Tatsinskaya Air Base (Авиабаза Тацинская)

48°09'58"N 041°16'40"E

Runway: 09/27 -1500x...m - concrete

Tatsinskaya airfield (Russian: Авиабаза Тацинская, also spelled as Tazinskaya or Tazinskaja) was an airfield 875 kilometer south of Moscow,
I could not trace when or by who the airfield was built. the Germans began using it in the late summer of 1942 after their invasion into Russia. It was the main airfield used by the German Wehrmacht during the Battle of Stalingrad to supply the encircled 6th Army from outside. Located 260 km away from Stalingrad, it spoon became the most important airfield after all land connections were severed.
On 24 November 1942 the airlift began. From Tatsinskaya, a Ju-52/3m airplane would take approx. 1:15 hour to reach Stalingrad, from where it would return after a 3:30 hour turnaround. In theory this made it possible to complete a mission in six hours. Tatsinskaya served as the main base for the Ju-52 transports, while Morozovskaya airfield was mainly used by He111 bombers converted to transport planes.


Luftwaffe Heinkel He111 crews hold a symbolic funeral at Tatsinskaya in the fall of 1942. At this point the war was still going well for the Germans (photo: collection Ronny Bell)

 

Although the airfield was under threat of being taken by the Soviet Red Army, Hermann Göring forbade its evacuation, despite request from Major General Fiebig, in charge of the air supply for Stalingrad. On 23 December Göring gave permission to evacuate, but it was too late; Tatsinskaya was overrun a day later,  of the 180 Ju-52s stationed there, the German Luftwaffe lost about 70 (10% of their total air transport capacity) and all ground equipment. Another 50 aircraft were destroyed at the local train station, still in their shipping crates.  The fall of the airfield, and with the one at Morozovskaya under threat, brought supplies to the 6th Army to a halt until the 26th. Although briefly retaken by the Germans on the 28th, Tatsinskaya fell back into Soviet hands by 31 December.

 

After the fall of Tatsinskaya, the Ju 52 from there were relocated to Salsk, while the He 111 went to Novocherkassk, increasing the distance to travel considerably.

 
Judging from aerial photography, the airfield was built in two stages. Originally, the airfield received a 1000x80 meter runway. During the second stage, the runway was lenghtened by 500 meter and narrowed to 40 meters. Also, taxitracks and platforms were added. Aerial photography reveals there are still earth aircraft revetments. On the northeast side, foundations and ruins of buildings appear present, as does a hangar sized revetment. Traces of possible use as a forward operating base for the Soviet/Russian air force seem to be present just south of the runway.


August 2009 photo of the runway, shot from the west (Wikimapia)


The airfield and immediate area, including the village of Tatsinkaya to the north in 2007 (Google Earth).


With photo contrast slightly turned up, more details of the airfield become visible. The lines in the grass, especially when viewed from close, suggest that the airfield served as a dispersed wartime base during the Cold War (Google Earth).