Dolinsk-Sokol

Dolinsk-Sokol
IATA: none – ICAO: none
Summary
Airport type		Military
Operator		Russian Air Force
Serves		Air base in Dolinsk Prohibited to civilians
Location		Dolinsk
Elevation AMSL		95 ft / 29 m
Coordinates		47°15′42″N 142°46′6″E / 47.26167°N 142.76833°E / 47.26167; 142.76833Coordinates: 47°15′42″N 142°46′6″E / 47.26167°N 142.76833°E / 47.26167; 142.76833
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
2/20	8,202	2,500	Concrete

For the regional civilian airport at Magadan, Russia see Sokol Airport.

Dolinsk-Sokol (appearing in various forms as Sokol, Dolinsk-Sokol, Dolinsk Sokol, Solok [sic]) is a military air base in Sakhalin Oblast, Russia located 8 km south of Dolinsk. It is a small base with no hardened areas. It existed before June 1966 according to declassified KH-7 satellite images. Its chief operating unit was 365 IAP (365th Interceptor Aviation Regiment), flying the Su-15, MiG-23, and Su-27 during its 40 years of tenure ^[1]. In the 1980s it received the MiG-31 ^[2]. It is also listed as being home to 361 IIVP (361st Instruction Test Helicopter Regiment) flying Mi-24 and Mi-8 helicopters ^[3].

Dolinsk-Sokol is famous for being home to the Sukhoi Su-15 that shot down Korean Air Flight 007 near Moneron Island in September 1983. At that time, base commander was General Anatoly Kornukov, who later become Commander of the Russian Air Force.^[4] At the time of the shootdown, Kornukov apparently ordered the shootdown to prevent KAL 007 from leaving Sakhalin airspace.^[4]

References

1. ^ "Aviatsiya PVO". Aviabaza KPOI.. http://airbase.ru/squad/russia/avpvo/. 
2. ^ Mason, R. A. (1986). Aircraft, Strategy and Operations of the Soviet Air Force. Jane's Publishing Company Limited. ISBN 0710603738. 
3. ^ Butowski, Pyotr (2004). Air Power Analysis: Russian Federation. AIRtime Publishing, Inc. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Jürgen Kleiner (2001). Korea, a Century of Change. World Scientific. ISBN 9810246579. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=nTCC2ZheFu0C. Retrieved 2009-01-25.