Plokštinė Military Town Military town
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In 1962, one of the first underground launch complexes for R-12 ballistic missiles in the Soviet Union, the Dvina, was put into operation in Plokštinė Forest (Plungė district).
A military camp was set up 0.5 km from the missile launch site. It occupied an area of 12 hectares, and approximately 30 buildings were built here for various purposes, including residential houses (barracks), officers’ headquarters, two canteens, a boiler house, a power station, a medical post, a club, a pig farm, warehouses, garages, and other structures.
The Plokštinė underground missile launching complex was operational until 18 June 1978. The Soviet soldiers left the area, taking only their weapons with them. In 1979, the management of the former military complex was transferred to the Republican Association of Agricultural Recreation Facilities of Plungė District, and the Plateliai Pioneer Recreation Camp “Žuvėdra” was established at the military campus site. The site was reconstructed and adapted to the needs of the camp, which operated until 1990. After the restoration of Lithuanian independence, the Pioneer Camp was closed.
Since 1993, the site has been managed by the Žemaitija National Park Directorate. In 2017, many of the structures on the military campus were demolished due to their state of disrepair. Today, there are about ten buildings left at the site, and visitors may see them from the outside. Information boards about the former buildings and their functions have been installed.
Used sources and references:
Shaft nuclear missile launch base "Dvina" - Praeitis Žvalgas
https://www.praeitieszvalgas.lt/sachtine-branduoliniu-raketu-paleidos-baze-dvina/
Educational programs
Tour of the former military town
Near Lake Platelia, in the forests of Ploštinė in 1960. the construction of the underground base for launching thermonuclear missiles "Dvina" was started. in 1962 at the end of December, the first combat alert was announced at the base. In four 30-year-olds 4 R-12U type medium-range ballistic missiles armed with thermonuclear warheads are deployed in deep shafts. They were intended to destroy Western European countries.
The top secret facility required a large amount of military equipment and service and command personnel. For that purpose, a town with 30 buildings was established 500 m from the missile launch site. The entire facility occupied an area of about 12 hectares, surrounded by as many as 6 protective fences.
What happened here, what was the purpose of the buildings and what fate befell the military town and what secrets Ploštinė forest still keeps, you will find out on the excursion...
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