AGB - Albania 2006

Albania 2006

A Glance Back – Albania 2006

This glance back is to almost fifteen years ago, when Albania became accessible – moving from being a fairly isolated nation, having severed ties first with the Soviet Union then with China. It started looking westwards, towards the EU (and of course, in distance, it is no further from the heel of Italy than London is to Eastbourne). The capital, Tirana, is really quite small and getting around was easy. One surprise was the high ratio of BMW and Mercedes saloons to other cars, with quite a number still wearing their German registration plates!

Tirana didn’t have tall buildings (and may not now). The skyline was like taking a step back in time which was very pleasing to the eye. A fairly relaxed feel about the place and no shortage of cafes, restaurants and bars. There must have been changes over the years since my visit, hopefully for the better and without changing its character. When travelling around the countryside, to visit the various airbases the scenery can be quite stunning - from agricultural land to hills and mountains (and I have heard it has a great coastline). It was very odd to see, dotted around the landscape at ground level and on higher points, bunkers or pillboxes that, in a sense, reflected the very real fear of invasion (and with cause as they have suffered from that in the twentieth century).

The airbases beyond Tirana were very well protected. Where NATO built hardened shelters, the Albanians tended to do what the Swiss have done and use the hillsides and mountains. A concrete runway, a taxiway from one end of that for, perhaps, a half mile or more to the secure deep cavern built into the side of a mountain. I include a photo or two below. When we visited, there were lines of aircraft outside the cavern and more inside (although those inside were sometimes very hard to see without a torch as the electricity supply was off). MiG-15’s, 17’s and 19’s in abundance, although most were manufactured in China. Throw in the occasional MiG-21, many Mil-4’s (or Z-5’s), an AN-2 here or there and even an IL-28 and you can understand why enthusiasts were drawn to the country.

Its air force flew very little in 2006 and was focussing upon helicopters acquired from Italy – the AB.205 and AB.206; helicopters that would be of practical use for both military and civilian purposes. Just a few years later, Albania was admitted to NATO (and in 2014 became a candidate for future admission to the EU).

The huge appeal to the aviation enthusiast was the access that was for a time possible to those airbases that had many early Soviet / Chinese-built types sitting around, many in seemingly good condition – certainly externally. If you have not been, I have really no idea how much there is still to see – aircraft were being scrapped in 2006 but I expect a number will have been preserved. If, like myself, you did go, then hopefully you’ll just enjoy the photos from one of those rather special and unusual aircraft destinations.

Author

Peter Nelson