Page 47
L-39C, No.16, Russian Navy Air Force, 859 TsBP, Yeysk AB, Russia, 2018
L-39C, s/n 533229, No. 77, Ukrainian Air Force, 299 brTA,
Kulbakino AB, Nikolaev, Ukraine, 2015
The L-39C remains the backbone of the Russian
Air Force’s jet trainer fleet. After graduating
from one of the three aviation academies, flight
training during the third year of studies begins on
these aircraft, and by the fourth year, trainees are
divided into fighter, attack and tactical bomber
or transport/long-range aviation, with training
continuing on the L-39. This L-39C served in the
ranks of the Russian Naval Air Force (AVMF-
RF) at the Yeysk base. Albatros RF-34122 with
blue fuselage number 16 was assigned to the
859 Naval Aviation Combat Use and Crew Training
Center (859 TsBP i PLS MA VMF). On October 19,
2018, it crashed during a low-level training flight
over the Sea of Azov, killing both crew members.
Unconfirmed sources state that one of the pilots
died after ejection, while the other did not eject
from the aircraft.
After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, 1,202 L-39s
were to remain in Russia and the rest were
divided among the new independent states. When
the Ukrainian Air Force was established in 1992,
it operated 708 L-39s, making the country the
second largest operator in the world. The poor
financial situation of the entire army has reduced
their number considerably and in 2005 less than
200 were in service. The remaining Albatroses
were stored and offered for sale. The Ministry
of Defense decided to modernize the L-39C
with indigenous systems and assets. There are
three versions of the upgrade (M1, M2 and M3),
which denote different levels of modernization.
Eight upgraded aircraft were delivered by 2014,
but half of them were captured by Russia after it
occupied Crimea in March 2014. With two major
overhauls of the aircraft in Odessa and Chuhuiv,
Ukraine became a master of L-39 overhauls,
leading to many Ukrainian Albatroses being
exported.
KITS 02/2024
INFO Eduard
47
February 2024