:15 pm | ||
That's absolutely correct. It's very hard for a real airplane to take off from a 650 x 850 mm area. Gen. Dénes |
| Posted by: Carol I April 16, 2006 08:23 pm | ||||
That is also true, but maybe he meant m*m which would make it absolutely correct.  |
| Posted by: Cantacuzino April 16, 2006 09:11 pm | ||
Yes Denes, it is my professional deformation. I work only with mm and microns.But anyway 650x 850m it is also to small. |
| Posted by: D13-th_Mytzu April 16, 2006 09:23 pm |
| So during ww2 who used it ? |
| Posted by: cipiamon April 16, 2006 10:45 pm |
| Mr. Chera, pilot on IAR 80, mentions in an interview in Orizonturi Aviatice that he operated from Rosiorii de Vede, flying his plane somewhere around Titu on 10 june (?) when he was hit by a lighning, the engine cought fire, he was scared to jump whit a parasute, so he dived his plane whit 700 kmh and stoped the fire. After that he decided to get to a verry near airfield, the closest was CLINCENI aifield. So he started to go paralel whit the river Arges. He never made it to CLINCENI! Near Bolintin Deal his engine stoped and the plande felt in the Ciorogarla forest. He miracously escaped! |
| Posted by: Gazolin April 17, 2006 06:04 am |
| According to Modelism no 6/2004 a Ju 86 No V, crashlanded on Clinceni on 29 May 1945 after releasing paratroppers. In another place in the same article the same crash is stated to have taken place at Otopeni. Thats why I asked if it was the same airfield. Question is now at which airfield did the aircraft crash? It must have been rather impractical to jump from a Ju 86 without side door! I've never heard of parachute training being done from a Ju 86 before. |
| Posted by: Wings_of_wrath May 29, 2006 06:27 am |
| I think that aircraft actually came down at Clinceni, because while I flew there a few years go, I came upon this story from a mechanic. (I belive that was in the summer of 2001, just after they managed to accidentally burn down an Extra 300S, and we were discussing flight incidents) Also, Clinceni was deffinitely used as a training field, because you can still see a concrete wall that was used for aerial gunnery practice just south of the field, some 1.5kms away. I't intresting this talk about airfield dimensions, since the current size of this airstrip is of 150X1000 m (orientation 060*-240*), and that would have been more than adequate for any fighter/divebomber in ARR service during WW2, yet apparently those dimensions were only reached after the war. Oh, btw, did you know that in the late 1950s early 60s they used to burn old aircraft on this field? Including the last ever Bücker 133 Jungmeister left in Romania... Sad story.  |
| Posted by: transavia December 27, 2012 01:11 pm |
| Acording with what he saw Wing of wrath,the runway was enought longer & larger to be operated by medium bombers like He-111. The TWR was made it by germans like also the tree stil existing hangars. The first hangars made it when was build the airdrome,before the war,was a wood constructions located ,on english model on the top of runway,on 06 direction. Those was demolish in early 6o's. In '92,when I start to fly at CLN,stil have the runway operationaly and used on 15oo x 15o meters. Was cutted first time in '97,(if I better remember) to 12oo on direction 24 for leave enought space for a new road. Regards, A.N. |
| Posted by: cainele_franctiror December 27, 2012 04:03 pm |
| Otopeni airfield was before ww2. In 1938, Mircea Cantacuzino Flying School came here from Baneasa airport. |
| Posted by: Simmo September 22, 2018 05:46 pm |
Would I be correct in stating that these images are Otopeni Airfield or are they Zilistea? Source: expired eBay Auction |