The

Romanian Air Force The Romanian Air Force (RoAF) ( ro, Forțele Aeriene Române) is the air force branch of the Romanian Armed Forces. It has an air force headquarters, an operational command, five airbases and an air defense brigade. Reserve forces include one ai ...

95th Air Base "Captain Alexandru Șerbănescu" ( ro, Baza 95 Aeriană "Căpitan Aviator Alexandru Șerbănescu") is an

air force 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 ...

adjacent to

George Enescu International Airport George Enescu International Airport is an airport located in Bacău, Romania. Named after the Romanian composer George Enescu, it serves as a focus city of the low-cost airline Blue Air. Bacău Airport shares its runway with RoAF 95th Air Base, ...

, Romania, south of

Bacău Bacău ( , , ; hu, Bákó; la, Bacovia) is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. At the 2016 national estimation it had a population of 196,883, making it the List of cities and towns in Romania, 12th largest city in Romania. The city is ...

Bacău County Bacău County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in Western Moldavia, with its capital city at Bacău. It has one commune, Ghimeș-Făget, in Transylvania. Geography This county has a total area of . In the western part of the county ther ...

. The base was founded on 25 August 1995, having as its purpose the support of the 95th Fighter Group training. From 1 May 2001 until 1 July 2004, during the military reorganization process, the Supersonic Jet Training Center operated in the Bacău air base, preserving the tradition of training the young

pilots An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they ar ...

according to the MIG-21 LanceR program. Since 1 July 2004, the 95th Air Base has undergone a thorough reorganization. The base is currently the home of the 951st Advanced Air Training Squadron, operating the IAR 99 Șoim, and of the 952nd Helicopter Squadron, operating IAR 330L and IAR 330 SOCAT.

History

Origins

The unit traces its origins to the Aviation Training Center established on 16 June 1920 in Tecuci from the 4th Aviation Group (''Grupul 4 Aviație''). In 1924, it became the Aeronautics Training Center. After the

Second World War 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 training center was reorganized, being eventually disbanded in 1953. The Aviation Training Center was reestablished on 1 December 1968, being headquartered on the Bacău airfield. From 1969 until 1995, the air base was used for the pilots' transition training to

supersonic aircraft A supersonic aircraft is an aircraft capable of supersonic flight, that is, flying faster than the speed of sound (Mach number 1). Supersonic speed, Supersonic aircraft were developed in the second half of the twentieth century. Supersonic airc ...

Post-1990

Between 1992 and 2003, the base was equipped with

An-2 The Antonov An-2 ("kukuruznik"—corn crop duster; USAF/DoD reporting name Type 22, NATO reporting name Colt) is a Soviet mass-produced single-engine biplane utility/agricultural aircraft designed and manufactured by the Antonov Design Burea ...

aircraft which were used for transport and

paratrooper A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during Wor ...

missions. On 25 August 1995, the 95th Fighter-Bombardment Air Base was formed, meant to ensure the training and conducting of the combat missions of the 95th Fighter Aviation Group. It also supported testing of the

MiG-21 LanceR This is a list of variants and specifications for variants of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21, which differed considerably between models. Variants All information in this section adapted from ''MiG-21'' (2008).Gordon, Yefim. ''Mikoyan MiG-21'' (Fa ...

project of the

Aerostar Aerostar S.A. is an aeronautical manufacturing company based in Bacău, Romania. History Since its establishment in 1953, the company's name has changed numerous times in turn from ''U.R.A.'' to ''I.R.Av'', ''I.Av''. and finally ''Aerostar''. ...

company. In 1997, it became the first base to receive the

. On 1 May 2001, the base was transformed into the 95th Supersonic Jet Training Center following a restructuring program for the Air Force. In the same year, two helicopter squadrons, equipped with

IAR 316 The IAR 316 is a Romanian license-built Aérospatiale SA 316B Alouette III manufactured by Industria Aeronautică Română (IAR). Design and development IAR 316 IAR began manufacturing the IAR 316 in 1971 at its plant near Brașov, Romania. ...

and

IAR 330 The IAR 330 is a licence-built version of the Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma helicopter, manufactured by the Romanian aerospace manufacturer IAR Brașov. The IAR 330 was produced under a licensing agreement with the French aerospace firm Aéros ...

helicopters, were also added to the base after the disbanding of the 60th Helicopter Group from Tecuci. On 1 July 2004, the base was renamed to the 95th Air Base. Starting from 2006, the base received the honorific name "Captain

Alexandru Șerbănescu Alexandru "Alecu" Șerbănescu (17 May 1912 in Colonești, Olt County – 18 August 1944 in Rușavăț, Buzău County) was a leading Romanian fighter pilot and flying ace in World War II. At the end of Romania's campaign on the side of the ...

". Between 2010 and 2013, the base was called the 95th Air Flotilla. In 2010, it received the IAR 330 SOCAT helicopters, and in 2012 it received the IAR 99 Șoim airplanes. The base was decorated with the

Order of Aeronautical Virtue The Order of Aeronautical Virtue ( ro, Ordinul "Virtutea Aeronautică") is a Romanian military decoration created by King Carol II on 31 July 1930. Originally, the Order had three ranks: Knight, Officer and Commander, as well as a "Golden Cross" ...

in 2010, and with the

National Order of Merit An order of merit is conferred by a state, government or royal family on an individual in recognition of military or civil merit. Order of merit may also refer to: * FIFA Order of Merit, for significant contribution to association football * PDC O ...

in 2020.

Gallery

File:MiG-21 LanceR B Romania (16837095521).jpg, MiG-21 LanceR B from the Bacău Air Base at

Twenthe Airbase Enschede Airport Twente is located outside of Enschede in Overijssel, Netherlands. It has one runway (05/23), though one of the current taxiways has been used as a runway (taxiway A, formerly runway 16/34). The airport is currently uncontroll ...

in 2000 File:MiG-21UMLancerB.jpg, MiG-21 LanceR B of the 951st Fighter Squadron, Cooperative Key 2003 at

Graf Ignatievo Air Base Graf Ignatievo Air Base is located in the village of Graf Ignatievo, about north of Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second largest city. It is the sole remaining fighter base of that state and houses two squadrons of jet aircraft. Early years Graf Ign ...

, Bulgaria. File:Romanian Mig-21.JPG,

A of the 951st Fighter Squadron at Archangel 2005 airshow. File:Romanian Mig-21bis.JPG, MiG-21 LanceR B of the 951st Fighter Squadron at Archangel 2005 airshow.

References

External links

*
95th Air Base on the Romanian Air Force official website
*
Order of Battle of the RoAF
{{Romanian Air Force units and formations Romanian Air Force bases Buildings and structures in Bacău County 1995 establishments in Romania