28th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment
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28th Guards Leningrad Order of Kutuzov Fighter Aviation Regiment (28th GIAP) () was an aviation regiment of the
Soviet Air Forces 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 ...
, the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, and became part of the
Russian Air Force " Air March" , mascot = , anniversaries = 12 August , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = , decorations = , bat ...
after 1991. The regiment was formed in 1940 as the 153rd Fighter Aviation Regiment (iAP) (153-и ИАП). In November 1942, by order of the
People's Commissariat for Defence The Ministry of Defense (Minoboron; russian: Министерство обороны СССР) was a government ministry in the Soviet Union. The first Minister of Defense was Nikolai Bulganin, starting 1953. The Krasnaya Zvezda (Red Star) was the ...
, it was awarded the title of a
Guards unit Guards units (russian: Гвардия, translit=Gvardiya) were elite units and formations in the Soviet Armed Forces that continue to exist in the Russian Armed Forces and other post-Soviet states. These units were awarded Guards status after di ...
, and became the 28th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. In 1950 it was dispatched to North Korea. Initially, the regiment was equipped with
I-153 The Polikarpov I-153 ''Chaika'' (Russian ''Чайка'', "Seagull") was a late 1930s Soviet biplane fighter. Developed as an advanced version of the I-15 with a retractable undercarriage, the I-153 fought in the Soviet-Japanese combats in Mong ...
and
MiG-3 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-3) was a Soviet fighter-interceptor used during World War II. It was a development of the MiG-1 by the OKO (opytno-konstruktorskij otdel — Experimental Design Departme ...
fighters. In 1942 it was re-equipped with
P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by the ...
, then with Yak-15s, MiG-9s, MiG-15s, MiG-17s, MiG-19s, Su-15s, and then finally with MiG-23Ps and MiG-29s.Michael Holm
28th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment
accessed December 2012.
The regiment lost 64 pilots and 94 aircraft in World War II. The regiment fought in the Korean War from June 22, 1950, to October 29, 1951. During its deployment, it lost three aircraft. It served with 2nd Air Defence Corps,
Moscow Air Defence District The Order of Lenin Moscow Air Defence District was a formation of the Soviet Air Defence Forces and the Russian Air Defence Forces, which existed from 1954 to 1998, to fulfill the tasks of anti-aircraft defense of administrative and economic facil ...
,
Soviet Air Defence Forces The Soviet Air Defence Forces (russian: войска ПВО, ''voyska protivovozdushnoy oborony'', ''voyska PVO'', ''V-PVO'', lit. ''Anti-Air Defence Troops''; and formerly ''protivovozdushnaya oborona strany'', ''PVO strany'', lit. ''Anti-Air De ...
until 1994. The 33rd Fighter Aviation Regiment (33 IAP) returned to Andreapol in Russia from
Wittstock Wittstock/Dosse is a town in the Ostprignitz-Ruppin district, in north-western Brandenburg, Germany. Geography It is located in the eastern Prignitz region on the Dosse River near the confluence with its Glinze tributary, about east of Pritzwal ...
Butuwski, IAPR, 2004, 88. (and briefly at
Damgarten Ribnitz-Damgarten () is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, situated on Lake Ribnitz (''Ribnitzer See''). Ribnitz-Damgarten is in the west of the district Vorpommern-Rügen. The border between the historical regions of Mecklenburg and P ...
) in Germany, under the 16th Guards Fighter Aviation Division. In April 1994, the 33rd and 733rd Fighter Aviation Regiments from the 16th Air Army in Germany were withdrawn to Andreapol with their 49 MiG-29s. At Andreapol, both regiments were merged under the 28th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, which received their MiG-29 aircraft to replace its aging MiG-23P aircraft. The regiment was disbanded in late 2009 during the reform of the Russian Armed Forces. There were earlier reports about the exact evolution of the regiment's status. Michael Holm said that the regiment absorbed the 773rd Fighter Aviation Regiment when it returned in 1994. Piotr Butowski, writing in ''International Air Power Review,'' Vol. 13, Summer 2004, says that the regiment was disbanded. Butowski goes on to say that the number and traditions of the 28 Gv IAP were taken up by the 33 IAP.


