Mirgorod Airport
Encyclopedia
Mirgorod Airport is an airfield located approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) Southeast of Mirgorod, Poltava Oblast
, Ukraine
. The date the airfield was constructed is not known.
During World War II
, the airport was provided to the United States Army Air Forces
during the summer of 1944 as a heavy bomber airfield, used by the Eighth
and Fifteenth Air Force
s for shuttle bombing missions (Operation Frantic
).
Mirgorod was designated as USAAF Station 561 for security purposes and was referred to as Station 561 in all messages and written correspondence. Mirgorod was one of three Ukraine installations operated by Headquarters, Eastern Command, United States Strategic Air Forces
.
Aircraft would fly into the airfield from either Great Britain
or Southern Italy
after attacking enemy targets in Eastern Europe
. The aircraft would refuel and rearm at the airport, then attack enemy targets on return missions to Southern Italy.
Operation Frantic ended in September 1944, and the Americans returned to their home bases.
After the war, the airfield was rebuilt and was used as a Soviet Air Defence Forces base. Dispersal hardstands were built attached to each end of a new single runway, expanded for jet aircraft use, along with a large aircraft parking ramp, with at least six hangars.
Today it is home to the 831st Tactical Aviation Brigade, Air Command Centre, Ukrainian Air Force
.
Poltava Oblast
Poltava Oblast is an oblast of central Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Poltava.Other important cities within the oblast include: Komsomolsk, Kremenchuk, Lubny and Myrhorod.-Geography:...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. The date the airfield was constructed is not known.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the airport was provided to the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
during the summer of 1944 as a heavy bomber airfield, used by the Eighth
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
and Fifteenth Air Force
Fifteenth Air Force
The Fifteenth Expeditionary Mobility Task Force is one of two EMTFs assigned to the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command . It is headquartered at Travis Air Force Base, California....
s for shuttle bombing missions (Operation Frantic
Operation Frantic
-Airfields:In February 1944, the USAAF received access to six air bases in Ukraine, but it turned out only three were set up for the effort. In haste, the United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe established a headquarters detachment at Poltava Airfield, near Kiev in the Soviet Union in late...
).
Mirgorod was designated as USAAF Station 561 for security purposes and was referred to as Station 561 in all messages and written correspondence. Mirgorod was one of three Ukraine installations operated by Headquarters, Eastern Command, United States Strategic Air Forces
United States Strategic Air Forces
The US Eighth Air Force in World War II, later designated the United States Strategic and Tactical Air Forces was the first and became the overall command and control authority of the United States Army Air Forces against the European Axis members during World War II, where it'd started as a...
.
Aircraft would fly into the airfield from either Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
or Southern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
after attacking enemy targets in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
. The aircraft would refuel and rearm at the airport, then attack enemy targets on return missions to Southern Italy.
Operation Frantic ended in September 1944, and the Americans returned to their home bases.
After the war, the airfield was rebuilt and was used as a Soviet Air Defence Forces base. Dispersal hardstands were built attached to each end of a new single runway, expanded for jet aircraft use, along with a large aircraft parking ramp, with at least six hangars.
Today it is home to the 831st Tactical Aviation Brigade, Air Command Centre, Ukrainian Air Force
Ukrainian Air Force
The Ukrainian Air Force is a part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Ukrainian Air Force Command and headquarters are located in the city of Vinnytsia....
.