History
In 1941, during its occupation of Poznań, Nazi Germany built an aircraft factory at Krzesiny (German: Luftwaffenfliegerhorst Kreising), along with an airfield to service it. The factory, run by Focke-Wulf, was a target for Allied bombers in the course of the war, on 29 May 1944 for Eighth Air Force. On 22 January 1945 the airfield was captured by Red Army and taken over by the Soviet Air Force, which in turn passed it to the Polish military in 1954, which has used it since, hosting various units under changing designations:
- since 1954: one of squadrons of 11th Fighter Regiment (11. Pułk Lotnictwa Myśliwskiego) that was in this same year transformed to 62nd School-Training Fighter Regiment (62. Pułk Szkolno-Treningowy Lotnictwa Myśliwskiego) which was part of 3rd Air Defence Corps (3. Korpus Obrony Powietrznej)
- in 1957 regiment was renamed to 62nd Fighter Regiment (62. Pułk Lotnictwa Myśliwskiego) which, in 1958, received name of "Insurgents of Greater Poland Uprising (1918–1919)" (Powstańców Wielkopolskich 1918/1919)
- on 16 January 1994 regiment was renamed to 3rd Fighter Regiment of Poznań (3. Pułk Lotnictwa Myśliwskiego "Poznań") that consists two squadrons
- in 1999 1st squadron was enlarged by part of personnel and aircraft of disbanded 17th Air Force Squadron (17. Eskadra Lotnicza) from Poznań-Ławica Airport
The organisation as an air base was implemented on 31 December 2000 to conform with NATO practices, separating the air base from the units which are based there. On this date 3rd Fighter Regiment was split into 31st Air Base (31. Baza Lotnicza) and 3rd Tactical Squadron (3. Eskadra Lotnictwa Taktycznego).
On 1 April 2008 31st Air Base was again joined with 3rd Tactical Squadron and 6th Tactical Squadron to form single unit named 31st Tactical Air Base.
Read more about this topic: 31st Air Base
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“We are told that men protect us; that they are generous, even chivalric in their protection. Gentlemen, if your protectors were women, and they took all your property and your children, and paid you half as much for your work, though as well or better done than your own, would you think much of the chivalry which permitted you to sit in street-cars and picked up your pocket- handkerchief?”
—Mary B. Clay, U.S. suffragist. As quoted in History of Woman Suffrage, vol. 4, ch. 3, by Susan B. Anthony and Ida Husted Harper (1902)
“The one duty we owe to history is to rewrite it.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)
“There is nothing truer than myth: history, in its attempt to “realize” myth, distorts it, stops halfway; when history claims to have “succeeded” this is nothing but humbug and mystification. Everything we dream is “realizable.” Reality does not have to be: it is simply what it is.”
—Eugène Ionesco (b. 1912)