Myrhorod is an air base of the

Ukrainian Air Force The Ukrainian Air Force ( uk, Пові́тряні си́ли Збро́йних сил Украї́ни) is the air force of Ukraine and one of the five branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Its headquarters are in the city of Vinnytsia. W ...

located near

Myrhorod Myrhorod ( uk, Ми́ргород, ) is a city in the Poltava Oblast (province) of central Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Myrhorod Raion (district), the city itself is administratively incorporated as a city of oblast s ...

Poltava Oblast Poltava Oblast ( uk, Полта́вська о́бласть, translit=Poltavska oblast; also referred to as Poltavshchyna – uk, Полта́вщина, literally 'Poltava Country') is an oblast (province) of central Ukraine. The administrative ...

, Ukraine. The base is home to the 831st Tactical Aviation Brigade flying

Sukhoi Su-27 The Sukhoi Su-27 (russian: Сухой Су-27; NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a Soviet-origin twin-engine supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large US fourth-generation jet ...

P/UB aircraft.

History

In May 1944 the airfield was provided to the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

as a heavy bomber staging field. It was used by the Eighth and

Fifteenth Air Force The Fifteenth Air Force (15 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base. It was reactivated on 20 August 2020, merging the previous units of the Ninth Air Force ...

s for shuttle bombing missions during June through September 1944 (

Operation Frantic Operation Frantic was a series of seven shuttle bombing List of air operations during the Battle of Europe, operations during World War II conducted by American aircraft based in Great Britain and southern Italy which then landed at three Soviet ...

). Myrhorod was designated as USAAF Station 561 for security purposes and was referred to as Station 561 in all messages and written correspondence. Myrhorod was one of three Ukraine installations operated by Headquarters, Eastern Command,

United States Strategic Air Forces The United States Strategic Air Forces (USSTAF) was a formation of the United States Army Air Forces. It became the overall command and control authority of the United States Army Air Forces in Europe during World War II. USSTAF had started as ...

. The others were nearby

Poltava Poltava (, ; uk, Полтава ) is a city located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the capital city of the Poltava Oblast (province) and of the surrounding Poltava Raion (district) of the oblast. Poltava is administratively ...

, where USAAF Eastern Command Headquarters was located, and

Pyriatyn Pyriatyn (, ) is a city in Poltava Oblast, Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Pyriatyn Raion. Population: History At the end of 1941 or beginning 1942, a ghetto guarded by policemen was established and numbered over 1,500 Jews by late ...

. Aircraft would land at the field from either

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

or Southern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

after attacking Axis targets in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

. The aircraft would refuel and rearm at the airport, then attack other targets on return missions to Southern Italy. Shuttle bombing operations under Operation Frantic ended in September 1944, and the Americans consolidated operations at Poltava for the remainder of the war. On the night of 21 June 1944, the field was targeted by a massive German strike force. Unable to find Myrhorod, this force augmented the bombers attacking Poltava. The next night, however, the Germans bombed Myrhorod. By then, flyable aircraft had been evacuated from the field, and the losses were confined to fuel and ammunition stores. After the war, the airfield was rebuilt and used as a

Soviet Air Forces The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...

base. Dispersal hardstands were attached to each end of a new single runway, expanded for jet aircraft use, along with a large aircraft parking ramp, with at least six hangars. The 831st Fighter Aviation Regiment (138th Fighter Aviation Division) arrived at the base in 1977, transferred from

Boryspil Boryspil ( uk, Бориспіль, translit. ''Boryspil'') is a city and the administrative center of Boryspil Raion in Kyiv Oblast (region) in northern (central) Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Boryspil urban hromada, one of the hromada ...

Kyiv Oblast Kyiv Oblast ( uk, Ки́ївська о́бласть, translit=Kyïvska oblast), also called Kyivshchyna ( uk, Ки́ївщина), is an oblast (province) in central and northern Ukraine. It surrounds, but does not include, the city of Kyiv, w ...

.Michael Holm
831st Fighter Aviation Regiment
accessed December 2012.

Aircraft

Accroding to Google Earth imagery, as of March 20, 2020 * 27

* 4

L-39 Albatros The Aero L-39 Albatros is a high-performance jet trainer designed and produced in Czechoslovakia by Aero Vodochody. It is the most widely used jet trainer in the world; in addition to performing basic and advanced pilot training, it has also flo ...

References

* Anderson, Barry, (1985), United States Air Forces Stations, Air Force Historical Research Center, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. {{authority control Poltava Oblast Airports in Ukraine Ukrainian airbases Buildings and structures in Poltava Oblast Soviet Air Force bases Soviet Air Defence Force bases