4th Air Army
Encyclopedia
The 4th Air Army was a Soviet Air Force
formation and from 1992 to 2009 was part of the Russian Air Force
. From 1998 the army was designated the 4th Army of Air Forces and Air Defence. It was first established on 22 May 1942 from the Air Forces of the Soviet Southern Front
, and fought on the Eastern Front until 1945. In 1949 it was redesignated the 37th Air Army
. It was reformed on 4 April 1968 in Poland, and was active there with the Northern Group of Forces
for over twenty years, shifting to the North Caucasus Military District
in August 1992. The arrival of the Sukhoi Su-24
drastically changed its tasking in the 1980s.
In June 1942 one more regiment was added, the 588th Light Night Bomber Regiment (commander Ye.D. Bershanskaya), that became the first women's unit in the Soviet Air Force. In February 1943 it was reorganized into 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment and in October 1943 it became the 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment
. In 1943, the Army supported the Kerch-Eltigen Operation
and assisted in the battle for air superiority over the Kuban
. Two regiments that formed part of the Army, the 57th GIAP and 821st IAP, flew lend-lease
Supermarine Spitfire
s in 1943 for a period. Alexander Pokryshkin
was one of its members, and one of the most successful aces of WW2, as well as having the distinction of being awarded the Hero of Soviet Union three times.
On 17 July 1943 the 216 SAD/IAD was redesignated the 9th Guards Fighter Aviation Division. It was commanded by Colonel Pokryshkin from April 1944 to May 1945.
In summer 1944 the Army covered the Separate Coastal Army
during the Battle of the Crimea (1944)
. It was then reassigned to the 2nd Belorussian Front
and participated in Operation Bagration, the East Prussian Offensive
, the East Pomeranian Offensive, and the Battle of Berlin
. Overall during the war it flew about 300,000 sorties. In July 1945 the army included the 8th Fighter Aviation Corps (Legnica
, Poland), the 4th Assault Aviation Corps
the 5th Bomber Aviation Corps, the 164th independent Guards Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment (Brzeg
, Poland) with Pe-2R, and the 844th Transport Aviation Regiment (Swidnica, Poland) equipped with the Li-2.
After World War II
the 4th Air Army remained in Poland, and appears to have been disbanded in the late 1950s, its units transferred to the 37th Air Army until 1968. On 22 February 1968, in accordance with a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR the 37th Air Аrmy was awarded the Order of the Red Banner
. On 4 April 1968 the 37th Air Аrmy was redesignated again into the 4th Air Army which the army had during the Second World War. However the army was again disbanded at a later stage, and reactivated on 21 August 1984 as the 4th Air Army of Highest Command together with the Higher Command of the Western Strategic Direction, and from 12 October 1989, the 4th Air Army of the Northern Group of Forces
.
After the Su-24s started arriving, as part of General Nikolai Ogarkov
`s reforms, 4 VA became an independent army with operative designation, subordinate to the HQ of Western Direction. The 24th Air Army of the South-Western Direction shared that status. Those were the only AF armies with Su-27 fighters, tasked with cover of the Fencers. From 1989 until the withdrawal from Poland the Army included the 164th Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment, 245th Mixed Aviation Squadron, 151 EW Regiment (Yak-28), 55th separate Sevastopol helicopter regiment (Mi-24, Mi-8), 19th separate communications and automated direction regiment (Legitza) and other smaller units of direct Army HQ subordination, and the 239th Fighter Baranovichskaya Red Banner Air Division, headquartered at Kluchevo and consisting of the 159th, 582nd, and 871st Fighter Regiments (Kolobrzeg
– (Kołobrzeg-Bagicz Airport?)) and the 149th Bomber Aviation Division (HQ Shprotava) with the 3, 42nd Guards, and 89 Bomber Aviation Regiments (Su-24s) as its primary combat formations. Over the border in the Kaliningrad Oblast
, but still part of the Army, was the 132 Bomber Sevastopol Red Banner Air Division at Chernyakhovsk
.
