Airport

Dobroslavtsi Air Base

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  • Landmark Historical Place
  • Landmark & Historical Place

Description

Dobroslavtsi Air Base or 1st Fighter Air Base Dobroslavtsi is an air force facility near Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. It is located to the west of the city and has for long time been its major air defence asset. Currently the base is disbanded with the only activity being guarding duty of the airframes of MiG-23s, conserved at the field.EstablishmentThe military airbase was opened for operations on the 20 April 1952 as part of the huge modernization program of the air force, intended to transit the inventory in the jet age. The 18th and 43rd Fighter Air Regiments of the 4th Fighter Air Division were transferred to the base, formed two years earlier at Vrazhdebna Airfield. The aircraft type operated by the two regiments by the time of the re-basing was the Yak-9M/P fighter and a small quantity of Yak-11 fighter-trainers. Shortly afterwards a major boost in the units' operational capabilities has been achieved with the introduction of the Yak-23s and Yak-17U - Bulgaria's first jet fighter type - into operations on 17 May 1952. Still a minor group of Yak-9s remained on quick reaction duty until 1954.The year 1955 saw the 18th Fighter Air Regiment converting to the MiG-15 and four years later - to the MiG-17F. The 43rd Fighter Air Regiment flew the MiG-15 from 1956 until its disbandment in 1960.The Supersonic YearsThe 1st Squadron of the 18th FAR transitioned to the supersonic MiG-19S/P in 1963. The following year saw a group of the regiment's flight officers being dispatched to the USSR for an operational conversion course to the advanced MiG-21 fighter. Upon arming with the MiG-21PF aircraft (12 units) the 2nd Squadron was transferred to the Gabrovnitsa Airfield in the country's northwestern area. After an upgrade in 1969, the regiment's MiG-19P were brought to a standard, which allowed them to carry two K-13 Air-to-Air missiles with IR-homing.

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