Myrhorod is an air base of the

Ukrainian Air Force The Ukrainian Air Force (, PS ZSU) is the air force of Ukraine and one of the eight Military branch, branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (ZSU). Its current form was created in 2004 by merging the Ukrainian Air Defence Forces into the Air Fo ...

located near

Myrhorod Myrhorod (, ) is a city in Poltava Oblast, central Ukraine. It serves as the Capital city, administrative center of Myrhorod Raion. Myrhorod also hosts the administration of Myrhorod urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. It is locate ...

Poltava Oblast Poltava Oblast (), also referred to as Poltavshchyna (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of central Ukraine. The capital city, administrative center of the oblast is the city of Poltava. Most of its territory was par ...

, Ukraine. Until the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, the base was home to the

831st Tactical Aviation Brigade The 831st Tactical Aviation Brigade (831 BrTA, A1356) is a formation (military), formation of the Ukrainian Air Force. Based at Myrhorod Air Base, Poltava Oblast, the unit operates the Sukhoi Su-27 and Aero L-39 Albatros, Aero L-39M1. History S ...

flying

Sukhoi Su-27 The Sukhoi Su-27 (; NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a Soviet Union, Soviet-origin twinjet, twin-engine supersonic Supermaneuverability, supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the lar ...

P/UB aircraft.

History

In May 1944 the airfield was provided to the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

as a heavy bomber staging field. It was used by the

Eighth Eighth is ordinal form of the number eight. Eighth may refer to: * One eighth, , a fraction, one of eight equal parts of a whole * Eighth note (quaver), a musical note played for half the value of a quarter note (crotchet) * Octave, an interval b ...

and

Fifteenth Air Force The Fifteenth Air Force (15 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base. It was reactivated on 20 August 2020, merging the previous units of the Ninth Air Forc ...

s for shuttle bombing missions during June through September 1944 (

Operation Frantic Operation Frantic was a series of seven shuttle bombing operations during World War II conducted by American aircraft based in Great Britain and southern Italy, which landed at three Soviet airfields in the Ukrainian SSR. From there, the planes ...

). Myrhorod was designated as USAAF Station 561 for security purposes and was referred to as Station 561 in all messages and written correspondence. Myrhorod was one of three Ukraine installations operated by Headquarters, Eastern Command,

United States Strategic Air Forces The United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe (USSTAF) was a formation of the United States Army Air Forces. It became the overall command and control authority of the United States Army Air Forces in the European theater of World War II. U ...

. The others were nearby

Poltava Poltava (, ; , ) is a city located on the Vorskla, Vorskla River in Central Ukraine, Central Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Poltava Oblast as well as Poltava Raion within the oblast. It also hosts the administration of Po ...

, where USAAF Eastern Command Headquarters was located, and

Pyriatyn Pyriatyn (, ) is a city in Poltava Oblast, Ukraine. It served as the administrative center of Pyriatyn Raion until its abolishment in 2020. Population: History At the end of 1941 or beginning 1942, a ghetto guarded by policemen was establishe ...

. Aircraft would land at the field from either

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

or Southern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

after attacking Axis targets in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

. The aircraft would refuel and rearm at the airport, then attack other targets on return missions to Southern Italy. Shuttle bombing operations under Operation Frantic ended in September 1944, and the Americans consolidated operations at Poltava for the remainder of the war. On the night of 21 June 1944, the field was targeted by a massive German strike force. Unable to find Myrhorod, this force augmented the bombers attacking Poltava. The next night, however, the Germans bombed Myrhorod. By then, flyable aircraft had been evacuated from the field, and the losses were confined to fuel and ammunition stores. After the war, the airfield was rebuilt and used as a

Soviet Air Forces The Soviet Air Forces (, VVS SSSR; literally "Military Air Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics"; initialism VVS, sometimes referred to as the "Red Air Force") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Sovie ...

base. Dispersal hardstands were attached to each end of a new single runway, expanded for jet aircraft use, along with a large aircraft parking ramp, with at least six hangars. The 831st Fighter Aviation Regiment (138th Fighter Aviation Division) arrived at the base in 1977, transferred from

Boryspil Boryspil (, ) is a city and the administrative center of Boryspil Raion in Kyiv Oblast (region) in northern and central Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Boryspil urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. The population was estimate ...

Kyiv Oblast Kyiv Oblast (, ), also called Kyivshchyna (, ), is an Administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in central and northern Ukraine. It surrounds, but does not include, the city of Kyiv, which is administered as a city with special sta ...

After 1991 end of Soviet era

On January 13, 1992, the regiment took the oath of allegiance to the Ukrainian people. Today it is the 831st Tactical Aviation Brigade of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. As part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the unit has always been and remains one of the most capable units of the Air Force.

After 2014 and Feb 2022 invasion by Russia

In April 2022, Russian attacks against the base destroyed an ammunition depot and damaged the runway and a fuel depot. On the morning of 10 June 2023, Russia attacked the airfield using

Iskander-M The 9K720 Iskander (; NATO reporting name SS-26 Stone) is a Russian mobile short-range ballistic missile system. It has a range of . It was intended to replace the OTR-21 Tochka in the Russian military by 2020. The Iskander has several differ ...

missiles. A Su-27 was damaged, likely beyond repair. On 1 July 2024, the air base was again struck with Iskander-M ballistic missiles. Several Russian military bloggers said that two Su-27s were destroyed and four damaged as a result of the strike, while the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that five Su-27s were destroyed and two were damaged. Ukraine confirmed equipment losses, without precising their number. It is unknown how many of the aircraft were in operational status.

Aircraft

According to Google Earth imagery, as of 20 March 2020: * 27

* 4

L-39 Albatros The Aero L-39 Albatros is a high-performance jet trainer designed and produced by Aero Vodochody in the Czech Republic. In addition to performing basic and advanced pilot training, it has also flown combat missions in a light-attack role. Despi ...

References

* Anderson, Barry, (1985), United States Air Forces Stations, Air Force Historical Research Center, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. {{authority control Poltava Oblast Airports in Ukraine Ukrainian airbases Buildings and structures in Poltava Oblast Soviet military air bases in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic