Soviet Naval Aviation (AV-MF, for ''Авиация военно-морского флота'' in

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

, or ''Aviatsiya voyenno-morskogo flota'', literally "aviation of the military maritime fleet") was the

naval aviation Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based ...

arm of the Soviet Navy.

Origins

The first naval aviation

unit Unit may refer to: Arts and entertainment * UNIT, a fictional military organization in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' * Unit of action, a discrete piece of action (or beat) in a theatrical presentation Music * ''Unit'' (a ...

s in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

were formed in 1912–1914 as a part of the Baltic Fleet and the Black Sea Fleet. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the hydroplane units were used in the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

for conducting aircraft reconnaissance, bombing and firing at coastal and port

installation Installation may refer to: * Installation (computer programs) * Installation, work of installation art * Installation, military base * Installation, into an office, especially a religious (Installation (Christianity) Installation is a Christian li ...

s and enemy ships, and destroying submarines and enemy

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engine ...

on the

airfield An aerodrome ( Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for pub ...

Civil War and Interwar Period

The regular

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

naval aviation units were created in 1918. They participated in the

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

, cooperating with the ships and the army during the combats at Petrograd, on the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

, the Black Sea, the

Volga The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchm ...

, the

Kama River The Kama (russian: Ка́ма, ; tt-Cyrl, Чулман, ''Çulman''; udm, Кам) is a long«Река � ...

Northern Dvina The Northern Dvina (russian: Се́верная Двина́, ; kv, Вы́нва / Výnva) is a river in northern Russia flowing through the Vologda Oblast and Arkhangelsk Oblast into the Dvina Bay of the White Sea. Along with the Pechora River ...

and on the

Lake Onega Lake Onega (; also known as Onego, rus, Оне́жское о́зеро, r=Onezhskoe ozero, p=ɐˈnʲɛʂskəɪ ˈozʲɪrə; fi, Ääninen, Äänisjärvi; vep, Änine, Änižjärv) is a lake in northwestern Russia, on the territory of the Repu ...

. The newborn Soviet Naval Air Force consisted of only 76 obsolete hydroplanes. Scanty and technically imperfect, it was mostly used for resupplying the ships and the army. In the second half of the 1920s, the Naval Aviation order of battle began to grow. It received new

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

hydroplanes,

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an air ...

s, and

fighters Fighter(s) or The Fighter(s) may refer to: Combat and warfare * Combatant, an individual legally entitled to engage in hostilities during an international armed conflict * Fighter aircraft, a warplane designed to destroy or damage enemy warplan ...

. In the mid-1930s, the Soviets created the Naval Air Force in the Baltic Fleet, the Black Sea Fleet and the

Soviet Pacific Fleet , image = Great emblem of the Pacific Fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Russian Pacific Fleet Great emblem , dates = 1731–present , country ...

. The importance of

had grown significantly by 1938–1940, to become one of the main components of the Soviet Navy. By this time, the Soviets had created formations and units of the

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...

and bomb aviation. At the beginning of the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sou ...

, all of the

fleet Fleet may refer to: Vehicles *Fishing fleet *Naval fleet *Fleet vehicles, a pool of motor vehicles *Fleet Aircraft, the aircraft manufacturing company Places Canada * Fleet, Alberta, Canada, a hamlet England * The Fleet Lagoon, at Chesil Beach ...

s (except for the Pacific Fleet) had a total of 1,445 aircraft.

Second World War

The Morskaya Aviatsiya (Naval Aviation) was the Soviet Navy's air service 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 ...

. Such air units provided air support to the Voyenno-Morskoy Flot SSSR (Soviet Navy) in the theaters of operations in the Barents, Baltic and Black Seas and also to the Soviet Naval Detachment in the Sea of Okhotsk. Russian Navy Aviation managed all land, shore and vessel-based (tender seaplanes and catapult vessels) hydroplanes and aircraft, as well as flying boats. The air units also conducted land operations in support of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

during landings and disembarkations and served in special wartime operations. Naval Aviation provided some air cover to Allied

convoys A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

bringing equipment to Soviet forces from North Sea to the Barents Sea and via the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

to the Sea of Okhotsk. In particular, Naval Aviation was deployed in defense of Odessa (June–October 1941), in operations in the

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

and the Black Sea and carried out successful air strikes in the last stages of the conflict on the European and Pacific Fronts. During the war, Naval Aviation delivered an immense blow to the enemy in terms of sunken ships and crews—two and a half times more than any other unit of the Soviet Navy. Seventeen naval aviation units were honored with the title of the

Soviet Guards Guards (russian: гвардия) or Guards units (russian: гвардейские части, ''gvardeyskiye chasti'') were elite military units of Imperial Russia prior to 1917–18. The designation of Guards was subsequently adopted as a distin ...

