ARAD MILITARY AIRFIELD

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A008600980008-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 2, 2008
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: December 21, 1955
• Content Type: REPORT

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
This material contains information affecting the National Defense of the United States
18, U.S.C within the meaning oj.the Espionage Laws, lt`1`LJ/~
U.S.C. Seca. 793 and 794, the transmission or revelation of which in any manner. to an unauthorized i erson is prohibited' by law.
s aF~N A ~~_m . 25X1
COUNTRY Rumania
SUBJECT Arad Military Airfield
DATE OF INFO.
PLACE ACQUIRED
DATE ACQUIRED
REQUIREMENT
REFERENCES
Aircraft and Aircraft Activit
1. The Arad military airfield is located north of the city,, six' kilometers from
the Arad railroad station; between the Arad-3ekescsaba Hun
Arad-Sfanta Ana railroad lines. The southeast corner of the airfield is
directly on the Arad.Sfanta Ana railroad line, the northwest corner of the
airfield is directly on the Arad-Bekescsaba railroad line, The field is
3,000 meters long, running in a northwest-southeast direction; and 1x 00
meters wide.]
2. The following numbers and types of aircraft were stationed at the airfields
a. 18 IL-10 aircraft,
b. 38 MIG-15 aircraft,
c. 2 biplane aircraft for communication purposes, and
d. 1 twin-engine LI-2 transport plane,
3. The aircraft are parked on the field in groups of six; with three groups
of six always close together, The aircraft ar
h
e
ave a high gloss finish with a red circle on the 8.1-ay Jn . Gs
have a dull finish
noose cTherother?aircraft
fit. MIG aircraft are usually aloft for 30 to 35 air for only 15 to 20 minutes. IL-10 aircraftnalso9ma.
but ofte ke short dail in the
flights, but sometime stay in the air for one to two hours. Fighter
squadrons often remain aloft for a longer period of time and it is not
unusual for these units to be absent from the airfield for several days.
REPORT
DATE DISTR.
NO. OF PAGES.
(Note: Washington distribution indicated by "X"; Field distribution by
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5. Aircraft usually fly solo during short flights. In formation, two planes
fly as a pair so that the second aircraft flies under and in front of the
plane which took off first. In' staggered flights, three pairs of air-
planes fly in a line or wedge. Since 1954, a formation is used in which
the pairs fly one above the other, so that the first pair fly at the
lowest level and the last pair fly at the highest level.
6. Night flights are made both by MIGs and by IL-10s. Fighters fly in any
kind of weather, but IL-10 planes fly in bad weather only in exceptional
cases.
7. Aircraft take off at intervals so that the second plane receives its
starting signal when the first plane is already in the air. If a take-off
is made from both runways, the planes take off simultaneously. However,
aircraft operating as a pair usually take off from the same runway. Under
conditions of poor visibility, and at night, the interval between take-
offs is lengthened. At night, the plane in the air gives a rocket signal
and the second plane does not take off before receiving this signal.
8. Frequently aircraft come to the Arad airfield from airfields at Timisoara.-
South, Timisoara-North, Sfanta Ana, and Calnic.
9. The crew of the aircraft is changed after each short-, flight. In general,
in one flying day only one flight consisting of six planes of the squadron
goes aloft, and the personnel is changed after each landing.
10. Refueling is always done by?tank trucks and the refueling time varies
between five and 15 minutes. Normally, aircraft are not fully fueled.
Antiaircraft Artillery Installations
11. On each side of the field in line with the runway, there are concrete
antiaircraft gun emplacements which-accommodate a four-gun battery. The
emplacements are usually unoccupied, being used only for practice maneuvers
or, in cases of an alert, by batteries of the antiaircraft artillery
regiment stationed at Arad and equipped with 85-millimeter antiaircraft
guns. These units are said to have radar equipment. The emplacements for
the antiaircraft machine guns of the ground troops consist of earth
foundations covered with squares of sod. They are equipped with 37-
millimeter antiaircraft guns. In addition to six 37-millimeter automatic
cannons, the airfield has nine 12.7-millimeter antiaircraft machine guns
which have no fixed emplacements.
12. On the south side of the field, a permanent radar station is located in
a 10 by 10 meter blockhouse. On the roof of the blockhouse, there are
two semi-circular radar screens on a round iron column. The length of
the screens is about 10 meters. The semi-circular curve is about 3.5 to
four meters and the height of the screen section is about 1.5 meters.
The radar station is served by Rumanian personnel of the ground crew
battalion. The radar screen could be rotated up to 170 degrees in a
horizontal direction, but could be moved only 10 to 12 degrees vertically.
