the Allies decided to build an airport in the yet unoccupied Bodø area to allow air raids against German troops in a flanking maneuver in combination with Bardufoss Air Station. A airstrip made of peat and nets was built at Hernes in the course of twelve days in May. During construction German aircraft practice landing on the strip, flying just above. A detachment of the Royal Air Force's 263 Squadron with sixteen Gloster Gladiator aircraft was stationed at Bodø from 21 May and 46 Squadron with eight Hawker Hurricane. The aircraft were used for raids on German aircraft in Saltdalen and evacuate Allied soldiers in Rognan on 26 May. The following day, ten German Junkers Ju 87, escorted by four Messerschmitt Bf 110, bombed the airport. In the evening the Luftwaffe bombed not only the rest of the airport, but also the town. German forces captured Bodø on 1 June and immediately started preparing for a new airstrip. By August a runway was finished and the work was completed by April 1941 with a runway, in addition to various buildings. The need for the airport was both to counteract Allied raids and to allow reinforcements for a planned attack on the Soviet Union. At first fighters and reconnaissance aircraft were stationed at Bodø, but later also bombers. From January to April 1942 the Luftwaffe dispatched the 7th Squadron of the Jagdgeschwader 5 to Bodø, consisting of fifteen Messerschmitt Bf 109. New squadrons, largely of Ju 87s, were stationed in Bodø. However, there were no Allied raids, so the aircraft were sent to the Murmansk Front. Throughout the war the Wehrmacht built "Festung Bodø", consisting of army, navy and air force installations, including starting work on a concrete runway to replace the wooden runway. From the fall of 1944, Bodø again received an increasing number of aircraft, as Germany moved their fleet northwards following Finnish capitulation. Up to forty fighters plus other aircraft were stationed at the airport. When Germany capitulated on 8 May 1945 there were thirty aircraft at the airport. Reestablishment Upon the German capitulation the airport was taken over by the Norwegian Armed Forces. At first the airport was manned by Germans, but operations were quickly taken over by Norwegians. All but a few Fiesler Storch aircraft were destroyed by the RAF. The air force decided to keep the airport operational and stationed thirty men for its operation.