On the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Poland, the 159th Fighter Regiment moved to Besovets air base and joined the 6th Air Army
, and the 871st Fighter Regiment moved to Smolensk
and eventually disbanded. The 151st EW Regiment moved back to Shchuchyn in the Belorussian SSR in August 1989 and definitely disbanded in 1992, with its aircraft being broken up at the 558th Aircraft Repair Facility at Baranovichi
.
Following withdrawal from Poland from 1992 it became the aviation component of the North Caucasus Military District
. On 22 August 1992, the headquarters of the 4th Red Banner VА (VGK) was relocated to the city of Rostov-on-Don and relieved from assignment from the VGK. Headquarters 1st Guards Bomber Aviation Division
arrived from Lida
in Belarus
in 1993 and headquarters 16th Guards Fighter Aviation Division
was moved to Millerovo
from Damgarten, DDR
, on 30 October 1993, and became part of 4th Air Army that day. On 16 June 1997 the President of the Russian Federation signed the decree "About prime measures on reforming Armed forces of the Russian Federation and perfection of their structure". According to that decree, on the basis of the 4th Air Army and the 12th Separate Corps of the Air Defence Force the 4th army of the Air Forces and Air Defence was formed on 1 June 1998.
The 10th Bombardment Aviation Division, headquartered at Yeysk with up to 90 Su-24s in three regiments (296th BAP at Marinovka, 559th BAP and 959th BAP) was part of the army during the 1990s. At some point between January 2001 and September 2005 the division headquarters disbanded.
In February 2004 regional command staff trainings took place in Kabardino-Balkaria. 02.2006 comd staff exercises jointly with the 58th Army of the North Caucasus Military District
. 8 Su-25 took part in Peace Mission 2007 joint Russia-Sino exercises. The commanding officer of the 4th Air Army from February 2007 was Lieutenant General
Igor Miroshnichenko. In August 2007 command and staff exercises were held. 11.2007 Caucasus-Rubezh -2007 comd staff exercises. 03.2008 flight tactical training.(Warfare.ru)
In 2009 the Army was disestablished and Russian Air Forces units in the Caucasus grouped under the 4th Air and Air Defence Forces Command
.
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In addition to the above forces, Russian aviation forces in Armenia, probably within the ambit of 4th Air Army, comprise 18 MiG-29 fighters of the 426th Fighter Squadron [426 Istrebitel’naya Aviatsionnaya Eskadril’ya (426 IAE)] and the 700th Air Traffic Control Center, both at the 3624th Air Base [3624 Aviatsionnaya Baza (3624 AB)] at Erebuni Airport
outside Yerevan.
in the Kalinin Oblast. Holm states it was formed at Koplachki, Kalinin Oblast, from the 3rd independent long-range Reconnaissance Aviation Squadron and from parts of the 506th Bomber Aviation Regiment. Holm also says in November 1942 a third squadron was formed from the 320th independent Reconnaissance Aviation Squadron. The regiment was equipped with the Pe-2 reconnaissance fighter/bomber and joined 3rd Air Army, fighting in the Vitebsk-Polotsk operation and the defence of Vitebsk, for which it received the honour title 'Vitebsk' on 11 July 1944. After its participation in the Shyaulyay Offensive Operation? Shyaulyay-Mitava operation, it received the Order of the Red Banner
on 10 August 1944. In 1952, the regiment converted to the Il-28
Beagle, based at Jekabpils and Krustpils in the Latvian SSR
. It moved to Neu-Welzow in the German Democratic Republic
in July 1954, joining 16th Air Army. In August 1968 it took part in the invasion of Czechoslovakia. In the early 1990s it was withdrawn from the former GDR to the North Caucasus.
The 368th Assault Aviation Regiment was formed on 12 July 1984, at Zjovtnevoye (Zhovtnevoye?) in Ukraine. In October 1986, the regiment moved to Chirchiq
in the Uzbek SSR
, where it prepared to join the Soviet effort in Afghanistan
. Two weeks later it was relocated to Bagram Air Base
, north of Kabul
. From October 1986 to November 1987 the unit's aircraft fought in Afghanistan, with two squadrons operating from Bagram and the third from Khandahar, though aircraft were occasionally deployed to other airfields, including Shindand and Kunduz
. The regiment was relocated to Kalinov
, moving to Chortkov
in Ukraine in May 1988. It then joined the 16th Air Army in East Germany in December 1988, moving to Demmin.
