Željava underground airbase!

[Gunnar88]

It would be nice to make this for "Yugoslav war" mod

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ6Tb7udryo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO7qB_xSLLw...feature=related

 

Taking MiG-21 out of the base

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqbMBB1-27E

 

Wiki link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%BDeljava_Air_Base

 

But its destiny was terrible... This is how it looks now... R.I.P :cray:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMi_k6m5ivM...feature=related

 

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Željava Air Base, situated under Pljesevica Mountain, near the town of Bihać in Bosnia, was the largest underground airport and military airbase in the former Yugoslavia.

 

 

History

Construction of the "Objekat 505" (code name), better known as Željava or Bihać Air Base, began during 1957, and was completed in 1965.

 

 

 

Description

The role of the facility was to provide, integrate and coordinate the nationwide early warning radar network in SFRJ (not unlike NORAD). The complex was designed and constructed to sustain the direct hit from a 20 Kiloton nuclear bomb, or equivalent to the Nagasaki 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, squadrons. 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 object 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.

 

 

 

Underground Complex "KLEK"

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, enough food, fuel & arms reserves to 'survive' 30 days without any external intervention. While the fuel was supplied by a network consisting of 20 kilometers worth of underground pipes from a military warehouse on Pokoj hill near Bihać city.

 

 

 

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, 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. Estimated cost of construction was in excess of six billion US dollars.

 

<a name="Destruction" id="Destruction">

 

 

Destruction

The air base was used intensively during the war of Yugoslav partition in the late 1990, 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 in-built 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 Army of Republika Srpska 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.

 

 

 

Aftermath

Extreme caution must be used if you are 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.

[+MigBuster]

How cool is that!!

[Wolf65]

I first read about it in a Serbian magazine called Aero, always find it interesting.

Edited November 26, 2008 by Wolf65

[+starfighter2]

Dosadni su sa ovim "nasim" modom, hmmm, mozda i ne budem ucestvovao u svemu ovome - isuvise depresivno,,,,bez veze

[Gunnar88]

starfighter... teško je sve to... puno smo toga izgubili... al šteta je da padne u zaborav.... barem će negdje, ako ne u realnosti opet zaživjeti.... opet će se migovi vozickat po tunelima

[+starfighter2]

Ma....bez veze....ali ipak>

poznata silueta?

[Gunnar88]

JOJ!!!! De si to nabavio... J-22 "Orao" ili G-4 "Super Galeb"... nisam siguran, al baš nam to treba...

Edited November 26, 2008 by Gunnar88

[+starfighter2]

Ima maca toga - buduci J-22

[Wolf65]

Vidju ga sto je lep :)

[+starfighter2]

Pa jes, lijep je - valjda?

[+Muesli]

Hello friends,

 

I wanna ask you please to keep it in English. It's the main board

language and will keep everybody happy with the feeling not being

left out. If you want an own language place, ask the moderator to

create an apart place here on the site.

 

 

Cheers

[GASCAN39]

Pretty cool stuff. Wonder just how many jets they would squeeze in there. Those tunnel entrances would be trouble for the Mig-29 and Su-27 though, huh!?!

[+starfighter2]

Hello friends,

 

I wanna ask you please to keep it in English. It's the main board

language and will keep everybody happy with the feeling not being

left out. If you want an own language place, ask the moderator to

create an apart place here on the site.

 

 

Cheers

 

They say that J-22 model looks quite good, and I was saying that Ex-Yu mod overall sounds very depressive for me - still considering about participation.

Happy now? :yes:

[+starfighter2]

Pretty cool stuff. Wonder just how many jets they would squeeze in there. Those tunnel entrances would be trouble for the Mig-29 and Su-27 though, huh!?!

 

Designed to fit MiG-21.

[Wolf65]

starfighter2, do you know by any chance if there were any plans to expand the facility to house newer aircraft (i mean we couldn't use 21 forever)?

[Gunnar88]

i think there were not any plans... at least not for next 30 years... because they had plans to make a new plane which would fit in the tunnel entrance

 

The YU Supersonik

Wikilink:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novi_Avion

[+starfighter2]

We (Serbia) don't have much brains(proven in history many times) - so no valid plan (my fellow citizens will agree I think). No, MiG-21 can be used until end 2010 - after that - some WWI planes will be cool too. No money - no fighters.

BTW - to buy new fighters in present political, economic etc. situation will be real waste of money. Who needs Army anyway here (Serbia again)? Police can take down terrorist they are well trained to do so.

[jtin]

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.

 

Hmm, a weird thing to be doing in a mine infested area...

 

Airfield looks pretty interesting; must've needed brains to come up with that. :yes: