The 10th Composite Aviation Corps (10ти Смесен Авиационен Корпус) was a

military formation Military organization ( AE) or military organisation ( BE) is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. Formal military organization tends to use hierarc ...

of the

Bulgarian Air Force The Bulgarian Air Force () is one of the three branches of the Military of Bulgaria, the other two being the Bulgarian Navy and Bulgarian land forces. Its mission is to guard and protect the sovereignty of Bulgarian airspace, and jointly with ...

. Its headquarters was in

Plovdiv Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...

, and it was active from 1961 to the late 1980s. It was established in September 1961 and its first commander was Major-General . The new corps headquarters was mainly composed of officers from the command of 2nd Air Defence Corps (in Yambol) and from the command of the just disbanded {{ill, 10th Fighter Air Division, bg, Десета изтребителна авиодивизия in Graf Ignatievo, hence the number. It was decided that

Plovdiv Airport Plovdiv Airport () is an airport that serves Plovdiv, the second largest city in Bulgaria, and is the country's 4th busiest airport. It is sometimes referred to as Plovdiv Krumovo Airport, after a small village located 6 km south-east away ...

was to be the headquarters of the new formation. Parallel to the formation of the corps commenced the formation of 44th Helicopter Air Regiment, also at the Plovdiv airport. In 1961 the air corps included: *two fighter air regiments (15th FAR in Ravnets and 21st in Uzundzhovo), flying MiG-15s, 17s and 19s *two fighter-bomber air regiments (22nd FBAR in Bezmer and 25th Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment at Cheshnegirovo Air Base), flying MiG-15s and 17s *26th Reconnaissance Air Regiment (in Tolbukhin), flying MiG-15bis and Il-28s *one transport air regiment (16th RAR in Vrazhdebna), flying Li-2s and Il-14s *44th Helicopter air regiment (in Plovdiv), initially flying three Mi-4s and 4 Mi-1s *signals battalion *10th Radiotechnical Battalion *19th Fighter Air Regiment was included temporarily at Graf Ignatievo, flying MiG-19S/PMs The Corps was still active as of 1 June 1995 (IISS MB 95-96, p.81). However, it was disestablished over the next year or two to become the Tactical Aviation Command.

List of units and formations 1988

*Headquarters (''Щаб на 10ти Смесен Авиационен Корпус'' (''Щаб 10ти САК'')),

airfieldSee partial listing of units at http://easternorbat.com/html/bulgarian_tactical_air_force_81.html *Command Post, Plovdiv Airfield * Kolyu Ganchevo Air Base (

Stara Zagora Stara Zagora (, ) is a city in Bulgaria, and the administrative capital of Stara Zagora Province. It is located in the Upper Thracian Plain, near the cities of Kazanlak, Plovdiv, and Sliven. Its population is 121,582 making it the sixth largest c ...

) **13th Helicopter Air Regiment of Combat Helicopters (''13ти Вертолетен Авиационен Полк - Бойни Вертолети'' (''13ти ВАП - БВ'')) *** 1/13th Attack Helicopter Air Squadron, flying

Mil Mi-24 The Mil Mi-24 (; NATO reporting name: Hind) is a large helicopter gunship, attack helicopter and low-capacity transport helicopter, troop transport with room for eight passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and was introduced ...

D *** 2/13th Attack Helicopter Air Squadron, flying Mi-24D/V ** 42nd Independent Aviation Technical Battalion (''42ри Отделен Авио-технически Батальон'' (''42ри ОАТБ'')) ** 21st Independent Battalion for Signals and Radio- and Lighting Technical Support (''21ви Отделен Батальон за Свръзки и Радиосветотехническо Осигуряване'' (''21ви ОБРСТО'')) * Graf Ignatievo Airfield (near

) **19th Fighter Air Regiment (''19ти Изтребителен Авиационен Полк'' (''19ти ИАП'')) ***1/19th Fighter Air Squadron, flying MiG-21bis/UM ***2/19th Fighter Air Squadron, flying MiG-21bis/UM **39th Independent Aviation Technical Battalion (''39ти Отделен Авио-технически Батальон'' (''39ти ОАТБ'')) ** 19th Independent Battalion for Signals and Radio- and Lighting Technical Support (''19ти Отделен Батальон за Свръзки и Радиосветотехническо Осигуряване'' (''19ти ОБРСТО'')) * Uzundzhovo Airfield (near

Haskovo Haskovo ( ) is a city in the region of Northern Thrace in southern Bulgaria and the administrative centre of the Haskovo Province, not far from the borders with Greece and Turkey. According to Operative Program Regional Development of Bulgaria ...

) **21st Fighter Air Regiment (''21ви Изтребителен Авиационен Полк'' (''21ви ИАП'')) *** 1/21st Fighter Air Squadron, flying MiG-21MF/UM *** 2/21st Fighter Air Squadron, flying MiG-21MF/UM **81st Independent Aviation Technical Battalion (''39ти Отделен Авио-технически Батальон'' (''39ти ОАТБ'')) ** 21st Independent Battalion for Signals and Radio- and Lighting Technical Support (''21ви Отделен Батальон за Свръзки и Радиосветотехническо Осигуряване'' (''21ви ОБРСТО'')) * Bezmer Airfield (near

Yambol Yambol ( ) is a city in Southeastern Bulgaria and administrative centre of Yambol Province. It lies on both banks of the Tundzha river in the historical region of Thrace. It is occasionally spelled ''Jambol''. Yambol is the administrative cente ...

