Nizhyn is an air base in
Chernihiv Oblast
Chernihiv Oblast ( uk, Черні́гівська о́бласть, translit=Chernihivska oblast; also referred to as Chernihivshchyna, uk, Черні́гівщина, translit=Chernihivshchyna) is an oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. T ...
,
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
north of
Nizhyn
Nizhyn ( uk, Ні́жин, Nizhyn, ) is a city located in Chernihiv Oblast of northern Ukraine along the Oster River. The city is located north-east of the national capital Kyiv. Nizhyn serves as the administrative center of Nizhyn Raion. It ...
. It was operated by the Soviet
Long Range Aviation
Long-Range Aviation ( rus, Авиация Дальнего Действия, r=Aviatsiya dal'nego deystviya, abbr. to AДД, or ADD, and literally ''Aviation of Distant Action'') is a branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces responsible for delive ...
and
Ukrainian Long Range Aviation
The Long Range Aviation Group ( ua, Авіаційна група дальньої авіації, ''Aviaciyna Grupa Dalnoi Aviacii''); abbr. AGDA / АГДА), was a military organisation, subordinate to the Central High Command of the Ukrainian Ai ...
. It is a medium-sized bomber base with a modern design and is being used to store some of Ukraine's older bombers. The airfield has 33 large revetments along a curved taxiway.
During 1964-67 the base began converting to the
Tupolev Tu-22R (Blinder) and by 1967 it had 24 Tu-22s based here.
The reconnaissance variants were tasked with operations in
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
. In July 1969 two Tu-22 aircraft collided in mid-air; the crew ejected and the plane flew on unpiloted for 52 minutes, threatening the city of Nizhin before crashing 0.5 km from the city's railway station.
[ In November 1988 three Tu-22R were deployed to ]Mozdok
Mozdok (russian: Моздо́к; os, Мæздæг, ''Mæzdæg''; Kabardian: Мэздэгу) is a town and the administrative center of Mozdoksky District of North Ossetia – Alania, Russia, located on the left shore of the Terek River, no ...
to fight in Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
, but returned to base a week later without seeing any combat.[ Some Tu-22s were sent to Nizhyn for disposal, probably in the 1990s.][
Units stationed at Nizhyn include:
* 199 ODRAP (199th Independent Long-Range Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment) flying Tu-22R from 1964 to the 1990s,][
airforce.ru says that on December 30, 1996, the regiment was reorganized as the 18 separate Long Range Aviation Squadron. In the battle of the An-30B - 6 units., Tu-22P - 3 units., Tu-22U - 1 unit.]Verkhovna Rada
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...
18 odrae transferred to the Ministry of Emergency Situations and renamed 300 Special Aviation Squadron MOE.
References
*Michael Holm
199th independent Long Range Reconnaissance Regiment
accessed September 2011
External links
Soviet Long Range Aviation bases
Ukrainian airbases
{{Ukraine-struct-stub