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Schleswig literally means, 'village by the Schlei'.
A schlei is technically a sub-glacial outwash. When the
glaciers that had come down across Northern Germany
began to melt back, large amounts of water attempted to
find a way back to the sea. The only way to do so was
back under the glacier, and when the water found a way,
it washed out a substantial channel.
After the glaciers disappeared, the channels remained as
a long, narrow bay which became known as the Schlei.
Thus the name Schleswig can be picturesquely translated as "Village by
the Bay".
At the end of the war, the
airfield at Jagel near Schleswig became home ground for
a squadron of RAF Hawker Typhoon fighter-bombers, who
moved to the airfield on 4th May 1945. From now on the
RAF were owners of the airfield and it was known as RAF Schleswigland.
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Earlier, at the start of World War
2, Schleswig-Jagel initially became a
major bomber base, and
home for Heinkel He-111 and
Junkers Ju-88 medium bombers. In April 1940 the bomber
units moved out to support the Battle of Britain and
made way for a fleet of Junkers Ju-52 transport
aircraft.
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