, while 241 men were awarded with the title of the

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 ...

(including five pilots twice).

Aviation divisions of the Red Navy

* 1st Guards Fighter Aviation Division VVS VMF * 2nd Torpedo Rananskaya Red Banner Aviation Division in the name of N.A. Ostryakova VVS VMF * 3rd Bombardment Aviation Division VVS VMF * 4th Bombardment Aviation Division VVS VMF * 5th Torpedo Aviation Division VVS VMF * 6th Bombardment Aviation Division VVS VMF * 7th Bombardment Aviation Division VVS VMF * 8th Torpedo Gatchinskaya Red Banner Aviation Division VVS VMF * 9th Assault Ropshinskaya Red Banner,

Order of Ushakov The Order of Ushakov (russian: орден Ушакова) is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honour of admiral Fyodor Ushakov (1744–1817) who never lost a battle and was proclaimed patron saint of the Russian Navy. ...

Aviation Division VVS VMF * 10th Seysinskaya Red Banner Aviation Division of Dive Bombers VVS VMF * 11th Assault Novorossiysk Twice Red Banner Aviation Division VVS VMF * 12th Assault Aviation Division VVS VMF * 13th Aviation Division of Dive Bombers VVS VMF * 14th Mixed Aviation Division VVS VMF * 15th Mixed Aviation Division VVS VMF * - 1 May 1961 became 143rd Maritime Rocket Aviation Division.

Cold War

To attack surface ships at long ranges, the Soviet Navy was unique in deploying large numbers of bombers in a maritime role for use by Naval Aviation. The Kiev class of Soviet aircraft carriers was deployed in the late 1970s and carried up to 30 aircraft including Yak-38 VTOL fighters. The next class of Soviet aircraft carriers, named the Admiral Kuznetsov class, supported more conventional aircraft such as the Su-33 "Flanker-D" and the MiG-29 "Fulcrum". Land-based aircraft such as the

Tupolev Tupolev (russian: Ту́полев, ), officially Joint Stock Company Tupolev, is a Russian aerospace and defence company headquartered in Basmanny District, Moscow. Tupolev is successor to the Soviet Tupolev Design Bureau ( OKB-156, design off ...

Tu-16 "Badger" and Tu-22M "Backfire" bombers were deployed with high-speed

anti-ship missile An anti-ship missile (AShM) is a guided missile that is designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea skimming variety, and many use a combination of inertial guidance and active radar homing. A goo ...

s. Previously believed to be interceptors of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

supply

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

s traveling the

sea lines of communication Sea lines of communication (abbreviated as SLOC) is a term describing the primary maritime routes between ports, used for trade, logistics and naval forces. It is generally used in reference to naval operations to ensure that SLOCs are open, or in ...

across the

North Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

between Europe and North America, the primary role of these aircraft was to protect the Soviet mainland from attacks by U.S. carrier task forces. The last commander of Soviet Naval Aviation, Colonel-General

Viktor Pavlovich Potapov Viktor Pavlovich Potapov (russian: Виктор Павлович Потапов; 7 January 1934 – 23 June 2021) was an officer of the Soviet military who held a number of posts in naval aviation, serving as the last head of Soviet Naval Aviati ...

, was appointed in 1988. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, its assets were inherited by successor states' forces, including

and

Ukrainian Naval Aviation The Ukrainian Naval Aviation ( ua, Морська Авіація, Morska Aviatsiya) is a component of the Ukrainian Navy. During the breakup of the Soviet Union, significant portions of the Soviet Naval Aviation were based in Ukraine, which were ...

Inventory

Soviet Naval Aviation in 1990:

Ship based aircraft

*79 strike fighters **79

Yakovlev Yak-38 The Yakovlev Yak-38 (russian: Яковлев Як-38; NATO reporting name: "Forger") was the Soviet Naval Aviation's only operational VTOL strike fighter aircraft in addition to being its first operational carrier-based fixed-wing aircraft. It ...

*219 naval helicopters **113 Kamov Ka-25 **106

Kamov Ka-27 The Kamov Ka-27 (NATO reporting name 'Helix') is a military helicopter developed for the Soviet Navy, and currently in service in various countries including Russia, Ukraine, Vietnam, China, South Korea, and India. Variants include the Ka-29 a ...

Shore based aircraft

*269

s **129

Tupolev Tu-22M The Tupolev Tu-22M (russian: Туполев Ту-22М; NATO reporting name: Backfire) is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing, long-range strategic and maritime strike bomber developed by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the 1960s. According to some ...

**125

Tupolev Tu-16 The Tupolev Tu-16 (NATO reporting name: Badger) is a twin-engined jet strategic heavy bomber used by the Soviet Union. It has been flown for almost 70 years, and the Chinese license-built Xian H-6 remains in service with the People's Liberation ...

