The 2nd Air Army (; 2 VA) was an air army of the Red Army Air Force (

Soviet Air Force The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...

) during the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

. Formed in May 1942, the army fought in the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later r ...

and was one of the major Soviet air formations in the

Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk was a major World War II Eastern Front engagement between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in the southwestern USSR during late summer 1943; it ultimately became the largest tank battle in history ...

and the

Battle of the Dnieper The Battle of the Dnieper was a military campaign that took place in 1943 in Ukraine on the Eastern Front of World War II. One of the largest operations of the war, it involved almost 4,000,000 troops at a time stretched on a front. Over four m ...

. During the final two years of the war, the army provided air support for the Soviet troops of the

1st Ukrainian Front The 1st Ukrainian Front (Russian: Пéрвый Украи́нский фронт), previously the Voronezh Front (Russian: Воронежский Фронт) was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a ...

, including the Lvov–Sandomierz offensive, the Berlin Offensive, and the

Prague offensive The Prague offensive (russian: Пражская стратегическая наступательная операция, Prazhskaya strategicheskaya nastupatel'naya operatsiya, lit=Prague strategic offensive) was the last major military ...

. After the end of the war, the army was stationed in Austria and Hungary as part of the Soviet occupation forces. Renumbered in 1949 as the 59th Air Army, it was disbanded in 1955 when Soviet troops withdrew from Austria.

World War II

The army was formed on 12 May 1942, in accordance with an order of the NKO of 5 May 1942, from the Air Force of the

Bryansk Front The Bryansk Front (russian: Брянский фронт) was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War. First Formation (August - November 1941) General Andrei Yeremenko was designated commander of the Front when it first f ...

. Originally supporting the Bryansk Front, the army was transferred to support the

Voronezh Front The 1st Ukrainian Front ( Russian: Пéрвый Украи́нский фронт), previously the Voronezh Front ( Russian: Воронежский Фронт) was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to ...

on 9 July. It participated in defensive battles in the Voronezh sector, and then supported the troops of the Southwestern Front in the counter-offensive at Stalingrad (

) between 16 November and 21 December, in collaboration with the 8th Air Army, the 16th Air Army and the

17th Air Army The 17th Air Army () was an Air army of the Red Air Force and Soviet Air Forces from 1942. World War II It was formed in October (Bonn et al.: November) 1942 on the basis of the Air Forces of the Southwestern Front. Bonn et al. say that it inc ...

in the fight for supremacy in the air. During this period the 2nd Air Army was under the operational control of the Southwestern Front before returning to the

. As part of the Voronezh Front (renamed the

on 20 October 1943) the army participated in the

, the

, Zhitomir–Berdichev Offensive, the Korsun–Shevchenkovsky Offensive, Rovno–Lutsk Offensive, Proskurov–Chernovtsy Offensive, Lvov-Sandomierz, Sandomir-Silesia, Lower Silesian Offensive, Upper Silesian Offensive,

Battle of Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula– ...

and the

Prague Offensive The Prague offensive (russian: Пражская стратегическая наступательная операция, Prazhskaya strategicheskaya nastupatel'naya operatsiya, lit=Prague strategic offensive) was the last major military ...

. For the Berlin Offensive, the air army was among the largest in the Soviet Air Force with an inventory of 2,004 aircraft.

Postwar

After the war 2nd Air Army was stationed in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and Hungary as part of the Soviet occupation forces, serving as the air force of the

Southern Group of Forces Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, ...

. It was renumbered as 59th Air Army in 1949 as many Soviet Air Force units received new numbers. The 59th Air Army was disbanded in Austria, but its core was relocated to the town of

Székesfehérvár Székesfehérvár (; german: Stuhlweißenburg ), known colloquially as Fehérvár ("white castle"), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the regional capital of Central Transdanubia, and the centre of Fej� ...

to become the air force of the newly created Special Corps when the Soviet forces withdrew in September 1955. Later the

Soviet Air Defence Forces The Soviet Air Defence Forces (russian: войска ПВО, ''voyska protivovozdushnoy oborony'', ''voyska PVO'', ''V-PVO'', lit. ''Anti-Air Defence Troops''; and formerly ''protivovozdushnaya oborona strany'', ''PVO strany'', lit. ''Anti-Air De ...

formed a 2nd Army of Air Defence Forces which operated in the

Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор� ...

, but this formation was disbanded around 1991–92.