) *22nd Fighter-Bomber Air Regiment (''22ри Изтребително-бомбардировъчен Авиационен Полк'' (''22ри ИБАП'')) ** 1/22nd Fighter-Bomber Air Squadron, flying Su-25K/UBK ** 2/22nd Fighter-Bomber Air Squadron, flying Su-25K/UBK *? Independent Aviation Technical Battalion (''? Отделен Авио-технически Батальон'' (''? ОАТБ'')) * 22nd Independent Battalion for Signals and Radio- and Lighting Technical Support (''22ри Отделен Батальон за Свръзки и Радиосветотехническо Осигуряване'' (''22ри ОБРСТО'')) * Cheshnegirovo (

Sadovo Sadovo ( ) is a small town in Plovdiv Province, central Bulgaria, and the administrative center of Sadovo Municipality. The population was 2,600. Geography The city is close to the Maritsa River, 18 kilometers east of Plovdiv. Sadovo municipa ...

)

Airfield An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

(near

) **25th Fighter-Bomber Air Regiment (''25ти Изтребително-бомбардировъчен Авиационен Полк'' (''25ти ИБАП'')) *** 1/25th Fighter-Bomber Air Squadron, flying MiG-23BN/UB *** 2/25th Fighter-Bomber Air Squadron, flying MiG-23BN/UB ** ? Independent Aviation Technical Battalion (''? Отделен Авио-технически Батальон'' (''? ОАТБ'')) ** 25th Independent Battalion for Signals and Radio- and Lighting Technical Support (''25ти Отделен Батальон за Свръзки и Радиосветотехническо Осигуряване'' (''25ти ОБРСТО'')) * Tolbukhin Airfield (present day

Dobrich Dobrich ( ; ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, 9th most populated city in Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Dobrich Province and the capital of the region of Southern Dobrudzha. It is located in the northeastern part of the cou ...

) ** 26th Reconnaissance Air Regiment (''26ти Разузнавателен Авиационен Полк'' (''26ти РАП'')) *** 1/26th Reconnaissance Air Squadron, flying MiG-21R/F-13 (R)/US *** 2/26th Reconnaissance Air Squadron, flying Su-22M4, Su-22UM3K *** Independent Air Flight for Operational Reconnaissance, flying MiG-25RBT, MiG-25RU ** 30th Independent Aviation Technical Battalion (''30ти Отделен Авио-технически Батальон'' (''30ти ОАТБ'')) ** 26th Independent Battalion for Signals and Radio- and Lighting Technical Support (''26ти Отделен Батальон за Свръзки и Радиосветотехническо Осигуряване'' (''26ти ОБРСТО'')) * Krumovo Airfield ( Plovdiv IAP) ** 44th Helicopter Air Regiment (''44ти Вертолетен Авиационен Полк'' (''44ти ВАП'')) *** 1/44th Helicopter Air Squadron, flying

Mil Mi-8 The Mil Mi-8 (, NATO reporting name: Hip) is a medium twin-turbine helicopter, originally designed by the Soviet Union, Soviet Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute, Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI) in the 1960s and introduced into the ...

T *** 2/44th Helicopter Air Squadron, flying

Mi-17 The Mil Mi-17 (NATO reporting name: Hip) is a Soviet-designed Russian military helicopter family introduced in 1975 (Mi-8M), continuing in production at two factories in Russia, in Kazan and Ulan-Ude. It is known as the Mi-8M series in Russia ...

*** 3/44th Helicopter (Training) Air Squadron, flying Mi-2 **? Independent Aviation Technical Battalion (''? Отделен Авио-технически Батальон'' (''? ОАТБ'')) ** 44th Independent Battalion for Signals and Radio- and Lighting Technical Support (''44ти Отделен Батальон за Свръзки и Радиосветотехническо Осигуряване'' (''44ти ОБРСТО'')) * Troops Aviation Repair Workshop Graf Ignatievo (''Войскова Авиационна Ремонтна Работилница - Граф Игнатиево'' (''ВАРР'')) * Troops Aviation Repair Workshop Bezmer (''Войскова Авиационна Ремонтна Работилница - Безмер'' (''ВАРР'')) * Troops Aviation Missile Repair Workshop (''Войскова Авиационна Ремонтна Работилница за Ракети'' (''ВАРРР'')) (Graf Ignatievo) * 10th Signals Regiment (''10ти Свързочен Полк''), in

* 10th Radio-Technical Battalion, in Plovdiv (supporting the flight activities of the corps' air regiments, with radar posts located at the airfields)

References

Air force units and formations of Bulgaria Military units and formations established in 1961 Military units and formations disestablished in 1994