Babruysk (air base)

After the liberation of Babruysk in the summer of 1944, the airfield was used to provide air support for the further offensive of the Red Army. From the beginning of 1945, the staffing and training of the 330th Bomber Aviation Regiment of the 48th Bomber Aviation Division was carried out at the Babruysk airfield, which never took part in the fighting due to the end of the war and for which the airfield became a permanent base.[5][upper-alpha 1]

In the following years, up to 1994, the Babruysk airfield was used mainly by long-range bomber aircraft.

At the end of May 1945, the 111th Bomber Aviation Regiment of the 50th Bomber Aviation Division was relocated to Bobruisk,[6] and management 22nd Guards Bomber Aviation Division.[7][8] In the summer of 1945, the following departments were also deployed in Bobruisk: 6th Guards Bomber Aviation Division (moved to Chernyakhovsk in 1947),[9] 3rd Guards Bomber Aviation Corps (disbanded in August 1956)[10] and 1st Air Army (moved to Minsk in 1946).[11]

In April 1946, the 111th bap and the 330th bap were introduced into the 22nd Guards. Bad, and in May of the same year, the 200th Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment of the same air division was also transferred to the Bobruisk airfield.[8][12][13][14] All three air regiments were fully equipped with American bomber medium-range North American B-25 Mitchell ].[5][6][12][13][15]

In November 1949, the 330th bap was disbanded,[5] and the 111th bap and the 200th guards. Bap re-equipped by the first Soviet strategic bomber Tu-4 (since 1950, these air regiments, as well as the 22nd guards. Bad, became known as heavy bombers).[6][8][12][16][14] In addition, in 1949-1951, the wooden covering of the airfield was replaced by concrete.[14]

In the following years, strategic bombers were deployed at the airfield of Bobruisk, which were in service with the 111th Tbap and the 200th Guards. tbap (111th tbap was disbanded in February 1971[6]):

• Tu-4 – until 1956;
• Tu-16 – in the years 1955-1986;
• Tu-16K – in 1964-1992;
• Tu-22M3 – since 1986.[6][12][16][14]

The composition of the 200th Guards. Tbap also included a squadron of tanker aircraft Tu-16N.[12]

According to Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, as of January 1, 1991, armed with the 200th Guards. There were tbap: 20 – TU-22M3 and 18 – Tu-16K.[12]

At the aerodrome, two repositories were also built nuclear weapons (Kazakovo facility): 9 hydrogen bombs were stored in the mid-1950s, 200 in the later building nuclear warheads for cruise missile. By the end of 1994, all nuclear ammunition had been removed to the territory of Russian Federation, and the object was transferred to the balance of Bobruisk city executive committee and after – Bobruisk leshoz. As of 2014, the object was in an abandoned state with a destroyed infrastructure.[14][17][15]

After the collapse of USSR 22nd Guards. tbad was transferred to the jurisdiction of Russian Federation, and in November – December 1994, the Air Division and the 200th Guards. Tbap were redeployed with all aviation weapons from the territory of Belarus to the airfield White (Irkutsk Region, Russia).[12][13][15]

At one time, the airfield Bobruisk was also used fighter aircraft. In January 1946, the airfield was redeployed 4th Fighter Aviation Regiment 144th Fighter Aviation Division.[18] From October 1951 to November 1953, the 383rd Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 144th Iad, armed with airplanes MiG-15.[19] In March 1958, the 4th IAP left the airfield, armed at the time by airplanes MiG-17.[18]

In 1994–2002, the Bobruisk airfield was home to the 13th separate combat control squadron of the helicopter Belarusian Air Force.

This aviation unit was formed in 1946 in Brest on the basis of the 994th separate aviation regiment of communications, receiving the name: the 13th separate aviation communications squadron, and was subordinated to the ground forces Belorussky military district. Later, the 13th United Arab Emirates was reorganized into the 13th separate mixed aviation squadron and since 1960 it has been used for the aviation support of the headquarters 5th Guards Tank Army based at the airfield Kiselevichi, located on the northern outskirts of Bobruisk. In the 1980s, the 13th Air Force was reorganized into the 13th Separate Helicopter Squadron;[20] military units participated in fighting in Afghanistan[21] and mitigation of consequences the Chernobyl NPP accident.[22]

At the time of 1990, the 13 OW was part of the aviation Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of the USSR and, according to CFE, was armed with: 2 helicopters - Mi-6, 3 helicopters - Mi-8 and several transport planes.[23]

In June 1992, the 13 OWU became part of Air Force of the Republic of Belarus, in 1993 it was reorganized into the 13th separate combat squadron of a helicopter, in May 1994 it was relocated from the airfield Kiselevichi to the airfield Bobruisk.[20]

In 2002, as part of the creation of a unified Air Force and Air Defense Forces troops of the Republic of Belarus and as a result of structural reorganization, 13 ove bu was disbanded, and the aircraft and flight personnel were transferred to the 50th a mixed aviation base, located at the airfield Machulishchi.[24] At that time, the squadron was armed with helicopters: Mi-8, Mi-9 and Mi-22.[20]

Since 2002, the Babruysk airfield has been managed by the 83rd Separate Order of the Red Star Engineer-Aerodrome Regiment of the Air and Air Defence Force of the Republic of Belarus. The 83rd Regiment contains an airfield in constant operational readiness, it ensures the reception and departure of aircraft from the airfield.[25][26]