Cerklje: Air Base

Letališče Cerklje ob Krki, Brežice

For historical information only, do not use for navigation or aviation purposes!

Coordinates	N455360 E0153156 (WGS84) Google Maps
Location indicator	LJCE

Map with location of Cerklje Air Base, Slovenia

The history of the Cold War airfields: Cerklje

General

Cerklje was an airfield of the Yugoslav People's Army. As a special feature it had a distant dispersal area, about 2 km southwest. The route between the airfield and the dispersal area could be used as a runway.

During the Cold War

In the 1960s

Overview

Cerklje Air Base, Yugoslavia (today Slovenia), on a US satellite image 1969

Cerklje Air Base and surroundings on a US satellite image from 26 July 1969. - 1=airfield; 2=emergency runway; 3=remote dispersal area; 4=SAM site

Source: U.S. Geological Survey

The airfield

Source: U.S. Geological Survey

Emergency runway, remote dispersal, SAM site Cerklje

Emergency runway, remote dispersal and SAM site - Apparently, there was a connection path from the decentralization area to the anti-aircraft missile site at that time.

Source: U.S. Geological Survey

In the 1980s and early 1990s

Situation

Cerklje Air Base on a map of the US Department of Defense from 1981

Source: ONC F-2 (1981), Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection, University of Texas at Austin

Today

Use

Slovenian air base. The remote dispersal area in the southwest is used as racetrack "Gaj circuit" (formerly "Mobikrog")

Overview

(1)	Main runway
(2)	Grass runway
(3)	Emergency runway
(4)	Remote dispersal area
(5)	Additions built later for the race track
(6)	Race track passes through a shelter
(7)	Barracks
(8)	Gorica surface-to-air missile site

Runways

09/27: 2432 m x 46 m Asphalt
05/23: 2200 m Emergency runway, closed

Installations

In addition to the main runway, the airfield had an emergency runway in south-western direction. At the end was a remote dispersal areas with shelters. About 4 km southwest of the airfield was a anti-aircraft missile base.