Matrosovo Explained

Matrosovo
Icao:XHST
Type:Military
Location:Leonidovo
Elevation-F:335
Elevation-M:102
R1-Number:17/35
R1-Length-F:11483
R1-Length-M:3500
R1-Surface:Dirt

Matrosovo is a former airport, likely air base, on Sakhalin Island, Russia located 14 km north of Leonidovo. It served as a dispersal airfield for military aircraft on Sakhalin Island during the Cold War.

Matrosovo was identified by U.S. photographic reconnaissance satellites around 1962.[1] The Central Intelligence Agency's collection of declassified documents do not show that any aircraft were ever observed at this airfield, and no documents after 1970 reference the airfield.

In 1985 a Tupolev Tu-16 from Khorol crashed at or near this airfield. Matrosovo was not used after the Cold War and has fallen into a state of decay.

References

Notes and References

  1. MISSION COVERAGE INDEX MISSION 9047 5-9 NOVEMBER 1962, CREST: CIA-RDP78B04560A000900010017-1, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC.