6th Air Army
Encyclopedia
The 6th Red Banner Leningrad Army of Military-Air Forces and Air Defence was an Air Army
of the Russian Air Force
active from 1998 to 2009. 6th Air Army was redesignated in 1949. After the war, the Soviet Air Defence Forces' main command in the Leningrad area for some years was the 6th Independent Army of the Air Defence Forces.
The 6th Air Army was first formed in 1942 from the Air Forces of the North-Western Front
, and its first commander was General Major of Aviation D.F. Kondratyk, who held command to August 1943. During its World War II service, the 6th Air Army included for a time the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, the all-female 'Night Witches
'. It was assigned initially to the North-Western Front
until February 1944, and after that to the 1st
and 2nd Belorussian Front
s. 6th Air Army appears to have been redesignated 73rd Air Army on 10 January 1949.
During the Cold War
period, the 6th Army of the PVO (6-я отдельная армия ПВО) was an extremely strong and important one, as regards its air defence component, regiments of interceptor
s and anti-aircraft missiles. It had been originally formed from the Leningrad Air Defence Army. It had two major tasks: to protect the most industrialized European part of the Soviet Union
against possible U.S. cruise missile
attack from the north via the North Pole
(using MiG-31 interceptors), and to protect the deployment of nuclear submarine
s stationed in the Kola Peninsula
(using Su-27 fighters
). In 1988, the 6th Army, headquartered at St Petersburg, consisted of the 27th Corps of PVO at Riga, 54th Corps at Gatchina, and 14th Division of PVO at Tallinn
, with nine fighter interceptor regiments (possibly including the 54th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment at Vainode), five SAM regiments, five radar regiments, and the 498th PVO Training Centre.
The Army was reformed within the Russian Air Force
on June 1, 1998, from the 76th Air Army of the VVS and the 6th Independent Army of the Voyska PVO, both headquartered in Sankt Petersburg. It's new title was the 6th Army of Air Forces and Air Defence. The 6th Army had responsibility for the Leningrad Military District
. General Lieutenant Gennadiy A. Torbov was appointed commander of the army by a presidential decree of 6 April 2000. He replaced Lt-Gen Anatoliy Basov, who retired due to age. Its commanding officer was General Lieutenant Vladimir Sviridov from June 2005 until at least 2007. Economic stringency and the reduction of the threat led to drastic cuts in the formation, as previously the 6th and 10th PVO Armies, which covered the area, had twelve fighter regiments between them. 10th PVO Army appears to have disbanded in August 1994. The 174th and 470th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiments, at Monchegorsk
and Afrikanda air base
, both disbanded on September 1, 2001. There were also formerly fighter regiments at Amderma
(72nd), Talagi Airport
(where the 518th Fighter Regiment disbanded in 1998), Lodeynoye Pole
(177th), Gromovo
(180th), Poduzhemye
(265th, originally flying Su-15s), Letneozersky (524th, flying MiG-25s), and Rogachevo
(641st, Su-27 Flankers).
In 2009 the army was disestablished and reorganised as the 1st Command of VVS and PVO.
Air Army (Soviet Union)
An air army was a type of formation of the Soviet Air Forces from 1936 until its dissolution in 1991. Air armies continued to be used in the successor Russian Air Force until 2009....
of the Russian Air Force
Russian Air Force
The Russian Air Force is the air force of Russian Military. It is currently under the command of Colonel General Aleksandr Zelin. The Russian Navy has its own air arm, the Russian Naval Aviation, which is the former Soviet Aviatsiya Voyenno Morskogo Flota , or AV-MF).The Air Force was formed from...
active from 1998 to 2009. 6th Air Army was redesignated in 1949. After the war, the Soviet Air Defence Forces' main command in the Leningrad area for some years was the 6th Independent Army of the Air Defence Forces.
The 6th Air Army was first formed in 1942 from the Air Forces of the North-Western Front
North-Western Front
The Northwestern Front was a military formation of the Red Army during the Winter War and World War II. It was operational with the 7th and 13th Armies during the Winter War. It was re-created on June 22, 1941, the first day of the Soviet-German War on the basis of the Baltic Special Military...
, and its first commander was General Major of Aviation D.F. Kondratyk, who held command to August 1943. During its World War II service, the 6th Air Army included for a time the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, the all-female 'Night Witches
Night Witches
"Night Witches" is the English translation of Nachthexen, a World War II German nickname , for the female military aviators of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, known later as the 46th "Taman" Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, of the Soviet Air Forces...
