Baherove (air base)

Baherove Air Base "Багерове авіабаза"
IATA: none ICAO: UKFR
Summary
Airport type	Military
Operator	Russian Air Force (2014-2016)
Location	Baherove, Crimea
Elevation AMSL	364 ft / 115 m
Coordinates	45°24′25″N 036°14′41″E
Map
UKFR Location of Baherove Air Base in Crimea
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 6/24 11,483 3,500 Concrete

Baherove Air Base (Ukrainian: Багерове авіабаза, Russian: Багерово авиабаза; also transliterated as Bagarovo or Bagerovo) is an air base in Baherove, Crimea. Located 3 km northwest of the village Baherove, 14 km northwest of town of Kerch. Airfield Baherove is "out-of-class" airport, which can accommodate aircraft of all types. From 1996 the airfield is not in use (abandoned).

History

Baherove Air Base was the 71st training ground Air Force ("Polygon") that was established in the Crimean village of Baherove in accordance with the Resolution of the "Council of Ministers of USSR" on August 21, 1947 with the aim of aviation security for air nuclear testing and refinement of technical means of delivering nuclear warheads, which are mainly at the time could only be used by aviation. The first atomic charges were designed for aerial bombs with overall weight and dimensions characteristics allowing their use with long-range bomber Tu-4.

For takeoff and landing of heavy bombers a runway was built in Baherove Air Base with width of 100 meters (328 feet) and a length of 3.5 kilometers (2.2 mi). The runway was made from strong concrete and is still in excellent condition today.

The airfield was one of the most capable of the three airstrips in USSR, which was built for the space shuttle Buran.

In 1973, a branch of the Voroshilovgrad Higher Military Aviation School of Navigators was opened at the airfield, which trained personnel for front-line and Army Aviation, including navigators. On March 30, 1977, the 228th Training Aviation Regiment of the Voroshilovgrad School was formed at the airfield (military unit 25570). The regiment was equipped with Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 fighters (1st and 2nd aviation squadrons) and L-29 training aircraft of Czechoslovak production (3rd squadron).

The sea area of the former 71st range was used for training tasks in the training of anti-submarine aviation navigators (training for dropping sonar buoys from aircraft Be-12).

In the late 1980s, the runway was overhauled with the creation of a surface layer of standard PAG-18 airfield concrete slabs.

On January 11, 1992, the branch, together with the school, was transferred to the Ukrainian Air Force, and in 1996 it ceased to exist. The garrison fell into neglect with the entire infrastructure.

After Russia's annexation of the peninsula in 2014, the facilities of the military air base were dismantled by Russian authorities in 2016 and the air base now has ceased to exist with just two taxiways remaining partially intact.

External links

• Unofficial home page
• Pictures of current condition