Below is a list of the Commanders-in-Chief of the USSR and Russian Air Forces after war time. List of chiefs of the air fleet of the Red Army of the USSR from 1918 to 1946. To complete the picture, you can find out where it all began: lists and years Civil War. To complete the picture, I also recommend material about.

Air Chief Marshal

Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force (04/1946 - 07/1949 and 01/1957 - 03/1969).

Soviet military leader, air chief marshal (1959), Hero of the Soviet Union (08/19/1944).

In military service since 1919. Graduated from infantry command courses (1920), the Higher Tactical Rifle School of the Red Army Command Staff (Vystrel courses, 1923), the Red Army Air Force Academy named after. prof. N.E. Zhukovsky (1932), Kachin Military Pilot School (extern, 1935).

Participant of the Civil War in Russia: Red Army soldier, commander of a marching company of a reserve regiment. After the war, he commanded a training company of the 12th Red Banner Infantry Course of the Volga Military District (1923-1928), a rifle battalion (1928-1930). Since 1930, as part of the Air Force of the Red Army: head of the operational department of the headquarters of the aviation brigade (from 06.1932), assistant head of the tactical department of the Research Institute of the Red Army Air Force (from 06.1933), squadron commander of the highest flight tactical courses of the Red Army (from 02.1934) , assistant chief for flight training (since 1938), chief of the higher aviation advanced training courses for flight personnel of the Red Army (since 05.1941).

During the Great Patriotic War: commander of the Air Force of the Southern Front (09-1941-05.1942), 4th Air Army (05-09.1942; 05.1943-1945), Air Force of the Transcaucasian Front (09.1942-04.1943). He was distinguished by his deep knowledge in the field of operational art, constant search for new things, and a creative approach to solving assigned problems. This allowed him to skillfully organize the interaction of air force formations with ground forces and provide effective assistance to combined arms and tank armies.

In the post-war period: Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force (1946-1949), at the same time Deputy Minister of the Armed Forces of the USSR. He made a great contribution to the re-equipment of military aviation with jet aircraft. Since 1950, he again commanded the air army, and from September 1951 he headed the air defense forces of the border line created within the Air Force. After the merger of these troops with the air defense forces in June 1953, the commander of the country's air defense forces was transferred to the post of commander of the Baku air defense region in May 1954. Since April 1956, Konstantin Andreevich Vershinin has been Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force; in January 1957, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force - Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR.

Since March 1969, in the group of inspectors general of the USSR Ministry of Defense.

Awards: 6 Orders of Lenin, Gold Star medal; order October revolution, 3 Orders of the Red Banner, 3 Orders of Suvorov 1st class, Order of Suvorov 2nd class, Order of the Patriotic War 1st class; USSR medals; foreign orders and medals.

Air Chief Marshal ZHIGAREV Pavel Fedorovich

, Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force (09-1949 - 01.1957).

Soviet military leader, air chief marshal (1955).

In military service since 1919. Graduated from the 4th Tver Cavalry School (1922), Leningrad military school observer pilots (1927), Air Force Academy of the Red Army named after. prof. N.E. Zhukovsky (1932), postgraduate studies under her (1933), Kachin Military Aviation School (1934).

During the Civil War in Russia he served in the reserve cavalry regiment in Tver (1919-1920). After the war, he successively held positions: cavalry platoon commander, observer pilot, instructor and teacher at the pilot school, chief of staff of the Kachin Military Aviation School (1933-1934). In 1934-1936. commanded aviation units, from a separate squadron to an air brigade.

In 1937-1938 was in . Since September 1938, head of the combat training department of the Red Army Air Force, since January 1939, commander of the Air Force of the 2nd Separate Far Eastern Red Banner Army, since December 1940, first deputy, since April 1941, head of the Main Directorate of the Red Army Air Force.

During the Great Patriotic War: Commander of the Air Force of the Red Army (from 06/29/1941). He initiated the creation of mobile aviation reserves of the Civil Code at the beginning of the war, took a direct part in planning and directing the combat operations of Soviet aviation in the Battle of Moscow (12.1941-04.1942). Since April 1942, commander of the Air Force of the Far Eastern Front.

During the Soviet-Japanese War (1945), commander of the 10th Air Army of the 2nd Far Eastern Front. First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force (04.1946-1948), Commander of Long-Range Aviation - Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force (1948-08.1949).

From September 1949 to January 1957, Pavel Fedorovich Zhigarev was Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, and from April 1953 he was also Deputy (from March 1955 - First Deputy) Minister of Defense of the USSR. Head of the Main Directorate of the Civil Air Fleet. (01.1957-11.1959), head of the Military Command Academy of Air Defense (11.1959-1963).

Awards: 2 Orders of Lenin, 3 Orders of the Red Banner, Order of Kutuzov 1st class, Red Star; USSR medals.

Air Chief Marshal VERSHININ Konstantin Andreevich

Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force (01.1957 - 03.1969).

Air Chief Marshal KUTAHOV Pavel Stepanovich

Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force (03.1969 - 12.1984).

Soviet military leader, Chief Marshal of Aviation (1972), twice Hero of the Soviet Union (05/1/1943, 08/15/1984), Honored Military Pilot of the USSR (1966).

In military service since 1935. Graduated from the Stalingrad Military Pilot School (1938, with honors), the Higher Officer Flight Technical Courses (1949), and the Higher Military Academy (1957). Since 1938, flight commander of the 7th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Air Force of the Leningrad Military District. Participated in (1939). He made 131 combat missions.

During the Great Patriotic War: on the Leningrad, then Karelian fronts, deputy commander and commander of an air squadron. From July 1943, assistant, then deputy commander of the 19th Fighter Aviation Regiment, and from September 1944, commander of the 20th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. In total, during the war he made 367 combat missions, conducted 79 air battles, personally shot down 14 enemy aircraft and 28 in group battles.

After the war, Pavel Stepanovich Kutakhov commanded a fighter air regiment, then deputy commander, and from December 1950 - commander of a fighter air division. Deputy commander (11.1951 - 12.1953), commander of the fighter air corps (12.1953 - 12.1955). From December 1957, deputy commander for combat training, then 1st deputy, from August 1961 - commander of the 48th Air Army. First Deputy (07.1967 - 03.1969), Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force - Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR (03.1969 - 12.1984). He actively introduced combat experience into flight practice, made a great contribution to the development of the first generations of jet aircraft, to the development of tactics and operational art of the Air Force.

Awards: 4 Orders of Lenin, 2 Gold Star medals, Order of the October Revolution, 5 Orders of the Red Banner; Order of Kutuzov 1st class, Order of Alexander Nevsky, Order of the Patriotic War 1st class; 2 Orders of the Red Star, Order “For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR” 3rd class, medals of the USSR; foreign orders and medals.

Air Marshal EFIMOV Alexander Nikolaevich[R. 6.2.1923]

Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force (12.1984 - 07.1990).

Soviet military leader, air marshal (1975), twice Hero of the Soviet Union (10/26/1944, 08/18/1945), Honored Military Pilot of the USSR (1970), Doctor of Military Sciences, professor, laureate of the USSR State Prize (1984).

In military service since May 1941. Graduated from the Voroshilovgrad Military Aviation School of Pilots (1942), Air Force Academy (1951), Military Academy General Staff (1957).

During the Great Patriotic War: pilot of the 594th assault aviation regiment, flight commander, squadron of the 198th assault aviation regiment. In total, during the war years he made 222 combat missions, during which he personally and as part of a group destroyed 85 enemy aircraft at airfields (which is the highest achievement among Soviet pilots of all types of aviation) and 7 aircraft were shot down in air battles, a large number of manpower were destroyed and enemy technology.

After the war, Alexander Nikolaevich Efimov continued to serve in aviation: commander of an attack air regiment, an aviation division. Deputy, First Deputy Commander (1959-10.1964), since October 1964 - Commander of the Air Army. First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force (03.1969 - 12.1984), Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force - Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR (12.1984-07.1990). Chairman of the State Commission for the Use of Airspace and Air Traffic Control (1990-1993).

Since August 1993 - retired. Since 2006, Chairman of the Russian Committee of War Veterans and military service.

Awards: 3 Orders of Lenin, 2 Gold Star medals; Order of the October Revolution, 5 Orders of the Red Banner, Order of Alexander Nevsky, 2 Orders of the Patriotic War, 1st class; Order of the Red Star, “For service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR” 3rd class, “For services to the Fatherland” 4th, 3rd and 2nd class, Courage; medals of the USSR and the Russian Federation; foreign orders and medals.

Air Marshal SHAPOSHNIKOV Evgeniy Ivanovich[R. 3.02.1942]

Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force (07.1990 - 08.1991).

