Zielona Góra 2008-09-10
Babimost airport.
Geographic coordinates: 52.138N 15.799E. Elevation 59 m.
Basic data of Babimost Airport.
Babimost Airport is currently called Zielona Góra Airport. It has an IATA code – IEG and an ICAO code – EPZG. It has geographic coordinates; 52 degrees 08 minutes N latitude, 15 degrees 47 minutes E longitude, lies at an altitude of 59 m above sea level. It is located in the town of Nowe Kramsko and that is what it should be called. But the Nowe Kramsko Airport does not exist. Therefore, for the purposes of this article, we will use the historical name - Babimost Airport.
The city of Babimost.
To leave no doubt, the city of Babimost is located in the native Polish lands inhabited by Poles and in the geographical and historical land of Greater Poland. We write about obvious things, but many people do not remember about them.
The city of Babimost is one of the oldest Polish cities. There was probably a stronghold here as early as the 10th century, guarding the western border of Greater Poland. The oldest mention of the existence of this settlement comes from 1257 and can be found in a document of Przemysław II. At that time, the settlement already had urban-type buildings. In the 13th century, the city became the property of the Cistercian Order, who founded, among others, vineyards here. The period of district Poland caused this region to come under Czech influence. In 1329, the owner of Babimost was Prince Henryk Głogowski, who received the city from the Czech king John.
In 1332, our ruler, Prince Władysław the Elbow-high, regained the city. Władysław the Elbow-high incorporated the town into the Crown, establishing a non-city starosty in Babimost. In 1397, King of Poland Władysław Jagiełło granted the settlement city rights under Western law. In 1530, King Sigismund the Old of Poland extended Babimost's city rights to those of Poznań - a mint, customs office and measurement office.
The history of the 17th century Babimost is closely related to the figure of the starosta of Babimost, Krzysztof Żegoski, who reigned in the period 1646-1668 and was a hero of the war with the Swedes. During his rule, Babimost experienced an economic renaissance.
The misfortunes of the city of Babimost began with the Swedish Deluge. In 1656, the Swedes murdered almost all Catholics and burned the city twice. On May 6, 1656, the Swedes burned two priests at the stake: parish priest Wojciech Turopiedski and vicar Marcin Paluszkiewicz. This event is associated with the erection of two columns that still stand in the Market Square today. The city was barely rebuilt when, in 1728, it caught fire. The time of the Northern Wars was the next fall of the city. In 1781, another fire burned the city. In July 1759, Muscovite troops passed through Babimost, plundering and destroying the city again.
In 1793, the Prussians took the city into the borders of Prussia. Babimost belonged to Poland again during the times of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, in the years 1807-1815. After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Babimost became part of the Grand Duchy of Poznań. After a fire in 1832, the city was rebuilt in brick. Some of the buildings in the old town come from this period. The city's architecture is created by the eclectic and Art Nouveau buildings of the Market Square and the following streets: Piłsudskiego, Kopernika, Kargowska, Moniuszki, Wolsztyńska and Poznańska. A telephone line was also built and Babimost was connected to post offices. From 1880, there was a savings bank in the city, and from 1912, the Polish People's Bank.
The state of confrontation between the two nationalities (Poles and Prussians) was initiated by the actions of the Prussian administration, from the times of Bismarck. At the beginning of 1919, a wave of the Greater Poland Uprising swept through the Babimojszczyzna region. The inhabitants of Babimost started an armed fight for their land and the right to the Polish language. The city was captured by the insurgents on January 16, 1919. After the Peace of Versailles, Babimost and the surrounding towns were granted to the Germanic Reich. Babimoj County was divided: 741 square km was allocated to Poland, 286 square km was left to the Reich. The Germanic part, with the towns of Babimost and Kargowa, became part of the newly created province with a provocative name: Border March Poznań - West Prussia. The name of the city was changed to Bomst at the beginning of the 19th century.
In the town of Babimost, as of 1938, there were 1,807 inhabitants, including 1,177 Germans and 446 Poles. Throughout the captivity, the inhabitants of the city, and especially the surrounding villages, retained their Polishness and the Polish language. An explanation is due here; These 1,177 Germans were people who supported the Prussian authorities by request or threat, and their actual nationality was Polish or Czech. If a boy only had light hair, he could become a German.
In 1939, stupid Germans started World War II, and it ended badly for them. On January 29, 1945, after 152 years of captivity, Babimost returned to the Old Polish Lands. A new period began in the city's life. Certainly not ideal, because we had to argue with another occupation, this time Soviet.
As a result of the administrative reform in 1975, the town of Babimost was included in the Zielona Góra Voivodeship. In 1998, another administrative reform assigned the city to the Lubuskie Voivodeship, in Zielona Góra County. Babimost became the seat of an urban-rural commune. According to data from December 31, 2004, the city had 4,180 inhabitants. The city's area is 3.6 square kilometers.
