1. STARA ZAGORA AIRFIELD

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A004600500012-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 2, 2007
• Sequence Number: 12
• Publication Date: August 6, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

SUBJECT 1. Stara Zagora Airfield
;, ,.
This is UNEVALUATED
Information
This Document contains Information affecting the Ne-
tlonal Defame of the United States, within the mean-
ing of Title It. Sections 7e3 and 794, of the U.S. Code. as
emended. Its traomleslon or revelation of 14 contents
to or receipt by an unauthorised person Is prohibited
by law. The reproduction of this form U prohibited.
641236
REPORT
DATE DISTR. 6 August 1954
NO. OF PAGES
REQUIREMENT
REFERENCES
SOURCE EVALUATIONS IN THIS REPORT ARE DEFINITIVE.
THE APPRAISAL OF CONTENT IS TENTATIVE.
(FOR KEY ME REVERSE)
STABS ZAGORA MILITARY AIRFIELD
Location,
1. The Stara Zagora airfield is an old military airfield, located in the angle
formed between the Stara Zagora-Maritsa (formerly Simeonovgrad) road and the
road brancpipg from this road,, about four kilometers south of Stara Zagora,
and goiug.to Mogila village, Stara Zagora Okoliya, and Topolovgrad. It is
almost i,06diate3y south ofKolyu Ganchevo village (N 42-23, E 25-38), Stara
Zagora Qkowa.
2. The airtYal4'ie. located at N 42-22-30, E 25-38-30. Its general terrain has
a rectangular .shape about 1,503-2,000 meters in length and 600-800 meters in
width; the northwest corner of the field borders on the road to Maritsa, while
the ncrthaaetc?rner of the field borders on the road to Mogila village, Stara
Zagora Okoliya. The 7ei'sfteld"rtAe iu.AL ! southeast-northwest direction.
STATE Z ARMY X NAVY I X AIR Ly X FBI AEC
 Airfield Buildings
3. Until January 1952, the airfield had a total of about 16 buildings, grouped
primarily in the northwest corner of the field, as follows:
a. One large hangar in the form of a capital "L" with sides of equal length,
each approximately 100 x 40 meters in size; the hangar is painted a sky-
blue color and is roofed with white tile; the doors are located on the
southeastern and southwestern sides.
b. Guardhouse, a 1-story masonry building, about 20 x 30 meters in size,
painted white, and roofed with red Marseilles tiles;
c. A 1-story building about 50 x 20 meters in size, used for some type of
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the building is painted
yellow and roofed with red Marseilles tiles;
d. A wooden barracks, about 30 x 15 meters in size, roofed with red Marseilles
tiles; used as a storehouse for the tools of the Trudovak unit.
e. A masonry, 1-story building, about 30 x 20 meters in size, painted white,
roofed with red Marseilles tiles;
this building has some offices;
f. An old masonry, 1-story building about 100 x 20 meters in size, painted
yellow, and roofed with red Marseilles tiles; used as sleeping quarters
by the ground crew personnel; the recreation hall is located in this
building;
g. A masonry, 1-story building, constructed about 4-5 years ago, painted
white, roofed with red Marseilles tiles; used as kitchen and mess hall
for the ground crew and technical personnel of the airfield, as well as
for the Trudovak unit;
h. A masonry, 1-story construction, built about 5-6 years ago, painted white,
roofed with red Marseilles tiles; used as sleeping quarters for the tech-
nical personnel of the airfield, separated into a sectional technical
company;
25X1
25X1
25X1
25X1
i.
1-story building, constructed after 9 September 1944; painted
A masonry
,
white or yellow, roofed with red Marseilles tiles;
25X1
the airfield headquarters is
25X1
located in it and stated that fliers gather in it before taking off;
j. A masonry, 1-story building, about 20 x 10 meters in size, painted white,
roofed with red Marseilles tiles; in this building are located the radio
receiving and transmitting station of the airfield (see below);
k. Old shed, about 80 x 20 meters in size, painted a lead-blue color, roofed
with red Marseilles tiles; used as a garage for motor vehicles; it is
divided into 3-4 large sections, each of which has a large double door
on the southeast side; this building also has two regular doors on the
northwest side, leading into two small rooms, probably offices; along the
whole length of this garage on the southeast side there is a concrete
platform about 10-15 meters wide; a similar concrete platform is located
in front of the garage on the northwest side, and between this platform
and the rarape runs one of the newly-constructed roads inside the air-
field; this concrete platform runs along the entire length of the garage
and is about 10 meters wide;
he
 1. A masonry, 2-story building about 30 x 20 meters in size, painted white,
roofed with red Marseilles tiles; used as offices and sleeping quarters
for the civilians working on the farm and livestock enterprise of the
airfield;
m. A masonry, 1-story building about 50-60 x 20 meters in size, painted
gray and roofed with red Marseilles tiles; used as the military air-
plane repair workshop;
n. An old masonry, 2-story building, about 30 x 20 meters in size, painted
sky-blue and roofed with red Marseilles tiles; used as a depot; in front
of it, along one of its walls, has been lined up a large number of small
cement training bombs; and
o. Two small, 1-story identical sheds, located in the southeast and of the
airfield; informant was unable to give details coneerning their dimensions,
since he had seen them only from a distance.
