Željava Air Base
Encyclopedia
Željava Air Base, situated on the border between Croatia
and Bosnia and Herzegovina
under Plješevica Mountain
, near the town of Bihać
in Bosnia and Herzegovina
, was the largest underground
airport
and military airbase
in the former Yugoslavia and one of the largest in Europe
.
), better known as Željava or Bihać Air Base, began during 1957, and was completed in 1965. SFRJ in that time had spent around $6 Billion dollars constructing this object, which is 3 times the annual military budget of Serbia and Croatia put together today. It was one of the biggest and most expensive military constructions in Europe.
network in SFRJ (like NORAD). The complex was designed and constructed to sustain a direct hit from a 20 Kiloton nuclear bomb, or equivalent to the Nagasaki
atom bomb.
. These units were the 124.LAE (Fighter Aviation Squadron) and 125.LAE equipped with MiG-21 Bis fighter aircraft and 352.IAE (Reconnaissance Aviation Squadron) equipped with MiG-21R reconnaissance-fighter aircraft.
With the length of the underground tunnels being 3.5 kilometers, the complete bunker had four entrances, protected by 100 ton pressurized doors, three of which were intended for use by fixed-wing aircraft
. Eventually, it was hoped the base would re-equip with the indigenously developed Yu Supersonik
.
The underground facility was lined with semicircular concrete shields, arranged every ten meters, to cushion the impact of attacking munitions. There was access to an underground water source, power generators, crew quarters and other facilities which were of strategic advantage in the event of a war
. The facility even had a mess hall
which had the capacity to feed 1000 men at once, and enough food, fuel and arms reserves to last 30 days without any external intervention. The fuel was supplied by a network consisting of 20 kilometers of underground pipes from a military warehouse on Pokoj Hill near Bihać
.
Access was monitored by heavy surveillance and guards authorized to open fire on anyone attempting to enter without authorization. In practice, however, this was seldom the case, and only special permits were required, otherwise, visitors would be turned away. The estimated cost of construction was in excess of six billion US dollars.
in early 1991. In the course of its withdrawal
, the Yugoslav Peoples Army (JNA) destroyed the airport by filling and igniting the explosive positions that were built-in during the construction phase of the base and as part of base design (see above). To prevent any possible future use of the complex and preclude any advantage to an opposing party the Military of Serbian Krajina
finalized its demolition in 1992 by setting off an additional 56 tons of explosives. The ensuing explosion was so powerful that the nearby city of Bihać
shook violently. Villagers say that there was smoke coming from inside of the tunnels even 6 months after the destruction.
are under the supervision of HV. There was a scheduled opening ceremony ca. 2004-05 for asylum seekers but after that idea was abandoned new plans were developed for it to become part of a military training ground Eugen Kvarternik from Slunj
, and barracks in nearby Udbina
complex. The Municipality of Bihać has launched an initiative for use of the runway on its territory for the opening of a local airport.
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
and Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
under Plješevica Mountain
Plješevica
Plješivica or Plješevica is a mountain in Croatia and on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, part of the Dinaric Alps. It stretches in the direction north–south, and it extends from the mountain pass that separates it from Mala Kapela, along the Krbava field to the west and the Una River...
, near the town of Bihać
Bihac
Bihać is a city and municipality on the river Una in the north-western part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Bosanska Krajina region. Bihać is located in the Una-Sana Canton in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.-History:...
in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
, was the largest underground
Underground hangar
An Underground hangar is a type of hangar for military aircraft, usually dug into the side of a mountain for protection. It is bigger and more protected than a Hardened Aircraft Shelter ....
airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
and military airbase
Airbase
An airbase is a military airfield that provides basing and support of military aircraft....
in the former Yugoslavia and one of the largest in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
History
Construction of the "Objekat 505" (code nameCode name
A code name or cryptonym is a word or name used clandestinely to refer to another name or word. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage...
), better known as Željava or Bihać Air Base, began during 1957, and was completed in 1965. SFRJ in that time had spent around $6 Billion dollars constructing this object, which is 3 times the annual military budget of Serbia and Croatia put together today. It was one of the biggest and most expensive military constructions in Europe.