Currently (2008) it is a service center with small industries (wood, leather and knitting). The city is also a thriving center of the ethnographic region called Babimojszczyzna. The folklore of Greater Poland, folk costumes and songs are protected here. Babimost is the seat of the Roman Catholic deanery, belonging to the diocese of Zielona Góra-Gorzów. The city of Babimost has a coat of arms, a bugle call and even a city anthem. The Babimost commune is very attractive for tourists; forests and water. There are numerous natural monuments here. In Babimost, great attention is paid to mass sport.
Babimost is a road junction of regional importance. Provincial roads intersect here; No. 303 - direction Świebodzin-Babimost-Wolsztyn, No. 304 - direction Suchedniów-Babimost-Zbąszynek, No. 314 - direction Kargowa.
Nowe Kramsko.
Nowe Kramsko is a town located approximately 5 km south-west of Babimost. The town has geographical coordinates; latitude 52 degrees 08 minutes N longitude 15 degrees 46 minutes E. It is an agricultural and tourist town. Wojnowskie Lake is nearby. The town is a village with an area of 4,560.42 hectares. In 2006, the settlement had 872 inhabitants. The town has a kindergarten, a primary school, a Roman Catholic parish church and a volunteer fire brigade.
Nowe Kramsko was founded at the beginning of the 13th century as a knight's village, incorporated under Polish law. Legend says that the founders of the village were residents of Stare Kramsk fleeing the plague.
At the beginning of the 14th century, the then owners of the village, Hektor from Klępsk, from the Leszczyc family, and castellan Zbąski Sulko from Lasocice, from the Junosz family, donated the village to the monastery of the Cistercian Order from Obra. The village belonged to the order until the Second Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, when the Prussians dissolved the monasteries and took over the property. Ultimately, von Unruh from Kargowa became the owner. At the end of the 19th century, Emil Rudelius became the owner of the town and built a palace here. It was the family seat until 1945. Currently, the palace houses a branch of the Wiesław Sauter Public Library in Babimost.
Before World War II, even though the village was located within Germanic borders, it was the center of Poland. The inhabitants have not been Germanized since the 17th century. A beautiful page of history was written by the Greater Poland insurgents who died in the battles for the town on February 2-3, 1919. A boulder monument was erected in honor of the fallen 7 insurgents. We wrote about the town of Nowe Kramsko because Babimost Airport is located exactly in this town.
History of Babimost Airport.
On May 14, 1955, a pact was signed in Warsaw bringing together the armed forces of Central and Eastern European countries, known as the Warsaw Pact (UW). It was supposed to be a counterweight to the NATO pact, after the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) joined it. The official name is the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance. It brought together 8 countries, but in fact all decisions were made in the Kremlin. Anticipating the chronology, we will write that on July 1, 1991, the arrangement was dissolved.
Due to the establishment of the University of Warsaw, an organizational change in the Polish Military Aviation turned out to be necessary. Decisions were made to build new military airports, including in Nowe Kramsko, near Babimost. On April 30, 1956, the Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Army ordered the commander of the Air Force and Anti-Aircraft Defense of the National Area to form the 45th Fighter Aviation Regiment at the Babimost airport by October 1, 1956. The regiment was established by the Order of the Minister of National Defense of July 6, 1957.
The Babimost airport was built in 1954 as an airport capable of supporting at least one air regiment equipped with turbojet-powered aircraft, with a hard RWY, centralized aircraft stands, a fuel base and the necessary radio equipment. To be honest, these were standards that placed the airport in the group of backup airports rather than primary airports.
45 PLM began operating on October 10, 1957, at the airport in Babimost, when the 3rd Squadron of the 1st PLM "Warszawa", under the command of pilot lieutenant Jan Malicki, landed. This squadron was the nucleus of the new Regiment. Let us remind you that during this period the 1st PLM was transferred from Bemowo Airport to Mińsk Mazowiecki Airport. Organizationally, the Regiment was subordinated to the 3rd National Air Defense Corps, but due to the reorganization of structures in July 1957, the 45th PLM was subordinated to the 3rd National Air Defense Corps.
In 1960, the 3rd OPL Corps OK. with command in Wrocław, had in its composition; 3. PLM in Wrocław, 38. PLM in Powidz, 45. PLM in Babimost, 62. PLM in Krzesiny. Additionally, the 3rd Corps had; 44th Liaison Aviation Squadron (Wrocław), 14th OPL Artillery Regiment (Wrocław), 98th OPL Artillery Regiment (Poznań), 18th (Poznań-Ławica), 22nd (Wrocław-Strachowice) Radio Technical Battalions.
45 PLM was not one of the first-line regiments in the Polish Air Force, and even in the structures of OPL OK it was not high. This is important because it indicates that the Regiment has never received the latest aircraft. In the Regiment, fighter planes were reaching the end of their service life and were written off. In the 3rd OPL OK Corps, the Regiments from Krzesiny and Starachowice were in the lead. In the meantime, the 38th PLM changed its location and character.
