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Plans for removing the wreck:

In the summer of 2005 something happens at Kvitanosi. Here as I experienced it at that time, and as I chronologly published the news that time. All started with what the newspaper Hordaland had to tell Saturday 30th of July 2005. Here the front page:

Sad news was published in the local newspaper Hordaland Saturday the 30th: The wreck will be removed. The wreck will be removed from Kvitanosi and build up again in a museum in Berlin, Germany. This could be done the coming week or the next. Here a facsimile of this Norwegian news article. Here is translation from Norwegian to English of this article (a short version) © www.avisa-hordaland.no: "For nearly 62 years the German plane wreck has been a ww2 memorial on Kvitanosi, now to be sent to a museum in Berlin. On The Norwegian Aviation Museum in Bodoe's initiative this is a corporation with The Norwegian Armed Forces Museum, Deutches Teknikmuseum and Royal Norwegian Air Force Squadron 330 at Sola Stavanger. Birger Larsen at The Norwegian Aviation Museum tells that this is an inter-European project, and that The Focke Wulf FW 200 is an important part of the development of advanced modern aero planes, and originally build for Lufthansa. Bad weather at Vaernes redirected the plain to go to Sola, but lack of fuel forced the plane to make a forced landing. The Focke Wulf FW 200 is after retirement in the early 50s not to be found in any museum. This is the reason for the interest of the wreck at Kvitanosi. The reconstruction is a corporation between Lufthansa Technik AG, Airbus Deutchland Gmbh and Rolls Royce Deutchland Gmbh, and the result should be palced at Deutches Teknikmuseum in Berlin. The crashed Focke Wulf FW FW 200 at Kvitanosi was build at the Focke Wulf factory in Bremen. Tor Egil Hilstad at Squadron 330 tells that the transportation of the wreck down from the mouintain with a Sea-King helicopter will start next week or the week after."

The day after this news was published I was at Kvitanosi taking some pictures: The Wreck at Kvitanosi 31.07.2005. Maybe this is the last pictures of this important local ww2 memorial, a target for many hikes to Kvitanosi. Preparations for the removal already seem to be started, by collecting the wreck parts 3 places. So some damage is already done. This will be a great loss for the local area. Nobody of the locals knew anything about this until at the end at last week. It seems as the planning is done, and now ready for execution. Referring to the local newspaper Hordaland, this is a cooperation between The Norwegian Aviation Museum, The Norwegian Armed Forces Museum, Deutsches Teknikemuseum, and The 330 Airborne Squadron at Sola Stavanger. New Monday evening (1/8): Albert Gullbraa just called to tell that the local authorities had agreed on a temporary preservation regulation for the wreck. This was good news! The wreck is temporarily saved from removal. Albert had done a lot of calls that day. And so had many others who want the wreck to stay at Kvitanosi. News Tuesday (2/8): The local newspaper Hordaland tells the same story today in The removal of the Wreck is stopped. News 8/8: Some information (in Norwegian) about rescuing the wreck: "Nyhende 03.08.2005" at Voss kommune's web pages. News 15/8: The Norwegian Armed Forces Museum, appeal against the local authorities decision on stopping the removal of the wreck at Kvitanosi, and carry out the original plans of removing it. The local newspaper Hordaland tells this news today in this article: Synfaring på Kvitanosi. News 24/8: Good news: I just spoke to Kristian Hovstad from the Norwegian Broadcasting Coorporation NRK Hordaland His messages was that the The Norwegian Armed Forces Museum has terminated the plans of appealing the temporary preservation regulation for the wreck. So the wreck will stay as a war memorial at Kvitanosi!! The reason for this desition is the overwelming reactions from the locals against removal of the wreck. News 25/8: The local radiostation NRK Hordaland has an aricle today on theyer web pages about permanent preservation: The wreck will not be removed. This also contains an interview with Johan Gullbraa (an audio file). News 25/8: Also the local Newspaper Hordaland confirms the news from yesterday in the article No removal of the ww2 wreck.

Local televsion 25/8: about saving the wreck.

Cleanup: When preparing for removal of the wreck, parts have been collected and placed together. So the wreck site look different from the passed 62 years. But the important thing is: placing parts one above another could cause new damages on them when they in the coming winter will be covered with 2-4 meters of snow! To illustrate the problem, here are two pictures. First one "before picture", than one "after picture":

Some type of "cleanup" after the "moving preparations" shoul be done before the winter to prevent this. Opinions? Send me an e-mail: kaare@trefall.com.

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Last updated 17th of April 2023