3rd Air Army (3 VA) was an Air Army of the

Soviet Armed Forces The Soviet Armed Forces, the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union and as the Red Army (, Вооружённые Силы Советского Союза), were the armed forces of the Russian SFSR (1917–1922), the Soviet Union (1922–1991), and th ...

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 ...

. It was formed May 16, 1942, in accordance with a

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 ...

order of 5 May 1942 on the basis of the Air Forces of the

Kalinin Front The Kalinin Front was a major formation of the Red Army active in the Eastern Front of World War II, named for the city of Kalinin. It was formally established by Stavka directive on 17 October 1941 and allocated three armies: 22nd, 29th Army a ...

Combat path

The formation's combat path began in July 1942 during a defensive operation in the town of

Bely, Tver Oblast Bely (russian: Бе́лый) is a town and the administrative center of Belsky District in Tver Oblast, Russia, located on the Obsha River. Population: 6,900 (1897). History The name of the town means "white" in Russian, although it is unkno ...

, then participated in Rzhev-Sychevskaya and in the Luki operation. In February 1943 a number of its formations supported the troops of the

North-Western Front The Northwestern Front (Russian: ''Северо-Западный фронт'') 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-cre ...

in the liquidation of the

Demyansk pocket The Demyansk Pocket (german: Kessel von Demjansk; russian: Демя́нский котёл) was the name given to the pocket of German troops encircled by the Red Army around Demyansk, south of Leningrad, during World War II's Eastern Front. Th ...

. Later , as part of the

(October 20, 1943, renamed to

1st Baltic Front The First Baltic Front (Russian language, Russian: Пéрвый Прибалтийский фронт) was a Front (military formation), major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War. It was commanded by Army General Andrey Yeryomenk ...

), the 3rd Air Army participated in the Front's

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest c ...

, Nevel, Gorodok,

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Viciebsk (russian: Витебск, ; be, Ві́цебск, ; , ''Vitebsk'', lt, Vitebskas, pl, Witebsk), is a city in Belarus. The capital of the Vitebsk Region, it has 366,299 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-largest ci ...

, Belarusian and Baltic Offensives.
In February 1945, near Koenigsberg, it came under the operational command of the 1st Air Army of the

3rd Belorussian Front The 3rd Belorussian Front () was a Front of the Red Army during the Second World War. The 3rd Belorussian Front was created on 24 April 1944 from forces previously assigned to the Western Front. Over 381 days in combat, the 3rd Belorussian Fron ...

and participated in the East Prussian Offensive. On 5 May 1945, it was transferred to the operational command of the

Leningrad Front The Leningrad Front (russian: Ленинградский фронт) was formed during the 1941 German approach on Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) by dividing the Northern Front into the Leningrad Front and Karelian Front The Karelian Front ...

and with

15th Air Army The 15th Air Army was a military formation of the Soviet Air Forces, active from July 1942 until December 1993. History It was formed between 11 July and 15 August 1942, in accordance with the directive of the commander of the Soviet Air Force ...

took part in the blockade of German forces in the

Courland Peninsula The Courland Peninsula (, German: ''Kurland'') is a historical and cultural region in western Latvia in the north-western part of Courland. Fourteen coastal villages on the peninsula make of the Livonian core area. It is bordered by the Baltic S ...

. During the war 3VA flew over 200,000 sorties. It destroyed 4,000 enemy aircraft on the ground and in the air. Thousands of its soldiers were awarded orders and medals, many of the pilots and navigators the title

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

and

Ivan Pavlov Ivan Petrovich Pavlov ( rus, Ива́н Петро́вич Па́влов, , p=ɪˈvan pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ˈpavləf, a=Ru-Ivan_Petrovich_Pavlov.ogg; 27 February 1936), was a Russian and Soviet experimental neurologist, psychologist and physiol ...

and Aleksey Smirnov won the title twice.

Composition

The Combat Composition of the Soviet Army for 1 June 1942 shows the 3rd Air Army with the 209th, 210th Fighter Aviation Divisions , the 211th and 212th Mixed Aviation Divisions, the 684th and 695th Lighter Bomber Aviation Regiments, the 195th, 708th, 881st, 882nd, 883rd, 884th, 885th, and 887th Mixed Aviation Regiments, and the 3rd Reconnaissance Aviation Squadron. By 1 April 1943, 3rd Air Army was reported by Soviet official sources to comprise 1st Guards Fighter Aviation Corps (3rd and 4th Guards Fighter Aviation Divisions, including 63rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment), 1st Assault Aviation Corps ( 266th, 292nd Assault Aviation Divisions), 2nd Assault Aviation Corps (231st, 232nd Assault Aviation Divisions), 2nd Fighter Aviation Corps (209th, 215th Fighter Aviation Divisions), 211th Night Bomber Aviation Division, 80th Guards, 780th Bomber Aviation Regiments, 6th Guards, 230th, and 280th Assault Aviation Regiments, the

11th Independent Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment 11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables. Name "Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first attested i ...

, 887th Assault Aviation Regiment, and the 13th and 36th Corps Aviation Squadrons.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army
, 1 April 1943

Commanders

* 05/05/1942 - Major General, Lieutenant General of Aviation Mikhail Gromov * 26/05/1943 - Major General of Aviation, Lieutenant General of Aviation, Colonel General of Aviation Nikolai Filippovich Papivin

Disestablishment

On May 5, 1945, the army transferred to the operational control of the Leningrad Front. On July 24, 1945, it came under Leningrad Military District. In early 1946, units and formations of the army transferred to the

, and on the basis of the remaining formed 1st Air Army long-range aviation.

Combat path

Composition

Commanders

Disestablishment

References

Further reading