In an abandoned air base hidden between mountains, Albania rescues and sells fighters from the Soviet era – 04/03/2019

By Briseida Mema and Sally Mairs

On an arid hill north of Albania there is a portal on the communist past: a huge steel door opens to reveal a former hidden air base in the heart of the mountain.

There are 600 meters of tunnels that were once full of military life, the secret air base of Gjadër now it's a deposit for dozens of huge MiG plane from the communist era who accumulate dust in the dark.

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Three decades after the loss of communism, the Albanian authorities they are still trying to sell the planes Soviet and Chinese manufacturing, of which there are dozens of others on another air base nearby.

"The alignment of our equipment and our weapons with NATO standards" is part of Albania's "new chapter" with the Alliance, to which it adhered in 2009 , said the head of the military defense Bardhyl Kollcaku.

As for the MiG, "aside from nostalgia (for which) we will keep some in our museum … the rest will be treated in accordance with national legislation on sale or other use"he explains.

The communist-era planes, which include the MiG-19, MiG-17 and MiG-21 models, among others, were out of service for more than ten years.

But museums, collectors and other aviation enthusiasts have already shown interest in donating relics a new house

When Albania first approached the sale of MiG in 2016, requests emanated from the Air Museum and Space in France, as well as from a flying school in Germany.

However, no sales have been made to date, as legal documents have delayed the process.

There are also people on the waiting list, including French businessman Julien Roche, based in Albania, who plans to install the plane in your garden.

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"It is not so easy to get this type of device now because all have been destroyed instead of being stored, as in Albania," he says in a statement. house filled with eccentric objects.

Roche bet on one of the oldest models, a MiG-15 of Chinese manufacture at a price around 10,000 euros ($ 11,000), which were used by North Koreans before being donated to Albania.

Closed to the public

Like the 7,000 concrete security shelters that dot the countryside, Gjadër's underground base was part of the plan of former communist dictator Enver Hoxha to strengthen his hermit state against the feared foreign invasions that never materialized. .

More than 600 soldiers previously worked in the labyrinth of tunnels closed in 2000 and inaccessible to the public.

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The jet aircraft after 2000 used a different military base, until the last of the aircraft was retired after an accident in 2004.

After opening the dark and damp tunnels of the French AFP, the commander of the current base, Fatmir Danaj, admits that the old planes They evoke an unexpected nostalgia.

"The pleasure of flying and working in this base it was unimaginable"said Danaj, 52, lighting his flashlight in a row of silver planes that, as a young driver, was landing on the runway entering the mountain.

Today dozens of rooms inside, including a cafeteria, dormitories and various other offices, they are empty, with the exception of scattering debris and discolored posters on its doors that announce its function.

In an empty office, a reminder is always hanging on the wall: "Be careful, put the documents in your files and send them to the secret administrative office before leaving the workplace."

NATO arrives at Stalin

For nearly 40 years of government, Hoxha has turned Albania into a country the most militarized Balkans.

This was spectacular in 1997, seven years after the fall of communism, when the country was led by an armed rebellion in which citizens attacked arsenals and military bases to obtain arms.

Gjadër also suffered violations, people looting weapons and sell pieces of some MiG as scrap.

Today, the Albanian aviation has only a small fleet of helicopters and its airspace. he is protected by NATO.

As a sign of changing times, NATO's first base in the Balkan region will be built in Kucova, Albania, formerly known as "Stalin's City". a symbol of friendship at the time between Albania and the Soviet Union.

But Danaj still dreams of seeing Gjadër recover his past glory.

"The base could serve as a museum, but with its modern infrastructure, its tunnel system, it can become functional again and serve NATO," he said.

Source: AFP

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