State and military figure of the USSR and Russian Federation, Air Marshal (1991), Honored Military Pilot of the Russian Federation.

In military service since 1959. Graduated from the Kharkov Higher Military School of Air Force Pilots (1963), the Air Force Academy (1969), and the Military Academy of the General Staff (1984). In 1963-1966. pilot, senior pilot, flight commander of a fighter aviation regiment, in the period 1969-1973. squadron commander, deputy wing commander for political affairs, fighter wing commander. Since 1975, deputy commander, since 1976 - commander of the fighter air division, in 1979-1982. Deputy Commander of the Air Force of the Carpathian Military District for combat training - head of the combat training department. Deputy commander (1984-03.1985), commander of the Air Force of the Odessa Military District - deputy commander of the troops of this district for aviation (03.1985-06.1987), commander of the Air Force of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSVG) - deputy commander-in-chief of the GVSG for aviation (06.1987-05.1988), commander 1st Air Army GVSG (05-12.1988).

Since December 1988, Evgeny Ivanovich Shaposhnikov has been First Deputy Commander-in-Chief, and since July 1990, Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force - Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR. Minister of Defense of the USSR (08-12/1991), Commander-in-Chief of the United Armed Forces of the CIS (confirmed in office in February 1992). Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation (06-09.1993), since October - at the disposal of the President of the Russian Federation. In February 1994, he was appointed representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the state company for the export and import of weapons and military equipment "Rosvooruzhenie". Since November 1996, he was enrolled in the reserve of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation for the joint-stock company (JSC) Aeroflot - Russian International Airlines, and was the general director of the JSC. Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation on issues of space and aviation development (03.1997-03.2004). Since 2004, Advisor to the General Director of OJSC Sukhoi Aviation Holding Company. Chairman of the Board of the non-profit partnership “Flight Safety”.

Awards: Order of the Red Star, “For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR” 2nd and 3rd class; medals of the USSR, Russia, orders of foreign states. Awarded the international public order "Golden Falcon".

Army General DEINEKIN Pyotr Stepanovich[R. 12/14/1937]

Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force (08.1991 - 01.1998).

Military leader of the USSR and the Russian Federation, Army General (1996), Hero of Russia (1997), Honored Military Pilot of the USSR, Doctor of Military Sciences, Professor.

In military service since 1955. Graduated from the Kharkov Special Air Force School (1955), Balashov Military Aviation School of Pilots (1957), Air Force Academy named after. Yu.A. Gagarin (1969), Military Academy of the General Staff (1982).

He served in the following positions: pilot of the Center for Combat Use of Aviation (1957-1962), commander of a strategic bomber crew (1962-1964). Deputy squadron commander (1969-05.1970), squadron commander (05.1970-08.1971), deputy regiment commander for flight training (08.1971-01.1973), commander of a separate special purpose guards aviation regiment (01.1973-11.1975). From November 1975 - deputy, then commander of the 13th Guards Dnepropetrovsk-Budapest Order of Suvorov 2nd degree heavy bomber aviation division, from 1982 - deputy, from 1984 - first deputy, from August 1985 - commander Air Army of the Supreme High Command. Commander of Long-Range Aviation (05.1988-10.1990). Since October 1990 - First Deputy, since August 1991 - Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force - Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR. Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) - Commander of the Air Force (12.1991-08.1992).

Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force of the Russian Federation (09.1992-01.1998). He made a great contribution to the preservation of the air component of the Armed Forces and the formation of the Air Force of the Russian Federation.

Since January 1998 in reserve, since December 2002 Pyotr Stepanovich Deinekin - retired. Head of the Department of the President of the Russian Federation for Cossack Issues (09.1998-02.2003). In subsequent years, he was vice president of Avikos CJSC and chairman of the Board of Directors of Afes SO JSC.

Awards: medal "Gold Star"; Order "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" 2nd and 3rd class, "For Military Merit"; medals of the USSR and the Russian Federation.

Colonel General of Aviation KORNUKOV Anatoly Mikhailovich

Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force (01 - 02.1998).

Military leader of the Russian Federation, Army General (2000), Candidate of Military Sciences, State Prize laureate.

In military service since 1959. Graduated from the Chernigov Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots (1964, with honors), the Military Command Academy of Air Defense (1980, in absentia) and the Military Academy of the General Staff (1988). He began his military service in October 1964 in the Baltics as a senior pilot in an air defense fighter regiment. Since 1968, deputy squadron commander for political affairs - senior pilot of the 54th Guards Air Defense Fighter Aviation Regiment. Since 1970 in the Far East. In 1971-1972 squadron commander, 1972-1974. - Deputy commander of the air regiment, since January 1974 - commander of the air regiment of the air defense division. In September 1976 - February 1978, deputy commander of the air defense corps for aviation - chief of corps aviation. Deputy Chief of Aviation of the 11th Separate Air Defense Army (02.1978-06.1980), commander of the 40th Fighter Air Division of the Air Force of the Far Eastern Military District (06.1980-01.1985).

Since January 1985, in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, commander of the 71st Air Force Fighter Corps (01.1985-07.1988). Since July 1988, First Deputy Chief of Aviation of the Air Defense Forces. Since June 1989, first deputy commander, then commander of the 11th Separate Air Defense Army - deputy commander of the Far Eastern Military District (FMD) for air defense, member of the Far Eastern Military District Military Council (07.1990-09.1991). Since September 1991, commander of the Moscow Air Defense District.

Since January 1998, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force, since March 1998, Commander-in-Chief of a new branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation - the Air Force. He made a great contribution to the formation of a new type of Armed Forces and the further development of the United Air Defense System of the CIS member states.

Since January 2002, Anatoly Mikhailovich Kornukov has been in reserve. Advisor to the General Director of NPO Almaz-Antey on military-technical policy issues (since 2002).

Awards: Orders “For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR” 2nd and 3rd class, “For Military Merit”, “For Services to the Fatherland” 3rd and 4th class; medals of the USSR and the Russian Federation.

The Air Force is a new branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation since March 1998.

The Decree of the President of the Russian Federation (RF) dated July 16, 1997 determined the formation of a new type of Armed Forces (AF) on the basis of the existing Air Defense Forces (ADF) and the Air Force (Air Force). By March 1, 1998, on the basis of the control bodies of the Air Defense Forces and the Air Force, the Directorate of the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force and the Main Headquarters of the Air Force were formed, and the Air Defense and Air Force Forces were united into the new kind Armed Forces of the Russian Federation - Air Force.

Army General KORNUKOV Anatoly Mikhailovich[R. 01/10/1942]

Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force (03.1998 - 01.2002).

Army General MIKHAILOV Vladimir Sergeevich[R. 6.10.1943]

Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force (01.2002 - 05.2007).

Military figure of the Russian Federation, Army General (2004), Hero of Russia (06/13/1996), Honored Military Pilot of the USSR, laureate of the Prize named after. G.K. Zhukova (2002).

In military service since September 1962. Graduated from the Yeisk Higher Military Aviation School for Pilots (1966, with a gold medal), the Air Force Academy named after. Yu.A. Gagarin (1975), Military Academy of the General Staff (1991). Since 1966, he served in the following positions: instructor-pilot, senior instructor-pilot, flight commander, squadron commander. Since 1974, deputy commander and commander of the aviation regiment. Deputy head of the Yeisk Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots for combat training (1977-1980), head of the Borisoglebsk Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots (1980-1985). In 1985-1988 in various positions in combat training of aviation units and formations of the Moscow Military District. Since 1988, deputy and first deputy commander of the district air force for combat training and military educational institutions, since 1991, commander of the air force of the North Caucasus military district, since 1992 - commander of the air army. Active participant in the armed conflict on the territory of the Chechen Republic (1994-1996).

From April 1998, First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, from January 2002 to May 2007 - Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force of the Russian Federation. Honorary citizen of the city of Borisoglebsk (2000). Laureate of the Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov Prize (2002). During his service, he mastered about 20 types of aircraft, the total flight time was about 6 thousand hours.

In stock since May 2007.

Awards: medal "Gold Star"; Order “For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR”, 3rd class, “For Personal Courage”, “For Military Merit”; medals of the USSR and the Russian Federation.

Colonel General ZELIN Alexander Nikolaevich[R. 6.05.1953]

Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force (05.2007 - 04.2012).

Military figure of the Russian Federation, Colonel General, Honored Military Pilot of the Russian Federation, Candidate of Military Sciences.

