Vrazhdebna Air Base or 16th Transport Air Base is a military air base, located on the site of Sofia Airport

Sofia Airport

Sofia Airport , sometimes also called Letishte Sofia-Vrazhdebna , is the main airport in Sofia, Bulgaria. Located east of central Sofia. In 2010 the number of passengers was 3.3 million...

. The air base functions as a hub for the 16th Transport Squadron of the BAF.

History

"Vrazhdebna" is the original name for Sofia Airport, used since its establishment in 1937. The name is derived from the nearby village of Vrazhdebna (now a suburb of Sofia) and is literally translated as hostile.

Although various military transportation units, including 28th Air Detachment, have been based at the airport since the late 1940s, it was not until 1994 when a separate military base (16th Transport Air Base) was established. Both Sofia Airport and 16th TAB carry the official name "Vrazhdebna".

Units

Until 1950 it was the hub for the 14th Air Transport Regiment, which included mostly German aircraft (Junkers Ju 52

Junkers Ju 52

The Junkers Ju 52 was a German transport aircraft manufactured from 1932 to 1945. It saw both civilian and military service during the 1930s and 1940s. In a civilian role, it flew with over 12 air carriers including Swissair and Deutsche Luft Hansa as an airliner and freight hauler...

, Junkers A 35

Junkers A 35

-See also:*...

). After 1950 it was renamed to 16th Transport Squadron and was equipped with Lisunov Li-2

Lisunov Li-2

The Lisunov Li-2, originally designated PS-84 , was a license-built version of the Douglas DC-3. It was produced by the GAZ-84 works at Moscow-Khimki, and subsequently at GAZ-33 at Tashkent-Vostochn. The project was directed by aeronautical engineer Boris Pavlovich Lisunov.-Design and...

transport aircraft.

On some occasions Vrazhdebna Air Base also houses 28th Air Detachment aircraft, which is not officially a unit of the BAF.