Sarzana-Luni military airfield

Sarzana-Luni military airfield “Giovanni Fiorini”
Sarzana-Luni
Characteristics
ICAO code	LIQW
Coordinates	44 ° 5 ′ 20 "  N , 9 ° 59 ′ 20"  E Coordinates: 44 ° 5 ′ 20 "  N , 9 ° 59 ′ 20"  E
Height above MSL	14 m (46  ft )
Transport links
Distance from the city center	3 km southeast of Sarzana
Street	A12 , Via Aurelia , SP 21
train	Sarzana train station
Local transport	bus
Basic data
opening	1918
operator	Aeronautica Militare
Start-and runway
18/36	905 m × 23 m asphalt

The Sarzana-Luni military airfield is located in the Italian region of Liguria , around ten kilometers southeast of La Spezia and three kilometers southeast of Sarzana near Luni . It is a naval aviation base of the Italian Navy , MARISTAELI Luni , which is also used by the coast guard and, to a limited extent, by general aviation .

Location and name

The airfield is located near La Spezia, one of the largest naval bases in Italy, not far from the confluence of the Magra River into the Tyrrhenian Sea , between the Via Aurelia and the A12 motorway . About three kilometers southeast and south of the airfield are Luni , a district of the municipality of Ortonovo , the place Luni Mare and the ancient Roman colony Luni or Luna . Because of the historical significance of the latter place, the names "Luni Airfield" or "Luni-Sarzana Airfield" are often found, contrary to the usual practice of first naming the larger town.

Infrastructure and use

The runway , which is around 900 meters long and runs in a north-south direction, separates the airport grounds into two areas. In the west is the base of the Navy (Maristaeli Luni) , which maintains two helicopter squadrons there: the 1st squadron is equipped with AW 101 , the 5th with NH90 and some remaining AB 212ASW . These helicopters usually operate mainly from warships or support naval special forces . There are also training facilities at the naval aviation base, including a helo dunker , where rescue operations are practiced underwater using a helicopter cell and a swimming pool , and a flight simulator for the AW 101.In addition, the navy has a flight test center in Luni (Centro Sperimentale Aeromarittimo ) . To the northeast of the runway is the coast guard base, which uses AW 139 helicopters from there . It also maintains a training center for flight personnel and a maintenance center there. Next to the coast guard base is the small civil part with the Aercolub Lunense P. Lombardi .

history

The airfield was created in 1918. During the Second World War , various hunting groups were stationed in Luni to defend the La Spezia naval base against Allied air raids. For a long time after the war there was only one airfield command of the Italian Air Force . On September 1, 1967, the expansion into a naval aviation base began. On October 21, 1969, the first AB 47J and SH-34J helicopters for the 5th squadron arrived in Luni . Around ten years later, the conversion to the AB 212 was completed. In 1971 the first season from Catania-Fontanarossa with their SH-3D was relocated to Luni. The conversion to the AW 101 took place from 2002. The AB 212 of the 5th season were replaced from 2011 by the new NH90 .

With the establishment of the Coast Guard Air Force in 1988, their first airborne unit with Piaggio P.166 aircraft was set up in Luni . Until the end of 1991, however, it operated with the support of the Italian Air Force from the Guidonia military airfield (Rome), then on the naval aviation base west of the runway of Sarzana-Luni and with their support. The coast guard was only able to open its own base in the northeast of the airfield at the end of 1995. In April 1993 she received the first type AB 412 helicopters in Luni , which were replaced by the new AW 139 by 2017. The P.166 had given up the unit in Luni in 2006.

Web links

• Representation of the Italian Navy (Italian)
• Depiction of the Coast Guard (it.)