The 55th Mixed Aviation Division was an Aviation Division 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 ...

History

The division was formed on 25 February 1941 in the

Leningrad Military District The Order of Lenin Leningrad Military District () is a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010, it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern ...

. It formed part of the 'operational army' from 22 June 1941 until its disbandment on 7 March 1942. On 22 June 1941 the division headquarters was in

Petrozavodsk Petrozavodsk (, ; Karelian language, Karelian, Veps language, Vepsian and ) is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, which stretches along the western shore of Lake Onega for some . The population of the city is 280,890 as of 2022. ...

. The formation of the division was not completed, and it consisted of only the 72nd High-Speed Bomber Aviation Regiment, which was composed of 34 serviceable Tupolev SB fast medium bombers. On 27 June 1941, the division was reinforced by 33 I-16s of the 155th Fighter Aviation Regiment. It operated from the beginning of the war in the area of

Lake Ladoga Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, in the vicinity of Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake located entirely in Europe, the second largest lake in Russia after Lake ...

and Byelomorsk. On 25 July 1941, the division made a raid on Finland, losing one flight of nine planes, one of them knocked her. In general, the division launched strikes against ground forces of the enemy and provided air support to Soviet troops. At the end of August 1941 the division included 88 serviceable and 15 defective aircraft.

Units

* 72nd Bomber Aviation Regiment (22.06.1941 – 07.03.1942) * 65th Assault Aviation Regiment ( July 1941 – October 1941) (Assault Aviation Regiment) * 31st High-Speed Bomber Aviation Regiment (probably from September – 6 December 1941) * 155th Fighter Aviation Regiment (27.06.1941 – 23.11.1941) * 197th Fighter Aviation Regiment (24.07.1941 – October 1941) * 427th Fighter Aviation Regiment (from 29.10.1941) * 524th Fighter Aviation Regiment (from 13.10.1941) * 119th Separate Reconnaissance Aviation Squadron *2nd GVF Detachment (2-й авиационный гидроотряд гражданского воздушного флота)

Subordination

Commanders

* Colonel Alexander Bogorodetsky (?-18 July 1941) * Colonel Vasily Filin (18.07.1941-07.03.1942)

References

External links