Cerklje ob Krki Airbase
Encyclopedia
The Beginnings
The earliest existence of the airport in Cerklje ob KrkiCerklje ob Krki
Cerklje ob Krki is a settlement on the left bank of the Krka River in the Municipality of Brežice in eastern Slovenia. It is best known for the Cerklje ob Krki Airbase to the north of the settlement. The area was traditionally part of Lower Carniola...
was in the 1930s, where a grass runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
created an auxiliary airfield. The military authorities of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
decided to build an airport in the location due to technical data based on favorable weather and geographical conditions. Whilst there were several airports in Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
at the time, only Cerklje was used strictly for military purposes. Due to this, less archival material exists to testify the airport's construction and development, though it is known to have taken place after larger facilities in Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
and Maribor
Maribor
Maribor is the second largest city in Slovenia with 157,947 inhabitants . Maribor is also the largest and the capital city of Slovenian region Lower Styria and the seat of the Municipality of Maribor....
. Permanent infrastructure was built slowly following the grass runway was established, with wooden hangars.
WWII
In 1941 the Axis forces unexpectedly attacked the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the first wave took place from the air. In April War, the air forces of the axis in a few days destroyed Kingdom of YugoslaviaKingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
Army Aviation. At the airport was then housed unit 6th air patrol group of Army Aviation, which operated for the purposes of the 7th Army. Army aviation units were on combat operations very poorly equipped for combat with their opponents. On the first day of the war early in the morning, the unit lost nine aircraft and is the remaining planes, the three Breguet XIX
Breguet 19
The Breguet 19 was a light bomber and reconnaissance plane, also used for long-distance flights, designed by the French Breguet company and produced from 1924.-Development:...
and a Fieseler Fi-156 "Stork"
Fieseler Fi 156
The Fieseler Fi 156 Storch was a small German liaison aircraft built by Fieseler before and during World War II, and production continued in other countries into the 1950s for the private market...
, presented at the airport in a hillock nearby.
The German occupying forces in the Autumn of 1941 carried out further consolidation, expanded and extended the landing-runway and built three brick buildings. Construction was completed in spring 1942. German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
occupying aviation is through the act of war against the rebels in battle facts, reconnaissance and in support of land forces with a number of different units. Very important is the role of play in the German operation "Roselsprung" and landing on the 25th Drvar May 1944.
As an extremely strategic position was also attractive to partisans attacks by war twice in the attack, at the end of the war, however, attacked the partisan and the axis aviation. The airport was liberated 9th May 1945.
Yugoslav Era
Yugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army , also referred to as the Yugoslav National Army , was the military of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.-Origins:The origins of the JNA can...
. By then the airfield was modified only by the updating of the runway at the tightening of the west neighbor in the so-called crisis in Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
in 1953. That year the Yugoslav air force increased the number of aircraft and troops. At the end of the crisis, the airport remained a key for the defense of the Northwest airspace of Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. In the events in 1991 all of the Yugoslav units retreated to BiH
BIH
BIH is a three letter initialism that can stand for:*Benign intracranial hypertension*Bihari language, ISO 639 alpha-3 language code*Bilateral inguinal hernia Bosnia and Herzegovina, ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country code...
and Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
.
The airport has been the base for the following aircraft: Messerschmitt Bf 109
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...
, Ilyushin Il-2 šturmovik
Ilyushin Il-2
The Ilyushin Il-2 was a ground-attack aircraft in the Second World War, produced by the Soviet Union in very large numbers...
, P-47 Thunderbolt
P-47 Thunderbolt
Republic Aviation's P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as the "Jug", was the largest, heaviest, and most expensive fighter aircraft in history to be powered by a single reciprocating engine. It was heavily armed with eight .50-caliber machine guns, four per wing. When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to...
, F-84G Thunderjet
F-84 Thunderjet
The Republic F-84 Thunderjet was an American turbojet fighter-bomber aircraft. Originating as a 1944 United States Army Air Forces proposal for a "day fighter", the F-84 flew in 1946...
, J-20 Kraguj
Soko J-20 Kraguj
|-See also:-References:* Taylor,John W.R. . Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1969-70. London: Sampson Low,1969.-External links:* *...
, vulture J-21 Jastreb
Soko J-21 Jastreb
|-See also:...
J-22 Orao
Soko J-22 Orao
The Soko J-22 Orao is a twin-engined, subsonic, close support, ground-attack and tactical reconnaissance aircraft, with secondary capability as a low level interceptor. It was designed as a single-seat main attack version or as a combat capable two-seat version for advanced flying and weapon...
.
Slovenian war of independnce
During the summer of 1991 the deep rooted grievances that had been threatening the unity of the Federal state for some time finally came to a head when Slovenia initiated moves towards independence. At the end of June 1991 the JRViPVO was tasked with transporting soldiers and federal police to Slovenia. The Slovenes resisted this re-imposition of central control, which rapidly escalated into an armed conflict. Two air force helicopters were shot down, while the JRViPVO launched air strikes on TV transmitters and Slovenian territorial defence positions. After a political agreement, the federal forces left Slovenia and took all JRViPVO equipment with them.Modern History
Karl Erjavec
Karl Viktor Erjavec is a Slovenian lawyer and politician. Since 2005, he has been the president of the Democratic Party of Pensioners of Slovenia. From 21 November 2008 until 26 January 2010, Erjavec held the position of the Minister of the Environment and Spatial Planning in the government of...
, together with other ministers, signed a protocol which would transform Cerklje ob Krki into a support facility for NATO aircraft (e.g., aircraft maintenance and resupply). The building of this base is unpopular among local residents, who are concerned that the base would cause environmental and economic disruption.