Vozzhayevka (also Vozzhayevka Northeast (US)) is an air base in Amur Oblast, Russia located about 100 km southeast of Blagoveshchensk. It is a medium-sized air base located near an SS-11 missile field at Svobodnyy. During the 1980s it was one of 17 airfields hosting the Soviet Union's tactical reconnaissance aircraft regiments.[1]
Vozzhayevka | |||||||
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| Vozzhayevka, Amur Oblast in Russia | |||||||
 A declassified 1950s-era hand sketch of Vozzhayevka, created by CIA intelligence operatives working in the area. | |||||||
  Vozzhayevka Shown within Amur Oblast  Vozzhayevka Vozzhayevka (Russia) | |||||||
| Coordinates | 50°46′12″N 128°46′36″E / 50.77000°N 128.77667°E | ||||||
| Type | Air Base | ||||||
| Site information | |||||||
| Owner | Ministry of Defence | ||||||
| Operator | Russian Air Force | ||||||
| Site history | |||||||
| Built | 1948 | ||||||
| In use | 1948 - present | ||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||
| Identifiers | ICAO: UHWV | ||||||
| Elevation | 225 metres (738 ft) AMSL | ||||||
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Units stationed at Vozzhayevka included the 293rd Independent Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment (293 ORAP) and the 56th Aviation Regiment of Fighter-Bombers (56 APIB) flying Sukhoi Su-17M3R (ASCC: Fitter) aircraft in the late 1980s and the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 (NATO: Foxbat) until 1987.[2] The regiment was part of the 1st Air Army in the Far East Military District.
History
editIn July 1948 the 10th Air Army was transferred from Sakhalin Island to Vozzhayevka.[3] One of the first U-2 flights over the region in 1958 revealed five Tupolev Tu-4 (ASCC: Bull) bombers.[4]
In the late 1960s, a runway extension and 30 new hardstands were added, and Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (ASCC: Fresco) and Yakovlev Yak-25 (NATO: Mandrake) were being operated at the airfield.[5] An October 1972 reconnaissance satellite analysis showed six MiG-17, three Yakovlev Yak-28 (NATO: Brewer), three Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15UTI (NATO: Fagot) trainers, with small numbers of older fighters and transports.[6]
By 1980, the airfield was operating Sukhoi Su-24 (NATO: Fencer-A) aircraft[7] By 1984 the Soviet Union had begun deploying advanced MiG-25R aircraft to the airfield, and a normal complement at the airfield then consisted of 5 to 16 MiG-25R and 7 to 11 MiG-21R reconnaissance aircraft.[1]
An Ilyushin Il-76MD (NATO: Candid) destined for Vozzhayevka crash-landed at Astrakhan on June 20, 2000.
Satellite imagery from 2010 onward showed the base abandoned, with the remains of several Su-24 Fencer aircraft strewn about the storage areas.
References
edit- ^ a b STATUS OF SOVIET TACTICAL RECONNAISSANCE FORCES USSR/EASTERN EUROPE/AFGHANISTAN(SANITIZED), March 22, 1984, CIA-RDP84T00491R000101240001-9, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC.
- ^ "37 Vozdushnaya Armiya VGK". Brinkster.com.
- ^ AIR AND GROUND ORDER OF BATTLE, CIA-RDP82-00457R004100090007-4, Central Intelligence Agency, 1950.
- ^ JOINT MISSION COVERAGE SUMMARY MISSION C 6011 1 MARCH 1958, CIA-RDP78T04753A000700010021-3, Central Intelligence Agency, March 31, 1958.
- ^ INCREASED ACTIVITY VOZZHAYEVKA AIRFIELD NORTHEAST USSR, CIA-RDP78T05929A003200070005-4, Central Intelligence Agency, August 22, 1968.
- ^ OAK SUPPLEMENT PART 8 KH-9 MISSION 1204 11 OCTOBER - 17 DECEMBER 1972 (TOP SECRET), CIA-RDP78T04752A000100010005-1, Central Intelligence Agency, January 1, 1973.
- ^ NEW SOVIET TACTICAL AIR-TO-SURFACE MISSILE AND SHIPPING CONTAINER, CIA-RDP81T00380R000100060001-6, Central Intelligence Agency, March 1, 1981.