Description
The role of the facility was to provide, integrate and coordinate the nationwide early warning radarEarly warning radar
An early warning radar is any radar system used primarily for the long-range detection of its targets, i.e., allowing defences to be alerted as early as possible before the intruder reaches its target, giving the defences the maximum time in which to operate...
network in SFRJ (like NORAD). The complex was designed and constructed to sustain a direct hit from a 20 Kiloton nuclear bomb, or equivalent to the Nagasaki
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date.For six months...
atom bomb.
Strategic role
The main advantage was the strategic location of its intercept and surveillance radar "Celopek", on Mount Pljesevica, at the nerve center of an advanced integrated air defense network that covered the airspace and territory of SFR Yugoslavia, and possibly further. Besides the main purpose of a protected radar installation, a control center, secure communications, and related facilities, the air base contained underground tunnels for the use, parking, and maintenance of two complete fighter, and one reconnaissance, squadronsSquadron (aviation)
A squadron in air force, army aviation or naval aviation is mainly a unit comprising a number of military aircraft, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, depending on aircraft type and air force...
. These units were the 124.LAE (Fighter Aviation Squadron) and 125.LAE equipped with MiG-21 Bis fighter aircraft and 352.IAE (Reconnaissance Aviation Squadron) equipped with MiG-21R reconnaissance-fighter aircraft.
With the length of the underground tunnels being 3.5 kilometers, the complete bunker had four entrances, protected by 100 ton pressurized doors, three of which were intended for use by fixed-wing aircraft
Fixed-wing aircraft
A fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft capable of flight using wings that generate lift due to the vehicle's forward airspeed. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast and ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings.A powered...
. Eventually, it was hoped the base would re-equip with the indigenously developed Yu Supersonik
Novi Avion
|-See also:-References:* Newspaper article on Novi Avion* Aerosvet Magazine* Jane's All the World's Aircraft...
.
Underground Complex "KLEK"
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
. The facility even had a mess hall
Cafeteria
A cafeteria is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a school dining location is also referred to as a dining hall or canteen...
which had the capacity to feed 1000 men at once, and enough food, fuel and arms reserves to last 30 days without any external intervention. The fuel was supplied by a network consisting of 20 kilometers of underground pipes from a military warehouse on Pokoj Hill near Bihać
Bihac
Bihać is a city and municipality on the river Una in the north-western part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Bosanska Krajina region. Bihać is located in the Una-Sana Canton in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.-History:...
.
Surface
Topside, the facility had five runways. In the immediate vicinity of the base, there were numerous short range mobile tracking and targeting radar and missile equipped sites,the 2K12 "Kub" (Russian: 2К12 "Куб"; NATO: SA-6 Gainful) mobile surface-to-air missile system (SAM interceptors), motorized infantry bases and military police stations, and a hunting lodge used by the country and military leadership for an occasional leisure trip.Access was monitored by heavy surveillance and guards authorized to open fire on anyone attempting to enter without authorization. In practice, however, this was seldom the case, and only special permits were required, otherwise, visitors would be turned away. The estimated cost of construction was in excess of six billion US dollars.
Destruction
The air base was used intensively during the Yugoslav WarsYugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...
in early 1991. In the course of its withdrawal
Withdrawal (military)
A withdrawal is a type of military operation, generally meaning retreating forces back while maintaining contact with the enemy. A withdrawal may be undertaken as part of a general retreat, to consolidate forces, to occupy ground that is more easily defended, or to lead the enemy into an ambush...
, the Yugoslav Peoples Army (JNA) destroyed the airport by filling and igniting the explosive positions that were built-in during the construction phase of the base and as part of base design (see above). To prevent any possible future use of the complex and preclude any advantage to an opposing party the Military of Serbian Krajina
Military of Serbian Krajina
* Armored Vehicles** T-34/85** T-55** T-72 ** M-84 ** PT-76** OT M-60** BVP M-80** BOV ** BRDM-2** M36 Jackson** M18 Hellcat* Artillery** M-63 Plamen** M-77 Oganj * Anti-aircraft ** ZSU-57-2** M53/59 Praga...
finalized its demolition in 1992 by setting off an additional 56 tons of explosives. The ensuing explosion was so powerful that the nearby city of Bihać
Bihac
Bihać is a city and municipality on the river Una in the north-western part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Bosanska Krajina region. Bihać is located in the Una-Sana Canton in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.-History:...
shook violently. Villagers say that there was smoke coming from inside of the tunnels even 6 months after the destruction.
