| The two Sukhoi-7s near the Administrative block of Bhuj Air Force Base are marked B911 and B912. Since Bhuj never operated Sukhois, its believed that these airframes may have been transported from Jamnagar. Pic Courtesy : Alan Warnes – FLYPAST Magazine. |
Bhuj was initially a civilian airfield in Gujarat, which was later turned into a forward Air Base in the Seventies. Situated near the town of Bhuj, this airfield recently suffered one of the most massive earthquakes to strike this area, even though no damage occurred to the aircraft, a number of base personnel and thier families lost their lives.
Bhuj operates MiG-21s, Mi-8 Helis and MiG-27s. Acting as gate gaurdians are two Sukhoi-7s painted in Desert Camouflage. Both aircraft are located on either side of the approach road to the Administrative Building and are numbered B-911 and B-912.
When Sandeep Unnithan visited Bhuj, he also found two more gate guardians – A Canberra B(I)58 in the dayglow Orange Target Towing role scheme numbered F-971. and a Hunter displayed in a park. Sandeep could not observe the serial of the Hunter, but remarked both the aircraft are not in a good condition. The Canberra was probably IF971.
| This wreck of an Mi-8 Helicopter was observed dumped at Bhuj airfield in January 2001. Pic Courtesy : Alan Warnes – FLYPAST Magazine |  |
In addition to the Sukhois, a wreck of an Mi-8 Helicopter is dumped in the airfield premises. It is believed to be the same helicopter that crashed in the marshy lands of the Rann in November 2000. This wreck was airlifted by an Mi-26 later on for inspection.
| Aircraft Type | Serial No | Remarks |
| EE Canberra B(I) 58 | F971 | Possibly IF-971 – painted in TT scheme |
| Hawker Hunter | -NA- | Gate Guardian in ‘Hunter Park’ |
| Sukhoi-7 | B911 | Gate Guardian |
| Sukhoi-7 | B912 | Gate Guardian |
| Mi-8 | -NA- | Wreck dumped at Bhuj Air Force Station. |
Google Map Links:
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{mosmap width=’100%’|height=’150’|lat=’23.28498121152966’|lon=’69.67854917049408’|zoom=’18’|zoomType=’Small’|zoomNew=’0’|mapType=’Satellite’|showMaptype=’1’|overview=’0’|tooltip=’Hunter and Canberra at Bhuj AFS Gate’|marker=’1’|align=’left’}</p>
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