Kaliningrad Chkalovsk (also Chkalovskoye, Tchalov, or Prowehren) is a naval air base in Chkalovsk,

Kaliningrad Oblast Kaliningrad Oblast (russian: Калинингра́дская о́бласть, translit=Kaliningradskaya oblast') is the westernmost federal subject of Russia. It is a semi-exclave situated on the Baltic Sea. The largest city and admin ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

located 9 kilometers northwest of

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...

. Most instances in Russian aviation literature of Chkalovsk or Chkalovskoye refer specifically to this large airfield. A significant Baltic naval base, it is Kaliningrad's largest airfield with four separate complexes for bomber and fighter parking. The base is home to the 689th Guards Fighter Regiment which uses the

Sukhoi Su-27 The Sukhoi Su-27 (russian: Сухой Су-27; NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a Soviet-origin twin-engine supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large US fourth-generation je ...

P/UP (ASCC: Flanker) as part of the 132nd Composite Aviation Division as part of the

Baltic Fleet , image = Great emblem of the Baltic fleet.svg , image_size = 150 , caption = Baltic Fleet Great ensign , dates = 18 May 1703 – present , country = , allegiance = (1703–1721) (1721–1917) (1917–1922) (1922–1991)(1991–present) ...

History

The construction of a military airbase began in 1935, the German

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

started to operate the ″Fliegerhorst Prowehren″ in 1936. In 1943 a concrete runway was built. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

the area was annexed by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

and the airbase was taken over by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

. Chkalovsk began receiving

Tupolev Tu-22 The Tupolev Tu-22 (NATO reporting name: Blinder) was the first supersonic bomber to enter production in the Soviet Union. Manufactured by Tupolev, the Tu-22 entered service with the Soviet military in the 1960s. The aircraft was a disappointm ...

(Blinder) aircraft around 1963 and by 1967 had 30 aircraft. It was one of nine major operating locations for the

Blinders.

Tupolev Tu-16 The Tupolev Tu-16 (NATO reporting name: Badger) is a twin-engined jet strategic heavy bomber used by the Soviet Union. It has been flown for almost 70 years, and the Chinese license-built Xian H-6 remains in service with the People's Liberation ...

(Badger) aircraft also operated from Chkalovsk frequently during the 1960s.KALININGRAD PROVEREN AIRFIELD, July 1964, CIA CREST: CIA-RDP78T05439A000400020025-2, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC. On December 24, 1964, a Tu-22R jumped its wheel chocks during a ground run and hit three parked aircraft; all were written off. In August 1966, a Tu-22 made a runway excursion while landing, destroying itself and a parked aircraft. The Tu-22 aircraft were transferred to

Zyabrovka Zyabrovka (also Pribytki) is a military air base located 16 km southeast of Gomel, Gomel Region, Belarus. From November 1951 to July 1957 the 50th Air Army of Long-Range Aviation included the 144th Fighter Aviation Division with its headqu ...

in 1992 as the unit re-equipped with

Sukhoi Su-24 The Sukhoi Su-24 (NATO reporting name: Fencer) is a supersonic, all-weather attack aircraft developed in the Soviet Union. The aircraft has a variable-sweep wing, twin-engines and a side-by-side seating arrangement for its crew of two. It was ...

MR. High-resolution

Google Earth Google Earth is a computer program that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satellite images, aerial photography, and geog ...

imagery shows the base is still active, with

aircraft on the ramp, a transport aircraft, and some helicopters. Some Tu-22M (Backfire) appear to be stored. Historic

imagery shows that the runway, all taxiways and aprons of Chkalovsk air base were fully renovated and the area of aprons also extensively enlarged during 2013–2014. Chkalovsk was home to 846 OMSHAP ( 846th Independent Naval Aviation Regiment) flying 44

Sukhoi Su-17 The Sukhoi Su-17 (''izdeliye'' S-32) is a variable-sweep wing fighter-bomber developed for the Soviet Union, Soviet military. Its NATO reporting name is "Fitter". Developed from the Sukhoi Su-7, the Su-17 was the first variable-sweep wing airc ...

aircraft in 1992; and 15 ODRAP ( 15th Independent Long-Range Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment) flying 30

aircraft from 1966 to 1982 and 12 Su-24 aircraft by the 1990s. Scramble reports that 689th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (see :ru:689-й гвардейский истребительный авиационный полк, Su-27s) & 288 OVP based at Nivenskoye moved to Chkalovsk during August 2002. In August 2022, Russia’s Defense Ministry said three

MiG-31 The Mikoyan MiG-31 (russian: link=no, Микоян МиГ-31; NATO reporting name: Foxhound) is a supersonic interceptor aircraft that was developed for use by the Soviet Air Forces. The aircraft was designed by the Mikoyan design bureau as a ...

fighters fitted for

Kh-47M2 Kinzhal The Kh-47M2 Kinzhal (in Russian: Х-47М2 Кинжал, "Dagger", NATO reporting name Killjoy) is a Russian nuclear-capable hypersonic aero-ballistic air-to-surface missile. It has a claimed range of more than , Mach 12 speed (2.5 mi/s), and ...

hypersonic missiles arrived at the base as part of “additional measures of strategic deterrence”. Russia said the aircraft would be on 24/7 alert. The missiles were not fitted when they flew in, indicating these were transported separately.Russia deploys hypersonic missiles to its Baltic territory

The Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newsp ...

/ DefenseNews, 2022-08-18

References

Soviet Naval Aviation bases Russian Navy Kaliningrad Oblast Airports in Kaliningrad Oblast Installations of the Russian Navy {{Russia-mil-stub