'. It was assigned initially to the North-Western Front
North-Western Front
The Northwestern Front was a military formation of the Red Army during the Winter War and World War II. It was operational with the 7th and 13th Armies during the Winter War. It was re-created on June 22, 1941, the first day of the Soviet-German War on the basis of the Baltic Special Military...
until February 1944, and after that to the 1st
1st Belorussian Front
The 1st Belorussian Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during World War II...
and 2nd Belorussian Front
2nd Belorussian Front
The 2nd Belorussian Front was a military formation of Army group size of the Soviet Army during the Second World War...
s. 6th Air Army appears to have been redesignated 73rd Air Army on 10 January 1949.
During the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
period, the 6th Army of the PVO (6-я отдельная армия ПВО) was an extremely strong and important one, as regards its air defence component, regiments of interceptor
Interceptor aircraft
An interceptor aircraft is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically to prevent missions of enemy aircraft, particularly bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Interceptors generally rely on high speed and powerful armament in order to complete their mission as quickly as possible and set up...
s and anti-aircraft missiles. It had been originally formed from the Leningrad Air Defence Army. It had two major tasks: to protect the most industrialized European part of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
against possible U.S. cruise missile
Cruise missile
A cruise missile is a guided missile that carries an explosive payload and is propelled, usually by a jet engine, towards a land-based or sea-based target. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhead over long distances with high accuracy...
attack from the north via the North Pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
(using MiG-31 interceptors), and to protect the deployment of nuclear submarine
Nuclear submarine
A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor . The performance advantages of nuclear submarines over "conventional" submarines are considerable: nuclear propulsion, being completely independent of air, frees the submarine from the need to surface frequently, as is necessary for...
s stationed in the Kola Peninsula
Kola Peninsula
The Kola Peninsula is a peninsula in the far northwest of Russia. Constituting the bulk of the territory of Murmansk Oblast, it lies almost completely to the north of the Arctic Circle and is washed by the Barents Sea in the north and the White Sea in the east and southeast...
(using Su-27 fighters
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
). In 1988, the 6th Army, headquartered at St Petersburg, consisted of the 27th Corps of PVO at Riga, 54th Corps at Gatchina, and 14th Division of PVO at Tallinn
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
, with nine fighter interceptor regiments (possibly including the 54th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment at Vainode), five SAM regiments, five radar regiments, and the 498th PVO Training Centre.
The Army was reformed within the Russian Air Force
Russian Air Force
The Russian Air Force is the air force of Russian Military. It is currently under the command of Colonel General Aleksandr Zelin. The Russian Navy has its own air arm, the Russian Naval Aviation, which is the former Soviet Aviatsiya Voyenno Morskogo Flota , or AV-MF).The Air Force was formed from...
on June 1, 1998, from the 76th Air Army of the VVS and the 6th Independent Army of the Voyska PVO, both headquartered in Sankt Petersburg. It's new title was the 6th Army of Air Forces and Air Defence. The 6th Army had responsibility for the Leningrad Military District
Leningrad Military District
The Leningrad Military District was a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet to form the new Western Military District.-History:...
. General Lieutenant Gennadiy A. Torbov was appointed commander of the army by a presidential decree of 6 April 2000. He replaced Lt-Gen Anatoliy Basov, who retired due to age. Its commanding officer was General Lieutenant Vladimir Sviridov from June 2005 until at least 2007. Economic stringency and the reduction of the threat led to drastic cuts in the formation, as previously the 6th and 10th PVO Armies, which covered the area, had twelve fighter regiments between them. 10th PVO Army appears to have disbanded in August 1994. The 174th and 470th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiments, at Monchegorsk
Monchegorsk (air base)
Monchegorsk Air Base is a military air base in Murmansk Oblast, Russia located 13 km northeast of Monchegorsk and 11 miles southwest of Olenya. It hosted the 174 Gv IAP flying MiG-25PDS aircraft in the 1980s and MiG-31 interceptors in the 1990s...
and Afrikanda air base
Afrikanda air base
Afrikanda is a military air base in Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It is located just north of the village of the same name.Though it is built for fighter operations with 30 revetments, it has largely served the interceptor aircraft role...
, both disbanded on September 1, 2001. There were also formerly fighter regiments at Amderma
Amderma
Amderma is an urban-type settlement in Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located 490 km from Naryan-Mar on the coast of Kara Sea. It was established in 1933. Population: 650 ; 5,100 ; 2,900 . Fluorite deposits are located in the vicinity of Amderma, but the mines have been abandoned since...