Soviet Air Force
The Soviet Air Force, officially known in Russian as Военно-воздушные силы or Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily and often abbreviated VVS was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces...
formation and from 1992 to 2009 was part of the Russian Air Force
Russian Air Force
The Russian Air Force is the air force of Russian Military. It is currently under the command of Colonel General Aleksandr Zelin. The Russian Navy has its own air arm, the Russian Naval Aviation, which is the former Soviet Aviatsiya Voyenno Morskogo Flota , or AV-MF).The Air Force was formed from...
. From 1998 the army was designated the 4th Army of Air Forces and Air Defence. It was first established on 22 May 1942 from the Air Forces of the Soviet Southern Front
Soviet Southern Front
The Southern Front was a Front - a roughly Army group sized formation - of the Soviet Army during the Second World War. The Southern Front directed military operations during the Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina in 1940, and then was formed twice after the June 1941 German...
, and fought on the Eastern Front until 1945. In 1949 it was redesignated the 37th Air Army
37th Air Army
The 37th Air Army of the High Supreme Command was the strategic bomber force of the Russian Air Force from 1998 to 2009...
. It was reformed on 4 April 1968 in Poland, and was active there with the Northern Group of Forces
Northern Group of Forces
The Northern Group of Forces was the military formation of the Soviet Army stationed in Poland from the end of Second World War in 1945 until 1993 when they were withdrawn in the aftermath of the fall of Soviet Union...
for over twenty years, shifting to the North Caucasus Military District
North Caucasus Military District
The North Caucasus Military District was a military district of the Russian Ground Forces, which became in 2010 the Southern Military District and lately also includes the Black Sea Fleet and Caspian Flotilla....
in August 1992. The arrival of the Sukhoi Su-24
Sukhoi Su-24
The Sukhoi Su-24 is a supersonic, all-weather attack aircraft developed in the Soviet Union. This variable-sweep wing, twin-engined two-seater carried the USSR's first integrated digital navigation/attack system...
drastically changed its tasking in the 1980s.
Second World War
Upon its establishment in May 1942 it had 208 aircraft and 437 crews and consisted of:- 216th Fighter Division or 216th Mixed Aviation Division (commander V. I. Shevchenko)
- 217th Fighter Division (commander D.P. Galunov)
- 229th Fighter Division (commander P.G. Stepanovich)
- 230th Storm Division (commander S.G. Get'man)
- 219th Bomber Division (commander I.T. Batygin)
- 218th Night Bomber Division (commander D.D. Popov)
- one training regiment, seven separate mixed aviation regiments, one communication squadron, one long range reconnaissance squadron
In June 1942 one more regiment was added, the 588th Light Night Bomber Regiment (commander Ye.D. Bershanskaya), that became the first women's unit in the Soviet Air Force. In February 1943 it was reorganized into 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment and in October 1943 it became the 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment
Night Witches
"Night Witches" is the English translation of Nachthexen, a World War II German nickname , for the female military aviators of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, known later as the 46th "Taman" Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, of the Soviet Air Forces...
. In 1943, the Army supported the Kerch-Eltigen Operation
Kerch-Eltigen Operation
The Kerch–Eltigen Operation was a World War II amphibious offensive made in November 1943 by the Red Army as a precursor to the Crimean Offensive with the object of defeating and forcing the withdrawal of the German forces from the Crimea...
and assisted in the battle for air superiority over the Kuban
Kuban
Kuban is a geographic region of Southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River, on the Black Sea between the Don Steppe, Volga Delta and the Caucasus...
. Two regiments that formed part of the Army, the 57th GIAP and 821st IAP, flew lend-lease
Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease was the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, Free France, and other Allied nations with materiel between 1941 and 1945. It was signed into law on March 11, 1941, a year and a half after the outbreak of war in Europe in...
Supermarine Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
s in 1943 for a period. Alexander Pokryshkin
Aleksandr Ivanovich Pokryshkin
Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin was a Marshal of the Soviet Air Force. He was made a Hero of the Soviet Union on three separate occasions ....
was one of its members, and one of the most successful aces of WW2, as well as having the distinction of being awarded the Hero of Soviet Union three times.