6. In February 1952 a Trudovak unit) 25X1
arrived at the airfield and immediately started construction 25X1
work. The men were under pressure to work very fast, since they worked in
three shifts. They worked until 20 November 1952, at which time they had
erected the following buildings:
a. One masonry, l-story building about 80 x 20 meters in size, painted sky-
blue and roofed with red Marseilles tiles; used as a warehouse (type
unknown);
b. A large masonry, 2-story building with basement, painted white, roofed
with red Marseilles tiles; used as sleeping quarters for the flying and
mess hall personnel of the airfield;
c. A masonry, 1-story building, about 50 x 15-20 meters in size, unpainted,
roofed with red Marseilles tiles; used as an infirmary for the airfield;
d. A masonry, 1-story building about 80 x 10 meters in size, unpainted,
roofed with red Marseilles tiles; used temporarily as sleeping quarters
of the Trudovak unit and also as a storeroom (type unknown); it is to be
used in the future as a warehouse; and
e. A masonry, 1-story building, about 50 x 20 meters in size, unpainted,
roofed with red Marseilles tiles; used as kitchen and mess hall for
ground officers of the airfield and the civilian clerks.
7. The airfield has a natural surface, and in rainy or damp weather it softens
and becomes sticky, and after drying out becomes very hard (only when it be- 25X1
comes very hot, however). Usually the landing field is damp, and is thus
greatly overgrown with grass which reaches a height of 30 centimeters and is 25X1
occasionally mowed.
8. The field has no concrete runway. The runway is not marked off. It is
enclosed by meadows and, in part, by overgrown fields.
9. In November 1952, the Trudovak unit at the airfield was replaced by a detach-
Trudovak Company of Trudovak Battalion
subordinate to Stara Zagora Trudovak Brigad his 25X1
 Trudovak detachment immediately started construction work, by excavating
ditches in part of the airfield, where the buildings are located, that is,
in the north corner. Many ditches up to two meters deep were excavated,
running with the direction of the landing area, and were lined with eternit
bricks with a diameter of about 20 centimeters.
25X1
there was no water shortage at the airfield prior to this
25X1
time.
hey may possibly be connected with draining the landing
25X1
area.
10. On 1 bpril 1953, when the ditches had been completed, the Trudovak unit was
increased by an additional 50 men. For the exact location of these roads
inside the airfield, see the sketch attached as an Appendix on page 11. These
roads are four meters wide. First of all, a stone pavement foundation was
laid, over which was poured a layer of gravel about 10 centimeters thick, and
over this a layer of sand, and it was finally rolled.
12. The stone and gravel for all the roads at the airfield is obtained from the
rock quarry near Zmeevo village (N 42-29, E 25-27), Stara Zagora Okoliya,
and the sand from the Tundzha River.
13. The entrance into the airfield is located on the northwest side. On either
side there is a brick wall about 10 meters long. The entrance opens on the
road to Mogila village, Stara Zagora Okoliya, by means of a hard-surfaced
road about 300 meters long and four meters wide.
area used for parking airplanes, between the constructed part of the field
and the southwest border, with approximate dimensions of 300-1100 meters wide
(from northwest to southeast) and about 500-600 meters long (from northwest
to southeast). these are not search- 25X1
lights, but are the standard type of automatic lights. 25X1
there is an automatic lighting system located on the 25X1
when airplanes approach the airfield, the 2b&1
landing area is outlined by these lights. The light is strong and white
(it is supplied by regular electricity) and is not dispersed, i.e., the
lighting was only for marking the landing area and was very good, without
moving around to the surrounding areas or into the sky as a searchlight
would do. the lights were on the ground. 25X1
Immediately after a plane landed, e lights were shut off, to be turned
on again with the appearance and landing of the next plane.
the lighting facilities were spaced evenly, and not concentrated in one
place.
At night the airfield is dark except for the lights coming from the windows
of the various buildings used as living quarters.
17. One single electric pole, with a bulb of 100 watts throwing a red light, is
located in the area of the semi-underground gasoline depots of the airfield.
