Rūdininkai training ground
Coordinates: 54°23′18″N 025°5′42″E / 54.38833°N 25.09500°E Rūdininkai or Rūdninkai airbase is a former Soviet airbase in Lithuania located 36 km (22 mi) southwest of Vilnius and only 16 km (10 mi) from the border with Belarus. It is surrounded by , the fifth largest forest in Lithuania. It was part of a larger training complex encompassing about 100 km2 (40 sq mi).[1] Bomber pilots from various Soviet republics were trained to accurately bombard rows of obsolete military equipment, cars, tanks, even airplanes.[2] Various explosives, usually air-dropped bombs weighing 50–100 kg (110–220 lb), are still found in the abandoned facility.[3] The largest bomb, detonated in 2007, weighed 3,000 kg (6,600 lb).[4] Rūdininkai airbase is the largest territory of 222 areas in Lithuania, covering the total of 250 km2 (97 sq mi), that are still contaminated by old explosives.[1]
References[]
- ^ a b ELTA. "Sovietų paliktos bombos nusineša lietuvių gyvybes" (in Lithuanian). Sekunde.lt. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
- ^ Vaitkevičius, Andrius (2006-12-01). "Apie bombas, išminuotojus ir smėlio jūrą" (in Lithuanian). Alfa.lt. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
- ^ "Rūdninkų poligone kariuomenės išminuotojai naikina aviacines bombas" (in Lithuanian). Ministry of National Defence. 2006-11-17. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
- ^ Vaitkevičius, Andrius (2007-07-03). "Išminuotojai Rūdninkuose nukenksmino pavojingą bombą" (in Lithuanian). Alfa.lt. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
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- Lithuanian airbases
- Military facilities of the Soviet Union in Lithuania
- Buildings and structures in Vilnius County
- Soviet Air Forces education and training
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