Pápa Air Base is a

military airbase An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...

located near

Pápa Pápa is a historical town in Veszprém county, Hungary, located close to the northern edge of the Bakony Hills, and noted for its baroque architecture. With its 32,473 inhabitants (2011), it is the cultural, economic and tourism centre of the re ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

. The building of the airport started in 1936.History of Pápa Air Base
/ref> The

Hungarian Air Force The Hungarian Air Force ( hu, Magyar Légierő), is the air force branch of the Hungarian Defence Forces. The task of the current Hungarian Air Force is primarily defensive purposes. The flying units of the air force are organised into a single ...

has three active

air base An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...

s, and is the only active air base in western

. During

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, several German and Hungarian units used the air base. In 1944 the air base was the biggest air base of the

Royal Hungarian Air Force The Hungarian Air Force ( hu, Magyar Légierő), is the air force branch of the Hungarian Defence Forces. The task of the current Hungarian Air Force is primarily defensive purposes. The flying units of the air force are organised into a single ...

. On October 1, 1939 the

Royal Hungarian Army The Royal Hungarian Army ( hu, Magyar Királyi Honvédség, german: Königlich Ungarische Armee) was the name given to the land forces of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946), Kingdom of Hungary in the period from 1922 to 1945. Its name was inher ...

's 1st Parachute Company was created. Commanding officer was

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Vitéz Árpád Bertalan. The company was expanded to battalion level in the end of August 1940, and named the Royal Hungarian Army's 1st Honvéd Parachute Battalion. After World War II, a Soviet fighter regiment was stationed in Pápa. The Soviet Air Force used the base from 1945 until 1961. In 1961 the Hungarian People's Army's Air Force 47th Fighter Regiment became the home regiment of the air base. The regiment was that time equipped with three squadrons of MiG-21F type aircraft. Thirteen years later the squadrons were equipped with MiG-21MF, four years later with the MiG-21bis, and in 1979 the third fighter squadron was equipped with 12 MiG-23MF and four MiG-23UB type aircraft. In 1962 and 1984 the runway was renovated. In 1992 the regiment changed name to

47th Pápa Tactical Regiment. Following the reorganization, and disbandment of the regiment on June 30, 2001, the Hungarian Air Force Pápa Air Base was established on 1 July 2001. After that, Pápa Air Base was designated a NATO reserve Base. The base was selected as the Main Operating Base (MOB) hosting three SAC C-17 aircraft for NATO in 2007. Its multinational strategic airlift unit was officially activated on 27 July 2009 as part of the multinational Strategic Airlift Capability

consortium A consortium (plural: consortia) is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for ...

.12 nations activate groundbreaking Heavy Airlift Wing
/ref> In December 2015, an

Air Traffic Control Tower Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airsp ...

was constructed.

References

Military airbases of Hungary Military installations of the United States in Hungary Military airbases established in 1936 Soviet Air Force bases Military installations of the Soviet Union in other countries 1935 establishments in Hungary {{Europe-airport-stub