The 1st Fighter Air Defense Army () was an air army of the National Air Defense Forces during World War II, responsible for the

air defense Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. Formed in June 1943 from the

6th Fighter Aviation Corps PVO The 6th Fighter Aviation Corps of Air Defence was a military formation of the Red Army Air Force Air Defense Aviation of the Soviet Armed Forces, which fought in the Great Patriotic War. The corps had the successive names the 6th Air Defence Fighte ...

, the army was disbanded during the postwar reorganization of the Air Defense Forces.

History

The army was formed in June 1943 from the

, tasked with the air defense of Moscow and nearby facilities, under the command of Major General Alexander Borman. It initially included four fighter aviation divisions with a total of seventeen fighter aviation regiments and support units. Part of the

Moscow Air Defense Front The Moscow Air Defense Front () was an air defense front of the National Air Defense Forces, responsible for the air defense of Moscow during World War II. It was formed in April 1942 in response to predictions of a German bomber concentration a ...

, the army was directly subordinate to the

Special Moscow Air Defense Army The Special Moscow Air Defense Army () was an army of the National Air Defense Forces during World War II, responsible for the air defense of Moscow. Formed in July 1943 from the Moscow Air Defense Front, its headquarters was used to form the Ce ...

until the reorganization of the latter in December 1944. Major General Alexey Mitenkov became army commander in April 1944. By the end of the war, the army expanded to include the

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

fighter aviation corps, three fighter aviation divisions defending Moscow, and one fighter division each defending

Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ; rus, Арха́нгельск, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk), also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies o ...

Murmansk Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') i ...

, and Gorky. It was successively part of the Moscow,

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

, and Central Air Defense Fronts. Mitenkov was replaced by Lieutenant General Serafim Pestov in March 1945; the latter led the army until after the end of the war. The army was disbanded soon after the end of the war in May 1945 when the air defense forces were reorganized. It became the 19th Fighter Air Defence Army on 1 February 1946; the 78th Fighter Air Defence Army in February 1949; the 64th Fighter Air Defence Army in October 1949; the 52nd Air Defence Army in February 1952; and was disbanded finally in March 1960.Michael Holm
52nd Fighter Air Defence Army
/ref> It was four air defence corps strong in 1949, 1952, and 1955, though a further Guards Fighter Aviation Division had been added by 1955.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* {{Armies of the Soviet Air Defence Forces Armies of the Soviet Air Defence Forces Air armies of the Red Air Force in World War II Fighter aircraft units and formations of the Soviet Union in World War II Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945