(72nd), Talagi Airport
Talagi Airport
Talagi Airport is an international airport serving Arkhangelsk, Russia, located 11 kilometers outside the city. In 2001 it had 105,797 passengers and 921 tonnes of cargo. The airport was founded on February 5, 1963...
(where the 518th Fighter Regiment disbanded in 1998), Lodeynoye Pole
Lodeynoye Pole
Lodeynoye Pole is a town in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Svir River northeast of St. Petersburg. Population: 21,400 ....
(177th), Gromovo
Gromovo
Gromovo is a settlement in Priozersky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located 18 km northwest of Sosnovo, and a station of the Saint Petersburg-Kuznechnoye railway. Gromovo is situated on the northern shore of the Lake Sukhodolskoye, Karelian Isthmus. Until the Winter War and the...
(180th), Poduzhemye
Poduzhemye
Poduzhemye is an air base in Karelia, Russia located 16 km west of Kem. It is an interceptor airfield which became operational in 1957 under the 265 IAP which flew Su-15 and Su-27 aircraft. Aircraft from this base forced down Korean Air Flight 902, a Boeing 707, in 1978...
(265th, originally flying Su-15s), Letneozersky (524th, flying MiG-25s), and Rogachevo
Rogachevo
Rogachevo is a military air base on Novaya Zemlya, Russia located 9 km northeast of Belushya Guba. It was originally used as a staging base for intercontinental Long Range Aviation bomber flights...
(641st, Su-27 Flankers).
In 2009 the army was disestablished and reorganised as the 1st Command of VVS and PVO.
Structure 2007
- Headquarters, 6th Army of Air Forces and Air Defence - Sankt Petersburg
- 21st Air Defence Corps - SeveromorskSeveromorskSeveromorsk is a closed town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located about north of Murmansk along the Kola Bay. Population: This is the main administrative base of the Russian Northern Fleet. Severomorsk has the largest drydock on the Kola Peninsula....
- 9th 'Vienna' Fighter Aviation Regiment - HQ at Kilp-Yavr (Poliarnyi) - Su-27; (see :ru:Гвардейский Виленский ордена Кутузова III степени истребительный авиационный полк)
- 458th Interceptor Aviation Regiment - HQ at SavatiyaSavatiyaSavatiya is an air base in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia located 36 km south of Kotlas. It is a small interceptor airfield. It was home to 445 IAP which received Tupolev Tu-128 aircraft in 1967, MiG-25 aircraft by the late 1970s, and MiG-31 by the 1990s...
(Kotlas) - MiG-25U, MiG-31; - 531st Невельско-Берлинский Guards Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment
- ?th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment — SeverodvinskSeverodvinskSeverodvinsk is a city in the north of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located in the delta of the Northern Dvina River, west of Arkhangelsk. Administratively, it is incorporated as a town of oblast significance . Municipally, it is incorporated as Severodvinsk Urban Okrug. The city was founded as...
- 583rd Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment — Olenegorsk, Murmansk Oblast
- 145th Radiotechnical Brigade — ArkhangelskArkhangelskArkhangelsk , formerly known as Archangel in English, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina River near its exit into the White Sea in the north of European Russia. The city spreads for over along the banks of the river...
- 5th Radiotechnical Brigade — в поселке Дальние Зеленцы — Североморск
- 54th Air Defence Corps - HQ at Taytsy
- 177th Fighter Aviation Regiment - HQ at Lodeynoye Pole (air base)Lodeynoye Pole (air base)Lodeynoye Pole is a small air base in Leningrad Oblast, Russia located 2 km south of Lodeynoye Pole. It was home of 177 IAP which flew MiG-23 aircraft, upgrading to Su-27 around 1990....
- Su-27; - 159th Fighter Aviation Regiment - HQ at Besovets Airport - Su-27;
- 196th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment
- ?th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment
- 177th Fighter Aviation Regiment - HQ at Lodeynoye Pole (air base)
- 149th Composite Aviation Division
- 67th Bomber Aviation Regiment - HQ at Siverskiy-2 - Su-24;
- 722nd Bomber Aviation Regiment - HQ at SmuravyevoSmuravyevoSmuravyevo is an air base in Pskov Oblast, Russia located 14 km northeast of Gdov. This medium-sized base is located 63 km south of Ivangorod. It was home to 722 BAP flying Su-24 aircraft up until at least the 1990s ....