On 17 July 1943 the 216 SAD/IAD was redesignated the 9th Guards Fighter Aviation Division. It was commanded by Colonel Pokryshkin from April 1944 to May 1945.
In summer 1944 the Army covered the Separate Coastal Army
Separate Coastal Army
The Separate Coastal Army was an army-level unit in the Red Army that fought in the World War II. It was ordered to be established on July 18, 1941 by the order of the Southern Front from the forces of 9th Army’s Coastal Group and was stood up on July 20, 1941....
during the Battle of the Crimea (1944)
Battle of the Crimea (1944)
The Crimean Offensive — known in German sources as the Battle of the Crimea — was a series of offensives by the Red Army in the effort to liberate Crimea from the German Wehrmacht occupation...
. It was then reassigned to the 2nd Belorussian Front
2nd Belorussian Front
The 2nd Belorussian Front was a military formation of Army group size of the Soviet Army during the Second World War...
and participated in Operation Bagration, the East Prussian Offensive
East Prussian Offensive
The East Prussian Offensive was a strategic offensive by the Red Army against the German Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front . It lasted from 13 January to 25 April 1945, though some German units did not surrender until 9 May...
, the East Pomeranian Offensive, and the Battle of Berlin
Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin, designated the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, was the final major offensive of the European Theatre of World War II....
. Overall during the war it flew about 300,000 sorties. In July 1945 the army included the 8th Fighter Aviation Corps (Legnica
Legnica
Legnica is a town in south-western Poland, in Silesia, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the plain of Legnica, riverside: Kaczawa and Czarna Woda. Between 1 June 1975 and 31 December 1998 Legnica was the capital of the Legnica Voivodeship. It is currently the seat of the county...
, Poland), the 4th Assault Aviation Corps
the 5th Bomber Aviation Corps, the 164th independent Guards Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment (Brzeg
Brzeg
Brzeg is a town in southwestern Poland with 38,496 inhabitants , situated in Silesia in the Opole Voivodeship on the left bank of the Oder...
, Poland) with Pe-2R, and the 844th Transport Aviation Regiment (Swidnica, Poland) equipped with the Li-2.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the 4th Air Army remained in Poland, and appears to have been disbanded in the late 1950s, its units transferred to the 37th Air Army until 1968. On 22 February 1968, in accordance with a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR the 37th Air Аrmy was awarded the Order of the Red Banner
Order of the Red Banner
The Soviet government of Russia established the Order of the Red Banner , a military decoration, on September 16, 1918 during the Russian Civil War...
. On 4 April 1968 the 37th Air Аrmy was redesignated again into the 4th Air Army which the army had during the Second World War. However the army was again disbanded at a later stage, and reactivated on 21 August 1984 as the 4th Air Army of Highest Command together with the Higher Command of the Western Strategic Direction, and from 12 October 1989, the 4th Air Army of the Northern Group of Forces
Northern Group of Forces
The Northern Group of Forces was the military formation of the Soviet Army stationed in Poland from the end of Second World War in 1945 until 1993 when they were withdrawn in the aftermath of the fall of Soviet Union...
.
After the Su-24s started arriving, as part of General Nikolai Ogarkov
Nikolai Ogarkov
Nikolai Vasilyevich Ogarkov , was promoted to Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1977. Between 1977 and 1984 he was Chief of the General Staff of the USSR. He became widely known in the West when he became the Soviet military's spokesman following the shootdown of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 near...
`s reforms, 4 VA became an independent army with operative designation, subordinate to the HQ of Western Direction. The 24th Air Army of the South-Western Direction shared that status. Those were the only AF armies with Su-27 fighters, tasked with cover of the Fencers. From 1989 until the withdrawal from Poland the Army included the 164th Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment, 245th Mixed Aviation Squadron, 151 EW Regiment (Yak-28), 55th separate Sevastopol helicopter regiment (Mi-24, Mi-8), 19th separate communications and automated direction regiment (Legitza) and other smaller units of direct Army HQ subordination, and the 239th Fighter Baranovichskaya Red Banner Air Division, headquartered at Kluchevo and consisting of the 159th, 582nd, and 871st Fighter Regiments (Kolobrzeg
Kolobrzeg
Kołobrzeg is a city in Middle Pomerania in north-western Poland with some 50,000 inhabitants . Kołobrzeg is located on the Parsęta River on the south coast of the Baltic Sea...
– (Kołobrzeg-Bagicz Airport?)) and the 149th Bomber Aviation Division (HQ Shprotava) with the 3, 42nd Guards, and 89 Bomber Aviation Regiments (Su-24s) as its primary combat formations. Over the border in the Kaliningrad Oblast
Kaliningrad Oblast
Kaliningrad Oblast is a federal subject of Russia situated on the Baltic coast. It has a population of The oblast forms the westernmost part of the Russian Federation, but it has no land connection to the rest of Russia. Since its creation it has been an exclave of the Russian SFSR and then the...
, but still part of the Army, was the 132 Bomber Sevastopol Red Banner Air Division at Chernyakhovsk
Chernyakhovsk
Chernyakhovsk is a town and the administrative center of Chernyakhovsky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Instruch and the Angrapa Rivers, forming the Pregolya...
.
On the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Poland, the 159th Fighter Regiment moved to Besovets air base and joined the 6th Air Army
6th Air Army
The 6th Red Banner Leningrad Army of Military-Air Forces and Air Defence was an Air Army of the Russian Air Force active from 1998 to 2009. 6th Air Army was redesignated in 1949...
, and the 871st Fighter Regiment moved to Smolensk
Smolensk (air base)
Smolensk North Airport is a decommissioned military airbase in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located 4 km north of the city of Smolensk. It is now used as Smolensk's sole airport for civil and military flights...
and eventually disbanded. The 151st EW Regiment moved back to Shchuchyn in the Belorussian SSR in August 1989 and definitely disbanded in 1992, with its aircraft being broken up at the 558th Aircraft Repair Facility at Baranovichi
Baranovichi
Baranovichi , is a city in the Brest Province of western Belarus with a population of 173,000. It is a significant railway junction and home to a state university.-Overview:...
.
Following withdrawal from Poland from 1992 it became the aviation component of the North Caucasus Military District
North Caucasus Military District
The North Caucasus Military District was a military district of the Russian Ground Forces, which became in 2010 the Southern Military District and lately also includes the Black Sea Fleet and Caspian Flotilla....
. On 22 August 1992, the headquarters of the 4th Red Banner VА (VGK) was relocated to the city of Rostov-on-Don and relieved from assignment from the VGK. Headquarters 1st Guards Bomber Aviation Division
1st Guards Bomber Aviation Division
The 1st Guards Bomber Aviation Division was an Aviation Division of the Soviet Air Force.-History:...
arrived from Lida
Lida
Lida is a city in western Belarus in Hrodna Voblast, situated 160 km west of Minsk. It is the fourteenth largest city in Belarus.- Etymology :...
in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
in 1993 and headquarters 16th Guards Fighter Aviation Division
16th Guards Fighter Aviation Division
The 16th Guards Fighter Aviation Division was an Aviation Division of the Soviet Air Forces, active from 1942 to 1998. Originally activated in 1942 as the 258th Fighter Aviation Division from the Air Forces of the 14th Army, then the 258th Mixed Aviation Division; redesignated in accordance with...
was moved to Millerovo
Millerovo
Millerovo is a town and the administrative center of Millerovsky District of Rostov Oblast, Russia. Population: It was founded in 1786 and named after its founder, the army officer Ivan Abramovich Müller...
from Damgarten, DDR
DDR
DDR may refer to:In entertainment:*Dance Dance Revolution, a music video game series by Konami*DDR , a Norwegian rock band singing in German.*DDR , a Greenlandic punk band singing in Danish.In organizations:...
, on 30 October 1993, and became part of 4th Air Army that day. On 16 June 1997 the President of the Russian Federation signed the decree "About prime measures on reforming Armed forces of the Russian Federation and perfection of their structure". According to that decree, on the basis of the 4th Air Army and the 12th Separate Corps of the Air Defence Force the 4th army of the Air Forces and Air Defence was formed on 1 June 1998.
The 10th Bombardment Aviation Division, headquartered at Yeysk with up to 90 Su-24s in three regiments (296th BAP at Marinovka, 559th BAP and 959th BAP) was part of the army during the 1990s. At some point between January 2001 and September 2005 the division headquarters disbanded.
In February 2004 regional command staff trainings took place in Kabardino-Balkaria. 02.2006 comd staff exercises jointly with the 58th Army of the North Caucasus Military District
North Caucasus Military District
The North Caucasus Military District was a military district of the Russian Ground Forces, which became in 2010 the Southern Military District and lately also includes the Black Sea Fleet and Caspian Flotilla....
. 8 Su-25 took part in Peace Mission 2007 joint Russia-Sino exercises. The commanding officer of the 4th Air Army from February 2007 was Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
Igor Miroshnichenko. In August 2007 command and staff exercises were held. 11.2007 Caucasus-Rubezh -2007 comd staff exercises. 03.2008 flight tactical training.(Warfare.ru)
In 2009 the Army was disestablished and Russian Air Forces units in the Caucasus grouped under the 4th Air and Air Defence Forces Command
4th Air and Air Defence Forces Command
The 4th Air and Air Defence Forces Command is a formation of the Russian Air Force. It was formed on 1 December 2009 from the amalgamation of the 4th Air Army and 5th Air Army...
.
Structure 2007
- Headquarters 4th Army of Air Forces and Air Defence – Rostov on Don
- 1st Guards Composite Air Division1st Guards Bomber Aviation DivisionThe 1st Guards Bomber Aviation Division was an Aviation Division of the Soviet Air Force.-History:...
– KrasnodarKrasnodarKrasnodar is a city in Southern Russia, located on the Kuban River about northeast of the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. It is the administrative center of Krasnodar Krai . Population: -Name:...
- 559th Bomber Aviation Regiment – MorozovskMorozovskMorozovsk is a town and the administrative center of Morozovsky District of Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the Bystraya River , northeast of Rostov-on-Don. Population:...
– Su-24 in service. Previously based at FinsterwaldeFinsterwaldeFinsterwalde is a town in the Elbe-Elster district , in Brandenburg, Germany.-Overview:It is situated on the Schackebach, a tributary of the Kleine Elster, 28 m. W.S.W of Cottbus by rail. Pop. 18,840. The town has a Gothic church , a castle, schools, cloth and cigar factories, iron-foundries,...
in East Germany with the 16th Air Army; - 959th Bomber Aviation Regiment – Eisk AirportEisk AirportEisk Airport is an airport located near the city of Eisk, Russia.It was previously the location of the 959th Bomber Air Regiment, part of the 4th Army of Air Forces and Air Defence. The regiment has now been reorganised as an aviation base, part of the new 4th Command of Air Forces and Air Defence....
– operates the Su-24 and L-39C; - 368th Assault Aviation Regiment – BudyonnovskBudyonnovskBudyonnovsk , also spelled Budennovsk, is a town in Stavropol Krai, Russia. Previously, it was named Svyatoy Krest and Prikumsk...
– Su-25; - 461st Assault Aviation Regiment – KrasnodarKrasnodarKrasnodar is a city in Southern Russia, located on the Kuban River about northeast of the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. It is the administrative center of Krasnodar Krai . Population: -Name:...
– Su-25; - 960th Assault Aviation Regiment – Primorsko-AkhtarskPrimorsko-AkhtarskPrimorsko-Akhtarsk is a port town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the coast of the Sea of Azov, northwest of Krasnodar. Population: Founded in 1829 and town status was granted to it in 1949....
– Su-25;
- 559th Bomber Aviation Regiment – Morozovsk
- 51st Air Defence Corps – Rostov on Don (disbanded and reorganised in 2009 as 7th Brigade of Missile-Space Defence)
- 3rd Fighter Aviation Regiment – KrymskKrymskKrymsk is a town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. Population: It was founded in 1858 as the fortress and stanitsa of Krymskaya , named after the Crimean Cossack Regiment. The stanitsa was granted town status and given its present name a century later, in 1958...
aya, (ex 562nd) – Su-27; - 19th Fighter Aviation Regiment – MillerovoMillerovoMillerovo is a town and the administrative center of Millerovsky District of Rostov Oblast, Russia. Population: It was founded in 1786 and named after its founder, the army officer Ivan Abramovich Müller...
