Zavitinsk is an air base in

Amur Oblast Amur Oblast ( rus, Аму́рская о́бласть, r=Amurskaya oblast, p=ɐˈmurskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located on the banks of the Amur and Zeya Rivers in the Russian Far East. The administrat ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, located 9 km northeast of

Zavitinsk Zavitinsk (russian: Завити́нск) is a town and the administrative center of Zavitinsky District in Amur Oblast, Russia. Population: Administrative and municipal status Within the framework of administrative divisions, Zavitinsk serves ...

. It was a major nuclear bomber base of the Long Range Aviation (a sister of Ukrainka). A revetment area exists on the far side of runway with 18 large stands. The regiment initially used the Ilyushin Il-4 between 1942 and 1951, then the

Tupolev Tu-4 The Tupolev Tu-4 (russian: Туполев Ту-4; NATO reporting name: Bull) is a piston-engined Soviet strategic bomber that served the Soviet Air Force from the late 1940s to mid-1960s. It was reverse-engineered from the American Boeing B-29 ...

(NATO: Bull) betwene 1951 and 1957. It began operating the

Tupolev Tu-16 The Tupolev Tu-16 (NATO reporting name: Badger) is a twin-engined jet strategic heavy bomber used by the Soviet Union. It has been flown for almost 70 years, and the Chinese license-built Xian H-6 remains in service with the People's Liberation ...

(NATO: Badger) aircraft late in the 1960s, serving a close/medium range facility as opposed to its long-range sister base Ukrainka. Units stationed at Zavitinsk included: * 303 TBAP (303rd Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment) flying Tu-16s beginning in 1955 and upgrading to Tu-16Ks in 1972, and Tu-22Ks (NATO: Blinder) around the 1980s. The 303rd was formed 1941 as the 303rd Long-Range Bomber Aviation Regiment. In 1946, it was renamed the 303rd Bomber Aviation Regiment, and in 1951, renamed 303rd Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment. It was disbanded 1994.

References

Soviet Long Range Aviation bases Soviet Frontal Aviation Russian Air Force bases Airports in Amur Oblast Buildings and structures in Amur Oblast {{Russia-mil-stub