Dobroslavtsi Air Base

Establishment

The military airbase was opened for operations on the 20 April 1952 as part of the huge modernization program of the air force, intended to transit the inventory in the jet age. The 18th and 43rd Fighter Air Regiments of the 4th Fighter Air Division were transferred to the base, formed two years earlier at Vrazhdebna Airfield. The aircraft type operated by the two regiments by the time of the re-basing was the Yak-9M/P fighter and a small quantity of Yak-11 fighter-trainers. Shortly afterwards a major boost in the units' operational capabilities has been achieved with the introduction of the Yak-23s and

The year 1955 saw the 18th Fighter Air Regiment converting to the MiG-15 and four years later - to the MiG-17F. The 43rd Fighter Air Regiment flew the MiG-15 from 1956 until its disbandment in 1960.

The Supersonic Years

The 1st Squadron of the 18th FAR transitioned to the supersonic MiG-19S/P in 1963. The following year saw a group of the regiment's flight officers being dispatched to the USSR for an operational conversion course to the advanced MiG-21 fighter. Upon arming with the MiG-21PF aircraft (12 units) the 2nd Squadron was transferred to the Gabrovnitsa Airfield in the country's northwestern area. After an upgrade in 1969, the regiment's MiG-19P were brought to a standard, which allowed them to carry two K-13 Air-to-Air missiles with IR-homing.

In 1975 the 1st Squadron (in Dobroslavtsi) transitioned to the outstanding for its time

In 1982 the 18th Fighter Air Regiment's 3rd Squadron was disbanded. This unit has for long time been the air defence force's operational training unit for fighter pilots. The tactics needed for air defence tasks were obtained by the newly formed pilots and a required number of flight hours was achieved by them before transferring to a front-line squadron of the 1st or 2nd Air Defence Divisions. The same year 8

Years of Decline