The 24th 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 ...

, active from 1980, and probably inactivated in 1992. Its headquarters was located at

Vinnitsa Vinnytsia ( ; uk, Вінниця, ; yi, װיניצע) is a city in west-central Ukraine, located on the banks of the Southern Bug. It is the administrative center of Vinnytsia Oblast and the largest city in the historic region of Podillia. A ...

First formation (1949–1968)

From 1949 to 1968, 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 ...

in the

Group of Soviet Forces in Germany The Western Group of Forces (WGF),. previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG). and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG),. were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupati ...

was designated the 24th Air Army.

2nd Separate Heavy Bomber Aviation Corps 1960–1980

2nd Separate Heavy Bomber Aviation Corps was established in August 1960 at

from elements of HQ 43rd Air Army of the

Long Range Aviation Long-Range Aviation ( rus, Авиация Дальнего Действия, r=Aviatsiya dal'nego deystviya, abbr. to AДД, or ADD, and literally ''Aviation of Distant Action'') is a branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces responsible for delive ...

. Units in 1961: *199th Separate Guards Long-Range Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment ( Nezhin, Chernigov Oblast) with Tu-16R * 13th Guards Heavy Bomber Aviation Division (

Poltava Poltava (, ; uk, Полтава ) is a city located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the capital city of the Poltava Oblast (province) and of the surrounding Poltava Raion (district) of the oblast. Poltava is administratively ...

, Poltava Oblast) * 15th Guards Heavy Bomber Aviation Division ( Ozernoye, Zhitomir Oblast) *106th Heavy Bomber Aviation Division ( Uzin, Kiev Oblast) Units in 1978: *199th Separate Guards Long-Range Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment ( Nezhin, Chernigov Oblast) with Tu-22R *13th Guards Heavy Bomber Aviation Division (

, Poltava Oblast) *15th Guards Heavy Bomber Aviation Division (Ozernoye, Zhitomir Oblast) *106th Heavy Bomber Aviation Division (Uzin, Kiev Oblast)

24th Air Army from 1980

Redesignated 24th Air Army VGK ON (Russian: ''24-я воздушная армия Верховного Главного командования оперативного назначения'' for 24th Air Army of the High Command with an Operational Purpose) on 1 August 1980. Soviet tactical aviation armies were subordinated to the military districts and the army groups abroad. Directly subordinated to the Air Force High Command were six air armies: * Three air armies of the High Command with Strategic Purpose (''воздушная армия Верховного Главного командования стратегического назначения'' (''ВА ВГК СН'')) - 30th, 37th and 46th for the strategic bomber force. * One air army of the High Command for the Military Air Transport Aviation (''воздушная армия Верховного Главного командования военно-транспортной авиации'' (''ВА ВГК ВТА'')) - 61st for the strategic airlift assets. * Two air armies of the High Command with Operational Purpose (''воздушная армия Верховного Главного командования оперативного назначения'' (''ВА ВГК ОН'')) - 4th (in the Polish People's Republic) and 24th (mostly in the Ukrainian SSR). In peacetime these two air armies were directly subordinated to the Air Force High Command. In case of war they were to transfer - the 4th under the High Command of Western Strategic Direction (''Главное командование войск Западного направления'' (''ГК ВЗН'')) and the 24th under the High Command of the Southwestern Strategic Direction (''Главное командование войск Юго-Западного направления'' (''ГК ЮЗН'')). The 138th Fighter Aviation Division joined the 24th Air Army VGK in 1980. At the dissolution of the Soviet Union this Army had forces in Belarus and Ukraine. In Ukraine forces consisted of the 32nd Bomber Aviation Division, at

Starokonstantinov Starokostiantyniv ( uk, Старокостянтинів; pl, Starokonstantynów, or ''Konstantynów''; yi, אלט-קאָנסטאַנטין ''Alt Konstantin'') is a city in Khmelnytskyi Raion, Khmelnytskyi Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. ...

, the 56th Bomber Aviation Division at Cherlyany, and the 138th Fighter Aviation Division at Mirgorod. In Ukraine in 1991-92, this Army had available over 140 Su-24 Fencer, over 35

Yak-28 The Yakovlev Yak-28 (russian: Яковлев Як-28) is a swept wing, turbojet-powered combat aircraft used by the Soviet Union. Produced initially as a tactical bomber, it was also manufactured in reconnaissance, electronic warfare, intercep ...

electronic warfare aircraft, and 40 MiG-27 Floggers and 40 Su-27 Flankers for strike escort.

1990

*101st Separate Signals and Automated Command and Control Systems Regiment (

, Vinnitsa Oblast) *456th Separate Guards Transport Aviation Regiment (Vinnitsa, Vinnitsa Oblast) *118th Separate Aviation Regiment for Electronic Warfare ( Chortkov, Ternopol Oblast) *511th Separate Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment ( Buyalyk, near

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

, Odessa Oblast) * 32nd Bomber Aviation Division (

, Khmelnitskiy Oblast)Michael Holm
32nd Bomber Aviation Division
accessed September 2011 ** 7th Bomber Aviation Regiment (Starokonstantinov, Khmelnitskiy Oblast) with Su-24 **727th Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment (Kanatovo, Kirovobad Oblast) with Su-24 **953rd Bomber Aviation Regiment (

Bobrovichi Bobrovichi is an air base in Belarus located 16 km northeast of Kalinovichi. It is a large airfield with two large tarmacs on either side, and two alert revetments holding about 10 fighters each. It was home to 953 BAP (953rd Bomber Avia ...

, Gomel Oblast) with Su-24 * 56th Bomber Aviation Division ( Cherlyany, Lvov Oblast) *230th Bomber Aviation Regiment (Cherlyany, Lvov Oblast) with Su-24 *314th Bomber Aviation Regiment (Cherlyany, Lvov Oblast) with Su-24 (Holm states that this regiment was disbanded in 1988) *947th Bomber Aviation Regiment (Dubna, Rovno Oblast) with Su-24 * 138th Fighter Aviation Division (

Mirgorod Myrhorod ( uk, Ми́ргород, ) is a city in the Poltava Oblast (province) of central Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Myrhorod Raion (district), the city itself is administratively incorporated as a city of oblast s ...

, Poltava Oblast) **168th Fighter Aviation Regiment (Starokonstantinov, Khmelnitskiy Oblast) with MiG-23 **831st Fighter Aviation Regiment (Mirgorod, Poltava Oblast) with Su-27 With the dissolution of the Soviet Union the army appears to have been inactivated. The city of

later became the headquarters of the

Ukrainian Air Force The Ukrainian Air Force ( uk, Пові́тряні си́ли Збро́йних сил Украї́ни) is the air force of Ukraine and one of the five branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Its headquarters are in the city of Vinnytsia. W ...

References

* {{Armies of the Soviet Air Forces Air armies of the Soviet Air Forces Military units and formations established in 1980 Military units and formations disestablished in the 1990s 1980 establishments in the Soviet Union 1990s disestablishments in Ukraine