World War II

The 153rd Fighter Aviation Regiment was formed between 23 and 26 January 1940 at
Kubinka airfield Kubinka (russian: link=no, Кубинка) is an air base in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located northwest of Kubinka. In close proximity to Moscow, the Kubinka facility showcases the best of the Russian Air Force to the general public. The 82nd a ...
in the
Moscow Military District The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military Di ...
. The regiment was equipped with
I-153 The Polikarpov I-153 ''Chaika'' (Russian ''Чайка'', "Seagull") was a late 1930s Soviet biplane fighter. Developed as an advanced version of the I-15 with a retractable undercarriage, the I-153 fought in the Soviet-Japanese combats in Mong ...
biplane fighters transferred from the 11th and 24th IAPs and formed part of the 2nd Aviation Brigade of the Air Force (VVS) of the
Moscow Military District The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military Di ...
. The regiment received 65 I-153 fighters between 27 January and 13 February. It was sent to
Karkku Karkku is a locality and former municipality in Pirkanmaa region, Finland. It was consolidated in 1973 with Vammala, which in turn, was consolidated with Äetsä and Mouhijärvi into a town of Sastamala in 2009. Karkku is located by the lake Rau ...
in the
Karelian Isthmus The Karelian Isthmus (russian: Карельский перешеек, Karelsky peresheyek; fi, Karjalankannas; sv, Karelska näset) is the approximately stretch of land, situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern ...
to fight in the
Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...
on 14 February. entering combat on 23 February under the VVS of the 15th Army. By the end of the war on 13 March, the regiment flew 1,064 combat sorties without loss. After the end of the war, the 153rd IAP became part of the 59th Fighter Aviation Brigade of the VVS
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. Hi ...
in April. The brigade was reorganized as the 5th Mixed Aviation Division (SAD) on 25 June 1940. With the latter, the 153rd IAP had 61 I-153, of which seven were unserviceable, three I-16, two I-15bis, and 35
MiG-3 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-3) was a Soviet fighter-interceptor used during World War II. It was a development of the MiG-1 by the OKO (opytno-konstruktorskij otdel — Experimental Design Departme ...
when
Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...
began on 22 June 1941; the VVS Leningrad Military District became the VVS Northern Front on the outbreak of the war. The regiment was in the process of re-equipping with the MiG-3 and the pilots of the regiment had not yet become experienced with the aircraft, but the 153rd began flying combat sorties with its I-153s and MiG-3s. The first regimental victory claim of the war, a Bf 109 shot down over
Parikkala Parikkala () is a municipality of Finland located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the South Karelia region, from Lappeenranta and from Joensuu. The town center of Parikkala is about from the Russian border. The municipality ...
, was credited to a MiG-3 pair led by Captain Georgy Larionov on 30 June. The regiment was commanded by Captain Mikhail Chernykh from June. When the Northern Front was split on 23 August, the 153rd IAP and the 5th SAD became part of the VVS Leningrad Front. It was reinforced by an MiG-3 squadron from the 7th IAP on 4 October. During the month, Major (promoted to Lieutenant Colonel) Sergey Mironov became regimental commander. By 1 December, the 153rd had been reduced to just five I-16s, of which three were unserviceable, six I-153s of which three were unserviceable, and four MiG-3s. By 31 December, it had a strength of five I-16s, of which two were unserviceable, one I-153, and nine MiG-3s, all unserviceable. When the 5th SAD was disbanded on 22 February 1942, the regiment became part of the VVS of the 23rd Army of the front. The much reduced 153rd IAP was withdrawn from the front for rebuilding on 11 March, having flown 5,170 combat sorties since the war began with the loss of 37 aircraft and 24 pilots. The rebuilding was conducted under the 22nd Reserve Aviation Regiment of the Moscow Military District at Ivanovo. The regiment was reorganized under shtat 015/174 while it was rebuilt and re-equipped with the American Lend-Lease
P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by the ...
between 22 March and 12 June. The 153rd iAP returned to combat on 28 June with the 244th Bomber Aviation Division of the 2nd Air Army of the
Bryansk Front The Bryansk Front (russian: Брянский фронт) was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War. First Formation (August - November 1941) General Andrei Yeremenko was designated commander of the Front when it first fo ...
