Force. On 15 April 1925, Lieth-Thomsen signed a contract to establish a German fighter-pilot school at Lipetsk. Fighter school Extensive works were required at Lipetsk to prepare for the German fighter-pilot school, Lipetsk Air Base. It operated from 1926 to 1933. In June 1925, the base was ready for flight operations but training of German pilots was only possible from spring 1926 onwards. The new school, up until its closure, trained 120 fighter pilots, over 300 ground personnel and 450 administrative and training staff, who, in turn, were able to serve as instructors when the new German Luftwaffe was formed in 1935. The facilities were also used to train Soviet pilots and to develop new bombing targeting methods. In an average summer, 140 German personnel were at Lipetsk, a number that was reduced to 40 in winter. Additionally, 340 Soviet personnel were employed, with an annual budget of 4 million Reichsmark (equivalent to million €) at its high-point in 1929. The disguise German name for the facility, abbreviated with the WIWUPAL contraction, was the Wissenschaftliche Versuchs-und Prüfanstalt für Luftfahrzeuge (Scientific Research and Test Institute for Aircraft). In addition to the school at Lipetsk, Germany operated a tank school, the Panzerschule Kama (1926–33) and a gas warfare facility, Gas-Testgelände Tomka (1928–31) in the Soviet Union. Closure In the early 1930s, the political situation for the flight school began to change. The Soviet Union opened itself to the West while Germany attempted a closer approach to France. Additionally, the Soviets were unhappy about the lack of development carried out at the school. In December 1932, Germany achieved being viewed as an equal at the Geneva Conference, making the fighter school somewhat unnecessary. With the rise of the Nazis to power in January 1933, the ideological gap between fascist Germany and the communist Soviet Union became too large and the fighter school at Lipetsk was closed on 15 September 1933. In popular culture The fighter school at Lipetsk is referenced in the German crime drama series Babylon Berlin, Season 2 - episodes 3, 4, 5 and 6. References External links Lipetsk. The secret flying school and test site of the Reichswehr in the Soviet Union German Federal Archives - History and pictures of the fighter-pilot school Reichswehr Military history of Germany German military aviation 20th-century German aviation Lipetsk Oblast 1926 establishments in the Soviet Union Secret military programs Germany–Soviet Union relations Military education