Vrazhdebna Air Base
Vrazhdebna Air Base ( bg, Авиобаза Враждебна, Aviobaza Vraždebna) or 16th Transport Air Base is a military air base, located on the site of Sofia Airport. The air base functions as a hub for the 16th Transport Squadron of the BAF. History "Vrazhdebna" is the original name for Sofia Airport, used since its establishment in 1937. The name is derived from the nearby village of Vrazhdebna (now a suburb of Sofia) and is literally translated as ''hostile''. Although various military transportation units, have been based at the airport since the late 1940s, it was not until 1994 when a separate military unit (16th Transport Air Base) was established. Both Sofia Airport and 16th TAB carry the official name "Vrazhdebna". Units Until 1950 it was the hub for the 14th Air Transport Regiment, which included mostly German aircraft (Junkers Ju 52, Junkers A 35). After 1950 it was renamed to 16th Transport Squadron and was equipped with Lisunov Li-2 transport aircraft. On s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and has many mineral springs, such as the Sofia Central Mineral Baths. It has a humid continental climate. Being in the centre of the Balkans, it is midway between the Black Sea and the Adriatic Sea, and closest to the Aegean Sea. Known as Serdica in Antiquity and Sredets in the Middle Ages, Sofia has been an area of human habitation since at least 7000 BC. The recorded history of the city begins with the attestation of the conquest of Serdica by the Roman Republic in 29 BC from the Celtic tribe Serdi. During the decline of the Roman Empire, the city was raided by Huns, Visigoths, Avars and Slavs. In 809, Serdica was incorporated into the Bulgarian Empire by Khan Krum and became known as Sredets. In 1018, the Byzantines ended Bulgarian rule ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Haskovo Malevo Airport
Uzundzhovo Air Base (or Haskovo Malevo Airport) used to house a fighter air regiment and after its disbandment became a squadron of the 19th Fighter Air Regiment (HQ at Graf Ignatievo). When the 19th FAR was transformed into 3rd FAB and shifted to ADC Uzundzhovo went along as an independent unit: the 4th Fighter Air Base. Shortly afterwards it changed tasks and hats transferring to the Tactical Air Command as 21st Fighter-Bomber Air Base and finally disbanded. 21st Fighter-Bomber Air Base (Uzundzhovo) Located in south east Bulgaria, near the city of Haskovo close to the border with Turkey. Postwar it was home to the 3rd Sqn of 19th FAR, then the 21st FAR, with the MiG-19 and MiG-21. In 1994 - 1996 it was home to the 4th Fighter Air Base of the Air Defence Corps. In 1996-1998 it was home to the 21st Fighter-Bomber Air Base of the Tactical Air Corps (exchanged for Graf Ignatievo). Closed in 1998 and demolished. Runway data: Location: N41 58 34.95 E025 35 23.34, Elev: 160 ft (49 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Bulgarian Cosmonauts
The Bulgarian cosmonaut program refers to human spaceflight efforts by the People's Republic of Bulgaria. The idea of a Bulgarian manned space mission predated the launch of ''Sputnik 1'', the first artificial satellite. An informal proposal for the Soviet Union to send a Bulgarian cosmonaut in space was issued in 1964, but it was not seriously considered by the Soviets. Official space cooperation began in 1966 with the establishment of the Interkosmos programme which allowed Communist Bloc countries to access Soviet space technology and assets. Under Interkosmos, Bulgaria sent its first cosmonaut, Georgi Ivanov, to the Salyut 6 space station in 1979 and became the sixth country in the world to have a citizen in space. However, a malfunction in his Soyuz 33 spacecraft prevented the crew from docking, and Ivanov only spent 31 orbits around Earth before safely descending back to Earth. A second Bulgarian cosmonaut, Aleksandar Aleksandrov, spent ten days on the Mir Space Station in 1 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Balchik Air Base
Balchik Airfield ( bg, Летище Балчик) , is a general aviation airfield and reduced former military airbase in the town of Balchik, northeast Bulgaria, on the Black Sea coast. In August 2011 the Bulgarian government transformed Balchik airbase from a military to a civilian airport and it became part of the assets of the state-owned company Sofia Airport EAD. Due to its strategic location, the former military airfield has been home to different military aviation formations and performed different types of tasks related to the country's defence. Despite major structural changes in the Bulgarian Air Force, the disbandment and closure of military airbases, Balchik airbase continues to perform reduced defence-related tasks. The intention to organize civil flights at Balchik airfield and its use as both a military airbase and a civilian airport established Balchik as a non-commercial regional transport hub, providing jobs and better use of the resources in this region. On 3 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ravnets Air Base
Ravnets Air Base ( bg, Авиобаза Равнец) , also known as 5th Fighter Air Base, is a former Bulgarian Air Force base near Ravnets, Bulgaria, located on the Black Sea coast, 20 km west of Bourgas. Built in 1950, the base was home to the HQ and 1st Squadron of the 15th Fighter Air Regiment, 2nd Air Defence Division, flying the MiG-21 initially (but in 1989, the MiG-29). Starting in 1994, the base was called the 6th Fighter Air Base of the Tactical Air Corps. In 2000, Ravnets Air Base was closed and demolished. Short history Ravnets Air Base housed a squadron (flying MiG-21s, later MiG-29s) of the 17th Fighter Air Regiment - an integral part of the 2nd Air Defence Division. Later, as 5th Fighter Air Base it was put under the newly established Air Defence Corps and its squadron was named "Sharks" (unofficially, because of its patch and its location close to the sea). The base was considered elite because of its proximity to the Turkish border and its task to prote ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dobrich Air Base
