Zeljava Air base, victim of the 1991 Balkan wars. . .

fat tony

fat tony

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a forward observation post in the L-F-H horizon, o
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Željava_Air_Base

Under construction from 1948 - 1968 at a cost of $6 billion dollars (corrected for?), used heavily in the 1991 Balkan wars, completely destroyed on the withdrawal of the JNA.

Makes you wonder if the construction of such large, central, and expensive facilities is really worth it. . .

This clip is a bit spooky, considering the subsequent events in the area.

 
Was it worth it? The people building them at the time thought so. You have to get in the mindset of the time.

You just kicked the russian delegation out and all but severed any ties with USSR, but still aren't on good terms with NATO. Yugoslavia was literally between two superpowers with very little ties to either one. Nuclear armament is rising. Only way to protect against nuclear strikes is building underground.

We also build large underground submarine pens in Kotor (now Montenegro). Extensive hidden SAM and other installations were build into the mountains overlooking the Adriatic ocean. The thought at the time was that either side of the Cold War would invade so they planned accordingly.

Self sufficiency and sustainment were the words of the day. In house development and manufacture was top priority. Yugoslavian designed submarines, fighter jets and small armaments were either designed from scratch or improved on previous designs. By all account the Jastreb and Orao were very well designed jets. The extra value placed in the M70 and the new Yugo AKs in USA is also proof. Anyone handling a Yugo SKS will attest to its great build quality over its Chinese or russian counterparts.

National defence was priority. Mandatory military service also allowed a large semi trained force to be assembled quickly.

And in the end all that was for nothing as personable greed of politicians led us down a path of internal conflict. Makes me pissed off to think about it now, 20 years later.
 
Red_Liner740 said:
Was it worth it? The people building them at the time thought so. You have to get in the mindset of the time.

You just kicked the russian delegation out and all but severed any ties with USSR, but still aren't on good terms with NATO. Yugoslavia was literally between two superpowers with very little ties to either one. Nuclear armament is rising. Only way to protect against nuclear strikes is building underground.

We also build large underground submarine pens in Kotor (now Montenegro). Extensive hidden SAM and other installations were build into the mountains overlooking the Adriatic ocean. The thought at the time was that either side of the Cold War would invade so they planned accordingly.

Self sufficiency and sustainment were the words of the day. In house development and manufacture was top priority. Yugoslavian designed submarines, fighter jets and small armaments were either designed from scratch or improved on previous designs. By all account the Jastreb and Orao were very well designed jets. The extra value placed in the M70 and the new Yugo AKs in USA is also proof. Anyone handling a Yugo SKS will attest to its great build quality over its Chinese or russian counterparts.

National defence was priority. Mandatory military service also allowed a large semi trained force to be assembled quickly.

And in the end all that was for nothing as personable greed of politicians led us down a path of internal conflict. Makes me pissed off to think about it now, 20 years later.
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+1000. Still love my papovka! :)
 
Red_Liner740 said:
Was it worth it? The people building them at the time thought so. You have to get in the mindset of the time.

You just kicked the russian delegation out and all but severed any ties with USSR, but still aren't on good terms with NATO. Yugoslavia was literally between two superpowers with very little ties to either one. Nuclear armament is rising. Only way to protect against nuclear strikes is building underground.

We also build large underground submarine pens in Kotor (now Montenegro). Extensive hidden SAM and other installations were build into the mountains overlooking the Adriatic ocean. The thought at the time was that either side of the Cold War would invade so they planned accordingly.

Self sufficiency and sustainment were the words of the day. In house development and manufacture was top priority. Yugoslavian designed submarines, fighter jets and small armaments were either designed from scratch or improved on previous designs. By all account the Jastreb and Orao were very well designed jets. The extra value placed in the M70 and the new Yugo AKs in USA is also proof. Anyone handling a Yugo SKS will attest to its great build quality over its Chinese or russian counterparts.

National defence was priority. Mandatory military service also allowed a large semi trained force to be assembled quickly.

And in the end all that was for nothing as personable greed of politicians led us down a path of internal conflict. Makes me pissed off to think about it now, 20 years later.
Click to expand...

I can assure you that all of NATO collectively held it's breath during the bombing campaign to end civil war there.

Until the moments of the very first air interdiction from Italian airbases, no-one really knew exactly how the JNA would react.
 
That looks like it was quite the lovely base. Unfortunate, something that massive and interesting deserved a lot better than what it got.
 
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Red_Liner740 said:
Was it worth it? The people building them at the time thought so. You have to get in the mindset of the time.

You just kicked the russian delegation out and all but severed any ties with USSR, but still aren't on good terms with NATO. Yugoslavia was literally between two superpowers with very little ties to either one. Nuclear armament is rising. Only way to protect against nuclear strikes is building underground.

We also build large underground submarine pens in Kotor (now Montenegro). Extensive hidden SAM and other installations were build into the mountains overlooking the Adriatic ocean. The thought at the time was that either side of the Cold War would invade so they planned accordingly.

Self sufficiency and sustainment were the words of the day. In house development and manufacture was top priority. Yugoslavian designed submarines, fighter jets and small armaments were either designed from scratch or improved on previous designs. By all account the Jastreb and Orao were very well designed jets. The extra value placed in the M70 and the new Yugo AKs in USA is also proof. Anyone handling a Yugo SKS will attest to its great build quality over its Chinese or russian counterparts.

National defence was priority. Mandatory military service also allowed a large semi trained force to be assembled quickly.

And in the end all that was for nothing as personable greed of politicians led us down a path of internal conflict. Makes me pissed off to think about it now, 20 years later.
Click to expand...


Thank you for you input, it is greatly valued.
 
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fraserdw said:
I wonder what our great mouments will look like when we take ourselves apart in a decade or two.
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Re: monuments: Other than some colonial leftovers, I didn't know we had any. Most of the prominent ones I see around are lift slab buildings subdivided with galvanized studs & 1/2" sheetrock. Our legacy will be disposable & recyclable at least.

I know the local abandoned WWII bunkers are quite dilapidated today, & they were badly dilapidated back in the 1970s.

The Halifax Citadel was 'saved' through a multi million dollar stabilization and restoration project back in the 1980s. There was a bit of controversy surrounding the tendering for that contract from what little I can remember about it.

I think nature would take The Citadel back pretty quickly if the economy fell apart for several generations.
 
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drove by there 3 or 4 times a week 1997. they have a similar setup in Split. pretty impressive to be sitting in the terminal and see a mig land and taxi in to the side of the mountain.
 
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