Commanders

The army was commanded by: * 05/05/1942 – Major General of Aviation Stepan Krasovsky * 05/07/1942 – Konstantin Smirnov,

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

, (Major General Aviation from 17 October 1942); * 03/27/1943 – May 1947 – Stepan Krasovsky, (Krasovsky was promoted to Lieutenant General Aviation with effect from 20 December 1942 and Colonel General Aviation from 4 February 1944); * September 1947 - Colonel-General Stepan Ulyanovich Rubanov * July 1950 - Colonel-General Vasily Nikolaevich Bibikov * July 1953 - Colonel-General Georgy Vasilevich Zimin * May 1954 - Colonel-General David Yakovlevich Slobozhan

Composition

12 May 1942

* 205th, 206th, 207th Fighter Aviation Divisions * 208th Night Bomber Aviation Division * 223rd Short-Range Bomber Aviation Division * 225th, 226th, 227th Assault Aviation Division * Two independent aviation regiments.

5 July 1943

At the beginning of the Soviet defensive phase of the Battle of Kursk, the army included the following units: * 1st Bomber Aviation Corps (1st BAK) (Colonel Ivan Polbin) (from 1944 – 6th Guards Bomber Aviation Corps), equipped with

Petlyakov Pe-2 The Petlyakov Pe-2 (russian: Петляков Пе-2) was a Soviet twin-engine dive bomber used during World War II. One of the outstanding tactical attack aircraft of the war,Ethell 1996, p. 152. it also proved successful as a heavy fighter, as ...

**1st Guards Bomber Aviation Division (Colonel Fyodor Dobysh) **293rd Bomber Aviation Division (Colonel G.V. Gribakin) * 1st Assault Aviation Corps (1st ShAK) (Major General of Aviation Vasily Ryazanov) (from 1944– 1st Guards Assault Aviation Corps) in the battles for the liberation of Ukraine, all three divisions of the corps, received the honorary title – Krasnograds'ka, Poltava, Znamenskaya. The corps received the honorific Kirovograd. **266th Assault Aviation Division (Colonel F.G. Rodyakin), Il-2 **292nd Assault Aviation Division (Colonel F.A. Agaltsov), Il-2 **203rd Fighter Aviation Division (Colonel K.G. Baranchuk), Yak-1 *

4th Fighter Aviation Corps Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

(4th IAK) (Major General of Aviation Ivan Podgorny) ** 294th Fighter Aviation Division (Colonel V.V. Sukhoryabov), Yak-1 and Yak-7 ** 302nd Fighter Aviation Division (Colonel B.I. Litvinov), La-5 * 5th Fighter Aviation Corps (5th IAK) (Major General of Aviation Dmitry Galunov) ** 8th Guards Fighter Aviation Division (Colonel I.P. Laryushkin), La-5 ** 205th Fighter Aviation Division (Colonel Yu. A. Nemtsevich), Yak-1 and Yak-7 ** 291st Assault Aviation Division (291st ShAD) (Colonel (promoted to Major General of Aviation February 1944) Andrey Vitruk, Il-2 in three assault regiments and Yak-1, Yak-7 and La-5 in one fighter regiment ** 208th Night Bomber Aviation Division (208th NBAD) (Colonel Leonid Yuzeyev), U-2, R-5, Tupolev SB, Pe-2 and A-20B ** 256th Fighter Aviation Division (Colonel N.S. Gerasimov), Yak-7 and Yak-9

1 December 1944

On 1 December 1944, the army included the following units: * 2nd Guards Bomber Aviation Corps **1st Guards Bomber Aviation Division **8th Guards Bomber Aviation Division * 4th Bomber Aviation Corps **202nd Bomber Aviation Division **219th Bomber Aviation Division * 1st Guards Assault Aviation Corps ** 8th Guards Assault Aviation Division ** 9th Guards Assault Aviation Division ** 12th Guards Fighter Aviation Division * 2nd Guards Assault Aviation Corps ** 5th Guards Assault Aviation Division **

6th Guards Assault Aviation Division 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second sma ...

* 3rd Assault Aviation Corps ** 307th Assault Aviation Division ** 308th Assault Aviation Division ** 181st Fighter Aviation Division * 2nd Fighter Aviation Corps **7th Guards Fighter Aviation Division **322nd Fighter Aviation Division * 5th Fighter Aviation Corps **8th Guards Fighter Aviation Division **256th Fighter Aviation Division * 6th Guards Fighter Aviation Corps **9th Guards Fighter Aviation Division **22nd Guards Fighter Aviation Division **23rd Guards Fighter Aviation Division * 11th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment * 208th Night Bomber Aviation Division * 1st Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment * 98th Guards Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment * 193rd Guards Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment * 118th Fire Correction Aviation Regiment * 4th Medical Aviation Regiment * 1002nd Separate Communications Aviation Regiment

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * {{Armies of the Soviet Air Forces 02 02 Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 1949