Vozdvizhenka (air base)

Last updated
Vozdvizhenka
Flag of the Russian Aerospace Forces.svg
Ussuriysk, Primorsky Krai in Russia
Wiki-Vozdvizhenka.jpg
Vozdvizhenka, April 1972, KH-4 satellite image.
TU-16 Vozdvizhenka.jpg
Tupolev Tu-16 at Vozdvizhenka
Russia Primorsky Krai location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Vozdvizhenka
Shown within Primorsky Krai
Russia administrative location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Vozdvizhenka
Vozdvizhenka (Russia)
Coordinates 43°54′44″N131°55′04″E / 43.91222°N 131.91778°E / 43.91222; 131.91778
TypeAir Base
Site information
Owner Ministry of Defence
Operator Russian Aerospace Forces
Site history
Built1933 (1933)
In useApril 1933 - present
Airfield information
Elevation40 metres (131 ft) AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
03/213,000 metres (9,843 ft)  Concrete

Vozdvizhenka (also known as Ussuriysk and before the 1960s Voroshilov [1] ) is an air base in Primorsky Krai located close to the village of Vozdvizhenka. This base was dedicated to Pacific heavy long-range bomber fleet, housing the 444th Berlin Order of Kutuzov 3rd degree and Alexander Nevsky Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment, part of the 326th Heavy Bomber Aviation Division, 37th Air Army.

Contents

A declassified CIA document from 1969 showed this was the only base east of the Urals that had the Tupolev Tu-22 Blinder aircraft. Later in the 1970s onward the regiment consisted of supersonic long-range Tu-22M3 bombers.

The 444th Regiment was disbanded in 2009, with some aircraft transferred to the Belaya air base, and others dismantled (removed engines, equipment, and with holes cut in the fuselage). The aircraft carcasses are awaiting final metal cutting. Currently based at the airfield is the aviation commandant of Khurba airbase and the 322 Aircraft Repair Factory (322 ARZ).

History

On Saturday, April 18, 1942, a North American B-25 Mitchell under Captain York landed here after participating in the U.S. Doolittle Raid on Tokyo. In doing so, it became the only one of the 16 launched B-25s that did not crash or was ditched. The aircraft was confiscated and its crew was interned and interviewed by the commander of the base at that time, Col. Kovalev. They were moved from the base the next morning. [2]

Stationed at the airbase were:

Piotr Butowski writes that the 444th Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment was stationed in North Korea (Holm says Khanko-2 (Hamsung), North Korea, 9.1945 - 7.1948) until its return to Pozdeevka, Amur Oblast, where it was stationed from July 1948 - 1953. [4] In 1953 the 444th Regiment moved to Vozdvizhenka. It operated Tupolev Tu-4s from September 1951 to 1957 (exact dates Holm), and from that time until 1991-92 Tupolev Tu-16 variants. The Tu-16K was in service from 1975.

As of 1991 444th TBAP was part of the 55th Heavy Bomber Air Division, 30th Air Army, with Tu-16K aircraft in service. [5]

Butowski and Holm's sources disagree on what happened to the regiment in 1991–92. Butowski writes that it was disbanded, while Holm says that it was reequipped with Tu-22Ms. Butowski and a range of other sources, including AFM 2007, say the regiment came into existence again, possibly by 1997 by renaming the 132nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment. Holm says instead that on 29 January 1997, the 132nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment instead absorbed the 444th Regiment. However, most available sources (AFM and others, including Kommersant-Vlast, 2005) have listed the 444th Regiment in existence until c. 2009. The regiment reportedly became known as "444th Berlin Order of Kutuzov 3rd degree and Alexander Nevsky Bomber Aviation Regiment». [6]

In 2009 as part of the extensive reorganisation of the Air Force the 444th Regiment was disbanded, and dismantlement of some aircraft began. Others were reportedly transferred to an air base at Belaya. As of 2012, there are no longer any strategic bombers in Primorskiy Krai; the nearest Long Range Aviation base seems now to be the 6952nd Air Base at Ukrainka, in Amur Oblast. [7]