 Gasoline Depots
18, On the northeast side of the airfield, about 50-100 meters south of the
road to Mogila village, Stara Zagora Okoliya, are located the gasoline stores
of the airfield. This area is enclosed by a barbed wire fence stopping near
the road to Mogila village and is approximately 100 x 50 meters in size.
19. In this area are located about 3-4 semi-underground concrete gasoline depots,
protruding about 50 centimeters above the ground, which parts are vaulted.
the underground portion of these is built of reinforced 25X1
concrete, and the above-ground part is of bricks. The vaulted above-ground
portion is covered with a layer of earth about 20-30 centimeters thick,
which is well worn, so that only the front side of the vaulted part is visible.
The estimated dimensions of these are about 20 meters in length, about three
meters in width, with the height not known. They are located about five
meters apart.
20. On the front side of the depots there is a straight ditch, through which, by
means of steps, one can go down to the bottom of the depot where a door into
the depot is located. since these are gasoline depots, 25X1
the gasoline is stored in arre s.
21. About 20 meters southeast of the above-mentioned half-underground depots is
located a masonry, 1-story building about 10 x 8 meters in size, painted
yellow, and roofed with red Marseilles tiles. This is used as a depot (type
unknown).
22. Immediately on the southwest side of this building is located a metal cistern
about three meters high and about two meters in diameter. This is located in
the open and painted a gray color.
23. About 10 meters east of this is a gasoline pump for drawing gasoline for the
motor vehicles of the airfield and the tank-truck which trans Ports the gaso-
line from the pumping station to the hangars. the tank- 25X1
truck makes about 3-4 trips per day between the gasoline pump and the hangars.
Radio Receiving and Transmitting Station of the Airfield
25. The airfield is equipped with its own radio receiving and transmitting station,
located in the building shown as No. 10 on the sketch attached as an Anpendix
on page 11.
26. Toward the end of April 1953, a special antenna was constructed about 10-15
meters northeast of this building. This consists of four poles about 15-20
meters high, equipped with one line and standing about 5-7 meters from one
another. On the four sides of each one of these poles wires about 1.5 centi-
meters thick were dropped toward the ground and slightly under them was a
second row of the same wires. these are only props. In
the upper part the poles are connected by means o a separate wire. These
poles were connected with the building.
 The commander of the airfield was a colonel (name unknown), and 25X1
the deputy commander for political affairs was a major (name unknown).
31. On 20 May 1953, General Zakhariev, commander of the Bulgarian Air Force,
arrived at the airfield in a 3-engine airplane. He stayed three days and
inspected the airfield installations and observed exercises.
32. In the period from 15 April 1953 to Lt July 1953, the airfield was visited
three times by an unidentified Soviet in uniform with the rank of colonel,
On one of these visits he 25X1
stopped and looked over the gasoline depots at the airfield. After his
visit, the fence around them was rebuilt. He was a Soviet flying officer.
c. Ground personnel: about 100 soldiers, commanded by 10 officers, con-
sisting of one battalion composed of two companies of two detachments;
d. Technical personnel: about 80 sergeants, commanded by four Air Force
officers, who compose one technical company of two detachments;
f. Civilian workers at the airfield's farm: about 7-8 workers and three
administrative workers.
type which are stored the hangar or outside of it.
saw about 20-30 of these airplanes.
35. The planes have low, swept-back single wings. The total length of the wings
is about 15 meters and that of the fuselage, about 10-12 meters. They are
25X1
25X1
75XI
25X1
25X1
 36. In the period from 15 April to 11 July 19531 lother airplanes
(not subordinate to this unit) at the field only twice: in late May 1953
a 3-engine plane for the visit of General Zakhariev, and later a 2-engine
plane of the type from the Kazanluk mili-
tary airfield
where they are or how many there are. He saw only one searchlight in the
gasoline depots area.
25X1
25X1
25X1
25X1
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Motor Transport Vehicles
38. At the Stara Zagora airfield, informant saw the following transport vehicles:
a. Two light cars;
b. Seven or eight ZIS-5 trucks;
c. One tank truck; and
d. Two motorcycles.
39. In addition, there were the following horse-drawn vehicles:
a. One buggy;
b. One cabriolet;
c. Two or three carts; and
d. One wagon.
Pilot Training
25X1
25X1
week. his training wasbeinr
carried out intensively since usually, in a given flying day, the airplanes
at the field took off singly or in groups in three flights, as follows:
a. Morning, from 5:00-6:00 until 9:00-10:00;
b. Afternoon, from 2:00 to 5:00-6:00; and
c. Night, from 8:30-9:00 until unknown time.
)al. all the airplanes at the field are utilized in these
that special training,is carried out at night and states that there were more
night than daytime flights.
