Photos from SyAAF ABU DhHOUR AFB

On 9th Sep. 2015, Jaish Al-Fateh "جيش الفتح" led by Jabhat Al-Nusra "جبهة النصرة" overran Abu DhHour airbase and took control of the whole airfield. I'm not going to talk here about the operation in details as this was the fruit of more than two years of besieging the airbase with uncountable trials to penetrate the defensive lines to take over this base which a lot of towns around suffered from.
It's just important to mention the sand storm which rebels prefer to call "Gift from Heaven" which provided a cover from the SyAAF aircraft used to bombard the advanced rebels upon calls from the airbase itself.

The aircraft left in the airfield are just scraps and useless, most of them are the first generation of MiG-23MS which were delivered to SyAAF on 1974 just after the 73 war. The other MiG-21s are non airworthy anymore as the regime -and especially after downing two MiG-21bis sometime in 2012- worked to flee whatever operational out to Hama AFB.

I collected a lot of photos -with special thanks to all those allowed me to use their photos here in my blog- and watched hours of videos and came to prepare the below key-maps for the eastern and western sides of the airfield in order to understand the type/variant and location of each seen aircraft, I recommend to download them here with full resolution:
- KEY-MAP (EAST)
- KEY-MAP (WEST)

As can be seen, the aircraft inventory in this air force base is as below:

MiG-21 (5 in total):
- MF 1518
- MF 1942
- bis (unknown serial)
- UM 2369
- F-13 (unknown serial at the gate guard)

MiG-23 (17 in total)
- MS 1602
- MS 1605 (first SyAAF aircraft to be hit by ATGM at the beginning of the unrest)
- MS 1612
- MS 1619
- MS 1620
- MS (unknown serial 8 nos.)
- MF 2677
- UB 1750
- UB 1752
- UB 1795

Mi-8 (3 in total)
- T 1282
- T 2904 (knocked out when shelling the airfield by mortars)
- T (unknown serial, hit by ATGM on 8th Sep. 2014)

I will update this list in case more photos come to public: last updated 13th Sep. 2015

SyAAF 1282 (82) Mi-8, notice the rail fitted from inside the cabin back to the bottom of boom, this is for laying anti-tanks land mines

Knocked out SyAAF 2904 Mi-8 apparently by mortar hit when the rebels shelled the airfield

SyAAF MiG-21bis decommissioned inside a HAS (serial could be 2319)

SyAAF 1518 MiG-21MF

SyAAF 1942 MiG-21MF

SyAAF 2369 MiG-21UM inside one of the double HAS

There is large bone yard of MiG-23s at the western side of the airfield distributed on two groups

The western group of phased out MiG-23s is to the far west of the airfield include MS & UB Floggers

The second group is to the east of the first one and consists of MS Floggers only

The most recent aircraft phased out in this airfield is the on on the right of the photo which is the 1750 MiG-23UB

Inside a HAS the single MiG-23MF with serial 2677 decommissioned

R-60 and R-23/24 missiles are thrown beside this Flogger, they are not bombs finally and 'useless' for SyAAF in this civil war!

I tried a lot trying to read the serial of this MiG-23MS but did not come to an accurate conclusion, I just think it can read 1600

One of the most interesting photos here is for the 1620 MiG-23MS with its Sapphir PR-21 radar exposed

The 1750 MiG-23UB

Stunning bird's eye shot for the first group of phased out Floggers, the closest one is the 1620 MiG-23MS while the one next to it is the 1752 MiG-23UB

R-60 Air-to-Air missiles inside the HAS houses the 2677 MiG-23MF

R-23/24 Air-to-Air missiles also

Photos from SyAAF TAFTANAZ AFB (Part I)

On 11 Jan. 2013, the Free Syrian Army units invaded Taftanaz AB (35°58'20.27"N 36°46'48.50"E), as they were mainly consisted of Ahrar AsSham battalions, AtTali'a Al Islamiyah group, AlFajr Al Islamiyah movement.
The aforementioned are known as "Syrian Islamic Front", that was in addition and coordination with AnNusra Front and Dawood brigade.

The footage of various videos shows that there were not less than 15 helicopters stationed at the air field. Unfortunately, the available close photos shows half the number only.

Let's start here with a very interesting shot for a VIP transporter Mi-8P with serial 1291, what special in this variant are the rectangular windows, the Off-White and Blue lined camo, the absence of external pylons and the most important thing is that the four-digit-serial is completely painted on the fuselage over windows.

Mi-8 with serial 52, the very interesting thing discovered here is that some of Mi-8's in this airbase carry the serial 13XX !! As we always used to see Mi-8's previously with serial 12XX.
This Mi-8 complete serial is 1352.

Another shot for the same Mi-8. Note that the complete serial is painted in white on the boom.

Again another shot shows the washed-out camo of this helo.

Close photo for the same Mi-8 clearly shows the insignia of "مصنع تعمير الطائرات" "Aircraft Overhaul Factory" that located in Neyrab AB in Aleppo which is widely known in the SyAAF as "The Factory".
The insignia is marked in black and white exactly under the right pilot's window.

This shot was taken prior the liberation of the air field shows the same Mi-8 with serial 87.

A close photo for the Mi-8 that stationed exactly next to the aforementioned one (refer to the above photo) with a Sand and light Green camo. Unfortunately the serial is unreadable.

Damaged Mi-8 with serial 99 stationed beside the hanger.

Mi-8 with serial 1395 in a good condition.

Another shot for the same.

The Assadist regime conducted intensive air raids over the base in order to destroy the helicopters (even those nonoperational), here is a photo for the same Mi-8 that survived the undetonated FAB fell only few meters in front of it !!!

A photo was taken prior the liberation as well, shows a Mi-8 with serial 55 beside a Mi-17.
on the background a couple of Mi-25's.

Mi-8 with serial 1397 armed and was ready for flight before the rebels captured the base.

Another photo for the same from the back. Unmounted clamshell back doors means that this helicopter was used also for dropping barrels over towns and villages of the adjacent country.

A photo shows the unguided rockets pods armed. 

Again we can see the insignia of "The Factory" under the frontal glass.

The same helo from distance, shows the rockets and pods to the right of the aircraft and confirming that it was in a very good condition for flight.