Graduated from the Kharkov Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots (1976, with honors), the Air Force Academy named after. Yu.A. Gagarin (1988), Military Academy of the General Staff (1997). He served in the following positions: pilot of the 787th Fighter Aviation Regiment, deputy commander, commander of the 115th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. First Deputy Commander of the 23rd Air Force Air Force and Air Defense, commander of the 16th Guards Fighter Aviation Division of the North Caucasus Military District, 50th Air Force and Air Defense Corps, commander of the 14th (2000-2001) and 4th (2001- 2002) by the Air Force and Air Defense armies.

Since August 2002 - Head of the Air Force Aviation Directorate - Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force for Aviation. Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force of the Russian Federation (05/09/2007-04/26/2012). Provided leadership for the transition to the new look of the Russian Air Force.

Mastered more than 10 types of aircraft, including Su-34 and Yak-130 aircraft.

Awards: Order of the Red Star, “For Military Merit”, “For Merit to the Fatherland”, 4th class; St. George 2nd century; medals of the USSR and the Russian Federation.

Colonel General BONDAREV Viktor Nikolaevich[R. 7.12.1959]

Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force (from May 6, 2012), Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces (from August 1, 2015)

Military figure of the Russian Federation, Colonel General, Hero of Russia (04/21/2000).

In military service since 1977. Graduated from the Borisoglebsk Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots (1981), the Air Force Academy named after. Yu.A. Gagarin (1992), Military Academy of the General Staff (2004).

He served in the following positions: instructor-pilot, flight commander at the Barnaul Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots, senior navigator, squadron commander at the Flight Training Center, deputy commander of the attack air regiment.

Participant in combat operations in Afghanistan as part of the Limited contingent of Soviet troops. Commander of the 899th Guards Assault Orsha Twice Red Banner Order of Suvorov Air Regiment, III degree (09.1996-10.2000). Participant in the armed conflict on the territory of the Chechen Republic (1994-1996, 1999-2003).

Since October 2000, deputy commander, since 2004 - commander of the 105th mixed aviation division, since 2006 - deputy commander, since June 2008 - commander of the 14th Air Force and Air Defense Army. Chief of the Air Force General Staff (07.2011-06.05.2012). Since May 6, 2012 - Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force of the Russian Federation.

Since August 2015 - Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation.

Awards: medal "Gold Star"; Order “For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR”, Courage; medals of the USSR and the Russian Federation.

Major General Kobylash Sergey Ivanovich

Chief of Aviation of the Russian Air Force (since 11/13/2013).

Sergey Kobylash was born on April 1, 1965 in Odessa. Graduated from the Yeisk Higher Military Aviation School named after V.M. Komarov in 1987, Air Force Academy named after. Yu.A. Gagarin in 1994, Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in 2012.

Combat pilot, served as a pilot, senior pilot, flight commander, deputy squadron commander, squadron commander, deputy regiment commander, regiment commander, 1st category base commander, head of the operational-tactical and army aviation department of the Air Force High Command, deputy chief of air force aviation . Participated in the operation to force Georgia to peace in the Georgian-Abkhaz war of 2008.

He is qualified as a sniper pilot. The total flight time is more than one and a half thousand hours. Mastered the following types of aircraft: L-29, Su-7, Su-17 and its modifications, Su-25.

Awards: Hero of the Russian Federation, Order of Courage, “For Military Merit”, "For military merit", medal "For Courage" and other departmental medals.

The Military Space Forces are a new branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation since August 2015.

In August 2015, in accordance with the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation, on the basis of formations and military units of the Air Force (Air Force) and the Aerospace Defense Forces (VKO), a new type of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation was formed - the Military Space Forces: the department of the Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces and Main headquarters of the Aerospace Forces.

Colonel General was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces in accordance with Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 394 of August 1, 2015 Victor Bondarev, Chief of Staff - Lieutenant General Pavel Kurachenko, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces - Commander of the Space Forces, Lieutenant General Alexander Valentinovich Golovko, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces - Air Force Commander, Lieutenant General Andrey Vyacheslavovich Yudin.

On November 22, 2017, Colonel General was appointed to the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces instead of Viktor Bondarev Sergey Vladimirovich Surovikin.

The current military districts remain unchanged, formations, formations and military units of the Air Force and Aerospace Defense Forces have been transformed into three branches of the Military Space Forces: air force, space force, air and missile defense forces.

Kozhevnikov Mikhail Nikolaevich

Command and headquarters of the Soviet Army Air Force in Great Patriotic War 1941-1945

Kozhevnikov Mikhail Nikolaevich

Command and headquarters of the Soviet Army Air Force

in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

Introduction

I. On the eve of the Great Patriotic War

Actions of aviation of capitalist states in the West

The air force of Nazi Germany before the attack on Soviet Union

The state of the Soviet Air Force on the eve of the war

II. Command and headquarters of the Air Force of the Soviet Army at the beginning of the war and in the summer-autumn operations of 1941.

The nature of the actions of the aviation of the parties in the first days of the war

Organizational strengthening of the Soviet Air Force

Senior aviation commanders of the Air Force on the war fronts

III. Further strengthening of the Air Force of the Soviet Army

The situation on the fronts in the spring of 1942

Organizational changes in the central apparatus, operational formations and formations of the Air Force of the Soviet Army

Coordination of Air Force actions by representatives of the Supreme High Command for aviation in the summer-autumn operations of 1942.

IV. The struggle for strategic air supremacy in the spring and summer of 1943

Air battles in Kuban

Air operations of the Soviet Air Force to defeat enemy air groups in the summer of 1943.

Actions of the Soviet Air Force to disrupt railway transportation and disorganize enemy road traffic

V. Command and headquarters of the Soviet Army Air Force in the Battle of Kursk

Operational-strategic situation in the Kursk direction by July 1943

Command and headquarters of the Soviet Army Air Force during the preparation for the Battle of Kursk

Actions of Soviet aviation in the Battle of Kursk

VI. The Air Force of the Soviet Army in the operations of the final period of the war

The situation on the fronts by the beginning of 1944. Activities of the command and staff of the Soviet Army Air Force to improve aviation management

In the Korsun-Shevchenko operation

In the Belarusian operation

In the Vistula-Oder operation

In the East Prussian operation

In the Berlin operation

VII. In the Far East

The situation by the summer of 1945

Preparation for combat operations in the Far East

Combat operations of the Soviet Air Force

Aviation footage of the Great Patriotic War

Conclusion

Application

Introduction

The Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union against Nazi Germany and its allies in Europe and Asia was the largest military clash of socialism with the striking forces of imperialism, the heaviest and most brutal of all the wars our Motherland has ever experienced. The Soviet people and their Armed Forces under the leadership Communist Party inflicted a crushing defeat on Nazi Germany and its satellites, defended the freedom and independence of the socialist Fatherland, carried out a great liberation mission, and fulfilled their international duty with honor. “The victory,” L.I. Brezhnev pointed out, “which was won in the battles of the Great Patriotic War, is the victory of our heroic working class, the collective farm peasantry, our intelligentsia, the victory of the entire multinational Soviet people. This is the victory of the glorious Soviet Army, the army created by the revolution ", brought up by the party, inextricably linked with the people. This is a victory of Soviet military science, the combat skill of all branches of the military, the art of Soviet commanders who came from the people" (1).

A significant role in the defeat of the Nazi troops belonged to the Soviet Air Force. In close cooperation with ground forces and Navy they took an active part in all front-line and major strategic operations of front groups, and carried out independent air operations. Their concentration and massive actions in the main directions contributed to an increase in the scope and decisiveness of operations and were one of the most important factors that determined the maneuverable nature of the war. In a long and stubborn struggle, by the summer of 1943, the Soviet Air Force had won strategic air supremacy in all important directions and thereby created favorable conditions ground forces to carry out major offensive operations. With its actions, aviation cleared the way for infantry and tanks, helped them quickly break through defenses and quickly pursue the enemy, encircle and destroy his groups, cross rivers, capture and hold the most important bridgeheads, and thwarted the plans and intentions of the Nazi command.

The commander of the Soviet Army Air Force and his headquarters were entrusted with organizing the struggle for strategic air supremacy, implementing interaction between types of aviation (front-line, long-range, air defense fighter aviation), coordinating their efforts during strategic operations by front groups and independent air operations, direct leadership at the beginning wars in combat operations of long-range bomber aviation (LBO), generalization of the combat experience of the Air Force and the development of proposals for their operational use. The Air Force command was responsible for the training of aviation reserves, aviation technical supply of units and formations, development of tactical and technical requirements for new types of aircraft and weapons , development of plans for the construction and reconstruction of airfields, for the training and retraining of flight personnel. His functions included generalization and implementation of best practices in use in combat and operations. various types and branches of aviation.