26th Reconnaissance Air Base Dobrich ( bg, 26та Разузнавателна авиобаза Добрич) is a former Bulgarian military installation near the City of Dobrich in the northeastern part of the country. It was of significant importance for the nation's security, as it housed the air force's sole air reconnaissance unit. The early years On the 30 March 1951 a "Top Secret Order of Distinct Importance", issued by the Chief of the People's Armed Forces established the 26th Independent Air Reconnaissance Regiment, concentrating the three squadrons of Petlyakov Pe-2s at Graf Ignatievo Air Base airfield. In the period between May and September the same year the unit was redistributed to Krumovo airfield and subsequently from 2 Oct 1951 to the 23 September 1955 to Gorna Oryakhovitsa airfield. In September 1955 the regiment transferred for the last time to a new location, this one being the newly constructed airfield at Tolbukhin (as the city of Dobrich was called at that ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bezmer Air Base
Bezmer Air Base is an air base for the Bulgarian Air Force. The base is situated in the eastern part of the Upper Thracian Lowland, in Yambol Oblast (Region), 10 km west of the city of Yambol and 30 km southeast of the city of Sliven, between the villages of Bezmer and Bolyarsko, and near the Sofia-Burgas railway. The base takes its name from the nearby village, which is named after Khan Bezmer of Bulgaria (7th Century AD). History World War I The strategic location and particularly favorable weather conditions of the area was appreciated already during World War I, when the Imperial German Air Service built in Yambol a base for zeppelins used for reconnaissance and bombing missions to Romania, Russia, Sudan and Malta. Post World War II In 1955 the Bezmer Air Base hosted the 22 Fighter Air Regiment, later transformed into 22 Fighter-Bomber Air Regiment, and eventually into 22 Attack Air Base of the Bulgarian Air Force, serving as a base for Su-25 ground attack airc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Graf Ignatievo Air Base
Graf Ignatievo Air Base is located in the village of Graf Ignatievo, about north of Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second largest city. It is the sole remaining fighter base of that state and houses two squadrons of jet aircraft. Early years Graf Ignatievo is often called ''the German airfield'' by the Bulgarian aviation society, as the airfield was built with the extensive help of engineers from the Third Reich in the 1930s and was intended to house units of the Luftwaffe. In 1940, the airfield, when it became ready was turned over to the Bulgarian His Majesty's Air Troops. The first operational unit based here was the 2nd Army Aviation Regiment, comprising four (squadrons): * Fighter , flying the Avia B.534 ''Dogan'', Czechoslovak biplane fighters * Level bomber , flying the PZL.43 ''Chaika'' Polish light bombers * Reconnaissance , flying the Letov S.328 (''Vrana'') reconnaissance aircraft * Training , flying various training machines In 1943 the regiment was redesignated a ground ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gabrovnitsa Air Base
Gabrovnitsa Air Base ( bg, авиобаза Габровница) or 2nd Fighter Air Base is a former Bulgarian Air Force air base. It was built outside Gabrovnitsa near Montana in north western Bulgaria. The base was home to the 11th FAR, then the 2nd Sqn of the 18th FAR, 1st Air Defence Division. It closed in 1998 and was demolished. See also * List of Bulgarian Air Force Bases * List of airports in Bulgaria * List of Bulgarian military bases {{Short description, none * Vrazhdebna Air Base, Sofia * Graf Ignatievo Air Base, Plovdiv region * Krumovo Air Base, Plovdiv region * Bezmer Air Base, Yambol region * Nebneb Air Base, Burgas region * Dolna Mitropoliya Air Base, Pleven region * ... * 28th Air Detachment References Airports in Bulgaria Military installations of Bulgaria Bulgarian Air Force {{Bulgaria-transport-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, and the Black Sea to the east. Bulgaria covers a territory of , and is the sixteenth-largest country in Europe. Sofia is the nation's capital and largest city; other major cities are Plovdiv, Varna and Burgas. One of the earliest societies in the lands of modern-day Bulgaria was the Neolithic Karanovo culture, which dates back to 6,500 BC. In the 6th to 3rd century BC the region was a battleground for ancient Thracians, Persians, Celts and Macedonians; stability came when the Roman Empire conquered the region in AD 45. After the Roman state splintered, tribal invasions in the region resumed. Around the 6th century, these territories were settled by the early Slavs. The Bulgars, led by Asp ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cheshnegirovo Air Base
Cheshnegirovo Air Base/Sadovo (ICAO code: LBPS) used to house the 25th Fighter-Bomber Air Regiment (flying MiG-23BN/UBs) of the 10th Composite Aviation Corps. Located in central Bulgaria, north east of Plovdiv. According to the major restructuring plans it became the first regiment to convert to an air base structure. Briefly it housed the entire Bulgarian MiG-23 fleet after which it became inactive. History Alternate name Sadovo. Also spelled 'Tcheshnigirovo'. Date when built - 1951. Home of 25 Fighter-Bomber Air Regiment of 10th Composite Air Corps, with the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 "Fresco". In 1976 it received the MiG-23BN. The base closed in 2000 and is now used for the storage of aircraft. There are reports that the 68 Special Forces Brigade will move here from Plovdiv. Runway data: Location: N42 06 50.91 E024 59 34.59, Elev: 604 ft (184 m), Rwy 10/28, Size: 8345 x 170 ft (2544 x 52 m), concrete. Aircraft References: *European Air Forces Directory 2003/04 (M ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |