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All Estonia Ämari Ämari Pilots’ Cemetery

Ämari Pilots’ Cemetery

This soviet pilot's graveyard is filled with headstones made of airplane fins.

Ämari, Estonia

Added By
Eric Grundhauser
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Ämari Pilots’ Cemetery   Robert Treufeldt on Wikipedia
Ämari Pilots’ Cemetery   Robert Treufeldt on Wikipedia
Ämari Pilots’ Cemetery   Robert Treufeldt on Wikipedia
Ämari Pilots’ Cemetery   Robert Treufeldt on Wikipedia
Ämari cemetery   carreradriver / Atlas Obscura User
Ämari Pilots’ Cemetery   RomulusRom / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Tucked into the scrubby woods near Estonia's Ämari Air Base is a pilot's graveyard where Soviet airmen are buried beneath the fins of the very aircraft they likely died in.

The graves in the Ämari cemetery hold the bodies of a number of pilots who flew under Estonia's Soviet regime that was in power until 1991. While some of the graves are crude and simple affairs the likes of which could be found in just about any historic cemetery, the graves of the many of the military pilots are topped with actual tail fins from Russian aircraft. The effect almost looks as though a squadron of the ships are burrowing through the ground with their fins above the surface like sharks.

The aircraft parts stand in stark contrast to the wild greenery surrounding them. In fact the stark opposition and funereal atmosphere turn the site into a haunting memorial not just to the fighting men buried at the site, but for Estonia's past as well.      

Related Tags

Airplane Graveyard Airplanes Aircraft Soviet History Cemeteries Military History Graveyards Military

Know Before You Go

The graveyard is located right after the village in the forest on the way to Ämari Air base. Easy to spot from the road.

Community Contributors

Added By

EricGrundhauser

Edited By

ahvenas, Blindcolour, carreradriver, RomulusRom

  • ahvenas
  • Blindcolour
  • carreradriver
  • RomulusRom

Published

March 27, 2015

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Sources
  • http://www.urbanghostsmedia.com/2015/03/amari-pilots-cemetery-soviet-union-estonia/
Ämari Pilots’ Cemetery
Ämari Air Force Base
Ämari, 76102
Estonia
59.2492, 24.233463
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