San Antonio de los Baños Airfield
San Antonio de los Baños Airfield | |||||||||||||||||||
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AMSL 50 m / 164 ft | | ||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 22°52′18″N 082°30′34″W / 22.87167°N 82.50944°W | ||||||||||||||||||
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San Antonio de los Baños Airfield (ICAO: MUSA) is a military air base located near San Antonio de los Baños,[1] a municipality in the province of Havana (La Habana) in Cuba. It is located approximately 3 mi (4.8 km) southwest of the city of San Antonio de los Baños, about 30 mi (48 km) southwest of Havana.
History
World War II
The station was built in 1942 and was first used by American forces on 29 August 1942. The U.S. forces called it "Cayuga" (named after the construction company hired by the U.S. to build it - the Cayuga construction company is named after the
to the field.On September 9, 1942, Cuba and United States signed a new naval and Military Agreement of Cooperation for a second airfield that would later be known as
On November 1, 1942, the United States Army Air Forces set up postal operations for San Antonio de los Baños, using Army Post Office, Miami with the address: 632 APO MIA.[3]
From 1943 to 1945, major units assigned were:
- B-34 Ventura)
- A-29 Hudson)
- B-18 Bolo)
- B-29 Superfortress)
- Detachment: 89th Combat Crew Training Wing, 1943–1945
Post-World War II
With the end of the war, the United States withdrew its forces from the airfield and it was turned over to the Cuban government on 30 April 1946.
After the handover, it was used by the
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, Soviet Armed Forces elements deployed as part of Operation Anadyr were based at the airfield. The 32nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Soviet Air Forces, flying MiG-21F-13s, had elements there. Initially, the regiment sent its 2nd Squadron from Santa Clara Air Base to San Antonio de los Baños, and then later the whole regiment was concentrated at San Antonio de los Baños. In 1963, the regiment transferred its aircraft to the Cuban Air Force and returned home. In Cuba, the regiment served under the title 213th Fighter Aviation Regiment.[5]
Elevation / Runways
The air base resides at an
San Antonio de los Baños Air Base
The airport is an active Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces airbase:
- UM 1779th Regiment
- UM 2661 Squadron- Mikoyan MiG-29A and UB, Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23ML and UB fighters
- UM 5010 Intercept Squadron - Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21BIS fighters and Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21UM fighter trainers
References
- ^ a b c "Airport information for MUSA". World Aero Data. Archived from the original on 2019-03-05.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) Data current as of October 2006. Source: DAFIF. - ^ Airport information for MUSA at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
- ^ "Army Post Offices". Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2011-09-28.
- ^ "The Avalon Project: The Cuban Missile Crisis". Retrieved 2006-06-19.
- ^ "The 32nd Guards Regiment in Cuba".
External links
- Accident history for MUSA at Aviation Safety Network
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency