Bulgarian Air Force

Bulgarian Air Force Военновъздушни сили на България
Lineup	October 16, 1912
Country	Bulgaria
Type	Armed forces ( air forces )
guide
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

Simeon Petroff in his Blériot XI , 1912

Bulgarian aircraft DAR-10

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

Deployment of the Bulgarian Air Force in August 1944

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

Airplane cockade from 1948 to 1992

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

Count Ignatiewo / Mariza Dolna Mitropolija Sofia Besmer Plowdiv

Main bases of operations

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
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

• Strategic Airlift Capability

Web links

Commons : Bulgarian Air Force  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Official website of the Air Force on airforce.mod.bg
• Bulgarian Ministry of Defense on mod.bg

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Borislavov I., Kirilov R .: The Bulgarian Aircraft, Vol. I: From Bleriot to Messerschmitt . Litera Prima, Sofia, 1996 (Bulgarian)
2. ↑ World Air Force 2020. Flight International , December 10, 2019, accessed July 11, 2020 .