Buildings and Runways
13. There are seven buildings and a barracks complex located at the field;
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a. In the center of the west side of the field- there are four concrete
hangars, each 85 by 50 meters., painted gray., with flat roofs camou-
flaged to look like earth;
b. One 50 by 20 meter two-story building, painted gray., with a flat
roof. The airfield headquarters is located in this buildingo
c. One two-story building., 50 by 20 meters, painted gray, with the roof
camouflaged to look like earth; also a building for the airfield
guard, offices, and storerooms;
d. One eight by eight meter, 18 to 20 meters high, control tower, painted
gray;
e. The barracks complex, southwest of the hangars, consisting of the
followings
1) Six 40 by 15 meter two-story buildings;
2) One assembly hall;
3) A three-story headquarters building with a flat roof;
4) An E-shaped two-story warehouse; and
5) Two rows of garages.
14. There are no buildings under construction and there is no construction
material on the airfield. Civilians from Arad and Timisoara work on
repairs.
15. The airfield has two concrete runways,, each 2,400 meters long and 40
meters wide, running parallel in the middle of the field from southeast
to northwest. East of the hangars,,, there is a 700 by 100 meter concrete
taxi apron.
. Radio and Illumination
16.
building.
control tower is equipped with an R-12 type installation. The antenna
on the roof of the control tower resembles an inverted unbrella. More-
over there is another radio station
in the headquarters building in the barracks complex. There is a
spherical antenna 1.5 meters in diameter on the roof of this headquarters
the radio station in the
17. Four 1,800-millimeter searchlights of Soviet make are mounted on three-
axle Skoda diesel trucks on the field. Red and yellow lights, one meter
long, are installed 30 meters apart on the edge of the runway. Red neon
lights are installed on the roof of the control tower and on the hangars,
Wedge-shaped lights on concrete disks are arranged on the ground in a
line with the runways beyond their ends.
Fuel and Ammunition
18. The fuel depot, 150 meters south of the south corner of the airfield,
occupies an area of 200 by 80 meters, south of the airfield siding,
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The fuel depot consists of four underground,, cylindrical,,, concrete tanks
with a capacity of 10 tons each,, and four cast-iron tanks with a capacity
of five carloads each. The latter are above ground but sunken and
entrenched with earth.
19. Zigzag trenches run along the west .front of the hangars, There is a
15 by 15 meter ammunition bunker on the grounds of the barracks complex,
Troops
20. The troops at the airfield include the following-.
a. One joint aviation regiment- strength 1,200 men; and
b, One ground crew battalion; strength 420 men.
21. Shoulder straps are light blue with insignia showing the type of arms,
No numbers are ever worn on the shoulder straps.
22. The Commandina ? er_of* theA joint aviation regiment and of the airfield,,
of the ground crew battalion was Capt, Ivan Pop- the Commanding Officer of
the fighter squadron was Lt. Col. Constantin Munteanu,
Railroad Connections and Transport
23. The airfield has a standard-gauge siding, branching off the Arad-Sfanta Ana
line toward the west. Two automatic pumps are installed at the central
fuel depot, The siding ends at the barracks complex at an L-shaped ramp.
Six to seven times a month, four 10-ton tank cars and open or closed freight
cars., drawn to the field by old shunt locomotives,, arrive from Arad, The
cars have the initials CFR. One train carries only one type of freight,,
either fuel only or ammunition only., or coal only. The average train is
made up of only three cars. Supplies are brought by freight and tank cars.
Food supplies are trucked from military warehouses in Arad.
Vehicles
2)4. The following vehicles were observed at the airfields
a. Skoda-type diesel trucks., ZIS and GSEPEL diesels,- Buessing-NAG repair
trucks;
b. Skoda diesel trucks and Wippen communications trucks of the ground
crew battalion.
25. The aviation regiment has six 5-ton, ZIS-type fuel tank trucks. The
ground crew battalion has two ZIS-type tank trucks, The repair trucks
have hoists and the usual repair equipment. The communications trucks
are equipped with built-in switchboards and radio sets,
Ouardposts and Fences
26. There are day and night posts at the gate of the barracks complex., at the
gate of the aviation field, and at the ammunition bunker. There are two
posts at the fuel depots. At night., there is one post at the hangars and
another by the unprotected aircraft parked on the field.
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27. The airfield is surrounded by a barbed wire fenca. The barracks complex
and the fuel depot are each surrounded by separate barbed wire fences.
There is no "prohibited area". North and south of the airfield., there
are state farms at which only farm employees can stay.
28. The following is a legend for the attached sketch;
1 - Concrete runways
2 - Parking area for the fighter squadron
3 - Parking area for the combat squadron
It - Antiaircraft artillery emplacements
5 - Antiaircraft machine gun emplacements
6 - Electric power trunk line
7 - Permanent radar station
8 - Concrete apron northeast of the hangars
9 - Hangars
10 - Aviation field headquarters
11 - Control tower
12 - Airfield guard house and offices
13 - Barracks complex
114 - Take-off and landing lights
15 - Central fuel depot
16 - ammunition bunker
17 - Aviation field siding
18 - Unloading ramp
Commentg This airfield is not the same as the civilian
airfield which is located on the southwest edge of Arad., north of
the Mures River.
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