Coordination of the actions of front aviation in all strategic operations was carried out by representatives of the Supreme High Command Aviation Headquarters. They were senior aviation commanders who headed the Air Force - the commander, a member of the Military Council and deputy commanders of the Air Force of the Soviet Army. Initially, they were entrusted with organizing massive air strikes in the interests of only one front. Beginning in 1942, representatives of the Supreme High Command Headquarters for Aviation coordinated the efforts of the Air Force on several fronts with the involvement of the DVA (ADD) forces (2). Together with the commanders of the fronts and the commanders of the air forces of the fronts, representatives of the Headquarters developed plans for the operation, monitored the implementation of the tasks facing aviation, redirected its efforts during the operation, distributed the aviation reserves arriving at the fronts, and also dealt with aviation technical and airfield support for the attracted aviation forces in a given area. operations. The Air Force Commander, coordinating the actions of the Air Force on one to three fronts as a representative of the Supreme Command Headquarters, maintained constant operational contact with the General Staff and the Air Force Headquarters, was always aware of affairs on all other active fronts and, through his operational group or through the headquarters of the Air Force, gave the necessary orders.

In this work, the author aims to show the activities of the Soviet Army Air Force command, the work of the headquarters, as well as the coordination of the actions of aviation on several fronts and long-range aviation, carried out by representatives of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command.

Chronologically, the work covers the period from September 1939 to September 1945, i.e. from the beginning of the Second World War to the victory of the Soviet Army in the Far East - the defeat of the Kwantung Army and the complete surrender of imperialist Japan. It shows fighting aviation of capitalist states in the West, which preceded the attack of Nazi Germany on the USSR; the work of the command and staff of the Air Force on the eve and during the initial period of the Great Patriotic War was studied; in the operations of the summer-autumn campaign of 1941, in the huge battles of Moscow and Stalingrad, in the North Caucasus and near Kursk; in the final offensive operations of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Shows the structure of the Air Force headquarters, its leading directorates and departments, the directions of their activities, the relationship of the command and staff of the Air Force with the General Staff, with the command and headquarters of the fronts and air armies, the role and place of the Air Force in the defeat of Nazi Germany and militaristic Japan by the Soviet Armed Forces .

When writing the book, the author used archival and published materials, his experience as a participant in the events described, repeated conversations during and after the war with Chief Marshal of Aviation A. A. Novikov, who headed the Soviet Air Force during the Great Patriotic War, and his deputy General A. V. Nikitin and members of the Air Force Military Council, Generals P. S. Stepanov and N. S. Shimanov, as well as with many war veterans.

The author expresses sincere gratitude to Generals V.I. Semenchikov, G.A. Pshenyanik, Colonels Yu.V. Plotnikov, V.E. Sokolov, V.S. Shumikhin, F.P. Shesterin, N., E. Platonov, N. N. Azovtsev for good advice.

The Federal Republic of Germany has the most powerful air force. The Luftwaffe, as the Germans call them, is involved in peacetime on combat duty for air defense systems in Europe, which is carried out jointly with other foreign air squadrons that are part of the NATO alliance. They also control their own borders from crossing airspace and can take measures to stop aircraft that cross the border without warning.

In times of crisis or war, the German Air Force operates according to national plans in offensive and defensive air operations (the use of nuclear weapons is possible).

The tasks assigned to the German Air Force:

• Gaining and maintaining air superiority.
• Isolation of the battlefield and combat area.
• Conducting air support.
• Providing air support to ground forces.
• Carrying out transportation of military personnel and military cargo.

The basis of the Air Force of any country is combat aviation, which, in cooperation with other armed forces, can become the key to success in defeating the enemy. In addition to aviation, the Air Force also has all the means and forces of air defense: anti-aircraft missile systems, anti-aircraft artillery, radio equipment. Auxiliary aviation is responsible for ensuring combat operations of all types of troops.

Organizational structure of the German Air Force

The leadership of the Air Force rests with the Air Force Commander, who is subordinate to the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr. His workplace is located on the general staff, from where he directs the activities of all combat formations, institutions and units of the Air Force.

In Germany, the organizational structure is as follows:

• Main Headquarters.
• Operational Command Headquarters.
• Support Command Headquarters.
• Central management.

The main headquarters of the Air Force is the operational control body. Its tasks include development of construction, combat training, operational use of the Air Force, determination of the deployment of units, subunits and formations. The central command, support command and operational command are subordinate to the General Headquarters.

Functions assigned to the central control of the Air Force:

• Organization of staffing and training in educational institutions.
• Geophysical and medical support.
• Planning and control of training of Air Force units.

The operational command of the German Air Force was formed in 1994 and is based in Cologne-Van. Designed to manage Air Force assets and forces in war and peacetime. It consists of two regional air force commands “South” and “North”, the command of control services and the air transport command.

Regional command “North” is located in Kalkar, “South” - in Messtetten. They include all units and formations of strike aircraft, air defense assets and forces. The Air Transport Command is based in Münster and controls the operation of all auxiliary aviation, which is designed to transport military cargo and soldiers.

The Control Services Command is located in Cologne-Wan and monitors the functioning and development of the Air Force's communications and control systems, and investigates disasters and accidents. Puts forward proposals for reducing accident rates not only in military aviation, but also in civil aviation.

The Air Force Support Command is responsible for purchasing new equipment, carrying out its repairs, supplying units with fuel, lubricants, spare parts, ammunition, etc. material base. In Germany, it is divided into 6 logistics support regiments, each of which is assigned a specific area of ​​responsibility. Logistics reserves allow Luftwaffe combat air squads to conduct continuous combat for 30 days.

Number, weapons and combat strength

The German Air Force personnel numbers 73.3 thousand people. The Luftwaffe consists of 20 squadrons (559 aircraft, 457 in combat condition). Of them:

• 108 aircraft carrying nuclear weapons.
• 165 fighter-bomber aircraft.
• 35 "Tornado" ECR.
• 36 "Tornado".
• 144 air defense aircraft.
• 94 combat training Alfa-Jets.
• 125 F-4F aircraft.
• 102 are in reserve.

The 15 missile groups include 534 missile defense launchers and 264 anti-aircraft artillery installations. Nine auxiliary aviation squadrons have over 160 aircraft, of which 157 are transport aircraft. Five helicopter squadrons operate more than 100 helicopters. All air defense assets and forces, together with strike aircraft, are distributed between four air divisions of the regional air force commands “South” and “North”.

The North Air Force Command is subordinate to the 3rd and 4th aviation divisions, the combat strength of which consists of 23 MiG-29 and 89 F-4F air defense fighters, 117 Tornado strategic fighters, 108 Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems, 30 - Roland air defense system and 96 - Advanced Hawk air defense system.

The South Air Force Command controls the 1st and 2nd Aviation Divisions, which include 36 F-4F air defense aircraft, 119 Tornado fighters, 132 Patriot launchers, 60 Roland and 108 Advanced Hawk."

The Transport Aviation Command operates 84 Transall tactical transport aircraft, 7 CL-601s, 2 Boeing 707s, 7 A-310s and 99 UH-1D airborne transport helicopters.

Aerodrome network

Germany is one of the countries with a very developed airfield infrastructure, which consists of more than 600 airfields, helipads, and airfield road sections. More than 130 airfields are perfectly prepared for the deployment of all equipment included in military transport and combat aviation. The network of airfields is distributed unevenly across the country, however, as foreign experts believe, the choice of locations for airfields makes it possible for NATO forces to concentrate a powerful combination of tactical, transport and auxiliary aircraft in one place.

The scheme of activity of CJSC "NRTB" with telecom operators (mainly the companies "VimpelCom" and "MegaFon") is straightforward: receiving an order to carry out any "left" work with receiving a standard report, paying for services at inflated rates, withdrawal money through fake "cash out" companies on false grounds and their "cutting" between the contractor and a specific customer. Over time, the task of CJSC "NRTB" was transformed - in addition to supplying "dirty money", the company was outsourced services for contacts with military and civilian officials, whose consent was required for the transfer of certain radio frequencies to the telecom operator, even on the terms of joint use.

According to expert estimates, the cost of work by CJSC "NRTB" is minimal, especially considering the fictitious nature of most of the work. Of each incoming tranche from telecom operators, at least half was spent on bribes and kickbacks, incl. returns to the customer company. As we know, several billion rubles were withdrawn using this scheme.

