An air army was a type of formation of the Soviet Air Force from 1936 until its dissolution in 1991. Air armies continue to be used in the successor Russian Air Force.
The first three Air Armies, designated Air Armies of Special Purpose were created between 1936 and 1938.[1] On 5 November 1940 these were reformed as the long range bombardment aviation of the High Command of the Red Army due to lack of combat performance during the conflict with Finland.[2]
From May - November 1942, seventeen Air Armies were created from air forces of the Fronts and Combined Arms Armies, and in December 1944 a long range aviation Air Army was created as the 18th Air Army.[3]
The 1st Air Army was the first created on 5 May 1942 as part of the Western Front, and included:
The next to form during 1942 were the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th Air Armies.
The Air Armies were integrated formations of the Fronts, and were subordinated to the Front commanders for all operating and operational reasons, including combat air operations.The Air Armies consisted of subordinate fighter, bombing, assault and mixed Aviation Divisions, aviation Corps, and separate aviation regiments. The structure of an Air Army during the Second World War fluctuated depending on the operational planning needs, and could include 3-4 aviation divisions, up to 8-9 aviation Corps, up to 10 separate aviation divisions, and a number of separate aviation regiments, operating from 200-1,000 aircraft in 1942-43, and 1,500 to 3,000 aircraft in some strategic operations by 1944-45.[2]
Also formed were the Air Armies of the Air Defence Forces, which combined all the air formations and units of the military districts[4], and operated predominantly interceptor fighter aircraft. Many of these formations and units were subsequently transferred to the Frontal Air Armies.[2]
While intended primarily for support of the ground forces, the Air Armies also cooperated with the naval forces of the Red Navy Fleets.
On 10 January 1949, the 1st, 2nd, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17th armies of the World War II period were renamed the 26th, 28, 61, 37, 48, 73, 62 (then 34), 23 (then 59), 54, 29, 45, 57, 30, 24,6, 9th.[5] The 18th Air Army became Long Range Aviation (АДД), consisting of three armies - the 43rd, with its staff in Vinnitsa, the 50th in Smolensk, and the 65th at Khabarovsk. On the basis of the air defence aviation divisions and corps PVO armies were created - the 19th, 21st, 22nd, 25th, 32nd, 42nd, 52nd, and 78th (in Leningrad, Batumi, Arkhangelsk, Tallinn, Kiev, Baku, Yaroslavl and Moscow respectively).
[edit] Air Armies
There were eighteen air armies formed in World War II, with many others formed after 1945.[6]
| Army | Date Formed | Date Disbanded | Notes |
| 1st Air Army | May 1942 | 1998 | Formed from Air Forces of the Western Front. Took part in Battle of Smolensk (1943). Redesignated 26th Air Army 10 January 1949. Reformed, part of VVS in Far East until 1998 |
| 2nd Air Army | 1942 | 1991 as PVO army | Formed from Air Forces of the Bryansk Front. Redesignated 28th Air Army 10 January 1949. 2nd Army of PVO disbanded circa 1991 |
| 3rd Air Army | May 1942 | 1949 | Formed from Air Forces of the Kalinin Front. Redesignated 61st Air Army 10 January 1949. |
| 4th Air Army | May 1942 | In existence | Formed from the Air Forces of the Southern Front. Redesignated 37th Air Army 10 January 1949, reformed 1968, moved to the North Caucasus Military District in August 1992. |
| 5th Air Army | June 1942 | In existence | Formed from the Air Forces of the North Caucasus Front. Redesignated 48th Air Army 10 January 1949. Reformed after 1998 and serving now in Volga-Urals Military District |
| 6th Air Army | June 1942 | In existence | Formed from the Air Forces of the North-Western Front, redesignated 73rd Air Army 10 January 1949. Reformed 1998. |
| 7th Air Army | Nov. 1942 | 1949 | Formed from the Air Forces of the Karelian Front, redesignated 62nd Air Army 10 January 1949. |
| 8th Air Army | June 1942 | 1991-2? | Formed in June 1942 from the Air Forces of the Soviet Southwestern Front, comprising five fighter, three bomber, and two ground attack divisions. Redesignated 23rd Air Army 10 January 1949. Was active with the Voyska PVO in 1980s as 8th Army of the PVO. See also ru:8-я Воздушная армия |
| 9th Air Army | Aug 1942 | 1949 | Formed on the Soviet Far East Front; became 54th Air Army 10 January 1949. |
- 10th Air Army (Soviet Air Defence Force)
- 11th Air Army (Soviet Air Defence Force)
- 12th Air Army (Soviet Air Defence Forces)
- 14th Air Army (Soviet Air Defence Forces)
- 15th Air Army (Baltic Military District)
- 16th Air Army (Group of Soviet Forces in Germany)
- 17th Air Army (Kiev Military District)(primarily a training force)
- 19th Air Army (Soviet Air Defence Force)
- 23rd Air Army (Transbaikal Military District)
- 24th Air Army (South-Western Strategic Direction) At the dissolution of the Soviet Union this Army had forces in Belarus and Ukraine. In Ukraine forces consisted of the 32nd Bomber Aviation Division, at Starokonstantinov, the 56th Bomber Aviation Division at Cherlyany, and the 138th Fighter Aviation Division at Mirgorod. In the Ukraine in 1991-92, this Army had available over 140 Su-24 Fencer, over 35 Yak-28 electronic warfare aircraft, and 40 MiG-27 Floggers and 40 Su-27 Flankers for strike escort.[7]
- 26th Air Army (Belarussian Military District) On 15 June 1992, by decree № 05 of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Belarus, the 26th Air Army headquarters became the command of the Air Forces of the Republic of Belarus.
- 30th Air Army (Irkutsk, Long Range Aviation)
- 34th Air Army (Transcaucasian Military District)
- 36th Air Army (Southern Group of Forces, Hungary)
- 37th Air Army (Moscow, Long Range Aviation)
- 46th Air Army (Smolensk, Long Range Aviation)
- 73rd Air Army (Alma-Ata, Central Asian Military District)
- 76th Air Army (Leningrad, Leningrad Military District)
[edit] References
- ^ 2nd Army was created on the 15 March 1937 in the Far East, and somewhat later the 3rd Air Army was created in the North Caucasus Military District
- ^ a b c http://www.allaces.ru/cgi-bin/s2.cgi/sssr/struct/main.dat Kharin
- ^ p.317, Wagner
- ^ http://gm-vicsv.narod.ru/ww2/vvska41.htm Svischev
- ^ V.I. Feskov et al., 'The Soviet Army in the period of the Cold War,' 2004, p.135
- ^ pp.335-340, Bonn
- ^ Steven J Zaloga, 'Armed Forces in Ukraine,' Jane's Intelligence Review, March 1992, p.135
[edit] Sources
- Kozlov, M.M., (ed.), Great Patriotic War 1941-1945 (Russian), encyclopaedia, Moscow, Soviet Encyclopaedia (pub.), 1985
- Svischev, V.N. Gen.Maj. Aviation, Preparation of USSR for war (Russian) [1], 2002
- Wagner, R. (ed.), Fetzer, L., (trans.), The Soviet Air Force in World War II: The official history, Wren Publishing Pty.Ltd., Melbourne, 1973
- Keith E. Bonn (ed.), 'Slaughterhouse,' Aberjona Press, Bedford, PA, 2005
- http://www.allaces.ru/cgi-bin/s2.cgi/sssr/struct/main.dat V.V. Kharin, Aviators of the Second World War (in Russian)
| | | | Air Armies | | | | Air Defence Armies | | |