About 9 kilometres north of the base is a RTB, repair and technical base; language used exclusively for nuclear weapons maintenance, storage, and assembly. The unit is still active, despite the bomber base being closed. References to Military Unit 23477 (в/ч 23477) mention being posted to "Garrison Vozdvizhenka-2" (Гарнизон Воздвиженка-2); likely an offshoot of the former Vozdvizhenka airbase. в/ч 23477 is part of the 12th Chief Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Russia (12-е Главное управление Министерства обороны России); the directorate which is "responsible for nuclear security and technical support". [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tupolev Tu-22M</span> Russian long-range supersonic strategic bomber

The Tupolev Tu-22M is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing, long-range strategic and maritime strike bomber developed by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the 1960s. The bomber was reported as being designated Tu-26 by Western intelligence at one time. During the Cold War, the Tu-22M was operated by the Soviet Air Forces (VVS) in a missile carrier strategic bombing role, and by the Soviet Naval Aviation in a long-range maritime anti-shipping role. As of 2021, there were 66 of the aircraft in service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belaya (air base)</span> Military airport in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia

Belaya is a significant Russian Aerospace Forces Long-Range Aviation base in Usolsky District, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located 18 kilometres (11 mi) north of Usolye-Sibirskoye and 85 kilometres (53 mi) northwest of Irkutsk. From 2009 it has sometimes been known as Srednii. It has significant ramp space and 38 bomber revetments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ukrainka (air base)</span> Military airport in Amur Oblast, Russia

Ukrainka is one of Russia's largest strategic Long Range Aviation bases in the Russian Far East. Located in Amur Oblast, Russia, 28 km north of Belogorsk, and 8 km north of the town of Seryshevo, it is a major nuclear bomber base, with large tarmacs and nearly 40 revetments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raadi Airfield</span> Former military airfield in Estonia

Raadi Airfield(ICAO: EETR) is a former air base in Estonia located in Raadi, 4 km (2.5 mi) northeast of Tartu. The land once belonged to Raadi Manor and is now the new site of the Estonian National Museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soltsy-2 (air base)</span> Military airport in Novgorod Oblast, Russia

Soltsy-2 is an air base in Novgorod Oblast, Russia located 2 km north of Soltsy and 72 km southwest of Novgorod. It contains large aircraft revetments, with a separate compound of 9 hardened areas about 1 mile from the airfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long-Range Aviation</span> Sub-branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces

Long-Range Aviation is a sub-branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces responsible for delivering long-range nuclear or conventional strikes by aircraft. The Russian Long Range Aviation and its now-dissolved Ukrainian counterpart were both previously part of the Soviet Air Forces, before it was split into the Air Forces of its many successor states, most notably the Russian Air Force and Ukrainian Air Force. Those branches were tasked with long-range bombardment of strategic targets with nuclear weapons.

Smirnykh is an abandoned Russian Air Force airbase in Sakhalin, Russia located 2 km east of the village of the same name. It appeared in June 1966 KH-7 imagery with a runway length of 2,000 m. It was expanded sometime after this to 2,500 m with a new extension of revetments added.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ostrov (air base)</span>

Ostrov is a Russian Aerospace Forces air base in Pskov Oblast, Russia located 7 km southeast of Ostrov and 57 km south of Pskov. It was subordinate to the Baltic Fleet and was a nuclear bomber facility with 15 very large revetments on the east side of the airfield and about 30 small revetments on the west side. As many as 63 Tupolev Tu-16s were based here. A US intelligence analysis in 1984 identified a normal complement of 52 Tu-16 aircraft at Ostrov. The base hosted the Russian Navy's 444th Center for Combat Employment and Retraining of Personnel Naval Aviation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Migalovo (air base)</span> Military airport near Tver, Russia

Migalovo is an air base in Tver Oblast, Russia located 10 km west of Tver. It is a large military airlift base. It currently houses all of Russia's remaining Antonov An-22 fleet. It is an Ilyushin Il-76 base, with some Antonov An-12 aircraft stored.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dyagilevo (air base)</span> Military airport in Ryazan Oblast, Russia

Dyagilevo is an air base in Ryazan Oblast, Russia, 3 km west of Ryazan. It serves as a training center for Russia's strategic bomber force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Engels-2 (air base)</span> Military airbase in Russia

