Frag Out! Magazine

The Polish Air Force has undergone major cuts - not just because of global trends, but also due to the reduced post-transformation potential of the Polish state economy. DOL (Road Airfield Section - literal translation) highway strips fell victim to that process. DOLs were sections of public roads tailo- red to handle aircraft operations. Genesis The emergence of those strips in Poland stems, among other causes, from the conclusions drawn from the Six Days War. Back then the Israeli Air Force started the war with a surprise strike targeting the Egyptian airbases and destroying major numbers of jets. The IAF managed to destroy numerous air- craft parked on the unprotected aprons, in large numbers. The USSR and its allies were following the events unfolding in the Middle East very closely. Poland has learned proper lessons and took action, aimed at preventing the incapacita- tion of its air force as a result of an unexpected attack. Solutions known during WWII were among the measures implemented. The Polish airbases started to feature aircraft dispersal areas, with aprons protecting single aircraft, surro- unded by large berms, protecting the ground crews, and the jets from the potential fragmentation. As time went by, the berms were being replaced by concrete hangars/shelters, covered by a thick layer of soil. Another method used to protect the aircraft came in the form of further dispersion of the air unit's potential, across a larger area. It was assumed that the potential adversary would remain unable to effectively strike all locations at once, and at least some of them would retain the capacity to conduct operatio- nal activities. The dispersal could have been done based on reserve airba- ses, and road sections where the aircraft could potentially land. Successful dislocation of Polish aircraft to the previously prepared austere airfields, right before the start of WWII in 1939 can be used as a very good example of using reserve, austere airfields for that purpose. During WWII the Germans did notice the potential offered by the highway network, when it came to protection of air assets, and they were suc- cessfully using public roads to conduct air warfare. During the Cold War, with the growing threat of a global conflict bre- aking out between two opposing military blocs, both parties realized that large, and easy targets, such as air bases, would be the first and primary locations to be attacked. Route 604 www.fragoutmag.com

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