The 22nd Missile 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 1992 and of the

Armed Forces of Belarus The Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus are the military forces of Belarus. It consists of the Ground Forces and the Air Force and Air Defence Forces, all under the command of the Ministry of Defence. As a landlocked country, Belarus has ...

from 1992 to 2005. For most of its history, the brigade was stationed in

Dombóvár Dombóvár (; ) is a town in Tolna County, Hungary. Dombóvár ( German :Dombowa) is a town in Tolna County , the seat of Dombóvár District . It is the third largest settlement in Tolna County , the county seat, after Szekszárd and Paks . Ar ...

with the

Southern Group of Forces The Southern Group of Forces (YUGV) was a Soviet Armed Forces formation formed twice following the Second World War, most notably around the time of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. First Formation On June 15, 1945, the 26th and 37th Armies (fr ...

. It moved to Tsel in the

Belorussian Military District The Byelorussian Military District (; alternatively Belarusian; ) was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces. Originally formed just before World War I as the Minsk Military District out of the remnants of the Vilno Military District an ...

after the Soviet withdrawal from Hungary and was taken over by Belarus in 1992. The brigade was disbanded in 2005.

History

On 23 August 1961, the formation of the 22nd Missile Brigade was ordered at

Kremenchug Kremenchuk (; , , also spelt Kremenchug, ) is an industrial city in central Ukraine which stands on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. The city serves as the administrative center of Kremenchuk Raion and Kremenchuk urban hromada within ...

in the

Kiev Military District The Kiev Military District (; , abbreviated ) was a military district of the Imperial Russian Army and subsequently of the Red Army and Soviet Armed Forces. It was first formed in 1862, and was headquartered in Kiev (Kyiv) for most of its exist ...

. The formation of the brigade was completed on 12 December 1961. It included the 381st and 454th Separate Missile Battalions, as well as a technical battery. 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 and later would receive updated

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) missiles. The brigade's first commander was Colonel Vladimir Kramarenko. The brigade participated in the Exercise "Elektron" in July 1962. In May 1963, the newly activated 383rd and 397th Separate Missile Battalions became part of the brigade. On 22 September 1963, the 454th Separate Missile Battalion was transferred to the 175th Guards Missile Brigade in East Germany. The brigade moved to Dombóvár in Hungary, part of the Southern Group of Forces, in September 1967. On 26 December 1983, the brigade was awarded the pennant of the Minister of Defence for its performance in training exercises. In July 1990, the brigade withdrew from Hungary and was sent to Tsel in Mogilev Oblast, part of the Belorussian Military District. In January 1992, the brigade was taken over by Belarus. In 1996, two battalions of the brigade were reequipped with the

OTR-21 Tochka OTR-21 ''Tochka'' () is a Soviet Union, Soviet tactical ballistic missile. Its GRAU designation is 9K79. Its NATO reporting name is the SS-21 Scarab. One missile is transported per 9P129 vehicle and raised prior to launch. It uses an inertial gu ...

missile. The brigade participated in tactical exercises in 1998. In 2002, it participated in the exercise "Berezina-2002". Later, the brigade participated in the exercises "Clear Sky 2003" and "Shield of the Fatherland 2004". It was disbanded between 10 March and 22 May 2005. The 383rd Separate Missile Battalion was transferred to the

465th Missile Brigade The 465th Missile Brigade (465 ''rbr'') (; ); Military Unit Number 61732) is a tactical ballistic missile brigade of the Belarusian Ground Forces. The sole active ballistic missile brigade of the Armed Forces of Belarus, the brigade is armed with ...

. 60 of the brigade's Scud missiles were at a storage complex in the

North Western Operational Command North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north' ...

as of 2011.

References

{{Belarusian Ground Forces Theatre rocket brigades of the Soviet Union Brigades of Belarus Military units and formations established in 1961 Military units and formations disestablished in 2005