The 11th Rocket Brigade was a

Tactical ballistic missile A tactical ballistic missile (TBM), or battlefield range ballistic missile (BRBM), is a ballistic missile designed for short-range battlefield use. Typically, range (aeronautics), range is less than . Tactical ballistic missiles are usually mo ...

brigade of the

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

from 1961 to 1991. The brigade was initially activated with the

Baltic Military District The Baltic Military District () was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces in the Baltic states, formed shortly before the German invasion during World War II. After the end of the war the Kaliningrad Oblast was added to the District's co ...

but transferred to the

Group of Soviet Forces in Germany The Western Group of Forces (WGF), previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG) and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG), were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupation ...

8th Guards Army The 8th Guards Order of Lenin Combined Arms Army (abbreviated 8th GCAA) was an army of the Soviet Army, as a successor to the 62nd Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army, which was formed during World War II and was disbanded in 1998 after being do ...

. In 1991, it left Germany and disbanded in the North Caucasian Military District.

History

The 11th Missile Brigade was activated in 1961 in

Chernyakhovsk Chernyakhovsk (; German: Insterburg) is a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, and the administrative center of Chernyakhovsky District. Located at the confluence of the Instruch and Angrapa rivers, which unite to become the Pregolya river bel ...

Kaliningrad Oblast Kaliningrad Oblast () is the westernmost federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of the Russian Federation. It is a Enclave and exclave, semi-exclave on the Baltic Sea within the Baltic region of Prussia (region), Prussia, surrounded by Pola ...

, part of the Baltic Military District. The brigade was equipped with

R-11 Zemlya The R-11 Zemlya (), GRAU index 8A61 was a Soviet tactical ballistic missile. It is also known by its NATO reporting name SS-1b Scud-A. It was the first of several similar Soviet missiles to be given the reporting name Scud. Variant R-11M was acc ...

(SS-1B Scud A) tactical ballistic missiles. In 1966, the brigade moved to

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...

and became part of the 8th Guards Army. The brigade included the 171st, 180th and 417th Separate Missile Battalions, as well as a technical battalion. The 171st and 180th were based at Jena. The 417th was at

Weißenfels Weißenfels (; often written in English as Weissenfels) is the largest town of the Burgenlandkreis district, in southern Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany. It is situated on the river Saale, approximately south of Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Halle. His ...

and the technical battalion at Altenhain. In 1984, the brigade was reequipped with

OTR-23 Oka The OTR-23 Oka (; named after Oka River) was a mobile theatre ballistic missile () deployed by the Soviet Union near the end of the Cold War to replace the obsolete SS-1C 'Scud B'. It carried the GRAU index 9K714 and was assigned the NATO repor ...

theatre ballistic missiles. The brigade received

R-17 Elbrus The R-17 Elbrus (, named for Mount Elbrus), GRAU index 9K72 is a tactical ballistic missile, initially developed by the Soviet Union. It is also known by its NATO reporting name SS-1C Scud-B. The R-17 is one of several Soviet missiles to carry the ...

(SS-1C Scud B) tactical ballistic missiles in 1988. In June 1991, the brigade was withdrawn from Germany to

Maykop Maykop is the capital city of Adygea, Russia, located on the right bank of the Belaya River. It borders Maykopsky District, from which it is administratively and municipally independent, to the east and south; Giaginsky District to the north, ...

in the North Caucasian Military District, where it was disbanded.

References

{{Reflist Military units and formations established in 1961 Military units and formations disestablished in 1991 Theatre rocket brigades of the Soviet Union