1941 - 1944 (German Occupation) - (Luftwaffe units based in Cesis during the German occupation)
During WW2, NSG 12 (Latvian) occasionally operated from a "landing field" near Cesis ("Kakos"). Janis Muiznieks, flying with that unit,
described the field as being near the Priekule agricultural school, next to the Kaku estate. It was basically a farmer's field which had been
cleared and flattened as best they could. Takeoffs and landings can only take place along one axis, and at one end of the field is the Kaki farmhouse, at
the other end a ten-metre ditch which had been created by the Rauna river. One of their aircraft, experiencing problems during takeoff, ran into this
ravine and ended up hanging in the trees with its full bomb load intact and the pilot essentially uninjured. Considering the temporary nature of this field, I doubt it is the same
location as was used for the Aviation Festival in 1938.
Modern: When Latvia regained independence in 1990, the airfield at Cesis was briefly used as a Zemessardze (Home Guard) Airfield, but no longer
has military aviation units stationed there. Gareth Whitehead, a recent visitor to the airfield, reports that there are two hangars, one appears to be fairly new. They
contain various small aircraft (including a Piper Navajo and an An-2), and gliders.
The above photos were taken in July, 2008, and appear here courtesy of Jeroen M. Brinkman.
