__NOTOC__ The 1st Air Army (russian: 1-я воздушная армия) was an Air Army in the Soviet Air Force which served during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. It was formed on May 10, 1942, within the

Soviet Western Front The Western Front was a front of the Red Army, one of the Red Army Fronts during World War II. The Western Front was created on 22 June 1941 from the Western Special Military District (which before July 1940 was known as Belorussian Special ...

, and renamed the 26th Air Army on January 10, 1949, in the

Belorussian Military District The Byelorussian Military District (russian: Белорусский военный округ, translit=Belorusskiy Voyenyi Okrug; alternatively Belarusian; ) was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces. Originally formed just before Wor ...

. After the war, it was reformed on July 1, 1957, and was active until 1998.

Second World War

When it was formed, the 1st Air Army was made up of two fighter aviation divisions (with four fighter aviation regiments each), two mixed

aviation division An Aviation Division (russian: авиационная дивизия) was a type of formation of the Military Air Forces of the Red Army during the Second World War, the Soviet Air Forces, Soviet Air Defence Forces (PVO) and Aviation of th ...

s (with two fighter aviation regiments, two assault aviation regiments and one bombing regiment each) a training aviation regiment, a long-range reconnaissance aviation regiment, a communications squadron, and a night close-range bombing aviation regiment.

Structure 1942

May 10, 1942: *201st Fighter Aviation Division *202nd Fighter Aviation Division *203rd Fighter Aviation Division *214th Assault Aviation Division *215th Mixed Aviation Division May 23, 1942: *201st Fighter Aviation Division *202nd Fighter Aviation Division *203rd Fighter Aviation Division *234th Fighter Aviation Division *235th Fighter Aviation Division *204th Bomber Aviation Division *213th Night Bomber Aviation Division *215th Mixed Aviation Division (later included the

894th Fighter Aviation Regiment The 894th Fighter Aviation Regiment (Russian: 894-й истребительный авиационный полк), Military Unit Number 23257, was a fighter aviation regiment of the Soviet Air Forces in World War II, which then served with the Sov ...

in July 1942) *214th Assault Aviation Division *224th Assault Aviation Division *231st Assault Aviation Division *232nd Assault Aviation Division *233rd Assault Aviation Division From 22 February 1943 until May 1946, the 18th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment served with the 303rd Aviation Division ( :ru:303-я истребительная авиационная дивизия) of the Army. In March 1943, the Air Army also included the French Normandie-Niemen squadron, which was later reorganized into a regiment. In 1942, the 1st Air Army fought alongside the troops of the Western Front, supporting them near

Yukhnov Yukhnov (russian: Ю́хнов) is a town and the administrative center of Yukhnovsky District in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Kunava River (Oka's basin) northwest of Kaluga, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: Histor ...

Gzhatsk Gagarin (russian: Гага́рин), known until 1968 as Gzhatsk (), is a town and the administrative centre of Gagarinsky District of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Gzhat River, northeast of Smolensk, the administrative centre of t ...

and Rzhev. The Air Army later participated in the Rzhev-Sychevka, Rzhev-Vyazma, Oryol,

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest ...

, Belarusian, Memel and East Prussian offensive operations. In May 1945, the 1st Air Army comprised the: *129th Fighter Aviation Division *130th Fighter Aviation Division (Chernyakhovsk, Kaliningrad Oblast) *303rd Fighter Aviation Division (Elblag, Poland) *330th Fighter Aviation Division *1st Guards Assault Aviation Division (Ketrzyn, Poland) *182nd Assault Aviation Division *277th Assault Aviation Division (Yudino, Kaliningrad Oblast) *311th Assault Aviation Division *6th Guards Bomber Aviation Division (

Chernyakhovsk Chernyakhovsk (russian: Черняхо́вск) – known prior to 1946 by its German name of (Old Prussian: Instrāpils, lt, Įsrutis; pl, Wystruć) – is a town in the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia, where it is the administrative center of C ...

, Kaliningrad Oblast) (later a division of Military Transport Aviation) *213th Night-Bomber Aviation Division (Paslek, Poland) *276th Bomber Aviation Division *1st Free French (' Normandie-Niemen') Fighter Aviation Regiment ( Mamonovo,

Kaliningrad Oblast Kaliningrad Oblast (russian: Калинингра́дская о́бласть, translit=Kaliningradskaya oblast') is the westernmost federal subject of Russia. It is a semi-exclave situated on the Baltic Sea. The largest city and admin ...

) *406th Night-Bomber Aviation Regiment *10th independent Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment *90th independent Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment *142nd Transport Aviation Regiment *117th independent Artillery Correction Regiment *151st independent Artillery Correction Regiment *1st Medical Aviation Regiment *354th independent Communications Aviation Regiment *1st independent Agitation Aviation Squadron *33rd independent Communications Aviation Squadron *203rd independent Communication Aviation Squadron Throughout the war, the 1st Air Army made 290,000 sorties. Five of the Air Army's formations where reorganized as "

Guards Unit Guards units (russian: Гвардия, translit=Gvardiya) were elite units and formations in the Soviet Armed Forces that continue to exist in the Russian Armed Forces and other post-Soviet states. These units were awarded Guards status after di ...

s", 50 formations were given "honourable titles", 44 formations received various awards, 145 pilots and navigators received the title "

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

" and over 17,000 of its servicemen were also given various medals and decorations.

Command structure

Source: Militera.lib.ruCommanders of the Soviet Air Force 1941—1945 http://militera.lib.ru
(in Russian) Commanders: *

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) 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 ...

