The 1st Guards Stalingrad Composite Aviation Division (Russian: 1-я гвардейская бомбардировочная Сталинградская ордена Ленина дважды Краснознаменная орденов Суворова и Кутузова авиационная дивизия) is an Aviation Division of the

Russian Aerospace Forces The Russian Aerospace Forces or Russian Air and Space Forces (VKS) comprise the air force, aerial, space force, space warfare, and Missile defense, missile defence Military branch, branches of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. It was ...

. It was originally formed as the 226th Assault Aviation Division in May 1942 and became the 1st Guards Stalingrad Assault Aviation Division for its performance in the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad ; see . rus, links=on, Сталинградская битва, r=Stalingradskaya bitva, p=stəlʲɪnˈɡratskəjə ˈbʲitvə. (17 July 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, ...

. The division fought in the Melitopol Offensive, Crimean Offensive, East Prussian Offensive and the

Battle of Königsberg The Battle of Königsberg, also known as the Königsberg offensive, was one of the last operations of the East Prussian offensive during World War II. In four days of urban warfare, Soviet Union, Soviet forces of the 1st Baltic Front and the 3 ...

. By the end of the war, the division had been awarded the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...

twice, the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

and the Orders of Kutuzov and

Suvorov Count Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov-Rymniksky, Prince of Italy () was a Russian general and military theorist in the service of the Russian Empire. Born in Moscow, he studied military history as a young boy and joined the Imperial Russian ...

2nd class. Postwar, the division relocated to Belarus. In April 1956, it became a bomber division but was converted to a fighter-bomber unit in 1957. In 1989, it became a bomber unit again and moved to

Krasnodar Krasnodar, formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern Russia, with a population of 1,154,885 residents, and up to 1.263 millio ...

in 1993. At Krasnodar it became an assault unit. The division moved to

Yeysk Yeysk () is a port and a resort town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated on the shore of the Taganrog Gulf of the Sea of Azov. The town is built primarily on the Yeysk Spit, which separates the Yeya River from the Sea of Azov. Population: ...

in 2002 and disbanded in 2009. It was reformed in 2013 with the addition of extra fighter units.

History

The 1st Guards Bomber Aviation Division was initially formed as the 226th Assault Aviation Division as part of the

8th Air Army The 8th Air Army was a military formation of the Soviet Air Forces, active from around 1942 to 1949. It was formed June 13, 1942, by order of the State Defence Committee (NKO) Number 00119 dated June 9, 1942, on the basis of the Air Forces of th ...

in May 1942. The 8th Air Army was supporting the Southwestern Front as it fought the German advance during

Operation Blau Case Blue (German: ''Fall Blau'') was the ''Wehrmacht'' plan for the 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia between 28 June and 24 November 1942, during World War II. The objective was to capture the oil fields of Baku (Azerbai ...

. On 18 March 1943 the division was renamed the 1st Guards Assault Aviation Division. By this time the 8th Air Army was part of Southern Front and included the 2nd Mixed Aviation Corps ( 201st Fighter Aviation Division,

214th Assault Aviation Division 14 (fourteen) is the natural number following 13 (number), 13 and preceding 15 (number), 15. Mathematics Fourteen is the seventh composite number. Properties 14 is the third distinct semiprime, being the third of the form 2 \times q (wher ...

), 10th Mixed Aviation Corps (206th, 287th Fighter Aviation Divisions, 289th Assault Aviation Division), 270th Bomber Aviation Division, 2nd Guards Night Bomber Aviation Division,

6th Guards Fighter Aviation Division The 6th Guards Don-Szeged Red Banner Order of Suvorov Fighter Aviation Division was a fighter aviation division of the Soviet Air Force during World War II and the Cold War. The division was formed in early 1943 from the 268th Fighter Aviation Div ...

