Verino airfield explained

Verino
Icao:XHHP
Type:Military
Owner:Ministry of Defence
Operator:Russian Air Force
Location:Pereyaslavka, Khabarovsk Krai
Built:Unknown
Used:Unknown
Elevation-F:85m (279feet)
Elevation-M:85
Pushpin Map:Russia Khabarovsk Krai
Pushpin Mapsize:250
Pushpin Label:Verino
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Primorsky Krai
R1-Number:03/21
R1-Length-F:8204
R1-Length-M:2500

Verino airfield was a Soviet Air Force based in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia located 5km (03miles) northeast of Pereyaslavka, Russia and about 35 miles (55 km) south of Khabarovsk. Verino was an 1st Air Army airfield, with the 300 and 302nd Bomber Aviation Regiment a mainstay in later years.

History

The United States Air Force first spotted the airfield during Lockheed U-2 overflights in March 1958.[1] Analysts found a 7,600 x 150' runway but could not see much detail. Later missions revealed as many as 93 aircraft parked on the ramps,[2] most of them Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17s (ASCC "Fresco").[3] Around 1970, upgraded aircraft, the Sukhoi Su-15 (ASCC "Flagon,") had arrived, though MiG-17s were still based here.[4]

By the 1980s, the airfield's interceptor role had diminished and many of the aircraft were replaced with tactical and attack aircraft. These included the Sukhoi Su-24 (ASCC "Fencer") and Mikoyan MiG-27 Flogger.

Notes and References

  1. https://web.archive.org/web/20170123025836/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP78T04753A000700010021-3.pdf JOINT MISSION COVERAGE SUMMARY MISSION C 6011 1 MARCH 1958
  2. https://web.archive.org/web/20170123145526/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP78B04560A004300010001-0.pdf MISSION COVERAGE INDEX MISSION 1012 17-22 OCTOBER 1964
  3. https://web.archive.org/web/20170123051107/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP78B04560A002200010033-8.pdf OAK PART II MISSION 4007 24-27 APRIL 1964
  4. https://web.archive.org/web/20170123045732/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP78T05162A000100010038-9.pdf SOVIET MILITARY BUILDUP ALONG THE CHINA BORDER AND IN MONGOLIA