Zavitinsk (airfield)

The airfield was built before the war, in the 50s a concrete runway was built, and a dirt track was located in parallel. In the immediate vicinity of the airfield there was a garrison of aviators - the "12th town" (non-residential, only service buildings).

The 303rd bomber regiment of military unit 65348 was deployed. Tu-16 of various modifications was armed (two AE combat and one support), then a decision was made to rearm the regiment on Tu-22 (this would be the only regiment in the Asian part of the USSR these planes), but at the last moment the decision to rearm the already retrained regiment was recognized as inappropriate. In 1992, the “by papers” regiment was disbanded and received a number, regalia and honorary names, as well as materiel from the actually disbanded regiment in Tartu (132nd TBAP, part number was changed to military unit 12452). In Shaikovka, the personnel of the regiment were retrained to Tu-22M3 and flew until 1997 , after which the regiment was disbanded.

Also, since 1963, the 930th (separate) transport regiment of military unit 15478 was deployed at the airport on aircraft An-8 , then An-12 . Since 1979, the regiment’s crews took part in the fighting in the DRA , and from 1982 to 1989, one regiment squadron was constantly based at the Bagram airfield. The regiment was disbanded on May 1, 1998 , the Battle Banner and all regalia were transferred to the 110th VTAP.

Aviators was installed on a pedestal Tu-16 b / n 61, with the disbandment of military units, it was transported by locals to scrap metal.

Under an agreement with China on the elimination of all military airfields located closer to the border 50 km, military units at the Zavitinsk airfield were disbanded. An aviation commandant’s office worked to maintain life, in particular, the airfield was periodically used by An-124 Ruslan heavy aircraft to deliver turbines to the Bureyskaya HPP .

Currently, the airfield is abandoned, warehouse and office space at the airfield and in the aviation garrison are stolen and destroyed. On the territory of the aerodrome it remained untouched and at the moment the building of the KDP is used, at least some rooms. A portion of the radar for detecting and tracking aircraft is based on a nearby adjacent territory.

• 01/14/1963. Aircraft Tu-16, crew Mr. Popko F.D. The plane fell off the level of 9600 meters and collided with the ground with a progressive roll and decline.
• August 1, 1966, the crash of An-8. When flying in battle formations, the aircraft fell into the left spiral.
• On August 24, 1981, two airplanes collided in the air - the passenger An-24RV, performing flight 811 Komsomolsk-on-Amur - Blagoveshchensk, and the Tu-16K missile carrier from Zavitinsk, which was flying in combat order pairs to weather reconnaissance along the route, in connection with the begun tactical exercises and the upcoming flight of the regiment. In a collision, both aircraft crashed and crashed, of the crews of both aircraft and all passengers (31 people in total), with the exception of twenty-year-old Larisa Savitskaya, who miraculously survived, died. The girl was found by the search team on the third day after the disaster. The reasons for the collision of the aircraft were the poor organization and management of flights in the area of ​​the Zavitinsk aerodrome and the inconsistency of the work of the civilian and military sectors of the air traffic control.
• October 9, 1992 crash of An-12BP aircraft, spacecraft, Mr. A. Gavrilov Flight from Burevestnik airfield to Zavitinsk airfield with passengers and cargo. During the landing, the plane landed roughly 13 meters before the BVPP with the destruction of structural elements and the ignition of the wheel drums. After the plane stopped at the runway, the crew and passengers left the plane. Airplane and cargo burned down.

Losses of the 930th VTAP in Afghanistan:

(see " List of losses of aircraft of the USSR Air Force in the Afghan war ")

January 18, 1984 - An-12 No. USSR-11104. The cargo flight Bagram - Mazar-e-Sharif was carried out, with a cargo of supplies, including ammunition. Debris found in the mountains 40 km from the destination. Killing all those on board (8 people). The cause of the disaster has not been reliably established, presumably a fire from the ground or a navigation error that led to a collision with the mountain.

July 12, 1987. An-12 aircraft operated a flight to Kandahar with a cargo of 7.5 tons of bombs. As a result of a rough landing, the landing gear broke and the plane backward handed over the airfield’s cover strip to the minefield, triggered several minutes and caused a fire on board, which provoked an explosion of cargo of bombs in a few minutes. The crew was not injured. A total of 16 people were killed and 37 were injured from among the personnel of units based at the airport. The plane burned down completely, and with it the fire, ambulance and irrigation and washing machines that arrived at the scene.

On the night of January 27-28, 1989, when approaching the airfield, Kandahar came under fire from the An-12 No. USSR-11987 (KK Mr. Ganusevich). The plane operated a flight from Mary-1 airfield to Kandahar with a load of ammunition for the Afghan army. At that time, 15 An-12 930 VTAPs were based in Mary-1 and were involved in the transportation of ammunition to units of the Afghan army fighting near Kandahar, and later delivery of ammunition and food to Soviet aviation units, which were still based at the airfields of the Republic of Armenia. As a result of a rough landing at An-12 No. USSR-11987, the tail fell off on sp.№43 and the plane left the runway. There are no victims. By the forces of the engineering staff of 930 VTAP who arrived from Marov, scarce equipment and ammunition were dismantled from the aircraft. The damaged plane was thrown at the airfield, which was repeatedly used by the crews of the 50th OSAP to dismantle spare parts for their An-12 from it. This is the last loss of Soviet aircraft in the Afghan war.

There was a saying in the USSR Armed Forces: "It is better to be an older person in Minsk than a major in Zavitinsk." Due to the great remoteness of Zavitinsk from the center, the severe sharply continental climate with very cold winters and hot summers (from -40 to + 40) and frankly poor living conditions in the garrison.

• List of military airfields of Russia

• Site of the city of Zavitinsk, Amur region
• Aviation and astronautics. - 2005. - No. 11
• Avialog.ru. Zavitinsk
• An-12 in Afghanistan. Military Review