Typically, specialized research institutes of the RF Ministry of Defense are always involved in conducting such mathematically, tactically and strategically complex work on electromagnetic compatibility, in particular the AT&V Research Center of the 4th Central Research Institute of the Russian Ministry of Defense (Shchelkovo) and the Air Defense Research Center of the 4th Central Research Institute of the Russian Ministry of Defense ( Tver) (formerly the 30th and 2nd Central Research Institutes of the RF Ministry of Defense). It is these organizations that are given the right to conduct relevant research themselves or to conduct an examination of the research results of other organizations that have the appropriate authority to conduct such work. Prikhodko, realizing that if he involved scientific organizations of the RF Ministry of Defense, then (due to the complex electromagnetic situation) he would not get the results the operator needed, he decided to do this work without the Research and Development Institute of the Ministry of Defense.

The question arises why the commanders of the Air Force General Staff, who have years of service behind them and extensive experience in such an important issue as flight safety (and especially in the Moscow zone!) suddenly refused the services of their specialized military scientific organizations and entrusted the issues of defense capability to some civil organization? There can be only one answer - corruption.

In this field, the owner of CJSC "NRTB" V.V. Prikhodko worked with a wide range of “military specialists” who forced cellular operators to pay them for resolving all issues related to the allocation of radio frequencies. The matter was set up in such a way that it was possible to resolve issues quickly and efficiently only with the help of bribes and in this system personally V.V. Prikhodko was assigned the role of a transfer link - to receive money from telecom operators, carry out work (mostly mythical), withdraw money through shell companies and distribute bribes among officials of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.

In particular, at the main headquarters of the Air Force (military unit 52676), regular financial gifts were personally received by the head of the electronic warfare service, Mr. Aleshin and the Main Staff of the Air Force Tikhonov, the head of the communications troops - deputy chief of the Main Staff of the Air Force for communications, Colonel Korobkov Valery Anatolyevich , Chief of Radio Engineering Troops of the Air Force, Colonel Smolkin. In principle, all the actors in this criminal group can be identified by the title and signature sheets of the reports that were prepared by CJSC "NRTB" - but we will note each one personally.

In particular, the electronic warfare department of the General Staff (military unit 21882), which is a key structure in the passage of all radio frequency documents, is also engulfed in corruption. The main recipient of dirty money here was Andrei Karnaukhov, who represents the Ministry of Defense in the SCRF and is considered the main intermediary on issues of interaction with civilian telecom operators. Moreover, Karnaukhov himself does not have any documents, this is done by his boss - the head of the electronic warfare troops department of the General Staff, and Karnaukhov, using it “in the dark”, works as a filter in the direction he needs. It is through Mr. Karnaukhov that all reporting documentation of JSC “NRTB” goes through, it is he who organizes all the signatures on behalf of the electronic warfare troops, it is he who catches from the general flow of radio frequency requests passing through the electronic warfare troops those that Prikhodko needs. And, of course, not for free.

In general, according to operational information, this group of officers, acting together, hid such a work scheme from their leadership, extorting bribes with the help of intermediaries (employees of JSC NRTB).

To work with officers of the Air Force General Staff, a group of former military personnel was formed at JSC "NRTB", which was entrusted with the ongoing work of interaction with former colleagues from the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. It included Mikhail Vladimirovich Sergeev, the former head of the general department of the Air Force General Staff (this department goes through all the correspondence of the Chief of the General Staff, the officers of this department essentially provide “access to the body” of the chief, all other officers and heads of headquarters units know them) - interaction with the military at the Air Force General Staff is carried out by him personally (to this day, no longer in service, he has a pass “everywhere”). Signature necessary documents He organized it with the Chief of Staff of the Air Force through Oleg Igorevich Pashkovsky (his former deputy in service), who later became the head of the general department, and since December 2011, he was also hired at NRTB. Included in the same group was Sergei Vasilievich Fesenko, a former officer of the Signal Corps Directorate of the Air Force General Staff, who worked at the National Radio and Radio Broadcasting Bureau under a contract while on active military service. He was brought to NRTB by Sergeev M.V. and he was actively involved in the activities of a commercial company without interrupting his military service: a day or two a week he “resolved issues” at the Air Force General Headquarters, and spent the rest of the time at ZAO NRTB. In fact, it was he who took an active part in organizing and conducting tests, carrying reporting documents for signature, and sometimes passing envelopes with money to his colleagues. It was Mr. Fesenko, at the urgent request of V.V. Prikhodko supplied ZAO "NRTB" with classified information on the frequency characteristics of Air Force landing aids (GSM(LTE)-900 band) and RTV radar (3G band) for the creation of reports, thus violating military secrets.

Let us note that the research institutes of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, which in their activities use classified information when calculating the electromagnetic compatibility of military and civilian equipment or when examining preliminary studies of other authorized organizations, were completely excluded from the work scheme. That is, the report of a civilian organization (in this case, CJSC "NRTB") without the participation of the NIO MO does not make sense and is not a basis for officers of the Air Force General Staff to make a decision on allocating frequencies to the operator of the Ministry of Defense, or when compiling it, classified information about frequency assignments was used military facilities. Consequently, in the first case, the report was needed only as a formal piece of paper (which cost the customer a lot of money), and in the second, it is completely clear that classified information on frequency assignments was transferred to Mr. Prikhodko by employees of the Air Force General Staff, bypassing the current procedure and in violation of the secrecy regime .

In the draft decisions of the regulatory bodies on this issue, it is said that the radio-electronic equipment of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, which are on combat duty, by decision of the SCRF commission, will be forcibly, without taking into account the requirements of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, transferred to operate in other ranges of the radio frequency spectrum. The need for such an action is explained by possible “unreasonable refusals [to telecom operators] to transfer to another frequency range the radio electronic zones used to meet the needs of government controlled, national defense, state security and law enforcement." At the same time, the conclusion of agreements on compensating existing users of radio frequency bands for losses from the transfer of existing distribution zones to other frequency bands is not provided. Thus, with the help of corrupt decisions and “methods” of CJSC “NRTB”, a scenario for the development of the situation is being prepared in which the territory of individual constituent entities of the Russian Federation and sections of the state border of the Russian Federation will not be covered for an indefinite period of time by special-purpose distribution zones that solve a wide range of tasks information support for air defense and air force complexes and systems. And this despite the fact that the air force radio electronics groupings using the frequency bands in question are classified as combat-ready assets.

Victor Prikhodko, CJSC "NRTB", Victor Vladimirovich Prikhodko, CJSC "National Radio Technical Bureau", TIN 7706237910, Panov Vladimir Petrovich, VimpelCom, Valery Frontov, 45 Central Research Institute of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Andrey Didenko, 694-880 MHz, 2500-2690 MHz, radio frequencies , radio frequency spectrum, LTE, Air Force General Staff, Air Force General Staff, Air Force Colonel General Cheltsov Boris Fedorovich, Head of the Electronic Warfare Service Mr. Aleshin, Head of the Air Force General Staff Tikhonov, Head of the Signal Corps - Deputy Chief of the Air Force Main Staff for Communications, Colonel Korobkov Valery Anatolyevich, head of the radio technical troops of the Air Force Colonel Smolkin, electronic warfare department of the General Staff (military unit 21882), electronic warfare, radio-electronic warfare, Andrey Karnaukhov, Sergeev Mikhail Vladimirovich, former head of the general department of the General Staff of the Air Force, Fesenko Sergey Vasilievich - former officer of the Communications Troops Directorate of the Air Force General Staff, Ministry of Communications, Gulnara Khasyanova, Soyuz LTE, Oleg Malis, Denis Sverdlov, Alexander Zharov, 3G, GKRCH, MegaFon, EGSM, CJSC "NRTB", 4th Central Research Institute of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Scientific Research Center of Air Defense 4th Central Research Institute of the Ministry of Defense of Russia, Frontov, Allagulova, bribes, Nikolay Pankov, Oleg Anatolyevich Ivanov, Aviatest, NPF Geyser, Advanced Technologies 30, Denis Afanasyev, Andrey Yudin, Olga Borisovna Smirnova, VP-Finance and Resources, Agency of Telecommunication Projects, Vimpelcom , LSE, OPG Prikhodko, Takhir Vildanov, Federal Tax Service No. 6, VP-Finance and Resources LLC, UTT Marketing Services GmbH, France Marcus Nestle, ATP CJSC, Rostov Cellular Telephone CJSC, Rostov Cellular Communications CJSC, "Kemerovo Mobile Communications", Nadezhda Lukyanchikova, Globtechnet%26Trading, Raiffeisenlandesbank, Dominator S62, Natalia Prikhodko, Dubai, A1 Fattan Marine Tower II, Seilerstatte 5, Innere Stadt 1010 Wien, VP-FinRes LLC.

