The 1st Guards Kirovograd-Berlin Red Banner
Order of Suvorov
The Order of Suvorov () is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honor of Russian Generalissimo Prince Alexander Suvorov (1729–1800).
History
The Order of Suvorov was originally a Soviet award established on July 29, 1942 ...
and Kutzov Assault Aviation Corps (1st Gv shak) was a
military formation
Military organization or military organisation is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. In some countries paramilitary forces are included in a nation ...
of the
Red Air Force
The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...
during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and of the
Soviet Air Force
The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...
until 1949. It was then renamed the 60th Guards Assault Aviation Corps, and was active until its disbandment in 1956. Its primary aircraft was the
Ilyushin Il-2
The Ilyushin Il-2 (Russian: Илью́шин Ил-2) is a ground-attack plane that was produced by the Soviet Union in large numbers during the Second World War. The word ''shturmovík'' (Cyrillic: штурмовик), the generic Russian term ...
'Sturmovik'.
Designations
* 1st Assault Aviation Corps
* 1st Kirovograd Assault Aviation Corps (1942–44)
* 1st Guards Kirovograd Assault Aviation Corps
[NKO Order number 016 of February 5, 1944]
* 1st Guards Kirovograd-Berlin Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Assault Aviation Corps (1944–49)
* 60th Guards Assault Aviation Corps (1949–56)
Formation
The 1st Assault Aviation Corps was formed by an NKO Order dated September 10, 1942, from the
2nd Fighter Aviation Army.
[NKO Order number 00196 of September 10, 1942]
Part of the order establishing the corps said:
*1. Establish and keep in the
Reserve of the Supreme High Command
The Reserve of the Supreme High Command (Russian: Резерв Верховного Главнокомандования; also known as the '' Stavka'' Reserve or RVGK ( ru , РВГК)) comprises reserve military formations and units; the Sta ...
:
*b) 1st Assault Aviation Corps as part: Office of the Air ''shtat'' No. 015/281, 121st Communications Battalion Shtat 015/215,
292nd,
290th and
266th Assault Aviation Divisions, each composed of three assault and one fighter aviation regiments with 32 aircraft each.
*1st Assault Aviation Corps stationed in Yurkino district,
Dmitrov
Dmitrov ( rus, Дмитров, p=ˈdmʲitrəf) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Dmitrovsky District, Moscow Oblast, Dmitrovsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located to the north of Mosco ...
.
*3. Three squadrons are part of each of the fighter and assault aviation regiments, consisting of two flights with four aircraft and two aircraft for the squadron commander and commissar. The regimental headquarters have two aircraft for the use of the regimental commander and commissar.
*
4. 1st and 2nd Fighter and the
1st Bomber Air Army - disband. Personnel and equipment used to staff the
ewair corps.
*5. Air Corps to be included as part of the army ....
*11. Assign the following to the corps: as the commander of the 1st Assault Aviation Corps, Major General of Aviation
Vasily Georgyevich Ryazanov
Vasily Georgievich Ryazanov (russian: Василий Георгиевич Рязанов; – 8 July 1951) was a General-lieutenant of Aviation in the Soviet Air Forces who was twice awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for his leadership ...
, as the commander of the
290th Assault Aviation Division Lieutenant Colonel P.I. Mironenko, as the commander of the
263rd Bomber Aviation Division Colonel
F.I. Dobysh, as the commander of the
266th Assault Aviation Division Lieutenant Colonel
F.G. Radyakina
World War II
In the
Battle of Kursk
The Battle of Kursk was a major World War II Eastern Front engagement between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in the southwestern USSR during late summer 1943; it ultimately became the largest tank battle in history. ...
(Operation Citadel), General
Vasily Ryazanov became a master in the use of attack aircraft ''en masse'', developing and improving the tactics of Il-2 operations in co-ordination with infantry, artillery and armored troops. Il-2s at Kursk used the "circle of death" tactic: up to eight Sturmoviks formed a defensive circle, each plane protecting the one ahead with its forward machine guns, while individual Il-2s took turns leaving the circle, attacking a target, and rejoining the circle. Ryazanov was later awarded the Gold Star of Hero of Soviet Union twice, and the 1st Assault Aircraft Corps under his command became the first unit to be awarded the honorific title of Guards. In 1943, one loss corresponded to 26 Sturmovik sorties. About half of those lost were shot down by fighters, the rest falling to anti-aircraft fire.
Part of the 'Operational Army'
The 1st Assault Aviation Corps was part of the 'operational army' (in combat) from October 17, 1942 to February 5, 1944, a period of 477 days. The corps was still part of the 'operational army' after its elevation to Guards status and remained in combat until 11 May 1945. The corps thus spent 937 days in combat.
Perechen No. 4, Part X
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Notes
References
* {{Cite book, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lIzzAAAAMAAJ, title=Soviet Air Power in World War 2, last=Gordon, first=Yefim, publisher=Midland Publishing, year=2008, isbn=9781857803044, location=Hinckley, UK
Units and formations of the Soviet Air Forces
Air units and formations of the Soviet Union in World War II
Corps of the Soviet Union in World War II
Military units and formations disestablished in 1949