Poduzhemye (also Kem/Uzhmana or Uzhmana) is a former air base in

Karelia Karelia (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; , historically Коре́ла, ''Korela'' []; ) is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Russia (including the Soviet Union, Soviet era), Finland, and Sweden. It is currentl ...

, Russia located 16 km west of Kem. The 265th Fighter Aviation Regiment arrived at the base from Riga-Rumbula in Latvia in 1953, when it was flying

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of the first successful jet fighters to incorporate s ...

s (NATO: Fagot). It transitioned to

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (; NATO reporting name: Fresco) is a high-subsonic fighter aircraft produced in the Soviet Union from 1952 and was operated by air forces internationally. The MiG-17 was license-built in China as the Shenyang J-5 and ...

s (NATO: Fresco) in 1954 and

Sukhoi Su-15 The Sukhoi Su-15 (NATO reporting name: Flagon) is a twinjet supersonic interceptor aircraft developed by the Soviet Union. It entered service in 1965 and remained one of the front-line designs into the 1990s. The Su-15 was designed to replace t ...

(NATO: Flagon) in 1969. It was subordinated to the 113th Fighter Aviation Division from 13.6.55 - 1960, the 5th Air Defence Division, 1961 - 4.80, the Air Forces of the

Leningrad Military District The Order of Lenin Leningrad Military District () is a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010, it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern ...

, 4.80 - 3.86, and then the 23rd Air Defence Division, 3.86 - 1994. It also flew

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 ...

(NATO: Flanker) aircraft. The regiment was disbanded in 1994. Aircraft from this base forced down Korean Air Flight 902, a

Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an early American long-range Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, the initial first flew on Decembe ...

, in 1978. Google high-res imagery shows that the base is abandoned and is in neglected condition. There is a noteworthy 45 x 25 m hangar north of the airfield.

History of the airfield

The airfield during the war was used in the interests of the troops of the Karelian Front. In March 1944 and at the aerodrome were based parts of the operational group

8th long-range air corps 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 ...

: operational group 36th Long-Range Aviation Division and 109th Long-Range Aviation Regiment on

Ilyushin Il-4 The Ilyushin Il-4 (DB-3F) (; NATO reporting name: Bob) is a Soviet twin-engined long-range bomber and torpedo bomber, widely used by the Soviet Air Force and Soviet Naval Aviation during World War II. Design and development In 1938, the Ilyush ...

. The concrete runway of the airfield was built in 1953 on the basis of the plan for the formation of a new air defense system of the USSR to accommodate air defense fighter units. From October 1953, 265th Fighter Aviation Regiment, 336th Fighter Aviation Division moved to the airfield from the Rumbula airfield MiG-15. In 1954, the regiment was reequipped on aircraft MiG-17. Since May 1955, after the fulfillment of a government assignment in China, 348th Fighter Aviation Regiment was redeployed to the airfield with support units. In 1956, a separate reconnaissance aviation squadron on MiG-17 aircraft was redeployed from under Chita. In 1965, the regiment was reequipped for new modifications of the MiG-17PF, equipped with radar sights. In 1969, the regiment was the first in 10th Air Defense OA began to retrain to a supersonic fighter

(NATO: ), which flew before its disbandment in 1994. In the period from September 1, 1953 and to July 1, 1960, the headquarters of the 336th Fighter Aviation Division was located at the airfield.

References

Russian Air Force bases Soviet Frontal Aviation Soviet Air Defence Force bases Airports in the Republic of Karelia Kemsky District {{Russia-mil-stub