From fighter pilot to aviation general. During the war and in peacetime. 1936–1979 Ostroumov Nikolay Nikolaevich

Once again the Operations Directorate of the Air Force General Staff

I celebrated New Year 1961 in the Central House Soviet army in Moscow. For the third time I served in the Operations Directorate, but each time in a new position. 1944 - senior assistant to the head of the department, 1950 - head of the department - deputy head of the Operations Directorate, 1961 - head of the Operations Directorate - deputy chief of the Air Force General Staff. And if we add another year 1942 - senior assistant to the chief of the operational department of the 12th Air Army of the Trans-Baikal Front, and another January - April 1944 in the full-time position of deputy chief of the operational department of the 5th Air Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front and June 1944 - July 1945 as a representative of the Operational Directorate of the Air Force Headquarters in the operational departments of the 1st Air Army, the 3rd Attack Air Corps of the 3rd Belorussian Front, the 5th Air Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front and the 2nd Air Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front. We can say that I have come a long way in developing the main position of any headquarters - operator. That is why the chief of staff of any rank, when receiving a task, first of all turns to the heads of operational departments, departments, departments: figure it out, determine the way to resolve the issue, find the executors.

I remember the Chief of the Air Force General Staff, who held this position for over 15 years, Pyotr Ignatievich Braiko. He came to headquarters at 8.00, reviewed the morning mail of the commander-in-chief and determined which department or department should prepare proposals and ways to resolve the issue before the document was seen by the commander-in-chief. The lion's share went to the Operations Directorate. Even when it was unclear to whom to send this paper, he decided that the Operations Directorate would sort it out.

Work in the Operations Department had to be combined with public work. Thus, being a member of the editorial board of the journal Aviation and Cosmonautics, I had to participate in the work of the editorial board.

The Air Force Commander-in-Chief ordered the study of materials that outlined tactical, technical and economic issues. He usually sent them to the Operations Directorate with instructions to read and report what deserved attention.

When any new object had to be put into service, K. A. Vershinin traveled accompanied by the head of armaments, the chairman of the scientific and technical committee and me. So, for example, when adopting a system for displaying targets on the control center screen, I expressed a negative opinion, and the object was not accepted for service. There was also an opinion about adopting an attack aircraft. Of the three proposals, the Operations Directorate supported the proposal of the Sukhoi Su-25, which was adopted for service.

When the question was raised at the Military Council about the progress of the construction of protective structures for aircraft at airfields, the speaker was not the chief of logistics of the Air Force or the deputy commander-in-chief for construction, but the head of the Operations Directorate. I reported with the help of a visual map and diagrams the progress of construction, the shortcomings that occurred and their causes. The Military Council was satisfied with the report.

Also at the Military Council, a decision was made, after an unsuccessful report by the head of the electronic warfare service, to appoint the head of the Operations Directorate as a representative of the commission to develop a plan for equipping the Air Force with electronic warfare equipment. The Head of the Operations Directorate, as a rule, was invited to the main meetings of the Military Council.

When the commander-in-chief left at the invitation to one of the friendly countries, the Operations Directorate usually prepared everything necessary materials 10th Directorate of the General Staff and Intelligence Directorate of the Air Force General Staff. Specifications were being prepared for officials, with whom the meetings were coming.

So, in 1962, K. A. Vershinin with a group of generals and officers of the General Staff and Air Force Directorates, including me, were preparing to visit Indonesia. Our Tu-16 regiment was based in this country; the fighter and helicopter regiments of the Indonesian Air Force were armed with our planes and helicopters. All the necessary materials were developed, and for three hours the Air Force Commander-in-Chief reviewed the prepared materials and asked many questions. Each one had to be answered accurately. I read all the drafts of his speeches, including the experience of Soviet aviation in the war with the Germans during airborne landing operations. This issue was especially important given that the Indonesian armed forces, including the Air Force, were preparing an amphibious operation to liberate Western Iran from the Dutch. During the trip, all materials developed in the Operations Directorate were fully used.

On the way to Indonesia, a visit to Burma and India took place, where meetings were held with the Defense Ministers of Burma Ne Win and Indian Defense Minister Krishna Menon. Meetings and conversations took place with Indonesian President Sukarno, First Minister Nasutionn, Air Force Minister Air Marshal Omar Dani and other senior Indonesian leaders. The Dutch side, anticipating Indonesia's increased capabilities, agreed to the peaceful transfer of Western Iran to Indonesia.

On June 11, 1964, I was in Yugoslavia, being part of the Soviet Army delegation led by the USSR Minister of Defense, Marshal of the Soviet Union Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky. Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito twice invited delegations to his official residence on the island of Brijuni. Each of us met and had conversations in our own direction. I was at the Air Force headquarters, exchanging experience in mastering aviation technology, tactical and operational training of the Air Force. We all congratulated Rodion Yakovlevich on being awarded high rank Hero of Yugoslavia, and he awarded us with Yugoslav orders.

Before departure, Rodion Yakovlevich spoke on Yugoslav television. Having finished it, he approached a member of the delegation, Deputy Chief of the Main Political Directorate of the Soviet Army, General Kalashnikov, and asked him: “Have you agreed on the content of my speech with the Central Committee of the CPSU?”

He replied: “No, I didn’t agree, I thought that there was no need for you.” Rodion Yakovlevich blushed and said: “You forgot about G.K. Zhukov and what happened to him after returning from Yugoslavia.”

During the flight, Rodion Yakovlevich did not talk to anyone. True, he left the cabin and came up to me with the question: “Where are we flying?” I went up to the window and said: “Comrade Marshal, look - we are flying through the city of Bryansk on the Desna River, which you liberated in the Great Patriotic War.” The marshal smiled and said: “So you are not just a passenger, thank you.”

In 1965, by directive of the General Staff, the Operations Directorate developed an aviation exercise, during which, for the first time in the history of the Air Force and Airborne Forces, an entire airborne division would land at night. A military transport division and two air armies of the Odessa and Kyiv military districts were involved in the exercise. Two months before the start of the exercise, a reconnaissance of the selected exercise area was carried out. I, as the chief of staff of the exercise leadership, at a meeting with the commander of the Odessa Military District, Colonel General Shurupov, received his consent to provide the Shirokholanovsky training ground and the Voskresensk airfield for the duration of the exercise. The district did a lot of work to clear the landing area, prepare the location of the leadership headquarters and means of all types of communications. The leader of the exercise was the First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, Aviation Colonel General S.I. Rudenko, and the deputy commander of the Airborne Forces, Colonel General Margelov.

Before the start of the landing and during it, an air operation was carried out to destroy an enemy aviation group that could counter the landing operation. The operation began at 22.00 and ended at dawn the next day. The landing was successful. True, during the air operation, the commander of the 5th Air Army of the defending side, Aviation Lieutenant General P.S. Kutakhov, called me at the command post and began to ask me to stop radio interference for at least 10 minutes. Otherwise, they say, there may be aircraft collisions, since it is impossible to understand the air situation. By stopping the interference for 10 minutes, as Kutakhov then called and said, it was possible to clarify the air situation and avoid real losses. At dawn, the covering fighters of the airborne division and transport supply planes landed on the Voskresensk airfield captured by the landing force. The preliminary radio disinformation carried out by specially involved airborne radio stations in the North Caucasus region attracted many air attachés who wished to observe the progress of the exercise. In addition, a simulated airborne drop was carried out to the west of the landing area.

In the summer of 1966, on the territory of Belarus and Lithuania, according to the directive of the General Staff, the Air Force General Staff prepared and conducted a bilateral aviation exercise with the participation of two air armies of the Belarusian and Baltic military districts with the practical use of conventional and simulated nuclear weapons and using district training grounds. The topic of the exercise: “Air army in offensive and defensive operations of the front.” The Belarusian Military District prepared and conducted offensive operation front, Baltic Military District - defensive operation. Their air armies carried out combat missions within the fronts, first using conventional weapons, and while conducting operations - nuclear weapons. At one of the airfields in Belarus, a study was simultaneously carried out on the anti-nuclear protection of the airfield and the elimination of the consequences of an atomic strike.

The exercise showed the high effectiveness of atomic strikes, provided the right choice goals, timely implementation of anti-nuclear protection. The exercise used simulated nuclear weapons. During the actual operations at the training grounds, members of the government of Belarus and Lithuania were present, as well as the First Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR, Marshal of the Soviet Union I. I. Yakubovsky and the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, Chief Marshal of Aviation K. A. Vershinin. The senior intermediaries were the commanders of the air armies of neighboring military districts, including the future Air Force Commander-in-Chief, Aviation Lieutenant General P. S. Kutakhov.

Every year, the headquarters of the combined armed forces of the Warsaw Pact held meetings of the leadership of friendly armies and periodic exercises. The chiefs of the operational department from the Air Force General Staff attended these events.