, 8th Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment, 406th Light Bomber Aviation Regiment, and the 678th Transport Aviation Regiment. Organization in May 1945 ( Ketrzyn, Poland): *74th Guards Assault Aviation Regiment with

Il-2 The Ilyushin Il-2 (Russian language, Russian: Илью́шин Ил-2) is a Ground attack aircraft, ground-attack plane that was produced by the Soviet Union in large numbers during the World War II, Second World War. The word ''shturmovík'' (C ...

*75th Guards Assault Aviation Regiment with Il-10 *76th Guards Assault Aviation Regiment with Il-2 *136th Guards Assault Aviation Regiment with Il-2 The division headquarters were moved from Ketrzyn to

Lida Lida is a city in Grodno Region, western Belarus, located west of Minsk. It serves as the administrative center of Lida District. As of 2025, it has a population of 103,262. Etymology The name ''Lida'' arises from its Lithuanian name ''Ly ...

, Grodno Region, in the

Belorussian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, Byelorussian SSR or Byelorussia; ; ), also known as Soviet Belarus or simply Belarus, was a republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 1922 as an independent state, and ...

, in July 1945. The 76th Guards Assault Aviation Regiment was disbanded in April 1947. In 1957, it was renamed 1st Guards Fighter-Bomber Aviation Division (1st IBAD, from 11 November 1976 1st ADIB). Organization 1957: *136th Guards Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment (Lida, Grodno Region) with MiG-15 *686th Guards Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment (

, Grodno Region) with MiG-15 *952nd Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment (

Pruzhany Pruzhany is a town in Brest Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Pruzhany District. The town is located at the confluence of the Mukha River and the Vets Canal, where the Mukhavets River rises. As of 2025, it has a popu ...

) with MiG-15 Organization 1970: *911th Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment (Lida, Grodno Region) with MiG-17 *

940th Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment The 940th Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment (940th IBAP/APIB since 1976) was an aviation regiment of the Soviet Air Force. It was formed in 1942 in the Soviet Far East and fought in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria. During the last months of the Kore ...

( Postavy, Vitebsk Oblast) with MiG-17 *953rd Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment (

Bobrovichi Bobrovichi is an air base in Belarus located 16 km northeast of Kalinkavichy in Gomel Region. It is nearby Bobrovichi town ( :ru:Бобровичи (Гомельская область)). It is a large airfield with two large tarmacs on ei ...

, Gomel Oblast) with Su-7 In 1978 the 953rd Regiment was reequipped with

Sukhoi Su-24 The Sukhoi Su-24 (NATO reporting name: Fencer) is a supersonic, night fighter, all-weather tactical bomber developed in the Soviet Union. The aircraft has a variable-sweep wing, Twinjet, twin engines and a side-by-side seating arrangement for it ...

s and renamed a Bomber Aviation Regiment. In 1980 the 953rd Bomber Aviation Regiment was transferred to the 32nd Bomber Aviation Division,

24th Air Army The 24th Air Army was an Air army (Soviet Union), Air army of the Soviet Air Forces, active from 1980, and probably inactivated in 1992. Its headquarters was located at Vinnitsa. First formation (1949–1968) From 1949 to 1968, the 16th Air Army ...

. The division was renamed the 1st Guards Bomber Aviation Division in 1989. Organization 1990: * 116th Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment ( Ross, Grodno Region) with

Su-24 The Sukhoi Su-24 (NATO reporting name: Fencer) is a supersonic, night fighter, all-weather tactical bomber developed in the Soviet Union. The aircraft has a variable-sweep wing, Twinjet, twin engines and a side-by-side seating arrangement for it ...

- January 1992 taken over by the

Belarus Air Force The Air Force and Air Defence Forces of the Republic of Belarus is the air force of the Armed Forces of Belarus, formed in 1992 from the 26th Air Army of the Soviet Air Forces which had been serving in the Byelorussian SSR. History Soviet ...

. October 1993 renamed 116th Guards Bomber Aviation Base, and in July 1994 116th Guards Bomber-Reconnaissance Aviation Base - disbanded August 2010. *305th Bomber Aviation Regiment ( Postavy, Vitebsk Oblast) with Su-24 - withdrawn to

Krasnodar Krai Krasnodar Krai (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and is administratively a part of the Southern Federal District. Its administrative center is the t ...

