During the GDR era, a Soviet maintenance unit was located north of Parchim airfield, which was closely linked to the military activities at the airfield and possibly also to the nuclear weapons depot believed to be located there.
These units had a variety of tasks, especially in a strategically important military area such as Parchim.
As the Parchim airfield was a fairly important Soviet military airfield, aircraft stationed there, especially fighter planes and transport aircraft, were regularly serviced.
The unit to the north was probably
tasked with special technical overhauls or repairs. The unit ensured the functionality of vehicles, radar systems and possibly missile or weapon systems stationed in the region. It may also have provided logistical support for the storage and transportation of munitions, including specialized munitions such as nuclear weapons. If the suspected nuclear weapons storage facility was actually located nearby, this unit could have been involved in the maintenance of the storage infrastructure. Such tasks were usually only carried out by specially trained and trustworthy Soviet soldiers.
Typical for such maintenance units was an isolated location in a wooded area - as is the case here - with independent infrastructure such as workshops, warehouses and accommodation for the soldiers.
The site was well secured, with access restrictions and checkpoints.
Three years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, on November 13, 1992, the Russian armed forces were officially withdrawn from the airfield, and with them the soldiers of the maintenance unit.
Visited: October 4, 2020
Location: Parchim, Germany
Status: active