So, when I was flying to Hungary as part of a group of SHOVS officers together with the commander-in-chief of the SHOVS, First Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR, Marshal of the Soviet Union A. A. Grechko, the latter called me into the cabin of the plane and set the task: “Tomorrow at the meeting of the ministers of defense of the armies of the Warsaw countries treaty, it is necessary to make a report on the experience of aviation combat operations in Vietnam.”

I was ready for this performance, since the day before the Chief Marshal of Aviation K. A. Vershinin warned me about a possible performance. Were prepared necessary diagrams. Every month, the Air Force Operations Directorate issued information to the troops about the actions of the Air Force in Vietnam. On the morning of the next day, I completed the task of A. A. Grechko, who, during my report, made separate comments that in operational training it is necessary to take into account the experience of the operations of troops, aviation and air defense in Vietnam.

At meetings of defense ministers, on behalf of the Air Force Commander-in-Chief, I made presentations on the experience of operational and combat training of the Soviet Air Force.

In the summer of 1967, in the evening, when I was with my family on my garden plot near Moscow, they called me from the Air Force command post and conveyed the order of M.V. Zakharov: tomorrow at 6.00 am to be at the Chkalovsky airfield in civilian clothes without any documents.

At the airfield, besides me, a group of generals gathered, including the deputy commander-in-chief of the air defense, the commander of the Carpathian Military District and others. The Chief of the General Staff, Marshal of the Soviet Union M.V. Zakharov, arrived. He said that we were flying to Budapest. I guessed where we were flying. Before this, I, together with the First Deputy Chief of the Air Force General Staff, Aviation Lieutenant General S.F. Ushakov, planned from which units to take combat aircraft for Egypt and Iraq, and gave instructions to the army to apply the appropriate identification marks on these aircraft.

In Budapest we already knew where we would fly, since the day before they had announced a surprise attack on Egypt and Syria. We flew at night at low altitude. We arrived at Cairo West airfield. It's dark at the airport. The commander of the transport air division, Konstantinov, made two circles over the airfield and, in complete darkness, using aircraft landing lights, landed the plane on the airfield runway. The Egyptians later explained that they were afraid that the airfield would be bombed during landing. The Israelis had already seized a bridgehead on the southern bank of the Suez Canal and were preparing to advance on Cairo.

In the morning and all subsequent days, on the instructions of M.V. Zakharov, he worked at the airfields, at the headquarters of the Egyptian Air Force, finding out the real state of affairs. When going to airfields, he checked the combat strength of the aviation. Together with the head of the Operations Directorate of the Egyptian Air Force, they announced combat alerts and determined the true combat readiness of air units (number of combat-ready aircraft, crews, time to rise to alarm), real losses, and available combat personnel.

Pilots from wealthy families, and they were the majority, resigned of their own free will. During the massive Israeli raid, many pilots took cover. All Tu-16 aircraft were destroyed, most MiG-15, MiG-17, Il-2 aircraft, and radio control equipment were damaged. When I first visited the Inshas airfield, in a conversation with the pilots I found out that they had shot down several Israeli planes. I wrote down their names. When M.V. Zakharov and I visited Inshas, ​​these pilots were no longer at the airfield.

The air bridge was in full operation. While with M.V. Zakharov at the same airfield, I saw how Soviet military transport planes with Aeroflot signs landed without turning off their engines, rolled out combat aircraft and flew to their assigned airfields. The assembly of combat aircraft took place here.

The newly appointed commander of the Egyptian Air Force, Marshal Eze, asked to send Russian volunteer pilots, and also not to send the Il-2, but instead to give them the Yak-28 bombers, which were mentioned in the American press.

In the presence of M.V. Zakharov, Minister of Defense and Commander of the Egyptian Air Force, the possibility of strikes against Israel was played out according to the calculation card, if the use of Syrian airfields was organized, and the use of Egyptian airfields by Syrian pilots. M.V. Zakharov said: “There is no point in expecting aircraft based on American advertising; it is necessary to use existing and incoming Soviet aircraft in the interaction between the two countries.” The Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Podgorny, who arrived in Egypt at that time, laughed when I reported that the Egyptians were asking to send volunteers from the USSR. But subsequently, according to the agreement, a combat regiment of our fighters was based in Egypt.

The presence of the Chief of the General Staff in Egypt with a group of leading specialists of the Soviet army and the landing of long-range bomber units with powerful weapons in the South Caucasus cooled the ardor of the aggressors, and they left the southern bank of the Suez Canal.

In 1968, events took place in Czechoslovakia. The situation required the entry of Soviet troops into this country. Our airborne troops were landed at night on the Prague airfield, and on the same night, from the Group of Soviet Forces stationed in the GDR, Poland, and the Carpathian Military District, tank units entered the territory of Czechoslovakia, advancing all the way to Prague. At approximately 11.00 on the same day, Marshal of the Soviet Union A. A. Grechko transmitted an order to the command post of the Air Force General Staff: to plant a combat regiment of fighters from the 24th and 4th Air Armies at each military airfield in Czechoslovakia. This was immediately carried out.

However, a regiment of helicopters had to be landed at one airfield, since the Czechs managed to pour aviation oil onto the runway and the planes could not land.

The seizure of the airfields was carried out due to the fact that it became known that Czechoslovak aircraft were preparing to fly to the airfields of West Germany. All instructions were transmitted to A. A. Grechko from the command post of the General Staff, where the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force was located. At the Air Force General Staff, all commands were received at an organized command post, next to the office of the Chief of the Air Force General Staff, Aviation Colonel General P.I. Braiko. I and my first deputy, General D. M. Trifonov, were constantly next to him. Through the direct HF line, communications with the command post of each army, we transmitted all the instructions of the minister and at the same time prepared and transmitted orders via encrypted communications. We immediately transferred the execution of orders from the air armies to A. A. Grechko and K. A. Vershinin, in the absence last to first Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, Colonel General of Aviation P. S. Kutakhov.

A backup command post was organized at the headquarters of the Northern Group of our troops in Poland, where Marshal of the Soviet Union I. I. Yakubovsky was with a group of the Soviet General Staff, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, Colonel General of Aviation I. I. Pstygo. From the Air Force General Staff there was the Deputy Chief of the Operations Directorate of the Air Force General Staff, Aviation Major General N.D. Vavilov.

On February 23, 1968, in the Kremlin Palace, I was awarded the Order of the Red Banner number 2. It was the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Soviet Army.

In April 1968, led by Marshal of the Soviet Union A. A. Grechko, a group of generals and officers under the leadership of the Chief of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff, Colonel General M. I. Povalia, checked the combat readiness of the Group of Soviet Forces created on the territory of Czechoslovakia. I, as a representative of the Air Force General Staff, was appointed to inspect the aviation of this group of troops. On the U-2 aircraft provided to me, I was at all military aviation airfields. As for the flight personnel and unit headquarters, they were at the required level. However, the combat effectiveness of airfield support units for defense was extremely low. The personnel did not have a single machine gun, everyone was armed with rifles. The necessary fortifications for ground defense of airfields were missing. The results of the inspection became known to A. A. Grechko. He immediately ordered units of three tanks to be allocated to each airfield, security units to be equipped with machine guns, and the headquarters of the group of forces to take measures to strengthen the defense capability of the airfield service battalions.

In May 1968, the Chief of the General Staff, Marshal of the Soviet Union, Matvey Vasilyevich Zakharov, was invited by the command of the Iranian armed forces. I was also included in the group of generals and officers accompanying him. Our Il-62 plane landed at Tehran airfield. He was met by the Chief of the Iranian General Staff along with his generals. In accordance with the program of stay, a reception was held with the Shah of Iran, and then with important officials of the Iranian army.

One of them was attended by the command of the Iranian Air Force. I had the opportunity to speak with the commander of the Iranian Air Force and his chief of staff. The conversation was lively; we recalled meetings in Moscow at the celebration of Air Fleet Day, about our and Iranian aircraft. I was eager to learn the details and capabilities of the F-14 guided missile aircraft. At this time, Matvey Vasilyevich came up to us and made a remark: “Aviation does not get bored, it always finds a common language.” When flying to the oil fields, an Iranian plane with a passenger seat was provided wooden cabin without a single window. But I got out of the situation, went into the cockpit and had the opportunity to see airfields, military and industrial facilities. By the way, before the flight we were warned not to take photo or film cameras with us. I left my movie camera in the hotel in Tehran. When he returned, he was convinced that he had been touched. We inserted two matches into the apparatus.