, in 1993, and disbanded *497th Bomber Aviation Regiment (

, Grodno Region) with Su-24 - withdrawn to

, in 1993, and disbanded. The Divisional headquarters was moved to

, in 1993, and the division became part of the 4th Army of Air Forces and Air Defence. It was disbanded in December 2009. In 2013 the division was reformed with a bomber aviation unit at

Morozovsk Morozovsk () is a town and the administrative center of Morozovsky District in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the Bystraya River (left tributary of the Seversky Donets), northeast of Rostov-on-Don, the administrative center of the oblast. Po ...

, an assault aviation unit at

Primorsk Primorsk may refer to: * Primorsk, Leningrad Oblast, a town in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, formerly Koivisto or Björkö * Primorsk, Kaliningrad Oblast, an urban-type settlement in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, formerly Fischhausen * Primorsk, Krasno ...

/Budenovsk, and a fighter aviation regiment at

Krymsk Krymsk (; Adyghe: Хьэтуехьэблэ, Ḥătueḥăblă; ) is a town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. Population: 57,927 (2020), History It was founded in 1858 as the fortress and ''stanitsa'' of Krymskaya (), named after the Crimean Cossack R ...

, which now appears to have become the 3rd Guards Composite Aviation Regiment. It was assigned to the

4th Air and Air Defence Forces Army The 4th Guards Air and Air Defence Forces Army () is an Air army (Soviet Union), air army of the Russian Aerospace Forces, part of the Southern Military District and headquartered in Rostov-on-Don. The 4th Air Army (''4 Vozdushnaya Armiya'') was ...

along with the 55th Independent Helicopter Regiment,https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?p=2649821
as archived on 2020-11-12, fro
original
/ref> a transport unit at

Rostov Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...

, the 11th Composite Aviation Regiment, and a reconnaissance/bomber aviation unit at Marinovka. The latter units form the 4th Composite Aviation Division. Organization 2020: * 3 rd Guards Composite Aviation Regiment (

) Two Squadrons:

Su-27 The Sukhoi Su-27 (; NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a Soviet-origin twin-engine supersonic supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large US fourth-generation jet fighters suc ...

SM3 Flanker (as of 2019) (may have started re-equipping with

Su-57 The Sukhoi Su-57 (; NATO reporting name: Felon) is a Twinjet, twin-engine stealth aircraft, stealth Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft developed by Sukhoi. It is the product of the PAK FA (, prospective aeronautical comp ...

as of December 2020) * 31st Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment ( Millerovo) Two Squadrons:

Su-30 The Sukhoi Su-30 (; NATO reporting name: Flanker-C/G/H) is a twin-engine, two-seat supermaneuverable fighter aircraft developed in the Soviet Union in the 1980s by Russia's Sukhoi Aviation Corporation. It is a multirole fighter for all-weath ...

SM (as of 2019) * 559th Bomber Aviation Regiment (

) Three Squadrons:

Su-34 The Sukhoi Su-34 (; NATO reporting name: Fullback) is a Soviet-origin Russian twin-engine, twin-seat, all-weather supersonic medium-range fighter-bomber/ strike aircraft. It first flew in 1990, intended for the Soviet Air Forces, and it entere ...

(as of 2019) * 368th Assault Aviation Regiment (

Budennovsk Budyonnovsk () is a town in Stavropol Krai, Russia. In 2010 the population of Budyonnovsk was 64,624. History The town was founded in 1799 by Armenian settlers from Derbent. During World War II, Budyonnovsk was occupied by German troops from Au ...

) Two Squadrons:

Su-25 The Sukhoi Su-25 ''Grach'' ( ('' rook''); NATO reporting name: Frogfoot) is a subsonic, single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by Sukhoi. It was designed to provide close air support for Soviet Ground Forces. The ...

SM/SM3 (as of 2019; reported upgrading to SM3 variant as of 2021)

History

References

Further reading