In Novemebr 1918 an unairworthy wreckage of an abandoned German seaplane, Friedrichshafen FF 41 A was found in the hangars. The remains of the plane were used for the first plane of the Estonian Air Force.
On January 9th, 1919, the officials of the Estonian Defence Forces drew up an instrument of transfer of the Seaplane Harbor and on March 13th, 1919, the Naval Air Squad was established. The barracks were finished in 1921 and were subsequently occupied by the Aviation School. Reconstruction ended a year later with the former garage now a staff HQ. In addition, the construction of a launching bridge commenced and the training division was relocated to the barracks until 1927.
Since September 1930, the Air Force HQ operated at the Seaplane Harbor under Colonel Richard Tomberg. The barracks were shared by the Air Force Artillery Squad and the Naval Air Brigade. The hangars were used not only for seaplanes, but also artillery, different vehicles and supplies of the Tank Regiment.
The Naval Air Brigade was formed on July 5th, 1932 and had at its disposal 4 Hawker Harts and 2 Avro 626 seaplanes. That year, the premises of the hangars, the so-called Air Barracks, received a complete overhaul. The area was also known as the Small Mine Port. It was a well-maintained area, with some sports facilities, eg. a small stadium, tennis courts, firing range and a bathing area. Estonian pilots were well-known for their interest in sports.
On September 29th, 1933, the world famous aviator Charles Lindbergh with wife Ann Marlow flew here from Moscow and landed at the hangars on the seaplane, ”Lockheed Sirius” (he was the first pilot to cross the Atlantic on the”Spirit of St.Louis”).
Pursuant to documents formalized in the summer of 1940, at the beginning of the Soviet occupation the area was expropriated to serve the military needs of the Soviet Army.
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