Malbork military airfield
| 22. Baza Lotnictwa Taktycznego Marienburg Air Base |
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|---|---|
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| Characteristics | |
| ICAO code | EPMB |
| Coordinates | |
| Height above MSL | 5 m (16 ft ) |
| Transport links | |
| Distance from the city center | 6 km east of Malbork / Marienburg |
| Street |
 (earlier  )
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| Basic data | |
| opening | 1929 |
| Start-and runway | |
| 08/26 | 2168 m × 60 m concrete |
The 22nd Baza Lotnictwa Taktycznego (22nd Tactical Air Base) is a military airfield of the Polish Air Force ( Siły Powietrzne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej ). The base is in the Pomeranian Voivodeship in the Malborski powiat (Marienburg district) about six kilometers east of the center of Malbork / Marienburg . It is the home base of the Polish MiG-29 - interceptors .
history
Airfield and port of operations in Marienburg
In 1929, a civil airfield for Marienburg was opened near what was then Königsdorf (today Królewo). This was taken over by the Luftwaffe in 1934 . On the edge of the airfield, a production plant for the Bremen aircraft manufacturer Focke-Wulf was built in 1939 . Around half of all Focke-Wulf Fw 190s built there were assembled there during the Second World War . There was a prisoner-of-war camp nearby , the Stalag XX-B.
The industrial area near Marienburg, including the aircraft factory and airfield, was twice the target of air raids on October 9, 1943 and April 9, 1944 by almost 100 Boeing B-17s of the US Eighth Air Force . The Air Force itself hardly used the airfield, which it classified as a "port of operations", only in the second half of January 1945 during the Battle of East Prussia Bf 109G / K of the III lay there for a few days . Group of Jagdgeschwader 1 (III./JG 1).
41st Pułk Lotnictwa Myśliwskiego (41st Fighter Regiment)
After the war, Marienburg Malbork and the former Focke-Wulf factory airfield became a base for Soviet and Polish air units.
In 1952 Malbork became the base of the 41st Fighter Regiment, 41st Pułk Lotnictwa Myśliwskiego . The regiment first flew the MiG-15 and later the MiG-17 . The conversion to the MiG-21 took place in 1964. In addition to the flying squadrons, non-flying units also belonged to the regiment.
22. Baza Lotnictwa Taktycznego (22nd Tactical Air Base)
The MiG-21s “survived” the end of the Warsaw Pact and in the run-up to Poland's entry into NATO , the armed forces were reorganized and the 41st regiment was disbanded in 2001.
The 22nd Baza Lotnicza (22nd Air Base ), from 2010 the 22nd Baza Lotnictwa Taktycznego (22nd BLT), was founded in Malbork, and the 41st Tactical Squadron, 41st Eskadra Lotnictwa Taktycznego (41st elt), was subordinated to it. In addition to the flying group with the 41st squadron, the base is responsible for the groups supporting flight operations.
The last MiG-21s were decommissioned in 2003 and in 2004, the year Poland joined NATO, flight operations began with the ex- Luftwaffe - MiG-29B / UB , which already met NATO standards.
At the end of April 2014, the French Armée de l'air initially relocated four Rafale to Malbork as a result of the Crimean crisis as part of the “ Air Policing Baltic States ” . A few more followed the French contingent (for details see “Air Policing Baltic States”). This later became training missions, for example in spring 2019 for two months by Portuguese F-16s.
Todays use
The base currently houses (2019):
- 41 Eskadra Lotnictwa Taktycznego (41 ELT), tactical squadron, equipped with former Air Force MiG-29B / UB fighter aircraft since 2004 . There are also non-flying formations.