– MiG-29; (disbanded 2009 and reorganised as 6969th Aviation Base) - 31st Fighter Aviation Regiment – ZernogradZernogradZernograd is a town and the administrative center of Zernogradsky District of Rostov Oblast, Russia, located southeast of Rostov-on-Don. Population:...
– MiG-29. Previously based at FalkenbergFalkenbergFalkenberg is a locality and the seat of Falkenberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 18,972 inhabitants in 2005.The town has a population of 19,000 and is located at the mouth of the river Ätran. The name consists of the Swedish words for falcon and mountain...
in East Germany with the 16th Air Army. Disbanded 2009; - SAM Regiments
- 3rd Fighter Aviation Regiment – Krymsk
- 1st Guards Composite Air Division
-
- 11th Independent Reconnaissance Air Regiment – MarinovkaMarinovkaMarinovka is the name of several rural localities in Russia:*Marinovka, Belgorod Oblast, a selo in Yakovlevsky District of Belgorod Oblast*Marinovka, Volgograd Oblast, a selo in Kalachevsky District of Volgograd Oblast...
– operates the Su-24MR. Formerly based with 16th Air Army, WelzowWelzowWelzow is a town in the district of Spree-Neiße, in southeastern Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated 16 km northwest of Hoyerswerda, and 23 km southwest of Cottbus....
, East Germany; - 535th Independent Composite Air Regiment – Rostov on Don – Mi-8Mil Mi-8The Mil Mi-8 is a medium twin-turbine transport helicopter that can also act as a gunship. The Mi-8 is the world's most-produced helicopter, and is used by over 50 countries. Russia is the largest operator of the Mi-8/Mi-17 helicopter....
, An-12 and An-26 in service; - ex Army Aviation component
- 55th Independent Helicopter Regiment – KorenovskKorenovskKorenovsk is a town and the administrative center of Korenovsky District of Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the Beysuzhyok Levy River northeast of Krasnodar. Population:...
– Mi-24, Mi-8; - 325th Independent Transport-Combat Helicopter Regiment – Yegorlyskaya – Mi-26, Mi-8Mil Mi-8The Mil Mi-8 is a medium twin-turbine transport helicopter that can also act as a gunship. The Mi-8 is the world's most-produced helicopter, and is used by over 50 countries. Russia is the largest operator of the Mi-8/Mi-17 helicopter....
; - 487th Independent Helicopter Regiment for battle control- BudyonnovskBudyonnovskBudyonnovsk , also spelled Budennovsk, is a town in Stavropol Krai, Russia. Previously, it was named Svyatoy Krest and Prikumsk...
– Mi-8, Mi-24;
- 55th Independent Helicopter Regiment – Korenovsk
- 11th Independent Reconnaissance Air Regiment – Marinovka
In addition to the above forces, Russian aviation forces in Armenia, probably within the ambit of 4th Air Army, comprise 18 MiG-29 fighters of the 426th Fighter Squadron [426 Istrebitel’naya Aviatsionnaya Eskadril’ya (426 IAE)] and the 700th Air Traffic Control Center, both at the 3624th Air Base [3624 Aviatsionnaya Baza (3624 AB)] at Erebuni Airport
Erebuni Airport
Erebuni Airport is a joint civil and military airport serving Yerevan and the country of Armenia. It is located south of the center of Yerevan. At present, the airport is mostly operated by the military, although private firms operate chartered helicopter flights inside the country and to the...
outside Yerevan.
