Željava Air Base

Željava Airbase Aerodrom Željava
IATA: none – ICAO: LYBI
Summary
Airport type		Military
Serves		Bihać
Location		Željava
Elevation AMSL		1,126 ft / 343 m
Coordinates		44°50′11″N 15°45′29″E
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
14R/32L (BiH & Croatia)	8,350	2,545	Asphalt
14L/32R (BiH)	8,235	2,510	Asphalt
08R/26L (Croatia & BiH)	7,628	2,325	Asphalt
01/19 (Croatia)	11,909	3,630	Asphalt
08L/26R (BiH & Croatia)	7,267	2,215	Asphalt

Željava Air Base, situated on the border between Croatia and Bosnia under Plješevica Mountain, near the town of Bihać in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was the largest underground airport and military airbase in the former Yugoslavia and one of the largest in Europe.

History

Construction of the "Objekat 505" (code name), better known as Željava or Bihać Air Base, began during 1948, and was completed in 1968. SFRJ in that time had spent around $6 Billion dollars constructing this object, which is 3 times the annual military budget of Serbia and Croatia put together today. It was one of the biggest and most expensive military constructions in Europe.

Description

The role of the facility was to provide, integrate and coordinate the nationwide early warning radar network in SFRJ (like NORAD). The complex was designed and constructed to sustain a direct hit from a 20 Kiloton nuclear bomb, or equivalent to the Nagasaki atom bomb.

Strategic role

The main advantage was the strategic location of its intercept and surveillance radar "Celopek", on Mount Pljesevica, at the nerve center of an advanced integrated air defense network that covered the airspace and territory of SFR Yugoslavia, and possibly further. Besides the main purpose of a protected radar installation, a control center, secure communications, and related facilities, the air base contained underground tunnels for the use, parking, and maintenance of two complete fighter, and one reconnaissance, squadrons. These units were the 124.LAE (Fighter Aviation Squadron) and 125.LAE equipped with MiG-21 Bis fighter aircraft and 352.IAE (Reconnaissance Aviation Squadron) equipped with MiG-21R reconnaissance-fighter aircraft.

With the length of the underground tunnels being 3.5 kilometers, the complete bunker had four entrances, protected by 100 ton pressurized doors, three of which were intended for use by fixed-wing aircraft. Eventually, it was hoped the base would re-equip with the indigenously developed Yu Supersonik.

Underground Complex "KLEK"

SFR Yugoslav Air Force pilots being greeted by Marshal Josip Broz Tito inside one of Željava Air Base's aircraft tunnels

The underground facility was lined with semicircular concrete shields, arranged every ten meters, to cushion the impact of attacking munitions. There was access to an underground water source, power generators, crew quarters and other facilities which were of strategic advantage in the event of a war. The facility even had a mess hall which had the capacity to feed 1000 men at once, and enough food, fuel and arms reserves to last 30 days without any external intervention. The fuel was supplied by a network consisting of 20 kilometers of underground pipes from a military warehouse on Pokoj Hill near Bihać.

Surface

Topside, the facility had five runways. In the immediate vicinity of the base, there were numerous short range mobile tracking and targeting radar and missile equipped sites,the 2K12 "Kub" (Russian: 2К12 "Куб"; NATO: SA-6 Gainful) mobile surface-to-air missile system (SAM interceptors), motorized infantry bases and military police stations, and a hunting lodge used by the country and military leadership for an occasional leisure trip.

Access was monitored by heavy surveillance and guards authorized to open fire on anyone attempting to enter without authorization. In practice, however, this was seldom the case, and only special permits were required, otherwise, visitors would be turned away. The estimated cost of construction was in excess of six billion US dollars.

Destruction

The air base was used intensively during the Yugoslav Wars in early 1991. In the course of its withdrawal, the Yugoslav Peoples Army (JNA) destroyed the airport by filling and igniting the explosive positions that were built-in during the construction phase of the base and as part of base design (see above). To prevent any possible future use of the complex and preclude any advantage to an opposing party the Military of Serbian Krajina finalized its demolition in 1995 by setting off an additional 56 tons of explosives. The ensuing explosion was so powerful that the nearby city of Bihać shook violently. Villagers say that there was smoke coming from inside of the tunnels even 6 months after the destruction.

Aftermath

Extreme caution must be used when visiting the Zeljava Airfield Complex, in view of the extensive number of landmines on and around the base. The local Police and the CPA use the area to train canines with the use of actual landmines due to the enormous amounts of mines that exist within the complex area. In November 2000, a Federation Airforce Major suffered a mine strike and died of injuries sustained by the explosion of a PROM-2 anti-personnel mine after searching for mushrooms.

Current situation

The amount of the destruction and devastation of the buildings and materials is invaluable and caused great environmental damage. Any idea of reconstruction on this volume is limited by a lack of necessary resources. In the immediate vicinity of the airport is a dividing line and the entire area is heavily mined. Today it serves as a location for illegal migration. The barracks in the village of Ličko Petrovo Selo are under the supervision of HV. There was a scheduled opening ceremony ca. 2004-05 for asylum seekers but after that idea was abandoned new plans were developed for it to become part of a military training ground Eugen Kvarternik from Slunj, and barracks in nearby Udbina complex. The Municipality of Bihać has launched an initiative for use of the runway on its territory for the opening of a local airport.

Equipment Gallery

• 

  Aircraft maintenance inside aircraft tunnel

• 

  MiG-21F-13s parked inside tunnel

• 

  Parked and lined-up

• 

  Aircraft being pulled outside

• 

  A MiG-21F-13 being towed inside Željava Air Base.

• 

  MiG-21F13 exiting through custom door

• 

  A MiG-21PFM entering a tunnel

• 

  Another angle, entrance to complex

• 

  On the surface, apron

• 

  Mig pilots talking before a mission

• 

  Control room inside "KLEK"

• 

  Leaving Željava for a training mission

See also

• SFR Yugoslav Air Force
• Slatina Air Base
• Emir Šišić
• Rudolf Perešin
• Novi Avion

External links

• Željava runways layout & numbering scheme
• Runway 2 - threshold 14L at Panoramio
• Runway 2 - threshold 32R at Panoramio
• MiG-21 JRV - landing at runway 14L, LYBI at YouTube
• Photos of the Željava air base
• SFOR informer
• YouTube videos of the air base
• Inside pictures and videos of Zeljava air base
• Pictures and information on the air base