112. In the daytime training flights the planes climb very high and then dive
straight down, on some occasions making an attack (sic); then they make a
vertical climb, after which they cut the engines (stall?); on some occasions
they land with the engines cut off. A little after that they again start
the engine and again climb steeply. This was the most usual training exercise.
In addition they make free loops, flat circles which start in a large circle
and decrease in size, circles followed by two or several planes, and so forth.
25X1
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 Approved For Release 2007/11/02 : CIA-RDP80-00810A004600500012-6
late May-1953 , during the visit of General Zakhariev, about 5-6 men jumped
from 3-engine planes. At this time single and group exercises of the types
described above were demonstrated for the General.
L5. An enclosed firing range is located in the southeast corner of the airfield,
delineated by a concrete wall about 10 meters wide and four meters high.
Firing practice was carried out usually by the ground personnel of the air-
field and the officers, usually 2-3 times a week.
1t6. For night training, the planet usually took off one after another, but
carried out group exercises.
47. take-off and landing of airplanes always is made by 25X1
one and the same specifically set-forth method, as follows:
a. Take-Off: The plane with engine running comes out of the hangar and
taxis toward the southeast end of the airfield; in the vicinity of the
place where the two small buildings are located (see No. 15 of Appendix
on page 11) the plane makes a turn and faces toward the northwest; fpgm
there the plane starts and takes off in a direction from southeast tya
northwest, flying low over the Stara Zagora-Dimitrovgrad road and over
Kolyu Ganchevo village, over Stara Zagora, still climbing; then it makes
a turn to the west and later swings toward the south; and
b. Landing: The incoming plane makes a turn over Stara Zagora in the
direction from east to west and then swings to the south; this means
that landing is done in the direction of northwest to southeast, as the
plane lands in the northwestern end of the airfield, and the engine is
cut a little south of the hangars.
Airfield Guard
U8. permanent guardposts in the airfield area, at the following 25X1
locations:
a. At the gate to the field;
b. At the gasoline depots; and
c. In front of the depot (see No. l4 on the sketch attached as an 0ppendix
on page 11).
In addition, there are patrols in the area both during the day an(I the
night. Informant did not know anything about the number of these.
Airfield Farm
49. The airfield has its own farm enterprise. It consists primarily of a straw-
berry garden. The livestock enterprise is divided into a sheep farm with
about 800-1,000 head, a twine farm with about 60-70 pigs, and a cattle farm
with about 60-70 cattle. The farm is taken care of by about 7-8 civilian
workers and three administrative employees.
 Trudovak Unit at the Airfield
50. The construction work in the area of the Stara Zagora airfield from November
1952 until 4 July 1953 was being carried out by one detachment of Trudovak
comp of Trudovak Battalion subordinate 25X1
The D050 (Dobrovolna Organizatsiya za Sudeystvie na Otbranata; Voluntary
Organization for Defense Assistance) also trains at the Stara Zagora airfield.
The military has handed over to the DOSO about 3-4 of the above-described air-
planes located at the field. In these, DOSO members carry out training and
drills and, according to informant, achieve considerable success.
52. The airplanes of the DOSO are located in the hangars of the airfield, together
with the other planes. DOSO is equipped also with one glider which is kept
out in the open and in which training is also carried out.
53. Almost every day, members of the DOS0 (about 20-30 persons among whom are 3-4
girls) come to the airfield where they carry out theoretical and practical
studies.
the entire Stara Zagora airfield, together with all planes located at it,
are to be turned over for the needs of the DCSO.
55. The following legend refers to a sketch based on a free-hand drawing made
by informant showing the layout and installations at Stara Zagora airfield
and included as an Appendix on page 11:
1. Hangar
2. Guard buildings and other rooms
3. Offices and telephone center
4. Warehouse for equipment of the Trudovak unit
5. Offices
6. Building for ground personnel of the airfield
7. Building for junior sergeants of the technical company
8. Kitchen and mess hall for ground personnel of the airfield and for the
Trudovak unit
9. Offices and probably airfield headquarters
10. Radio receiving and transmitting station
11. Garage for motor vehicles
lla. Concrete platforms
 12. House for the administration personnel of the farm and livestock enter-
prises of the airfield
13. Airplane workshop
14. Warehouse
15. Gasoline depot:
a. Semi-underground gasoline storage
b. Offices
c. Open cistern
d. Gasoline pumping station
16. Warehouse
17. Airfield club
18. Infirmary
19. Warehouse and temporary quarters of Trudovak unit
20. Kitchen and mess hall for flyers and farm personnel
21. Farm and livestock enterprises of the airfield
22. Landing and take-off area
23. Road connecting the airfield with the Stara Zagora-Mogila road
24. Stara Zagora-Topolovgrad road
- - - - -Roads under construction within the airfield
Stone wall
-'=?-?- Airfield area limits
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