Shatalovo (air base)

Shatalovo (also given as Pochinok, Satalovo, and Shatoalovo) is an air base in Smolensk Oblast, Russia located 8 km south of Pochinok. It is a large hardened air base with pads for 19 bombers and 15 fighters in addition to a small amount of tarmac space. It is a nuclear bomber base (Su-24) according to a Natural Resources Defense Council study. During the 1980s it was one of 17 airfields hosting the Soviet Union's tactical reconnaissance aircraft regiments.[1] The normal complement at the air base in 1984 consisted of 9 to 13 each of the Su-24M and MiG-25R, and 3 to 5 Yak-28R, the latter of which was being phased out.[1]

Shatalovo
Summary
Airport typeMilitary
OperatorRussian Air Force
LocationPochinok (town)
Elevation AMSL192 ft / 59 m
Coordinates54°20′24″N 032°28′24″E
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
8,202 2,500 Concrete

History

In World War II, the German Luftwaffe occupied the local area and maintained two airfields: "Shatalovka-East" (54°22′10″N 32°32′10″E) which was later abandoned and returned to farmland, and "Shatalovka-West" (54°20′20″N 32°28′30″E) which became the modern air base.

The 32nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment was stationed at the base from 1968 until it disbanded on 30 June 1989.[2] It was part of the 9th Fighter Aviation Division headquartered at Kubinka.

Shatalovo was home to 164 ORAP (164th Independent Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment) flying MiG-25 and Su-24 aircraft and 47 Gv ORAP (47th Guards Independent Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment) flying MiG-25RB aircraft.[3] It was also used by 1046 TsBP i PLS (1046th Aircrew Combat Training and Retraining Centre) flying 17 MiG-25, 14 Su-17C, and 13 Su-24 aircraft in 1991.[4]

References
  1. STATUS OF SOVIET TACTICAL RECONNAISSANCE FORCES USSR/EASTERN EUROPE/AFGHANISTAN(SANITIZED), March 22, 1984, CIA-RDP84T00491R000101240001-9, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC.
  2. "32nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment". Ww2.dk. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
  3. Butowski, Pyotr (2004). Air Power Analysis: Russian Federation. AIRtime Publishing, Inc.
  4. "37 Vozdushnaya Armiya VGK". Brinkster.com.


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