1914–1945 In 1914, the
Ministry of War gave the order to the
Aviation Command to survey and identify locations where reserve aerodromes could be set up. One of the surveyed locations was Craiova, where an aerodrome was set up in 1916 on the
Craiova Hippodrome. During
the war, various missions were flown with
Farman aircraft from this aerodrome. In 1938, King
Carol II issued a decree for the establishment of an airport near Craiova. The new airport was to serve both a public role and a military one during an eventual war. During the war, it was the headquarters of the 3rd Bomber Flotilla. In 1942, the 3rd Light Bomber Group was formed within the Flotilla. The Group consisted of the 73rd Squadron (equipped with
PZL.23 Karaś) and the 74th Squadron (equipped with
Potez 63), and the 81st Squadron (equipped with
IAR 37) which remained stationed at
Buzău. The Group participated in the campaign on the
Eastern Front in
Ukraine, being equipped with
Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers and renamed to the 3rd Dive Bomber Group. In 1944, the Group was deployed to the
front in Moldavia, in the
Iași area. After the
23 August coup d'état, the 3rd Group was relocated to
Ianca, then returned to Craiova and merged with the 6th Dive Bomber Group.
1948–2004 PF fighters in 1996 In 1948, the 2nd Fighter Group was moved to the base, being renamed the 2nd Aviation Regiment a year later. The Regiment was equipped with
Messerschmitt Bf 109G,
IAR 80, and IAR 81 fighters. After the retirement of the MiG-15 and MiG-17 fighters, the unit was equipped with
MiG-21s. After persistent problems and the
civil wars in Yugoslavia, production of the IAR 93 was stopped and the aircraft was retired in 1998. The IAR 93 was replaced with
IAR 99s transferred from Ianca. The air base functioned until 2001, being transformed into the "67th Advanced Operational Training and Flight Test Center", and was eventually disbanded in 2003. The 322nd Aviation Maintenance Centre, which was established in 1970, was disbanded in 2004. ==Center for Research, Innovation and Flight Tests==