As you can see from the pictures in the picture gallery here:, http://www.bucker.info/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=79043 the Bücker museum is very nice and provides a lot of information about Bücker history. We had the privilege to meet some of the “ol boys” of Bücker history. Four men who had worked in the Bücker factory in the late 30-ties had joined us and they answered a lot of questions that we asked. Dr. Wietsruck who wrote several books about Bücker gave us a lively tour through the history of the Bücker factory.
To see the old factory the way it is really is a shame. We all had seen pictures of it before we got there, but seeing it live did show how bad it really is. The airfield is big and could still be a great airport. After the war the Russian army had a service base for helicopters there. We were told that the Russians test ran the engines they serviced day and night and on weekends. People around the airfield had to carry that noise for years. And for that reason the Rangsdorf population did not want the airfield to be active any more after the Russians left when the wall came down. Reinhard Rötzer who brought the first Polish Bücker to Germany had the idea to start manufacturing these replicas in the Rangsdorf Bücker factory together with Janusz Karasiewicz who was looking for the right place to manufacture new Bückers. Reinhard reported that the Rangsdorf population was fighting over it even after church on sundays. Finally he gave up his idea because the local resistance was too heavy. Anyway, we have discussed some ideas for further use of the facility. After my return I talked to people of the Berlin Technical Museum to see if they might need more room for displays of aircraft in the future. They had the same idea since they are collecting more historical material for display. But they also face the reality that a lot of money would be needed to restore the place. Another idea is that crowd funding may be a way to collect money to save the place. So if anyone has a good idea how to make things happen, please exchange your ideas directly with other Bücker enthusiasts or through the Bücker website.
In Rangsdorf we also agreed to share our addresses between all Bücker enthusiasts. I have asked everyone in my contact database to let me know whether they agree or not to share the data. Everyone agreed and many Bücker enthusiasts came back to me and asked me to go ahead and send the addresses. (The address list may be downloaded from the "Downloads" section of this website. Look in the "Databases" folder - SB)
On Sunday we visited the Bunker city Zossen that is located only a few miles south of Rangsdorf. Hardly anyone did actually know about it. The Maybach bunkers were built to host the WWII general`s headquarters. 12 massive buildings with several stories underground were built into the woods. They looked like standard houses, no one could identify them from the air as military bunkers. After the war the Russions tried to blow up these bunkers. But the wall thickness of several meters did not allow the dynamite to destroy it.
Next to it is the Zeppelin bunker where people worked three shifts per day, 500 people each shift. Mostly women worked to supply the telephone communication to all German military fronts during WWII. Two tunnels of 260 m length lead to entrance buildings that looked like “standard” houses, they were made the same way as the Maybach bunkers. Videos that show more details can be found on youtube if you look for “Zossen Bunker”.
Save the date!! Bücker fly-in 2015:
Another Bücker fly-in will be held at the airfield in Hof/Bavaria on July 3./4./5. 2015. Walter Wimmer is preparing the schedule and he will organize the details for us. Please mark the date in your agenda, I will keep you updated with more information shortly.
Mit freundlichen Grüßen / With kind regards
Hermann Diebold