At the open exhibition of ancient sculptures, Matvey Vasilyevich was in a stone room all the time, as the heat in the air reached over 45 degrees Celsius. When flying to Moscow, at the Tehran airfield, I was shown from afar an American F-14 fighter as it took off.

In the summer of 1968, in connection with the 50th anniversary of the Soviet Army, a major exercise was held on the territory of the Kyiv Military District under the leadership of the Minister of Defense, Marshal of the Soviet Union A. A. Grechko. All commanders-in-chief of the armed forces took part, including the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, Air Chief Marshal K. A. Vershinin. There was a task force from the Air Force General Staff headed by me. Suddenly (apparently, on the instructions of A. A. Grechko), the newly appointed First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force P. S. Kutakhov and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force I. I. Pstygo arrived in the training area. K. A. Vershinin asks me in surprise: “What should I do with them?” I advised sending General Kutakhov, as the representative of the Air Force Commander-in-Chief on security issues, to the attacking side (in the KVO), while at the same time entrusting him with responsibility for organizing the air parade after the exercise. General I. I. Pstygo, as a representative of the Air Force Commander-in-Chief, was sent to the Carpathian Military District. Vershinin did just that. L.I. Brezhnev was supposed to attend the exercise. A special tent with a bedroom, rest rooms and a toilet was organized for him in the forest. But he arrived only at the end of the exercise - for the Air Force parade and gala dinner. The teaching was quite clear. The landing of a large airborne assault by helicopter was instructive.

In May 1969, Air Marshal P. S. Kutakhov became Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force.

In July, he led the leadership of the largest multilateral air exercise in the Air Force with the participation of the air armies of the USSR, Czechoslovakia and Poland. The exercise, based on the operational training directive of the General Staff, was developed and organized by the Operations Directorate of the Air Force General Staff. I was appointed chief of staff of the leadership - the head of the Operations Directorate, Aviation Lieutenant General N. N. Ostroumov. I briefed the mediators, representatives of the command of the air armies of the USSR, Czechoslovakia and Poland, long-range and military transport aviation.

The exercise first contained a command and staff unit, after which real flights of the participating formations took place. At the beginning of the exercise, Air Force Commander-in-Chief P.S. Kutakhov, on the basis of the issued directive for an air operation in the Western strategic direction to defeat enemy aviation, heard the decisions of the commanders of the air armies of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, as well as Czechoslovakia and Poland.

In the second part of the exercise, the leadership planned to observe practical strikes at the Czechoslovak training ground, with prepared mock-ups of aircraft. This was followed by a real assessment of the results of attacks on airfield (range) facilities.

Consecutively, day by day, the same real actions in the air operation were carried out on Polish territory by Polish pilots, then at the training ground of the 24th Air Army of the GSVG by pilots of this army. To strengthen the fighter aviation grouping in the northern part of the GSVG, a maneuver was actually carried out by Polish fighter aviation using USSR military transport aviation to support this maneuver.

On the last day of the exercises, fighter aircraft of the three countries and the air defense of the GDR participated in real sorties and simulated launches of anti-aircraft missiles to repel enemy raids (these were real long-range aviation flights).

During this exercise, 6,500 sorties were carried out without a single flight incident.

At the beginning of November 1969, the Minister of Defense, Marshal of the Soviet Union A. A. Grechko, I was invited to a meeting regarding his upcoming visit to the Cuban Republic. Also present were the Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces, Army General I. G. Pavlovsky, the head of the 10th Main Directorate of the General Staff, Colonel General N. P. Dagaev, the deputy head of the Main Political Directorate of the USSR Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Kalashnikov, the heads of the Operational Directorates of the Main Staff of the Air Force and Navy. A. A. Grechko set the task of the latter to thoroughly check the existing plans for the operational use of Cuban aviation and navy in the event of an attack by an aggressor.

By the evening of the day of departure, our Il-62 plane landed for refueling at the Rabat airfield. We were met by the leadership of the Moroccan Ministry of War. I met the commander of the Air Force. During dinner, there was a large roasted lamb on a large tray, which we devoured without forks or knives.

In the morning we continued our flight. The weather was cloudless, but there was a strong headwind at high altitude. A. A. Grechko was in his salon, the rest were in the guest salon. The commander of the ship came to our cabin and said that the IL-62 ahead had refueled in Bermuda. We need to go through the New York zone, then south. There won't be enough fuel to reach Cuba. I looked at the map and said: “We need to cut the corner of the route and go through Nasau to Havana.” The commander says: “The Americans will not allow this.” “Immediately,” I say, “make a request asking for a shortcut through the US base of Nassau.” After 20 minutes, the commander, smiling, reported that the flight through Nassau was allowed. Our plane landed safely at the Havana airfield. The rest of the fuel was running out. In Havana, after the welcoming ceremony, A. A. Grechko thanked the ship’s commander and me for our resourcefulness.

The next day, the Americans asked the Cubans to allow a group of fighters to fly through Havana to their airfield in Cuba - Guantanamo. The Cubans allowed the flight away from Havana.

For 10 days we visited various military and civilian objects. In particular, the command post for managing the national economy (actually a military command post) was shown. I spent several days at Air Force headquarters and at airfields. The necessary changes were made to the plan for the use of aviation, allowing the manipulation of aviation forces in different directions. Everything done was approved by A. A. Grechko and, together with the commander of the Cuban Air Force, was personally reported to Fidel Castro and authorized by him.

At one of the airfields, A. A. Grechko showed reinforced concrete fortifications for a fighter aircraft in the form of a purge pipe. Andrei Antonovich criticized him and said: “The plane will be destroyed by a shock wave behind and in front of the open fortification. Come to us and see our shelters from all sides.” We visited the old airfield from the time of ruler Batista. We were shown a museum of old aircraft. The cabins did not have plexiglass windows. Raul Castro replied: “Your advisors took down the plexiglass and made it and gave us gifts in the form of plexiglass airplanes.”

After lunch, a meeting was to take place between two military ministers: A. A. Grechko and Raul Castro. In the hall at the hotel where we lived, Andrei Antonovich was the first to come and asked the members of our group present: “Well, what are we going to give Raul?” The guarantor and the adjutant quickly went to the exit and brought several models of Soviet aircraft, a satellite in orbit, and more. They were all made of plexiglass. Andrei Antonovich looked at all these products and angrily said: “Remove” - and, turning to our generals: “What are we going to give?” Silence reigned. I couldn’t resist and said: “I have something that deserves your attention.” - “Let’s come here.”

I went out to the next room, in which I lived with the sailor, and returned with the offered gift: big book in a luxurious binding entitled “The Motherland of the Cosmonauts”. A separate appendix to the book was a large color photograph of all the astronauts who have been in space. Under each portrait there were personal signatures of the astronauts in ink. Raul came in, and Andrei Antonovich handed him this gift. Raoul was very pleased with the gift.

During the farewell dinner, the table was covered with thick colored cloth, along the edges of which hung pendants made of colored marble. At dinner there were many warm remarks from both sides with good wishes. They were significantly different from the dry phrases at the beginning of the visit. Raoul cut the tablecloth's marble pendants with a knife and handed them to each of us as souvenirs.

At five o'clock in the morning on the day of departure, Fidel Castro visited Andrei Antonovich. They hugged and Fidel had tears in his eyes. This was evidence of the restored friendly relations of our peoples, in response to the machinations of enemies who sought to spoil our friendship. We all thought that now the future visit of Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev would be kind and welcome in Cuba. At the airfield, Raul photographed Andrei Antonovich on an instant camera and immediately handed him a color photograph of him. Andrei Antonovich gave it to me, asking me to take it on board the plane. During the flight, it was time for breakfast. Andrei Antonovich invited colonel generals and two heads of the Operational Directorates of Aviation and Navy to his salon. Since there were not enough places at the table, Andrei Antonovich took two suitcases, made a table out of them and invited the two of us to this table, saying: “This is a historical moment when the Minister of Defense sets the table for two aviation and naval operators.”

In Moscow, at the airfield, among those meeting was the new chief of the Air Force General Staff, who had previously been the head of the aviation and air defense department of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff, General Alexander Petrovich Silantiev. In 1958, after one year at the General Staff Academy, he worked as chief of the operations department of the 24th Air Force. I nominated him for the rank of major general of aviation and chief of staff of the air army. When he met me at Air Force Headquarters, he asked, “What are your plans?” I replied that I had repeatedly given lectures on the operational art of the Air Force at the Higher Academic Courses (HAC) of the General Staff Academy. They were listened to by the head of the academy, Army General S.P. Ivanov. The latter offered me the position of head of the Department of Operational Art of the Air Force. I agreed and proposed my first deputy head of department instead.

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