The 23rd Air Army was an Air army 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 ...

and the

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

s, active from the 1960s to the 1990s. It traced its origins to the 12th Air Army, formed during World War II, and served in the

Transbaikal Transbaikal, Trans-Baikal, Transbaikalia ( rus, Забайка́лье, r=Zabaykalye, p=zəbɐjˈkalʲjɪ), or Dauria (, ''Dauriya'') is a mountainous region to the east of or "beyond" (trans-) Lake Baikal in Far Eastern Russia. The steppe and ...

region for the entirety of its existence.

History

Originally the 12th Air Army had been activated by NKO decree of July 1942 on 15 August 1942, from the Air Forces of the Transbaikal Military District. Its initial units included the 30th and 247th Bomber Aviation Divisions, 245th and 246th Fighter Aviation Divisions, and the 248th Assault Aviation Division. From 1942 to 1945 it was part of the

Transbaikal Front The Transbaikal Front (russian: Забайкальский фронт) was a front formed on September 15, 1941, on the basis of the Transbaikal Military District. Initially, it included the 17th and 36th armies, but in August 1942 the 12th Air ...

, and from 1945 to 1947 part of the Transbaikal-Amur Military District before becoming part of the

Transbaikal Military District The Transbaikal Military District (russian: Забайкальский военный округ) was a military district of first the Soviet Armed Forces and then the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed on May 17, 1935 and included the ...

in 1949. In February 1949 the army was redesignated the 45th Air Army (decree of 10 January 1949). In July 1957 the army was redesignated the Air Forces of the

. In 1962 it was a very small force, only comprising an independent reconnaissance aviation regiment and an independent composite ('mixed') aviation squadron. In late 1967 it was redesignated the 23rd Air Army. Three new aviation divisions were formed in the army between 1967 and 1972. In 1971 the 120th Fighter Aviation Regiment arrived from the Belorussian SSR (

26th Air Army The 26th Air Army was an Air army of the Soviet Air Forces active from 1949 to 1980, and then 1988-1992. It was formed by redesignation of the 1st Air Army in February 1949 (in accordance with a decree of 10 January 1949, ГШ ВС СССР No ...

) at Domna (27 km from Chita) and became part of the army as an independent regiment. In 1980 the army was again redesignated the Air Forces of the Tranbaikal Military District. In May 1988 VVS ZabVO was redesignated the 23rd Air Army. The 313th Independent Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment joined 23rd Air Army in December 1993-January 1994, arriving from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

to Chindant-2 (likely the base also known as Borzya-2) in the

Chita Oblast Chita Oblast ( rus, Чити́нская о́бласть, r=Čitínskaja óblastj, p=tɕɪˈtʲinskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) was a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) in southeast Siberia, Russia. Its administrative center was the city of Ch ...

. Already in place was the 30th Fighter-Bomber Aviation Division at Step, but the division was disbanded in 1990. Another reconnaissance aviation regiment in the area was the 101st at

Borzya Borzya ( rus, Борзя, p=ˈborzʲə; bua, Бооржо, ''Boorjo''; mn, Боорж, ''Boorj'') is a town and the administrative center of Borzinsky District in Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia, located southeast of Chita, the administrative cente ...

-2. The army was disbanded by amalgamation with the 14th Independent Air Defence Army in 1998 to form the

14th Air and Air Defence Forces Army The 14th Air and Air Defence Forces Army () is an air army of the Russian Air Force, part of the Central Military District and headquartered at Yekaterinburg. It was formed in 1998 from the 14th Independent Air Defence Army when the Russian Air F ...

References

*http://www.ww2.dk/new/air%20force/army/23va.htm {{Armies of the Soviet Air Forces Air armies of the Soviet Air Forces Air armies of the Russian Air Forces