Željava Airbase
Željava Airbase (code-named "Objekat 505) is situated on the border between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina under the Plješevica Mountain. This was the largest underground airport and military airbase in the former Yugoslavia, and one of the largest in Europe.
Construction of the Željava airabse, began in 1948 and was completed in 1968. During those two decades the SFRJ (Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) spent approximately $6 billion dollars on its construction!
The role of the facility was to establish, integrate, and coordinate a nationwide early warning radar network in SFRJ akin to NORAD. The complex was designed and built to sustain a direct hit from a 20-kiloton nuclear bomb. The underground tunnels ran a total length of 3.5 kilometres, and the bunker had four entrances protected by 100-ton pressurized doors. The complex included an underground water source, power generators, crew quarters, and other strategic military facilities. It also housed a mess hall that could feed 1,000 people simultaneously, along with enough food, fuel, and arms to last 30 days without resupply.
The airbase was used intensively in early 1991, during the Yugoslav Wars. During its withdrawal, the Yugoslav People's Army destroyed the airport by filling pre-built spaces (explicitly designed for the purpose) with explosives and detonating them. To prevent any possible further use of the complex by opposing forces, the Military of Serbian Krajina completed the destruction in 1995 by setting off an additional 56 tons of explosives. Local villagers claimed that smoke continued to rise from the tunnels for six months after the explosion.
Construction of the Željava airabse, began in 1948 and was completed in 1968. During those two decades the SFRJ (Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) spent approximately $6 billion dollars on its construction!
The role of the facility was to establish, integrate, and coordinate a nationwide early warning radar network in SFRJ akin to NORAD. The complex was designed and built to sustain a direct hit from a 20-kiloton nuclear bomb. The underground tunnels ran a total length of 3.5 kilometres, and the bunker had four entrances protected by 100-ton pressurized doors. The complex included an underground water source, power generators, crew quarters, and other strategic military facilities. It also housed a mess hall that could feed 1,000 people simultaneously, along with enough food, fuel, and arms to last 30 days without resupply.
The airbase was used intensively in early 1991, during the Yugoslav Wars. During its withdrawal, the Yugoslav People's Army destroyed the airport by filling pre-built spaces (explicitly designed for the purpose) with explosives and detonating them. To prevent any possible further use of the complex by opposing forces, the Military of Serbian Krajina completed the destruction in 1995 by setting off an additional 56 tons of explosives. Local villagers claimed that smoke continued to rise from the tunnels for six months after the explosion.