Regiments of the Army
The 11th Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment traces its history back to 19 July 1942, when it was formed at Goroshino airfield, 24 km west of TorzhokTorzhok
Torzhok is a town in Tver Oblast, Russia, famous for its folk craft of goldwork embroidery. Population: Torzhok has twenty-two large and medium-sized industrial enterprises. Two of them are especially significant...
in the Kalinin Oblast. Holm states it was formed at Koplachki, Kalinin Oblast, from the 3rd independent long-range Reconnaissance Aviation Squadron and from parts of the 506th Bomber Aviation Regiment. Holm also says in November 1942 a third squadron was formed from the 320th independent Reconnaissance Aviation Squadron. The regiment was equipped with the Pe-2 reconnaissance fighter/bomber and joined 3rd Air Army, fighting in the Vitebsk-Polotsk operation and the defence of Vitebsk, for which it received the honour title 'Vitebsk' on 11 July 1944. After its participation in the Shyaulyay Offensive Operation? Shyaulyay-Mitava operation, it received the Order of the Red Banner
Order of the Red Banner
The Soviet government of Russia established the Order of the Red Banner , a military decoration, on September 16, 1918 during the Russian Civil War...
on 10 August 1944. In 1952, the regiment converted to the Il-28
Ilyushin Il-28
The Ilyushin Il-28 is a jet bomber aircraft of the immediate postwar period that was originally manufactured for the Soviet Air Force. It was the USSR's first such aircraft to enter large-scale production. It was also licence-built in China as the Harbin H-5. Total production in the USSR was 6,316...
Beagle, based at Jekabpils and Krustpils in the Latvian SSR
Latvian SSR
The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Latvian SSR for short, was one of the republics that made up the Soviet Union. Established on 21 July 1940 as a puppet state during World War II in the territory of the previously independent Republic of Latvia after it had been occupied by...
. It moved to Neu-Welzow in the German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
in July 1954, joining 16th Air Army. In August 1968 it took part in the invasion of Czechoslovakia. In the early 1990s it was withdrawn from the former GDR to the North Caucasus.
The 368th Assault Aviation Regiment was formed on 12 July 1984, at Zjovtnevoye (Zhovtnevoye?) in Ukraine. In October 1986, the regiment moved to Chirchiq
Chirchiq
Chirchiq also spelled as Chirchik is a city in Toshkent Province, Uzbekistan, about 32 km northeast of Tashkent, along the Chirciq River...
in the Uzbek SSR
Uzbek SSR
The Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Uzbek SSR for short, was one of the republics of the Soviet Union since its creation in 1924...
, where it prepared to join the Soviet effort in Afghanistan
Soviet war in Afghanistan
The Soviet war in Afghanistan was a nine-year conflict involving the Soviet Union, supporting the Marxist-Leninist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Afghan Mujahideen and foreign "Arab–Afghan" volunteers...
. Two weeks later it was relocated to Bagram Air Base
Bagram Air Base
Bagram Airfield, also referred to as Bagram Air Base, is a militarized airport and housing complex that is located next to the ancient city of Bagram, southeast of Charikar in Parwan province of Afghanistan. The base is run by a US Army division headed by a major general. A large part of the base,...
, north of Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
. From October 1986 to November 1987 the unit's aircraft fought in Afghanistan, with two squadrons operating from Bagram and the third from Khandahar, though aircraft were occasionally deployed to other airfields, including Shindand and Kunduz
Kunduz
Kunduz also known as Kundûz, Qonduz, Qondûz, Konduz, Kondûz, Kondoz, or Qhunduz is a city in northern Afghanistan, the capital of Kunduz Province. It is linked by highways with Mazari Sharif to the west, Kabul to the south and Tajikistan's border to the north...
. The regiment was relocated to Kalinov
Kalinov
Kalinov can refer to several settlements:*in Slovakia:**Kalinov, a village in Medzilaborce District**a part of the municipality Krásno nad Kysucou*in Ukraine:**Kalyniv**a settlement in Sumska Oblast...
, moving to Chortkov
Chortkov
Chortkov may refer to:* Chortkiv, a shtetl in Galicia, Ukraine* Chortkov , a Hasidic dynasty from Chortkiv...
in Ukraine in May 1988. It then joined the 16th Air Army in East Germany in December 1988, moving to Demmin.
External links
- http://www.rg.ru/2007/03/13/reg-jugrossii/miroshnichenko.html (Ru) - Interview with Miroshnichenko
- http://www.ww2.dk/new/air%20force/regiment/bap/3bap.htm - 3rd Bomber Aviation Regiment