, tasked with escorting the bombers of the division. Together with the division and army, the 153rd IAP was among the units included in the newly formed
Voronezh Front The 1st Ukrainian Front (Russian: Пéрвый Украи́нский фронт), previously the Voronezh Front (Russian: Воронежский Фронт) was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a ...
on 7 July. With the Voronezh Front, the regiment flew 1,070 sorties with the loss of eight aircraft and three pilots. By a special directive of the VVS Command, the regiment contributed a special group of eight pilots and 28 mechanics to the 202nd Fighter Aviation Division (IAD) of the 1st Air Army of the Western Front on 7 August. The group assigned to the 202nd IAD flew 167 sorties with the loss of two aircraft during this period. Major (later Lieutenant Colonel) Oleg Rodionov became regimental commander on 15 September. The regiment was withdrawn from the front for rebuilding on 25 September. It was reorganized under shtat 015/284, again with the 22nd Reserve iAP, between 29 September and 29 October. The 3rd squadron of the regiment was formed from personnel of the disbanded 185th IAP. Returning to the Northwestern Front on 30 October 1942, the regiment joined the 239th IAD of the
6th Air Army The 6th Air Army was an air army of the Red Army's Air Force during the Second World War and from 1946-1949. It was formed twice : in 1942 as part of the Red Army's Air Forces, and redesignated in 1944, and in 1946 and redesignated in 1949. The 6 ...
. For its "exemplary completion of combat missions" and "demonstrated courage and heroism," the 153rd IAP was converted into the elite 28th Guards iAP on 22 November. The 239th IAD became the 5th Guards IAD on 18 March 1943. The regiment was awarded the honorific Leningrad on 4 May for its "courage and heroism" in battle. During its time with the Northwestern Front, the regiment flew 1,662 combat sorties with the loss of nineteen aircraft and twelve pilots. On 28 September, it was placed under the operational control of the 3rd Air Army of the Kalinin Front. The regiment was reorganized under shtat 015/364 between 1 and 28 October. During this period, the Kalinin Front was renamed the 1st Baltic Front on 20 October, and the regiment flew 573 sorties with the loss of eight aircraft and a single pilot under the front. With the 5th Guards IAD, the 28th Guards IAP was transferred to the 15th Air Army of the 2nd Baltic Front on 11 December, flying 49 sorties without loss under the 15th Air Army. Together with the division, the regiment was transferred to the 11th Fighter Aviation Corps of the RVGK on 13 January 1944. It would not see combat again until 3 June , when the division and corps joined the 3rd Air Army of the 1st Baltic Front. With the 1st Baltic Front. the 28th Guards IAP flew 4,413 combat sorties with the loss of nineteen aircraft and eleven pilots. Major (later Lieutenant Colonel) Boris Melekhin became the final wartime regimental commander on 2 October; he would remain in the position until 1949. The 28th Guards IAP was awarded the
Order of Kutuzov The Order of Kutuzov (russian: орден Кутузова ''orden Kutuzova'') is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov (1745–1813). The Order was established ...
, 3rd class, on 22 October in recognition of its "exemplary completion of command tasks" in the breakthrough of German defenses southeast of
Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
. With the 3rd Air Army, the regiment was transferred to the
Zemland Group of Forces The Zemland Group of Forces was a front-sized operational group of the Red Army during the Second World War which saw service for two months in the Sambia Peninsula of East Prussia in 1945. It blockaded the city of Königsberg in March and then t ...
on 25 February 1945. Just days before the war ended on 9 May, the regiment was transferred with its division and corps to the 15th Air Army of the Leningrad Front on 5 May after the Zemland Group of Forces was disbanded. Since its transfer to the Zemland Group of Forces and during the final months of war, the regiment flew 1,199 combat sorties with the loss of four aircraft and a single pilot. During the war, the regiment flew a total of 14,303 combat sorties, the majority of which were either on escort missions or providing air cover to ground troops. The 153rd and 28th Guards IAPs were credited with the destruction of 511 German aircraft during the war, mostly in air battles between 1943 and 1945. The regiment lost 127 aircraft during the war: 28 I-153, seven I-16, ten MiG-3, 80 Airacobras, one UTI-4, and one U-2. 94 of these losses occurred during combat. For aircraft losses, 1941 was the deadliest year with a total of 45 aircraft lost compared to 30 in 1943 and 32 in 1944. A total of 64 pilots were lost, of which 24 were recorded as killed in combat and 20 missing in action.


