The 54th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment ( (54 GIAP);

Military Unit Number A Military Unit Number (Russian: войсковая часть, в/ ч; Ukrainian: військова частина, в/ ч) is a numeric alternate designation for military units in the armed forces and internal troops of post-Soviet ...

06931) was an aviation regiment of the

Soviet Air Forces The Soviet Air Forces (, VVS SSSR; literally "Military Air Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics"; initialism VVS, sometimes referred to as the "Red Air Force") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Sovie ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, which became part of the

Soviet Air Defense Forces The Soviet Air Defence Forces (; ) was the air defence branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Formed in 1941, it continued being a service branch of the Russian Armed Forces after 1991 until it was merged into the Russian Air Force, Air Force in 1998 ...

and 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 ...

World War II

The 237th Fighter Aviation Regiment began forming in May 1941. It began the war at

Varėna Varėna () is a city in Dzūkija, southern Lithuania. It is the capital of the district of Varėna. Currently, there are 7,794 residents. The Varėna district is the largest and most forested municipality of Lithuania as more than 50% of the di ...

outside

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...

in the

Baltic Special Military District Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

as part of the 57th Mixed Aviation Division. From August 1942 the regiment served in combat with the 220th Fighter Aviation Division. On 3 February 1943 the regiment became the 54th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment and the division became the

1st Guards Fighter Aviation Division First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

, mostly fighting as part of the

16th Air Army The 16th Red Banner Air Army () was the most important formation of the Special Purpose Command. Initially formed during the Second World War as a part of the Soviet Air Force, it was from its 2002 reformation to its 2009 disbandment the tactical ...

Cold War

After the end of the war, the regiment received the

Bell P-63 Kingcobra The Bell P-63 Kingcobra is an American fighter aircraft that was developed by Bell Aircraft during World War II. Based on the preceding Bell P-39 Airacobra, the P-63's design incorporated suggestions from P-39 pilots and was superior to its pr ...

. It was based at

Vaiņode Vaiņode (formerly ; ) is a village in Vaiņode Parish, South Kurzeme Municipality in the Courland region of Latvia. The village developed around a railway station after 1871 between Liepāja and Mažeikiai. History Vaiņode (Bāta) was firs ...

in the

Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (Also known as the Latvian SSR, or Latvia) was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union from 1940 to 1941, and then from 1944 until 1990. The Soviet occupation and annexation of Latvia began between J ...

. The 54th Guards received the

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of the first successful jet fighters to incorporate s ...

in 1950 and the

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (; NATO reporting name: Fresco) is a high-subsonic fighter aircraft produced in the Soviet Union from 1952 and was operated by air forces internationally. The MiG-17 was license-built in China as the Shenyang J-5 and ...

in 1956. It became part of the

27th Air Defense Corps The 27th Air Defense Corps () was a corps of the Soviet Air Defense Forces and briefly the Russian Air Defense Forces. Formed in 1960 from the Baltic Air Defense Corps, the corps provided air defense for the Latvian and Lithuanian Soviet Sociali ...

after the 1st Guards Division headquarters disbanded in 1960. In 1967, the 54th Guards became one of the first regiments equipped with the

Sukhoi Su-15 The Sukhoi Su-15 (NATO reporting name: Flagon) is a twinjet supersonic interceptor aircraft developed by the Soviet Union. It entered service in 1965 and remained one of the front-line designs into the 1990s. The Su-15 was designed to replace t ...

interceptor, and received the Su-15TM in the late 1970s. In 1987, the 54th Guards received the

Sukhoi Su-27 The Sukhoi Su-27 (; NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a Soviet Union, Soviet-origin twinjet, twin-engine supersonic Supermaneuverability, supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the lar ...

. By November 1990, according to CFE Treaty data, the regiment fielded 38 Su-27s.

Russian service

In November 1992, under the command of Colonel Ye. A. Tikhomirov, the regiment was relocated to Savasleyka. On 1 September 2002, it was reorganized as the 3958th Air Base, part of the 4th Center for Combat Employment and Retraining of Personnel. On 26 March 2005, the honors of the 54th Guards were transferred to the 3958th, which became the 3958th Guards Air Base. In early 2011, the base became the Aviation Squadron of the State Center for Training of Aviation Personnel and Combat Testing after the 4th Center was redesignated.

Aircraft operated

Assignments

* 220th Fighter Aviation Division, August 1942 - 2.43 * 1st Guards Fighter Aviation Division, 2.43 - 1960 *

27th Air Defence Corps The 27th Air Defense Corps () was a corps of the Soviet Air Defense Forces and briefly the Russian Air Defense Forces. Formed in 1960 from the Baltic Air Defense Corps, the corps provided air defense for the Latvian and Lithuanian Soviet Sociali ...

, 1960-12.77 * 1st Guards Fighter Aviation Division, 12.77 - 15.4.86 * 27th Air Defense Corps, 4.86 - 1992 * 148th Centre for Combat Employment and Retraining of Personnel PVO, 1992 - 2001 *

4th Centre for Combat Employment and Retraining of Personnel The 4th Centre for Combat Employment and Retraining of Personnel VVS of the Russian Aerospace Forces is a research, training, and instructional centre. It was formed at Tambov (air base) on 19 April 1953. In 1954 it was transferred to Voronezh Mal ...

, 2001 - 2002

Stations

*Guryevsk,

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 ...

, May 1945 - August 1945

4 47 15N, 20 37 10E 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. Evolution of the Hi ...

ref name="Holm 2017"> *Vainode, Latvian SSR, 8.45 - 1992

6 24 27N, 21 53 19E 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics A six-sided polygon is a hexagon, one of the three regular polygons capable of tiling the plane. A hexagon a ...

*Savostleyka, Gorkiy Oblast, 1992 - present

5 26 32N, 42 18 35E 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * {{Cite book, title=Советские Войска ПВО в последние годы Союза ССР. Часть 1, last=Lenskii, first=A.G., last2=Tsybin, first2=M.M., publisher=Info Ol, year=2013, location=St. Petersburg, language=ru, trans-title=Soviet Air Defense Forces in the last years of the USSR: Part 1, oclc=861180616 Fighter regiments of the Soviet Air Forces Fighter regiments of the Soviet Air Defence Forces Regiments of the Russian Air Forces Fighter aviation regiments of the Soviet Union in World War II Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 2002