Aftermath
Extreme caution must be used when visiting the Zeljava Airfield Complex, in view of the extensive number of landmines on and around the base. The local Police and the CPA use the area to train canines with the use of actual landmines due to the enormous amounts of mines that exist within the complex area. In November 2000, a Federation Airforce Major suffered a mine strike and died of injuries sustained by the explosion of a PROM-2 anti-personnel mine after searching for mushrooms.Current situation
The amount of the destruction and devastation of the buildings and materials is invaluable and caused great environmental damage. Any idea of reconstruction on this volume is limited by a lack of necessary resources. In the immediate vicinity of the airport is a dividing line and the entire area is heavily mined. Today it serves as a location for illegal migration. The barracks in the village of Ličko Petrovo SeloLičko Petrovo Selo
Ličko Petrovo Selo is a village in Lika, Croatia. It is located near the Plitvice Lakes. The road bypassing the national park, the D504, connects it to the D1 highway. East of the village, the D217 ends at the Ličko Petrovo Selo border crossing with Bosnia and Herzegovina ....
are under the supervision of HV. There was a scheduled opening ceremony ca. 2004-05 for asylum seekers but after that idea was abandoned new plans were developed for it to become part of a military training ground Eugen Kvarternik from Slunj
Slunj
Slunj is a town in the mountainous part of Central Croatia, located along the important North-South route to the Adriatic Sea between Karlovac and Plitvice Lakes National Park, on the meeting of the rivers Korana and Slunjčica...
, and barracks in nearby Udbina
Udbina
Udbina is a village and a municipality in the Lika region of Croatia. It is an administratively part of in the Lika-Senj county.-Geography:The village is located in the large karst field called Krbava...
complex. The Municipality of Bihać has launched an initiative for use of the runway on its territory for the opening of a local airport.
See also
- SFR Yugoslav Air ForceSFR Yugoslav Air ForceThe Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Yugoslav Air Force , was the air force of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia . Formed in 1945, it was preceded by the Yugoslav Royal Air Force which was disbanded in 1941, following the German occupation of Yugoslavia...
- Slatina Air BaseSlatina Air BaseSlatina Air Base , located at Pristina International Airport, contained the second largest military underground hangar complex in former Yugoslavia. The largest one was at Željava Airport near Bihać...
- Emir ŠišićEmir ŠišicEmir Šišić is a former pilot of the Air Force of the SFR Yugoslavia and later FR Yugoslavia who was involved in a controversial air encounter that resulted in five deaths, for which he served prison time.- Military career :...
- Rudolf PeresinRudolf PerešinRudolf Perešin , a Croatian fighter pilot in the Yugoslav People's Army , defected from Željava Air Base to Klagenfurt, Austria in 1991, during a reconnaissance flight because he wanted to help his homeland Croatia during the Croatian War of Independence. He was the first pilot to desert from the JNA...
- Novi AvionNovi Avion|-See also:-References:* Newspaper article on Novi Avion* Aerosvet Magazine* Jane's All the World's Aircraft...
External links
- Željava runways layout & numbering scheme
- Runway 2 - threshold 14L at PanoramioPanoramioPanoramio is a geolocation-oriented photo sharing website. Accepted photos uploaded to the site can be accessed as a layer in Google Earth and Google Maps, with new photos being added at the end of every month. The site's goal is to allow Google Earth users to learn more about a given area by...
- Runway 2 - threshold 32R at PanoramioPanoramioPanoramio is a geolocation-oriented photo sharing website. Accepted photos uploaded to the site can be accessed as a layer in Google Earth and Google Maps, with new photos being added at the end of every month. The site's goal is to allow Google Earth users to learn more about a given area by...
- MiG-21 JRV - landing at runway 14L, LYBI at YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
- Photos of the Željava air base
- SFOR informer
- YouTube videos of the air base
- Inside pictures and videos of Zeljava air base
- Pictures and information on the air base