Vaiņode (also somewhere written as Vainodo, Vainede, Vaynede, Vaynodo, and Toyvanede) is a former USSR air base in

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

, located south of

Skrunda Skrunda (; ) is a town in the Courland region of Latvia. It lies 150 km (95 mi) west of the capital city Riga in Kuldīga Municipality. History The historical sources first mentioned Skrunda () in the Curonian Peninsula in 1253. In 1 ...

. It was abandoned in 1993. It is only from the border with

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

History

During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

it was a German

airship An airship, dirigible balloon or dirigible is a type of aerostat (lighter-than-air) aircraft that can navigate through the air flying powered aircraft, under its own power. Aerostats use buoyancy from a lifting gas that is less dense than the ...

base with two long

airship hangar Airship hangars (also known as airship sheds) are large specialized buildings that are used for sheltering airships during construction, maintenance and storage. Rigid airships always needed to be based in airship hangars because weathering was a s ...

s. After the war, they were dismantled and parts of them reused as top cover of

Riga Central Market Riga Central Market () is Europe's largest market and bazaar in Riga, Latvia. It is one of the most notable structures from 20th century in Latvia and has been included in UNESCO World Heritage Site list together with Vecrīga, Old Riga in 1998. ...

's pavilion buildings. They are still in use today. Vaiņode was home to the 54th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (54 Gv IAP), in 1967 flying some of the first

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 ...

(ASCC: Flagon) aircraft ever fielded. These planes were upgraded to

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 ...

(ASCC: Flanker) aircraft in the 1980s, and there is some evidence that

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (; NATO reporting name: Flogger) is a variable-sweep wing, variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan, Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB, design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-generation jet fighter, ...

(ASCC: Flogger) aircraft were flown. The 54th Regiment was withdrawn to Savasleyka in the

Moscow Military District The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District () is a Military districts of Russia, military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Originally it was a district of the Imperial Russian Army until the Russian Empire's collapse in 191 ...

after 1990. The 54th Guards IAP PVO was activated in May 1941 as the 237th Fighter Aviation Regiment (IAP) equipped with the

Yakovlev Yak-1 The Yakovlev Yak-1 () was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. The Yak-1 was a single-seat monoplane with a composite structure and wooden wings; production began in early 1940.Angelucci and Matricardi 1978, p. 239. The Yak-1 was a man ...

. On 3 February 1943 it became the 54th Guards IAP; "Kerch" designation from Apr 1944; 1944 equipped with

Bell P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by th ...

, as part of the 1st Guards IAD; reequipped with Su-15 in 1967, Su-15TM from the 2nd half of the 1970s, and Su-27 from the 2nd half of the 1980s.

Today

The site has been derelict since Latvian independence from the USSR in 1991. Part of the air base was demolished between 1995 and 1997. Some of the concrete plates were used to improve the infrastructure in Liepāja Port. Most of the area is a nature reserve.

References

External links

Photographs of the site in 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vainode Air Base Latvian airbases Former Soviet military air bases in Latvia Soviet Air Defence Force bases South Kurzeme Municipality