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Old 07-23-2013, 10:47 PM   #11
Captain Joy
 
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Default Re: Wanted: Military Airport Map

Quote:
Originally Posted by Anaraxes View Post
Or share runways, as with Eglin AFB.

The actual departure airfield for Gary Powers was near Peshawar, Pakistan. I think it's now called Peshawar Air Station, PAF Camp Badaber. The satellite view doesn't show anything that leaps out to me as a current airstrip, though it's easy enough to imagine several places that might have been one.
Thanks Anaraxes, I was trying to find PAF and couldn't. I guess maybe that main road through there used to be the runway? There is a current airport west and a bit north; it looks much larger.

Thanks everybody (special thanks to thrash) for your assistance and advice.
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Old 07-24-2013, 07:27 AM   #12
rust
 
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Default Re: Wanted: Military Airport Map

Please keep in mind that many military air bases have both shelters and han-
gars, with the hardened shelters used to protect the aircraft from attacks
and the hangars used for technical services. In the fighter-bomber unit I
served with the aircraft usually operated from the shelters unless they had
to be maintained or repaired in the hangars.
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Old 07-24-2013, 09:12 AM   #13
Captain Joy
 
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Default Re: Wanted: Military Airport Map

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Originally Posted by rust View Post
Please keep in mind that many military air bases have both shelters and hangars, with the hardened shelters used to protect the aircraft from attacks and the hangars used for technical services. In the fighter-bomber unit I served with the aircraft usually operated from the shelters unless they had to be maintained or repaired in the hangars.
I have several questions.
  1. In which type of structure–shelter or hanger–would a plane most likely be found in the few hours prior to taking off on a mission?
  2. Is one type of structure is more likely to contain the overhead lifts, offices, workspaces, etc.? I assume the hangers.
  3. Which type of structure is the more common?
  4. What are typical sizes?
  5. In general, which type of structure are military planes more often found in? How many planes?

My impression is that the shelters are beefier, but simpler and cheaper and more common. If a plane is in a hanger, it's there for some other reasons besides mere storage, e.g. maintenance, either just prior to and just after flight.

Last edited by Captain Joy; 07-24-2013 at 09:15 AM. Reason: Add last paragraph.
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Old 07-24-2013, 09:57 AM   #14
rust
 
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Default Re: Wanted: Military Airport Map

I can only answer that based on my experience with a fighter-bomber unit of the German air force, it may be different elsewhere.
Quote:
[*]In which type of structure–shelter or hanger–would a plane most likely be found in the few hours prior to taking off on a mission?
In or in front of its shelter.
Quote:
[*]Is one type of structure is more likely to contain the overhead lifts, offices, workspaces, etc.? I assume the hangers.
Yep, the hangars. They have all the technology for maintenance and repair,
and are usually large enough to service two or more aircraft.
Quote:
[*]Which type of structure is the more common?
The shelter. The unit had one shelter for each of its aircraft, but only two
hangars.
Quote:
[*]What are typical sizes?
The shelters for the type of aircraft our unit used where not much larger
than the aircraft itself. Here is a typical picture:
http://www.creativecrash.com/system/...jpg?1251149976

The hangars were much bigger, in fact big enough to be used for all kinds of
ceremonies and celebrations for hundreds of people.
Quote:
[*]In general, which type of structure are military planes more often found in? How many planes?
The shelters, this is where the aircraft are normally kept when not used. The
number of shelters on an air base depends on the type and size of the unit
stationed there, in our case there were 12 active aircraft and a few reserve
aircraft.
Quote:
My impression is that the shelters are beefier, but simpler and cheaper and more common. If a plane is in a hanger, it's there for some other reasons besides mere storage, e.g. maintenance, either just prior to and just after flight.
Right.
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Old 07-24-2013, 11:43 AM   #15
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Default Re: Wanted: Military Airport Map

Quote:
Originally Posted by Captain Joy View Post
I was trying to find PAF and couldn't. I guess maybe that main road through there used to be the runway?
For my completely uneducated guess, and assuming this is even the right place, I'd pick the longer northwest-to-southeast road that sort of bisects the compound. There's a lot of buildings, and it curves a bit, but it might be where an airstrip used to be, before the place got domesticated and repaved. But I don't think this is really plausible.

Quote:
There is a current airport west and a bit north; it looks much larger.
Google Maps labels that as Peshawar International Airport, so I kept looking. However, it's a dead ringer for what globalsecurity.org calls the PAF Peshawar airbase in this Ikonos satellite image. I notice just to the east of the airport on Google Maps, there's a "PAF Football Field", "Cricket Field", and "Basketball Court". So it's probably dual use. The Wiki article for the place agrees.

The two are really only 3-4 miles apart, so it's possible they kept the CIA spooks in Badaber for isolation, and drove Powers out to the runway, keeping the U-2 in a hangar there.

The U-2 needs a minimum 6000-foot runway. Peshawar is 8900. And from the Google Maps scale,there's no way you could cram a 6000-foot runway anywhere in the Badaber walls. It's only about 2000 feet across the long way. Maybe if the airstrip were Inqilaab Road -- but you still would have needed a road to the camp.

So I'm going with a presumed military hangar at Peshawar and Powers in Badaber to preserve the mentions of that place being relevant.

This might be useful for your game -- the plane is separate from the pilot, in case your target was really one or the other. You'll have Pakistani military security at one, not just CIA goons. Or your PCs could intercept Powers' vehicle on the way, which might be easier than getting access to him at either end (if that's a goal).
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Old 07-24-2013, 11:43 AM   #16
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Default Re: Wanted: Military Airport Map

Keflavķk Airport is the primary airport for military flights here. The USAF used to use it for the planes they based here.

Hangars 780, 831, and 832 are around where I'd guess the US had most of it's stuff when they were here.

Due west of the above mentioned hangars you can see shelters as have been mentioned. They used to house the F-15s that were here.

If you go slightly south and east you can see other bunkers that were used, I suspect for munitions.
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Old 07-27-2013, 11:02 PM   #17
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Default Re: Wanted: Military Airport Map

Thank you everybody for your wise and informed counsel. The adventure just wrapped up and because of y'all, I was able to GM with confidence.
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Old 07-28-2013, 06:31 AM   #18
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Default Re: Wanted: Military Airport Map

Happy to help. I trust everyone had fun...?
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Old 08-03-2013, 02:51 PM   #19
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Default Re: Wanted: Military Airport Map

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Happy to help. I trust everyone had fun...?
They did enjoy 1960 U-2, a Time Corps one-shot adventure.
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