Marienkhof/Dunayevka (Дунаевка)

54°51'54"N 020°11'06"E

Runway: 04/22 - 2000meters/...feet - concrete

Airfield Dunayevka (Russian: Аэродром Дунаевка, also spelled as Dunaevka, also known as Marienkhof Air Base) was an airfield in the Kaliningrad exclave, Russia.
The airfield was built after World War II in what was then former East Prussia (Ostpreußen), Germany. Many formerly German villages in the immediate area were demolished for aggregate to build the airfield. During the 1950s the airfield served as a bomber airfield of the Soviet Air Force.
In 1960 Khrushchev abolished the bombers, believing that balllistic missiles would be enough to handle Soviet deterrence. In the 1960s and 1970s the airfield housed two fighter regiments. When they were withdrawn, the airfield remained as a reserve base for the regiment at Nivenskoye North until 1984.

During the reconstruction of Khrabovo airport (ca. 2000) Dunayevka served as a temporary alternate. It was completely abandoned by 2005 however. Today the former airfield is abandoned, although a completely new 77YA6-DM Missile Approach Warning Site (MAWS) radar site was built immediately to its east. The site was remarkable, as the Russians were fiercely opposing a similar NATO radar site just across the border in Seddin, Poland. The radar site was officially opened in November 2011 by Russian President Medvedev, although it will not be fully operational until 2014. The airfield, which is currently only used for car racing, was left untouched, which may indicate the Russians intend to restore it to operational condition.


Dunayevka airfield in 2003 (Google Earth).


The northeast side of the airfield in the early 21st century (wikimapia).


Dunayevka airfield, showing the construction of the new MWAS site in 2010 (Google Earth).


The new radar site on the east side of the airfield in 2011 (photo: Вадим Савицкий/Vadim Savitsky of mil.ru, via militaryrussia.ru).