Solenzara military airfield
| Base aérienne 126 Solenzara | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
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| Characteristics | |||
| ICAO code | LFKS | ||
| IATA code | SOZ | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Height above MSL | 20 m (66 ft ) | ||
| Transport links | |||
| Distance from the city center | 5 km north of Solenzara | ||
| Street | N 198 | ||
| Basic data | |||
| opening | 1960 | ||
| operator | Armée de l'air | ||
| Start-and runway | |||
| 18/36 | 2627 m × 45 m concrete | ||
The Base aérienne 126 Solenzara (BA 126), ICAO : SCO , ICAO : LFKS is a military airfield of the French Air Force ( Armée de l'air ) . The base, which is named after "Capitaine Préziosi", is located in the Corsica region in the Haute-Corse department in the municipality of Ventiseri , about five kilometers north of Solenzara on the east coast of the island. It is home to several helicopters and serves as the southernmost base of the French Air Force in France, sometimes for combat missions in the Mediterranean . It now forms part of the "Base de Defense de Ventiseri-Solenzara".
history
A first aerodrome was created for the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II . The Twelfth Air Force stationed fighters and medium bombers here in support of the invasion of southern France . The P-40s of the 324th Fighter Group were lying here in midsummer 1944 ; Later in the winter of 1944/1945 Solenzara Airfield was the base of the B-25 of the 310th Bombardment Group .
The current base was built between 1956 and 1960 as a training facility for various NATO air forces and in 1964 it became home to a liaison and rescue flight squadron , the Escadrille de liaisons aériennes et de sauvetage 1/44 (ELAS 1/44), which worked with Flamant and H. -34 was equipped. The squadron received MH.1521 in 1972 and Alouette III . The Flamant was delivered in 1974 and the H-34 in 1976, while the first Puma had already arrived in 1975. The unit upgraded to a group in 1983, Escadron de transport et de sauvetage 1/44 (ETS 1/44), gave up the MH. 1521 and the second Nord 262 , which had been added in the meantime, in 1988.
Then she became the helicopter group Escadron d'hélicoptères 1/44 (EH 1/44), which released her Alouette III in 1997. In 2007 the first Puma were replaced by the Super Puma and the group was renamed EH 1/44.
The base was established in 1993 for operations in Bosnia and 1,999 in Kosovo war used in the latter by RAF - tornadoes .
Between 2010 and 2016, the EH 1/44 operated the Super Puma , the Super Pumas stationed here were the last in the operation of the French Air Force.
Most recently, Solenzara was the base for operations over Libya in 2011 .
Todays use
The base currently (2016) hosts a flying group:
- EH 1/44 "Solenzara", helicopter group with Puma (since 2016)
There are also other non-flying formations.
Furthermore, the base is used to move the 2e régiment étranger de Parachutistes (2nd paratrooper regiment of the French Foreign Legion ) stationed in Calvi to its operational areas using C 160 Transall and C 130 Hercules military transport aircraft.
Web links
- Aeronautical map for the Solenzara military airfield on SkyVector.com