The 337th Independent Helicopter Regiment (337 овп; 337 OVP) is a unit of the

Russian Air Force " Air March" , mascot = , anniversaries = 12 August , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = , decorations = , bat ...

. It is based at

Tolmachevo Airport Novosibirsk Tolmachevo Airport (russian: Аэропо́рт Толмачёво) is situated in the town of Ob, west of the center of Novosibirsk, an industrial and scientific center in Siberia and Russia's third-largest city. Overview There ...

, near

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the Russian Census ...

. It is part of the 14th Air and Air Defence Forces Army, which is controlled by the

Central Military District The Central Military District (Russian: Центральный военный округ) is a military district of Russia. It is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, with its jurisdiction primarily within the c ...

. It was activated, as part of the

Soviet Ground Forces uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

on 15 December 1978 at

Sokol The Sokol movement (, ''falcon'') is an all-age gymnastics organization first founded in Prague in the Czech region of Austria-Hungary in 1862 by Miroslav Tyrš and Jindřich Fügner. It was based upon the principle of " a strong mind in a so ...

Saratov Oblast Saratov Oblast (russian: Сара́товская о́бласть, ''Saratovskaya oblast'') is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Volga Federal District. Its administrative center is the types of ...

(part 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 ...

). From the following year its home base was at

Mahlwinkel Mahlwinkel is a village and a former municipality in the Börde district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the municipality Angern. Paintball Mahlwinkel is the home of the biggame series, one of Europe's biggest paint ...

, East Germany, as part of the

16th Air Army The 16th Red Banner Air Army (russian: 16-я воздушная Краснознамённая армия) was the most important formation of the Special Purpose Command. Initially formed during the Second World War as a part of the Soviet Air F ...

. The regiment was transferred to the 20th Guards Combined Arms Army when helicopter units shifted from air force to army control in 1986. 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 49

Mil Mi-24 The Mil Mi-24 (russian: Миль Ми-24; NATO reporting name: Hind) is a large helicopter gunship, attack helicopter and low-capacity troop transport with room for eight passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and has been ...

attack helicopters and eight

Mil Mi-8 The Mil Mi-8 (russian: Ми-8, NATO reporting name: Hip) is a medium twin-turbine helicopter, originally designed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s and introduced into the Soviet Air Force in 1968. It is now produced by Russia. In addition t ...

transport helicopters. The regiment has been equipped with the Mil Mi-24 and Mil Mi-8 throughout its existence. 1st Squadron, 337th Independent Helicopter Regiment saw action in the Soviet-Afghan War, as did some crews from the 2nd Squadron. In the late 1980s, these elements of the regiment returned to their home base in Germany. Its members during this period included

Anatoly Lebed Anatoly Vyacheslavovich Lebed (russian: Анатолий Вячеславович Лебедь; 10 May 1963 – 27 April 2012), was a Hero of the Russian Federation, Guards lieutenant colonel in Special Airborne Forces, and an officer of the 45 ...

, who was later made a

Hero of the Russian Federation Hero of the Russian Federation (russian: Герой Российской Федерации, Geroy Rossiyskoy Federatsii), also unofficially Hero of Russia (russian: link=no, Герой России, Geroy Rossii), is the highest honorary title ...

. In 1994, following the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

, the regiment returned to Russia as part of the

Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (, ), commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military forces of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with at least two m ...

, and was then based at

Berdsk Berdsk (russian: Бердск) is a town in Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia. A suburb of Novosibirsk, it is on the Berd River. In the 2010 Russian census, its population was Geography Berdsk is on the Berd River. Open land is south of the town and ...

. For a time, after 2009, it was known as the 3917th Air Base. In 2011, it moved to Tolmachevo, where it was known briefly as the 562nd Army Aviation Base (562 abAA), before returning to its original name.

References

Citations

Bibliography

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''Scramble Magazine'', 2018
(no title; article published 28 December.) Regiments of the Russian Air Forces Regiments of the Soviet Union Army aviation regiments Military units and formations established in 1978 Regiments of the Russian Air Force from 2014 {{Mil-unit-stub