HISTORY
In 1910 a seaplane shed had been installed on the south beach of Borkum,a german island situated in the wadden sea.Soon this shelter was washed away by the flood and a larger station was erected including 3 hangars ,workshops, several personnel barracks and 2 cranes for hoisting the aircraft into or out of the water onto a wooden and concrete platform.This station was sited at the ferry port,a few kilometers distant to Borkum city ,connected to it by railroad.
In 2014 I spent a holiday on the island and was kindly allowed to have a look at the archives of the local museum and to take some pics .There's not much photographic footage available as private photography was strictly forbidden during the war,most of the pics have been published elsewhere before.If someone feels offended by me posting these here,feel free to contact me and I
'll eagerly delete them.
Aerial photo of Borkum seaplane station late in the war or post-war,indicated by the length of the mole to the right.Reflections on the water show the cranes and their different size.The harbour and railroad tracks to the left.
Earlier photo showing the pile driver still at work on the mole and some planes,possibly HB W12's and/ or W19's
A shot taken from the small crane,showing hangar 1 and 2 as well as the first state of the wooden platform which was enlarged soon. Close examination shows the cranes hook attached to the FF33 in the foreground ,as well as windows and the gun-stand of hangar 2,this picture proved essential in providing me with proportions of windows and vertical measures of the hangars.Taken from WS-Datafile.
HB W 12 2118 in front of the personnel barracks.In the foreground lies wreckage of HB W 19 2211 ,this is the only picture I know of a W19 (or better said of her remains)at Borkum.Taken fromWS Datafile HB W12.
Original plan-view
View of the site today,taken from aboard the ferry.The only remains of the former station are the buildings in the background with the tower on the roof and possibly part of the dock in the foreground.What back in 1918 was the mole to the right of the platform has now become solid ground.
THE DIORAMA
I'm not going to do the whole Seeflugstation ,but a section including the platform,the cranes,barrack and part of hangar 1 and 2 and of course the sea and some boats. Featured aircraft will be Hansa Brandenburg W 12,W 29,W 19(if I finish the scratchbuild),Friedrichshafen FF49c,(FF 33 may be),Rumpler 6B1 and Albatros W4,and as a visitor from Norderney Gotha WD7.
A mock-up made from cardboard and foamboard to get the dimensions right.
The buildings will be done using plastic sheet,the platform foamboard and wood,the water will be rendered by acryl on foamboard.
The large crane is made of strip styrene,the smaller crane remains a bit of a mistery with no clear shots of it available I'm gonna use artistic licence for that one...
I 'll post WIP shots now and then,fellow members input welcome!
Cheers
Matz
