Soviet Naval Aviation Airbase Destroyed by Fire

Nature beats NATO:

www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=62183

I have some doubts about this report.

The location is KOLOMNA not KOLONNA.

I think this is the base:

www.flashearth.com/?lat=54.908538&lon=39...&z=13.1&r=0&src="msa"

but I don't see 13 hangars and certainly would not expect 200 aircraft to be housed there unless they were old redundant airframes.

There are several reports of the incident - perm any one of three:


www.kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2010/08/03/12344.shtml


rt.com/Top_News/2010-08-03/fires-destroy-200-aircraft.html

Thanks WJT, the other reports indicate that it may have been a major Depot for the Russian Navy.

I still have trouble in believing statements that a 100 hectare area was completely destroyed.

Peter: Me too, but the TV reports and satellite images of these fires suggest that they are on a scale seldom if ever seen before.

Bit more from elsewhere:

Having read all these reports I have been studying google earth to try and find an indication of this base.

The closest candidate seems to be Lukhovitsy Tretyakovo Airport, this is indeed on the outskirts of Kolomna. The imagery shows around 40 Mig29's in open storage and several large hangers.

However according to wiki the airport is operated by Russian Aircraft Corporation "MiG" as part of the Lukhovitsy Aircraft Production and Test Complex.

This is from the global security website:

Quote:
"Lukhovitsy Machine Building Plant (LMZ)
Lukhovitsy Aviation Production and Test Complex (LAPIK)
Lukhovitsy Machine Building Plant (LMZ)
Lukhovitsy, Moscow Region, Russia
Tel/Fax: +7 09663 1 1376/+7 095 234 4313
E-mail:
Lukhovitsy Machine Building Plant (LMZ) is an integral part of Federal State Unitary Enterprise- Military Industrial Group "MAPO" (FSUE "MIG "MAPO"). The plant was founded as a subsidiary of Moscow Machine-Building Plant "Znamya Truda" ("Banner of Labour") in 1953 and before 1968 functioned as its test-flight base. The Lukhovitsy Aircraft Production and Test Complex includes the Tretyakovo airfield facility established to perform test flights and acceptance flights of all aircraft produced by the RAC "MiG".

The Lukhovitsy Aircraft Production and Test Complex is a high-capacity facility provided with up-to-date equipment which manufactured the IL-28 tactical bombers and the MiG-23 / MiG-27 family fighter/strike aircraft. Later the Complex was responsible for production of MiG-29 fighters.

Listened to reports on BBC World Radio last night and looked at this video report today:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-10871997

The scale of devastation indicates timber built structures with brick chimneys and piers in a village also affected. If the Naval Logistics centre was also built with combustible materials that would account for the 'totally destroyed' report.

Found some more info:

It appears that it is a Russian Naval Air logistics base and not an
airfield. Recent Russian reports names the destroyed logistics base by
its depot number 2512.

The following comes from Voice of Russia:

'Several senior Navy officers have been sacked by Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev after a devastating fire occurred at a Kolomna naval
base outside Moscow. The head of state reprimanded Navy
Commander Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky accusing him of incompetence.
Today, he delivered a speech at a Security Council meeting on
additional fire safety measures for the country’s strategic facilities. Ilya
Kharlamov reports.

The President emphasized that the fire in the Moscow region has
entailed drastic consequences. A preliminary investigation of the incident
has already been carried out within the country’s Defense Ministry.
The incident stems from the non-fulfillment of service duties and criminal
negligence. It is unclear where commanders of the Kolomna were when
the fire occurred. Therefore, I’ve made this decision on the Navy
leadership. I have reprimanded Navy Chief Admiral Vysotsky and his
deputy Alexander Tatarinov for incompetence, sacked Deputy Chief of
the Logistic Support System Sergeyev, Navy Aviation Chief Kuklev,
deputy chief of naval aviation Colonel Rasskazov, and the chief of base
2512. ......'

'Regarding the Navy’s senior command: Navy Commander in Chief
Admiral [Vladimir] Vysotsky is reprimanded for incompetence; Naval
Chief of Staff and First Deputy Commander in Chief [Alexander]
Tatarinov is reprimanded for incompetence; Deputy Chief of Naval
Logistics and Support [Sergei] Sergeyev is dismissed; Chief of Naval
Aviation [Nikolai] Kuklev is dismissed; Deputy Chief of Naval Aviation
Colonel [Sergei] Rasskazov is dismissed; Acting Deputy Chief of Naval
Aviation Logistics and Support [Mikhail] Monakov is dismissed; the
commander of base 2512 is dismissed.'

Yes I saw/heard all that. Knee jerk reaction by the President or does he know something we don't?

Wildfires I can accept but, if the entire base area was so overgrown with vegetation that the fires ran right through it then yes, negligence.

I await more information. Initial media reports from any source on any world incident are always suspect.