Engels-2 is a strategic bomber military airbase in Russia located 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) east of Saratov. Engels is a major bomber operations base, and is Russia's sole operating location for the Tupolev Tu-160 strategic bomber. The base has a 3,500-metre (11,500 ft) runway and about 10 large revetments. It is named after the nearby city of Engels, which is named after the Communist philosopher, Friedrich Engels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ozerne Air Base</span> Air base in Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine

Ozerne is an air base of the Ukrainian Air Force located near Ozerne, Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pryluky Air Base</span> Military airport in Chernihiv Oblast, Ukraine

Pryluky is an air base in Chernihiv Oblast, Ukraine located 6 km west of Pryluky. This airfield was Ukraine's primary Tupolev Tu-160 bomber base. There are revetments for 20 large aircraft.

Chagan was an air base in Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan, that served as a major Cold War bomber base under the 37th Air Army, Soviet Long Range Aviation. It contains significant tarmac space and over 50 revetments. Until at least 1980 it served as one of three bases for the Soviet Union's Tupolev Tu-95 "Bear" long-range bomber fleet. The nearby Dolon Southwest, a former airfield 32 km to the south, was probably a dispersal field and no longer exists.

The 37th Air Army of the High Supreme Command was the strategic bomber force of the Russian Air Force from 1998 to 2009. It was equipped with Tupolev Tu-95MS and Tu-160 armed with nuclear cruise missiles, and the intermediate range Tu-22M3 bombers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poltava Air Base</span>

Poltava Air Base is a military airfield located approximately 8 km (5.0 mi) northwest of Poltava, Ukraine. It is one of two airfields near Poltava, the other being Poltava Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">22nd Guards Heavy Bomber Aviation Division</span> Russian Long Range Aviation formation

The 22nd Guards Donbas Red Banner Heavy Bomber Aviation Division is a division of the Russian Aerospace Force's Long-Range Aviation branch having previously been a Soviet Air Forces formation. It was a Long Range Aviation division active from 1942 to 2008–9. Included in the 37th Air Army High Command. Commander of the division was Major General Alexander Blazhenko. It saw illustrious service during the Second World War, including supply of the Red Army in the Demyansk Pocket and the bombing of Berlin.

326th Tarnopolsky Order of Kutuzov Heavy Bomber Air Division is an Aviation Division of the Long Range Aviation of Russia. It was previously part of the 37th Air Army of the Supreme High Command. It was originally formed as the 326th Night Bomber Aviation Division, formed at Yegoryevsk in Moscow Oblast on 10 October 1943. On 23 June 1944, it was renamed the 326th Bomber Aviation Division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Babruysk (air base)</span> Military airfield near Babruyski, Belarus

Babruysk Air Base is a military airfield of the Air and Air Defence Force of Belarus, located in the south-western outskirts of Babruysk (Bobruisk), Belarus. The 83rd Separate Order of the Red Star Engineer-Aerodrome Regiment is at the base, which also functions as a spare airfield. It used to be a Soviet Long-Range Aviation air base.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ukrainian Long Range Aviation</span> Military unit

The Long Range Aviation Group ; abbr. AGDA / АГДА), was a military organisation, subordinate to the Central High Command of the Ukrainian Air Force, which included the long-range aircraft of Ukraine. Ukrainian Long Range Aviation was disbanded in 2007.

References

  1. ↑ OAK 9013 - Part 2 - Joint Photographic Intelligence Oak Report, 19 December 1960, CIA-RDP78T05693A0003000100009-0, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC.
  2. ↑ PacificWrecks.com. "Pacific Wrecks". pacificwrecks.com. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  3. ↑ Michael Holm, 523rd Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment, accessed August 2012.
  4. ↑ Michael Holm, 444th Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment, accessed August 2012, and Piotr Butowski, 'Air Power Analysis: Russian Federation' Part II, International Air Power Review, Volume 13, Summer 2004, 83.
  5. ↑ Long Range Aviation of the USSR in 1989-1991
  6. ↑ "ISPserver". www.ussurtour.ru. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  7. ↑ "Áîåâûå èñêóññòâà. Âñå î ñàìîîáîðîíå". www.warfare.ru. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  8. ↑ [ dead link ]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.