Background
The world-unique installation at Säve consists of an underground hangar hewn from rock, extending over 22,000 square metres. The above-ground area covers 70,000 square metres.
The hangar was completed in 1955, is almost 30 metres below the surface and was built for the then Göta Flygflottilj (F9 – No. 9 Wing), occupying Säve Airfield.
Since January 1st 2008, Aeroseum has been part of the SMHA (Sveriges Militärhistoriska Arv – Swedish Military Heritage) network, under the umbrella of Statens Försvarshistoriska Museum (SFHM – The National Swedish Museums of Military History).
The underground hangar itself with the surrounding land is owned by Fastighetskontoret Göteborg, the Gothenburg City Architecture & Planning department.
Concept
Within the historic aviation cultural centre of the Aeroseum, the history and development of aviation are presented. Everything from Icarus to the modern aircraft of today, helicopters and other flying machines. Civilian, military and international. Some vehicles are also on show.
The Aeroseum is a hands-on aviation activity centre, where you can experience this special environment and the sense of flying with all your senses. Visitors are able, apart from seeing the displayed aircraft and aviation-oriented items, to construct, restore, virtually fly and even actually fly old aircraft and helicopters. An aviation-oriented experience park is planned in the lovely natural area above the underground hangar.
The displays are presented in experience-based, experimental and educational formats. We want to stimulate the interest of children and young people in technology and scientific subjects.
The Aeroseum offers experiences that have not previously been available to the general public, including flying in vintage aircraft and helicopters.
The older underground hangar built for the Kungliga Göta Flygflottilj (Royal Göta Aviation Wing), F 9 Säve, was inaugurated as early as 1942. According to the Swedish National Heritage Board (Riksantikvarieämbetet) the world’s first and oldest of its type. This picture from 1943 shows a J11 fighter aircraft being rolled out.
The new and much larger deep underground hangar was built during the Cold War while there was a nuclear weapons threat. This picture of the J29 Flying Barrel was taken in 1958, three years after the underground hangar was opened.
This vision was created in 1999 of which, today, many parts have been realised!
Click the image to enlarge.