**15

Tupolev Tu-22 The Tupolev Tu-22 (NATO reporting name: Blinder) was the first supersonic bomber to enter production in the Soviet Union. Manufactured by Tupolev, the Tu-22 entered service with the Soviet military in the 1960s. The aircraft was a disappointm ...

*198 attack aircraft **97 Sukhoi Su-17 **101 Sukhoi Su-24 *180

Anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...

aircraft **50

Tupolev Tu-142 The Tupolev Tu-142 (russian: Туполев Ту-142; NATO reporting name: Bear F/J) is a Soviet/Russian maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft derived from the Tu-95 turboprop strategic bomber. A specialised commun ...

**40 Ilyushin Il-38 *65

aircraft **50

**15 Antonov An-12 *45

electronic-warfare aircraft An electronic-warfare aircraft is a military aircraft equipped for electronic warfare (EW), that is, degrading the effectiveness of enemy radar and radio systems by using radar jamming and deception methods. In 1943, British Avro Lancaster airc ...

**10

**20 Tupolev Tu-95 **15 Sukhoi Su-24 *90

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characteri ...

s **90 Beriev Be-12 *118 anti-submarine warfare helicopters **118

Mil Mi-14 The Mil Mi-14 (russian: Миль Ми-14, NATO reporting name: Haze) is a Soviet shore-based nuclear-capable amphibious anti-submarine helicopter derived from the earlier Mi-8. Design and development Formal development of an anti-submarine warf ...

*40 refueling aircraft **

N and Z

Other aircraft

* Mil Mi-8 * Ilyushin Il-18

Obsolete aircraft

Shore based aircraft

Beriev Be-6 The Beriev Be-6 (USAF/DoD reporting name "Type 34", NATO reporting name "Madge") was a flying boat produced by the Soviet Beriev OKB. It was capable of accomplishing a wide variety of missions, such as long-range maritime reconnaissance, coastal ...

Madge * Beriev Be-10 Mallow * Ilyushin Il-28 Beagle *

Myasishchev M-4 The Myasishchev M-4 ''Molot'' (russian: Молот (Hammer), USAF/DoD reporting name "Type 37", ASCC reporting name Bison) was a four-engined strategic bomber designed by Vladimir Mikhailovich Myasishchev and manufactured by the Soviet Union in ...

Bison *

Tupolev Tu-14 The Tupolev Tu-14 (NATO reporting name: Bosun) (USAF/ DOD reporting name: Type 35), was a Soviet twinjet light bomber derived from the Tupolev Tu-73, the failed competitor to the Ilyushin Il-28 'Beagle'. It was used as a torpedo bomber by the ...

Bosun

Helicopters

Kamov Ka-10 The Kamov Ka-10 (NATO reporting name HatGunston 1995, p. XXX.) was a Soviet single-seat observation helicopter that first flew in 1949. Design and development The Ka 10 was a development of Nikolay Kamov's earlier Ka-8, which had been successfu ...

Hat *

Kamov Ka-15 The Kamov Ka-15 (NATO reporting name Hen) was a Soviet two-seat utility helicopter with coaxial rotors, which first flew on 14 April 1952 at the hands of test pilot D. K. Yefremov. It was the world's first mass-produced coaxial helicopte ...

Hen * Kamov Ka-18 Hog *

Mil Mi-4 The Mil Mi-4 (USAF/DoD reporting name "Type 36", NATO reporting name "Hound") is a Soviet transport helicopter that served in both military and civilian roles. Design and development The Mi-4 was designed in response to the American H-19 Chick ...

Hound

Weapons and equipment

Air-to-air missiles

* R-60, AA-8 Aphid

Air-to-surface missiles

* K-10S, AS-2 Kipper * Kh-22, AS-4 Kitchen * Kh-23 Grom, AS-7 Kerry * KS-1 Komet, AS-1 Kennel - Obsolete missile system * KSR-2, AS-5 Kelt * KSR-5, AS-6 Kingfish

References

External links

*http://www.ww2.dk/new/navy/aviation%20divisions.htm - Naval aviation divisions *https://web.archive.org/web/20101128053719/http://orbat.com/site/history/historical/russia/navalaviation.html- Naval aviation order of battle *Norman Polmar, Guide to the Soviet Navy (Fifth Edition),

United States Naval Institute The United States Naval Institute (USNI) is a private non-profit military association that offers independent, nonpartisan forums for debate of national security issues. In addition to publishing magazines and books, the Naval Institute holds se ...

, Naval Institute Press, 1991, {{ISBN, 0870212419, 9780870212413 (Chapter 8)

Naval Aviation Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based ...

Naval aviation services Aviation in the Soviet Union