Krichev (air base)

Krichev
Krychaw

Krychaw, Klimavichy District, Mogilev Region in Belarus
Site information
Type| Air Base
Owner| Armed Forces of Belarus
Location

Krichev

Shown within Belarus

Coordinates| 53°44′05″N 031°55′02″E﻿ / ﻿53.73472°N 31.91722°E﻿ / 53.73472; 31.91722
Site history
Built| 1949 (1949)
In use| 1949–1993 (1993)
Airfield information
Identifiers| ICAO: ZF19
Elevation| 174 metres (571 ft) AMSL
| Runways

Direction | Length and surface
04/22 | 2,500 metres (8,202 ft) Concrete

Krichev is a military air base in the Mogilev Region, Belarus. It is located in Klimavichy District, 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) east of the city of Krychaw. The base served the interceptor air defense role for the Soviet Air Defence Force, hosted by the 28th Fighter Aviation Regiment, 2nd Air Defence Corps, Moscow Air Defence District.[1]

## History

[edit]

Krichev had been observed by 1957 by Western Lockheed U-2 overflights.[2] The 28th IAP operated the Sukhoi Su-9 (NATO: Fishpot) regiment in the 1960s and 1970s.[3] By 1981, the regiment was one of four in the USSR still operating the Su-9 but its facilities were being upgraded,[3] and it received the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 (NATO: Foxbat) in the mid-1980s.

The base was closed in 1993, after the Cold War, and the aviation regiment was disbanded.[4] All the buildings were razed to the ground; little remains except for the overgrown runway.[5]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "28th Fighter Aviation Regiment PVO". Ww2.dk. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
2. ^ NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE SURVEY 26; SOVIET UNION; TRANSPORTATION AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS, May 1957, CREST: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200090035-8, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC.
3. ^ a b PHASEOUT OF FISHPOT IN APVO STRANYY AIRFIELDS USSR, February 1, 1981, CREST: CIA-RDP81T00380R000100980001-5, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC.
4. ^ Взлетные полосы ждут своего часа. (in Russian). www.sb.by. Jul 25, 2013.
5. ^ "Взлетные полосы ждут своего часа". Беларусь сегодня (in Russian). Издательский дом "Беларусь сегодня". 2013-07-25. Archived from the original on 2019-01-19. Retrieved 2019-01-19.