(of Aviation) Timofei Kutsevalov (May–June 1942) *

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

(of Aviation)

Sergei Khudyakov russian: Серге́й Алекса́ндрович Худяко́в , native_name_lang = , image = Sergei Khudyakov.jpg , alt = , caption = Khudyakov in 1944 , birth_date = , birth_place = Mets Tagher villag ...

(June 1942 – May 1943) *

(of Aviation) Mikhail Mikhaylovich Gromov (May 1943 – July 1944) * Colonel General (of Aviation)

Timofey Khryukin Timofey Timofeyevich Khryukin (russian: Тимофе́й Тимофе́евич Хрю́кин; , in Yeysk19 July 1953, in Moscow) was a Soviet aviator, Spanish Civil War volunteer, and colonel-general of the Soviet Air Force. Emerging from an imp ...

(July 1944 – May 1945) Chiefs of Staff: *

(of Aviation) Aleksandr S. Pronin (5 May 1942 – 9 August 1944) *

(of Aviation) Ivan M. Belov (12 February – May, 1945)

Postwar

There were two Air Armies active by the end of the war in the Far East, the 9th and 10th Air Armies. In the early 1949 redesignations of the Soviet Air Forces, the 9th Air Army became 54th Air Army, the 10th Air Army became 29th Air Army in the

Primorsky Military District The Primorsky Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces that existed in from 1945 to 1953. Formed from the headquarters of the 1st Far East Front after the end of World War II, the district controlled troops on the territ ...

. On 1 April 1957 the two were united as the 1st Special Far Eastern Air Army, and at some later point the designation was simplified purely to 1st Air Army. On 30 April 1975 the Army was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. The army's order of battle c.1988 according to Vad777 and supplemented by Holm/Feskov et al. 2013 was: *HQ 1st Air Army ( Khabarovsk) **257th Mixed Aviation Regiment (Khabarovsk): transport airplanes and helicopters * 28th Fighter Aviation Division **216th Fighter Aviation Regiment ( Kalinovka, near Khabarovsk): Su-27. (disbanded May 1998) ** 1st?Fighter Aviation Regiment ( Orlovka,

Amur Oblast Amur Oblast ( rus, Аму́рская о́бласть, r=Amurskaya oblast, p=ɐˈmurskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located on the banks of the Amur and Zeya Rivers in the Russian Far East. The administrat ...

): MiG-29. (Holm says this was the 404th, disbanded 2000–2001 with awards and banners to the 23 IAP.) * 33rd "Hinganskaya" Fighter-Bomber Aviation Division (Pereyaslavka) **229th Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment (Birofeld,

Jewish Autonomous Oblast The Jewish Autonomous Oblast (JAO; russian: Евре́йская автоно́мная о́бласть, (ЕАО); yi, ייִדישע אװטאָנאָמע געגנט, ; )In standard Yiddish: , ''Yidishe Oytonome Gegnt'' is a federal subject ...

): Su-17. **300th Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment: MiG-27( Pereyaslavka-2, Khabarovsk Kray, 70 km south of Khabarovsk). Disbanded November 1989. **302nd Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment: (Pereyaslavka): Su-17М4. Reequipped with Su-24 1990 and redesignated a Bomber Aviation Regiment. * 83rd Bomber Aviation Division **277th "Mlavsky" Red Banner Bomber Aviation Regiment ( Khurba under Komsomolsk-on-Amur): Su-24. (Holm: 83rd Bomber Aviation Division) **26th Guards Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment (10th Sector/10-й участок, under Komsomolsk-on-Amur): Su-17 (disbanded 1988). * 303rd "Smolenskaya" Red Banner Fighter-Bomber Aviation Division ( Ussuriisk, Primorsky Krai) **18th "Vitebskiy" Guards twice Red Banner Order Recipient, Order of Suvorov Recipient Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment ( Galenki, 30 km north-west of Ussuriisk): MiG-27 **224th Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment ( Novoshakhtinsky under Ussuri): MiG-27. Disbanded 1992. **523rd "Orshanskiy" Red Banner, Suvorov and Kutuzov Orders Recipient Fighter-Bomber Regiment (

Vozdvizhenka Vozdvizhenka may refer to: *Vozdvizhenka Street, a street in Moscow, Russia *Vozdvizhenka (air base) Vozdvizhenka (also known as Ussuriysk and before the 1960s Voroshilov) is an air base in Primorsky Krai located close to the village of Vozdvizhen ...

under Ussuri): Su-17МЗ, М4. Disbanded October 1994. *Regiments reporting directly to Army HQ included: *293rd Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment ( Vozzhaevka, Belogarsky District

): Su-17. *187th Attack Aviation Regiment (

Chernigovka, Primorsky Krai Chernigovka (russian: Черниговка) is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and the administrative center of Chernigovsky District, Primorsky Krai, Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanni ...

under G. Sibirtsevo): Su-25. *799th Separate Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment ( Varfolomeyevka (village), Primorsky Krai, in the district of Arseniev): Su-24. In 1989 the 1st Air Army disbanded the headquarters of the 33rd Fighter-Bomber Aviation Division,See for example Michael Holm
33 ADIP
/ref> and in 1994 the headquarters of the 303rd Fighter-Bomber Aviation Division. The 1st Air Army was merged with the 11th Air Defence Army in 1998 to form the 11th Air and Air Defence Forces Army.

References

* {{Armies of the Soviet Air Forces 01 Air armies of the Russian Air Forces Air armies of the Red Air Force in World War II Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 1998 1942 establishments in the Soviet Union Military units and formations awarded the Order of the Red Banner