The Special Moscow Air Defense Army () was an

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

of the National Air Defense Forces 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 ...

, responsible for the

air defense Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. Formed in July 1943 from the Moscow Air Defense Front, its headquarters was used to form the Central Air Defense Front in December 1944.

History

The Special Moscow Air Defense Army was formed on 4 July 1943 in accordance with an order of 29 June from the Moscow Air Defense Front, under the command of Lieutenant General Daniil Zhuravlyov, promoted to colonel general in November 1944. The army was tasked with protecting Moscow and other key targets in the Central Industrial Region from German air attacks. It was part of the newly created Western Air Defense Front and included the 1st Fighter Air Army PVO with four fighter aviation divisions totalling seventeen fighter Aviation regiment (Soviet Union), aviation regiments, fifteen Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division (Soviet Union), anti-aircraft artillery divisions, three anti-aircraft machine gun divisions, four anti-aircraft searchlight divisions, three divisions of barrage balloons, two divisions of the VNOS (Air Observation, Warning, and Communications Service), five separate anti-aircraft artillery regiments, and thirteen anti-aircraft artillery battalions, among others. On 24 December 1944, the army was ordered disbanded and its headquarters used to form the Central Air Defense Front as part of a reorganization of the Air Defense Forces.

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* {{Armies of the Soviet Air Defence Forces Armies of the Soviet Air Defence Forces Air units and formations of the Soviet Union in World War II Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1944 Moscow in World War II