Photo description: PZL Lim-2 nb 1809 No. 1B 18-009, which was used in the 45th PLM in Babimost.
45 PLM was equipped with MiG-15, MiG-15 bis, Lim-1/2 fighters, which were acquired from other air regiments. The regiment became combat ready in 1960. Also in 1960, the Regiment received a banner.
On July 21, 1961, the world's first cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, paid a guest visit to the Babimost airport. To commemorate this event, a commemorative plaque was placed on the airport tarmac.
In the second half of the 1960s, further important changes took place in Polish Aviation. They mainly concerned Operational Aviation. In November 1969, the 45th PLM was incorporated into the Air Force Command and changed its designation to a fighter-assault regiment. The Air Force Command included the 16th Fighter-Attack Aviation Division, which in 1969 changed its name to the 2nd Brandenburg Fighter-Attack Aviation Division. Its composition included; 3. PLM-B from Bydgoszcz with Su-7 aircraft, 6. PLM-Sz from Piła, combined with 51. PLM-Sz, with Lim-6 bis aircraft, 8. PLM-Sz from Mirosławiec, previously designated 53. PLM- Sz, with Lim-6 bis planes, 45. PLM-Sz from Babimost.
Photo description: PZL Lim-6 bis nb 635, operated in the 45th PLM in Babimost.
The PZL Lim-6 bis fighter and attack aircraft No. 1J 06-27 nb 627 was the basic aircraft in the 45th PLM-Sz. After service, the plane was a monument at Babimost airport. In 2018, the plane was still parked at the airport near the terminal, but behind a fence.
45 PLM-Sz over time became more of a training regiment than a combat regiment. Young pilots came there straight after school and only after obtaining the first degrees of combat training, they often went to serve in Piła or Mirosławiec.
However, this organizational system did not last long. Already in 1972, further changes took place. The 2nd Brandenburg DLM-Sz changed its tasks and became an attack and reconnaissance unit. Therefore, the name was changed to the 2nd Air Attack and Reconnaissance Division. Other regiments were also placed under his command; 21. PLRTiA from Sochaczew. The 3rd PLM-B from Bydgoszcz was removed and placed under the direct command of the Air Force. The 8th PLM-Sz from Mirosławiec has died. Our hero, the 45th PLM-Sz, remained. So the 2nd DLSz-R consisted of; 6. PLM-Sz from Piła, 21. PLRTiA from Sochaczew, 45. PLM-Sz from Babimost, 47. Liaison Aviation Squadron.
In 1982, all fighter-assault regiments changed their tasks to fighter-bomber ones. This was related to the prospect of adopting Su-22 aircraft into Polish service. Therefore, the 2nd DLM-B received in the squad; 6. PLM-B – Piła, 45. PLM-B – Babimost, 21. PLB-R, 47. ELŁ.
In the period 1980–1988, the Babimost Regiment hosted training for cadets from the Higher Officers' Aviation School in Dęblin.
Around 1985, it was certain that the 45th PLM-B in Babimost would not receive new Su-22 fighter-bomber aircraft. Therefore, in 1988, the Regiment was renamed the 45th Aviation Training and Combat Regiment. At the turn of the 1980s and 1990s, Babimost pilots were counting on new planes in the form of Polish PZL I-22 Iryda combat aircraft, which at that time were undergoing trial operation in Dęblin and Biała Podlaska. Let us remember that at that time there were talks about 60-72 new multi-role combat aircraft supplemented with Polish training and combat construction in the amount of up to 200 copies.
In 1991, the 45th LPSzk-Boj had 24 Lim-6 bis and 5 SB Lim-2 aircraft. The regiment was disbanded when the resources of the last Lim-6 bis/M aircraft were exhausted at the end of 1992. This regiment was the last air unit using this type of Polish attack aircraft. In February 1992, aviation training was completed, and on August 22, 1992, the regiment's banner was ceremonially farewelled.
On September 1, 1992, by order of the Ministry of National Defense, a new unit, the Airport Service Command, was established as JW. 2784. From January 1, 2000, it operated as the 21st, and after the renumbering of the 33rd Air Base in Powidz, as airport No. 2.
On December 31, 2004, the Military Unit in Babimost was completely liquidated. The tradition and history of the disbanded aviation unit is cultivated by the Association of Former Professional Soldiers and Reserve Officers of the Polish Army. This institution is an association and has been operating since March 27, 1981. Its members took over the care of the aviation symbols remaining from the Unit and the military part of the Memorial Room.
In addition to the military history of the airport, we will add that the unit's soldiers enjoyed active recreation in a summer resort located on Lake Liny, on road No. 313, halfway between Babimost and Kargowa.
Written by Karol Placha Hetman