Bulgarian Air Force
Bulgarian Air Force |
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Lineup | October 16, 1912 |
Country | Bulgaria |
Type | Armed forces ( air forces ) |
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Air Force Commander | Major General Tsanko Ivanov Stoykov |
insignia | |
Aircraft cockade |
The Bulgarian Air Force ( Bulgarian Военновъздушни сили на България, Voennowasduschni sili na Balgarija ) is a 6,500 strong part of the Bulgarian armed forces . The headquarters are in Graf Ignatievo . Major General Zanko Ivanov Stojkow has been in command since 2016 . The Bulgarian Air Force is one of the oldest air forces in the world.
history
The beginnings
The history of the Bulgarian air force goes back to the year 1892 in Plovdiv , when two Bulgarian officers ascended for the first time with the French balloonist Eugène Godard with his balloon La France . Enthusiastic about balloon flights, the Bulgarian armed forces founded a balloon department on April 20, 1906. From this they sent two officers to Russia for training . At first she only had an old spherical balloon from France, but later they initiated - with Russian materials - the construction of their own balloon called Sofia-1 , which took off for the first time in early 1912. The balloon, the Blériot aircraft bought by France and four German Albatros F-2s (replicas of the Farman III ) were the first aircraft used in the establishment of the Bulgarian air force.
Balkan Wars
On October 15, 1912, the Bulgarian air force was given the task of conducting an espionage mission against the Ottoman army . You should collect information about the number and position. During the mission, on 16 October, the two F-machine was carried out with the albatross, the Bulgarian pilots bombed Radul Milkow and Prodan Taraktschiew the station of Karaağaç . During the siege of Edirne in 1913, the Bulgarian armed forces used planes for strategic bombing for the first time in war history.
First World War (1914-1918)
The Kingdom of Bulgaria stepped on the side of the October 4, 1915 the Central Powers in the First World War one.
Second World War
At the beginning of the Second World War , the air fleet comprised 374 machines in various designs. In addition, orders were placed for 10 Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4 fighters , 11 Dornier Do 17M bombers , 6 Messerschmitt Bf 108 light aircraft , 24 Arado Ar 96B-2 trainer aircraft and 14 Bücker Bü 131 trainer aircraft . Bulgaria also used machines from countries occupied by Germany, such as the Czechoslovak Avia B-135 and the French Dewoitine D.520 .
Bulgaria joined the Axis Powers on March 1, 1941. On April 6, 1941, the Yugoslav air raid on Kyustendil took place in which 68 people were killed and 90 injured. This was followed by air strikes by the British Royal Air Force from Greece on targets in Bulgaria.
Bulgaria left the "Axis" when the Red Army approached in the north and on September 9, 1944 the Bulgarian government overthrew. Bulgaria continued to fight alongside the Allies until 1945.
Cold War and Warsaw Pact
During the Cold War , what was now the People's Republic of Bulgaria was a satellite state of the Soviet Union . In September 1947 a Soviet-Bulgarian military agreement was signed. In 1950 it received 28 new Jak-9 and Jak-11 and 20 Jak-23 fighters from the Soviet Union . In 1955 Bulgaria became a member of the Warsaw Pact .
From 1957 to 1963, aviation forces from the Soviet Union were equipped with the then modern MiG-19 fighter planes and MiG-21 interceptors . They formed the southern flank opposite the NATO states Greece and Turkey . From 1973 onwards the equipment was equipped with MiG-23 fighter aircraft
Bulgaria was the only Warsaw Treaty country apart from the Soviet Union to use the MiG-25 . 3 MiG-25RBT reconnaissance machines and a school version MiG-25RU were used. After the end of the Cold War they became with Russia a. a. exchanged for MiG-21bis.
From 1988 to 1989 the air force received 21 Su-22M4 / UM-3 fighter-bombers and 40 Su-25K / KUB ground attack aircraft .
On July 1, 1991, the Warsaw Pact was dissolved.
NATO member
The fighter-bomber unit with the Su-22 at the Besmer Air Force Base was disbanded in February 2004. Bulgaria has been part of NATO since March 29, 2004 and has received substantial military aid from the United States.
See also United States military bases in Bulgaria .
organization
The most important bases are the following main operational bases:
- 3. Base, Count Ignatiewo / Mariza
- 12. Base, Dolna Mitropolija
- 16. Base, Sofia
- 22. Base, Besmer
- 24. Base, Plowdiv
equipment
The Bulgarian Air Force operates 38 aircraft and 23 helicopters (as of the end of 2019).
Aircraft | image | origin | use | version | active | Ordered | Remarks |
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Warplanes | |||||||
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 | Soviet Union | Multipurpose fighter | MiG-29А | 13 | From June 1989 18 MiG-29A were put into service | ||
Lockheed Martin F-16 | United States | Multipurpose fighter | F-16V | 8th | Ordered in July 2019, replacement for the MiG-29 | ||
Sukhoi Su-25 | Soviet Union | Ground attack aircraft | Su-25K | 4th | From 1986 purchase of 36 Su-25K. Stationed at Besmer (22nd attack aircraft base) | ||
Transport aircraft | |||||||
Antonov An-26 | Soviet Union | Transport plane | 1 | ||||
Alenia C-27J Spartan | Italy | Transport plane | 3 | ||||
Let L-410 |
Czechoslovakia / Czech Republic |
Transport plane | 1 | ||||
PC-12 | Switzerland | VIP transportation | 1 | ||||
Training aircraft | |||||||
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 | Soviet Union | Double - seat multipurpose fighter |
MiG-29UB | 2 | From June 1989 4 MiG-29UBs put into service | ||
Lockheed Martin F-16 | United States | Double - seat multipurpose fighter |
F-16D | 2 | Ordered in July 2019, replacement for the MiG-29 | ||
Sukhoi Su-25 | Soviet Union | Training ground attack aircraft |
Su-25UBK | 2 | From 1986 purchase of 4 Su-25UBK. Stationed at Besmer (22nd attack aircraft base) | ||
L-39 | Czechoslovakia | Jet trainer | L-39ZA | 6th | |||
PC-9 | Switzerland | Trainer aircraft | 6th | ||||
helicopter | |||||||
AS 332 | France | Transport helicopter | AS 532 H215M |
12 | 2 | ||
Mil Wed-24 | Soviet Union | Attack helicopter | 2 | ||||
Mil Wed-8 | Soviet Union | Transport helicopter | Wed-17 | 3 | |||
Bell 206 | United States | Liaison helicopter training helicopter |
Bell 206B | 4 2 |
As part of the Strategic Airlift Capability Program, Bulgaria and the other participating countries also operate three C-17 Globemaster IIIs that can be used for strategic military air transport.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Borislavov I., Kirilov R .: The Bulgarian Aircraft, Vol. I: From Bleriot to Messerschmitt . Litera Prima, Sofia, 1996 (Bulgarian)
- ↑ World Air Force 2020. Flight International , December 10, 2019, accessed July 11, 2020 .