Pyriatyn

50°09'11"N 032°31'55"E

Runway: 11/29 - 2500x..m/8250x..ft - concrete

Pyriatyn airfield (Russian: Великая Круча Авиабаза, also known as USAAF Station 560, Pyriatyn airbase or Velyka Krucha air base) was an airfield 145 kilometers east-southeast of Kiev.
It became known in the west after President Roosevelt's request to Chairman Joseph Stalin for airfields on the east front that could be used by USAAF and RAF heavy bombers and fighters during 'shuttle missions'. With the aid of these airfields, the western Allies could bomb targets in Eastern Europe and in the Balkans, land, recuperate, rearm and refeul in the Soviet Union, and fly another bombing mission on the return leg to either England or the Foggia Airfield Complex in Italy. Stalin hesitated initially, as the plan also encompassed airfields for 100 strategic bombers in Siberia, to combat the Japanese in the Far East, a war in which the Soviet Union was neutral.
A renewed request during the Tehran conference persuaded the Soviets, and by February 1944 the necessary equipment to ensure combat operations of U.S. strategic aviation assets from three airfields was shipped to Murmansk in the Soviet Union. In April the first 46 US service men arrived in the Soviet Union, followed by another 390 U.S. service men in May via Iran.
Metal plates for the construction of runways and airfields that could support over 100 heavy bombers were laid out by Soviet workers, mainly females.
The Head of the U.S. Military Mission in the Soviet Union, Maj. Gen. John R. Dean, described his experience visiting one of the airfields as:
"My next visit took place in mid-May (...)  It was amazing how much had been done in such a short period of time! The airfield was swarmed by women who placed iron plates on the runways. Work was continuously and with such speed that it seemed like a steel carpet a mile-long was built before our eyes. It was obvious that there would not be any delays. "


Frame shot of routes taken by USAAF strategic bombers during "Operation Frantic", the shuttle bombing missions between England, Italy and the Soviet Union, 1944 (United States War Department, via Wikipedia)

In May 1944, the improved airfield was provided to the United States Army Air Forces for use by American aircraft operating in support of the shuttle bombing program. Due to limitations of the field and unlike the other two bases (Myrhorod and Poltava), Piryatin was designated solely for use by fighter aircraft, such as P-51s and P-38s. It was used by the Eighth and Fifteenth Air Forces for shuttle bombing missions from June 1944 through September 1944 during Operation Frantic. It and the other two airfields in Ukraine were operated by Headquarters, Eastern Command, United States Strategic Air Forces under USAAF Col. Alfred Kessler.
On the night of 23 June 1944, Piryatin was the target of a German air attack, but fortunately the German bombers failed to locate the field and dropped their bombs in the vicinity.

USAAF units that are known to have operated from the airfield were:
4th Fighter Group - RAF Debden (North Essex , UK)  
352nd Fighter Group - RAF Bodney (Norfolk, UK)  
355th Fighter Group - RAF Steeple Morden (Cambrdgeshire, UK)
357th Fighter Group - RAF Leyston (Suffolk, UK)
14th Fighter Group - AB Triolo (Foggia, Italy)
31st Fighter Group - AB San Severo (Foggia, Italy)
81st Fighter Group - AB Vincenzo (Livorno, Italy)
325th Fighter Group - AB Mondolfo (Ancona, Italy)
Note: The 4th, 352nd, 355th and 357th Fighter Groups covered formations assigned to the 8th Air Force (UK airfields), the 14th, 31st, 81st and 325th - to 15-th (Italy). 

Major operations by USAAF ended in September 1944, when the Americans began consolidating their presence at Poltava for the remainder of the war. The bases had been farther away than the USAAF had wanted and despite the best efforts, they were barely adequate for heavy bombers. Soviet infrastructure had not been up to Western standards. Spring season turned everything into a sea of mud and the retreating Germans had destroyed whatever they could. Also, American officers found themselves dealing with an unfriendly and suspicious Soviet bureaucracy. In general, U.S. officers agreed that the Red Air Force was cooperative and eager to assist, but their political structure was very obstructing and a source of endless delays and problems. After their withdrawal to Poltava, the Americans had found Soviet attitude to become universally hostile. By 1945 the small American detachments left in great bitterness.

The airfield remained a grass airfield until the 1970s. In 1969-1971 was used to train young lieutenants in the MiG-17 'Fresco'. From 1972 onwards the school used Aero-Vochody L-29 'Delphins'.
The base had a good reputation amongst pilots, for several reasons. First, it was relatively remote and so it was far away from authorities. Second, the base had excellent food, and third, the proximity of a river meant there was a clean beach for swimming. Obviously there were drawbacks too: A cadet pilot would still be under the banner of the cadet guards, there was no place to go on leave, there were large swarms of mosquitoes, you could not live anywhere but in the barracks, with the only "comfort" being the central yard. Also, in the dining room fried eggs were never available and most importantly for a pilot: after heavy rains the airfield was not suitbale for flying.


Soviet air force L-29s on the flightline in 1979

I found a photo of a young NCO (dnepr_sergant) on a Russian website, claimed to have been shot at the airfield in 1996. He was standing on concrete slabs with very tall grass growing in the cracks. The airfield had virtually disappeared in aerial photography (Google Earth) in 2003. Only the outlines of the runway and taxiways were still faintly recognisable in 2010.


Aerial photo of the remains of Pyriatyn AB, shot in 2010 (Google Earth)