Cold War

Postwar, the regiment began re-equipping with the
Yakovlev Yak-15 The Yakovlev Yak-15 (russian: Яковлев Як-15; NATO reporting name: Feather, USAF/ DOD designation Type 2) was a first-generation Soviet turbojet fighter developed by the Yakovlev design bureau (OKB) immediately after World War II. The ...
jet fighter in June 1947. The regiment received its first eight MiG-9 fighters on 24 October of that year, and began retraining for the MiG-9 on 12 February 1948. The 28th Guards IAP received 42 MiG-9 fighters between July and August of that year. With the 5th Guards IAD, it relocated from
Kaliningrad Oblast Kaliningrad Oblast (russian: Калинингра́дская о́бласть, translit=Kaliningradskaya oblast') is the westernmost federal subject of Russia. It is a semi-exclave situated on the Baltic Sea. The largest city and administr ...
to the
Migalovo Migalovo (also given as Tver Migalovo, Kalinin) is an air base in Tver Oblast, Russia located 10 km west of Tver. It is a large military airlift base. It currently houses all of Russia's remaining Antonov An-22 fleet. It is an Ilyushin Il-7 ...
airfield in the
Moscow Air Defence District The Order of Lenin Moscow Air Defence District was a formation of the Soviet Air Defence Forces and the Russian Air Defence Forces, which existed from 1954 to 1998, to fulfill the tasks of anti-aircraft defense of administrative and economic facil ...
between 9 and 19 September of that year. The regiment began receiving the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 in November 1949, handing its MiG-9s over to the 328th IAD PVO. With the 151st Guards IAD, renumbered from the 5th Guards IAD in 1949, the regiment was sent to China with its division on 22 June 1950. After arriving in Manchuria, the regiment participated in the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
between 1 November 1950 and 2 April 1951 as part of the
64th Fighter Aviation Corps The 64th Fighter Aviation Corps (64th IAK) was an aviation corps of the Soviet Air Forces. The corps was the parent unit for Soviet interceptor units based in northeastern Manchuria during the Korean War. History The Korean War broke out in June ...
, the Soviet aerial intervention in the Korean War. The regiment flew about 700 combat sorties during this period, in which roughly 30 air battles were conducted. The regiment was credited with shooting down 36 UN aircraft and eleven probables, while losing four aircraft and three pilots killed. The division was rotated out of the intervention in the Korean War in October 1951, with the 28th Guards IAP transferring to
Klin KLIN (1400 AM broadcasting, AM) is a radio station broadcasting a news talk information format. Licensed to Lincoln, Nebraska, United States, the station serves the Lincoln area. The station is currently owned by NRG Media and features programmin ...
in the Moscow Air Defence District under the 88th IAK PVO. Together with the division. the regiment was transferred to the 56th IAK PVO in 1952. In September 1956, the regiment was transferred to the 17th IAD PVO. When the division disbanded in August 1960, the regiment became part of the 2nd Air Defence Corps of the Moscow Air Defence District. According to 19 November 1990 data released under the
Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe The original Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) was negotiated and concluded during the last years of the Cold War and established comprehensive limits on key categories of conventional military equipment in Europe (from the Atlan ...
, the regiment included 38 MiG-23s.


Russian service

In April 1994, the 33rd and 733rd Fighter Aviation Regiments from the 16th Air Army in Germany were withdrawn to Andreapol with their 49 MiG-29s. At Andreapol, both regiments were merged to form a new 28th Guards IAP in 1994 with their MiG-29s replacing the aging MiG-23Ps of the original 28th Guards IAP, inheriting the lineage of the original. According to CFE Treaty data, the regiment had a strength of 660 personnel and 70 MiG-29s at the beginning of 2000. The reductions of the 1990s saw changes in the command structure of the regiment, with it being transferred to the 239th Fighter Aviation Division of the
76th Air Army The 76th Air Army was a unit of the Soviet Air Forces from 1949–1980, and again from 1988–98. As the 13th Air Army, it was originally formed on 25 November 1942 and based on air units of the Leningrad Front. 13th Air Army's initial components ...
on 9 June 1994. When the Air Defence Forces were eliminated as an independent branch, the regiment became part of the 5th Air Defence Division of the Moscow Air and Air Defence Forces District on 15 March 1998. This division became the 5th Air Defence Division on 19 April 1999, part of the 16th Mixed Aviation Corps. The corps was given air army status on 1 February 2002 and on 1 September of that year the Moscow District was reorganized as the Special Purpose Command. Accordingly, the regiment was ultimately part of the 16th Air Army of the Special Purpose Command. The regiment was disbanded in late 2009 during the reform of the Russian Armed Forces.


Commanders

* Major
Sergei Mironov Sergey Mikhailovich Mironov (russian: Серге́й Миха́йлович Миро́нов; born 14 February 1953) is a Russian politician. He was Chairman of the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament, from 2001 to 2011 ...
(August 1941-October 1942) * Lieutenant Colonel O. M. Rodionov (October 1942) * Major Alexey Smirnov


Heroes of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation

*
Alexei S. Smirnov Alexey, Alexei, Alexie, Aleksei, or Aleksey (russian: Алексе́й ; bg, Алексей ) is a Russian and Bulgarian male first name deriving from the Greek ''Aléxios'' (), meaning "Defender", and thus of the same origin as the Latin Ale ...
(twice: 28 September 1943 and 23 February 1945) * Captain Aleksandr Avdeyev (10 February 1943, posthumous) * Major Makarenko Nikolay F. (10 February 1943) * Guard Captain Anatoly Kislyakov (18 August 1945) * Guard Captain Mazurin Fedor Kravchuk (18 August 1945) * Guard Lieutenant Pasko Nikolai Fedorovich (18 August 1945)


Notes


References

* * *


External links


Photos of the 28 GIAP planes
{{Soviet Air Forces in the Korean War Fighter aviation regiments of the Soviet Union in World War II Fighter regiments of the Soviet Air Defence Forces Regiments of the Russian Air Forces Military units and formations established in 1942