(Gdov) - Su-24;
- 98th Guards Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment - HQ at Monchegorsk (air base)Monchegorsk (air base)Monchegorsk Air Base is a military air base in Murmansk Oblast, Russia located 13 km northeast of Monchegorsk and 11 miles southwest of Olenya. It hosted the 174 Gv IAP flying MiG-25PDS aircraft in the 1980s and MiG-31 interceptors in the 1990s...
- MiG-25RB/U, Su-24MR; - 87th Aviation Base - HQ at Levashevo - An-12, An-26, Mi-8Mil Mi-8The Mil Mi-8 is a medium twin-turbine transport helicopter that can also act as a gunship. The Mi-8 is the world's most-produced helicopter, and is used by over 50 countries. Russia is the largest operator of the Mi-8/Mi-17 helicopter....
, Tu-134; (ex 138th Independent Composite Air Regiment) - Army Aviation Component
- 147th Independent Helicopter Squadron of Electronic Warfare - HQ at Pushkin - Mi-8PPA;
- 332nd Independent Helicopter Regiment for Battle Control - HQ at Pribylovo - Mi-8, Mi-24;
- 85th Independent Helicopter Squadron - HQ at AlakurttiAlakurttiAlakurtti may refer to:* Alakurtti , a naval air base in Murmansk Oblast, Russia* Alakurtti, Murmansk Oblast, a rural locality in Murmansk Oblast, Russia...
- Mi-8, Mi-24.
- 21st Air Defence Corps - Severomorsk
- 1080th Mixed Aviation Base (смешанная авиационная база) — GromovoGromovoGromovo is a settlement in Priozersky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located 18 km northwest of Sosnovo, and a station of the Saint Petersburg-Kuznechnoye railway. Gromovo is situated on the northern shore of the Lake Sukhodolskoye, Karelian Isthmus. Until the Winter War and the...
, Priozersky DistrictPriozersky DistrictPriozersky District is a district of Leningrad Oblast, Russia. The area of the district is . Its administrative center is the town of Priozersk. District's population: -History:...
, Leningrad OblastLeningrad OblastLeningrad Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . It was established on August 1, 1927, although it was not until 1946 that the oblast's borders had been mostly settled in their present position...
- An-72, An-30, An-26, Mi-8Mil Mi-8The Mil Mi-8 is a medium twin-turbine transport helicopter that can also act as a gunship. The Mi-8 is the world's most-produced helicopter, and is used by over 50 countries. Russia is the largest operator of the Mi-8/Mi-17 helicopter....
, - 714th Base for Reserve Helicopters — Kasimovo — Mi-8Mil Mi-8The Mil Mi-8 is a medium twin-turbine transport helicopter that can also act as a gunship. The Mi-8 is the world's most-produced helicopter, and is used by over 50 countries. Russia is the largest operator of the Mi-8/Mi-17 helicopter....
, Mi-24 - 396th Centre for Special and Physical Preparations — St Petersburg
Structure 1st Command of VVS and PVO 2010-
- 1-я Brigade of Air-Space Defence (на вооружении С-300ПМ, С-300ПС) — Североморск
- 2-я Brigade of Air-Space Defence (на вооружении С-300ПМ) — Хвойный
- 6961st Airbase (Su-27, Су-27УБ) — BesovetsBesovetsBesovets is a rural locality in Prionezhsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia. Municipally, it is a part of Shuyskoye Rural Settlement of Prionezhsky Municipal District....
(Бесовец) - 6964th Guards Висленская Red Banner Order of Kutuzov авиационная база (на вооружении Су-24М, Су-24МР)— MonchegorskMonchegorskMonchegorsk is a town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located on the Kola Peninsula, south of Murmansk, the administrative center of the oblast. Administratively, it is incorporated as Monchegorsk Town with Jurisdictional Territory—a unit of administrative division equal in status to that of a district...
(Мончегорск) - 6965th Airbase (на вооружении Ми-8, Ми-24) — VyazmaVyazmaVyazma is a town and the administrative center of Vyazemsky District of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazma River, about halfway between Smolensk and Mozhaysk. Throughout its turbulent history, the city defended western approaches to the city of Moscow...
(Вязьма) - 7000th Guards Борисовско-Померанская дважды Краснознаменная ордена Суворова авиационная база (на вооружении Су-24М,Su-24MP, Su-34) — VoronezhVoronezhVoronezh is a city in southwestern Russia, the administrative center of Voronezh Oblast. It is located on both sides of the Voronezh River, away from where it flows into the Don. It is an operating center of the Southeastern Railway , as well as the center of the Don Highway...
(Воронеж)