Kalathos Airfield (Greek: Αεροδρόμιο Κάλαθου) or Gadurra Airfield (Italian: Aeroporto di Gadurrà) was a military airport built by the Royal Italian Air Force during their occupation of Dodecanese in the 1930s.
Kalathos Airfield Αεροδρόμιο Κάλαθου | |||||||||||
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![]() The airfield's control tower. | |||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||
Airport type | Military | ||||||||||
Location | Kalathos, Rhodes | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 36°08′38.0″N 28°04′08.0″E | ||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||
![]() ![]() Kalathos Airfield Location in Greece | |||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
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Kalathos Airfield was built in the 1930s, one kilometer near the village of Kalathos and eight kilometers from Lindos. It was named by the Italians as Airport 308. In 1941 it was used by the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Crete. The airfield was located only meters away from the seashore.
In September of 1943 it was the center of conflicts between Italian and German forces for the control of the island which saw an easy victory for the Germans. It was also used by the Italian Royal Air Force for air raids on British colonies in the Middle East, such as bombings on British Palestine and on refineries in Bahrain.[1]
After the war the airfield was abandoned.
The EO95 highway was built over the northern end of the runway burying much of what had remained of its concrete bunkers. The airfield is beginning to get overgrown, but on the sea side of the runway many concrete facilities still exist. Although the runway is still visible from the road, it is easily missed, as the surrounding area has been covered with olive trees. On the beach you can visit the remains of the fortifications, several pieces of barbed wire and remains of crates and barrels.[2]