372nd Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment

372nd Fighter Aviation Regiment (1951-1960); 372nd Fighter Aviation Regiment PVO (1960-1977); 372nd Fighter Aviation Regiment (1977-1981); 372nd Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment (1981-1993)
Active	1951-1993
Country	Soviet Union
Branch	Soviet Air Forces ; Soviet Air Defence Forces
Type	Aviation regiment
Aircraft flown
	MiG-27 ; MiG-23

Last updated March 05, 2019

The 372nd Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment (372nd APIB) was a fighter-bomber regiment of the Soviet Air Forces and the Soviet Air Defence Forces (PVO). It existed from 1951 to 1993 and was based in Daugavpils until 1993, when it was transferred to Borisoglebsk and disbanded.^[1]

The Soviet Air Forces was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces were formed from components of the Imperial Russian Air Service in 1917, and faced their greatest test during World War II. The groups were also involved in the Korean War, and dissolved along with the Soviet Union itself in 1991–92. Former Soviet Air Forces' assets were subsequently divided into several air forces of former Soviet republics, including the new Russian Air Force. "March of the Pilots" was its song.

The Soviet Air Defence Forces was the air defence branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Formed in 1941, it continued being a service branch of the Russian Armed Forces after 1991 until it was merged into the Air Force in 1998. Unlike Western air defence forces, V-PVO was a branch of the military unto itself, separate from the Soviet Air Force (VVS) and Air Defence Troops of Ground Forces. During the Soviet period it was generally ranked third in importance of the Soviet services, behind the Strategic Missile Troops and the Ground Forces.

Daugavpils is a city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. It is the second largest city in the country after the capital Riga, which is located some 230 kilometres to its north-west.

History

The 372nd Fighter Aviation Regiment was activated in October 1951 at Daugavpils Air Base, part of the 336th Fighter Aviation Division. It was equipped with the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15. The regiment became part of the 175th Fighter Aviation Division in December 1952. In 1956, it received its first Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 fighter aircraft and had replaced the MiG-15s by 1958. In 1960, it received the Yakovlev Yak-25 and became a PVO regiment, subordinated to the 27th Air Defence Corps. The MiG-15 and Yak-25 had been phased out by 1966, when the unit received the Yakovlev Yak-28P. ^[1]

The Daugavpils International Airport is located 12 km northeast of Daugavpils in village of Lociki, Naujene parish, Daugavpils Municipality, Latvia.

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of the first successful jet fighters to incorporate swept wings to achieve high transonic speeds. In combat over Korea, it outclassed straight-winged jet day fighters, which were largely relegated to ground-attack roles, and was quickly countered by the similar American swept-wing North American F-86 Sabre. The MiG-15 is often mentioned, along with the F-86 Sabre, as the best fighter aircraft of the Korean War.

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 air superiority fighter aircraft family

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 is a Soviet second generation, single-seat, twin jet-engined fighter aircraft. It was the first Soviet production aircraft capable of supersonic speeds in level flight. A comparable U.S. "Century Series" fighter was the North American F-100 Super Sabre, although the MiG-19 would primarily oppose the more modern McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II and Republic F-105 Thunderchief over North Vietnam.

In 1977, the regiment was transferred back to the Soviet Air Forces and became part of the Air Forces of the Baltic Military District. In 1981, the Yak-28P was replaced by the Mikoyan MiG-27 and the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23UM. The regiment was redesignated the 372nd Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment and became part of the 39th Fighter-Bomber Aviation Division. Between July 1986 and June 1989, future Hero of the Russian Federation Sergey Borisyuk served as the unit's deputy commander.^[2] The regiment was equipped with 49 MiG-27s and 12 MiG-23UM aircraft, according to data from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe in November 1990. In 1993, the regiment was withdrawn from Latvia and moved to Borisoglebsk, being disbanded soon afterwards.^[1]

The Mikoyan MiG-27 is a variable-geometry ground-attack aircraft, originally built by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union and later licence-produced in India by Hindustan Aeronautics as the Bahadur ("Valiant"). It is based on the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 fighter aircraft, but optimized for air-to-ground attack. Unlike the MiG-23, the MiG-27 did not see widespread use outside Russia, as most countries opted for the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23BN and Sukhoi Su-22 instead. It remains in service with the Indian, Kazakh and Sri Lankan Air Forces in the ground attack role. All Russian and Ukrainian MiG-27s have been retired.

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 is a variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-generation jet fighter, along with similar Soviet fighters such as the MiG-25 "Foxbat" and Su-15 "Flagon". It was the first Soviet fighter to field a look-down/shoot-down radar and one of the first to be armed with beyond visual range missiles. Production started in 1970 and reached large numbers with over 5,000 aircraft built. Today the MiG-23 remains in limited service with some export customers.

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References

1 2 3 Holm, Michael. "372nd Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment". ww2.dk. Retrieved 14 Jan 2016.
↑ "Борисюк Сергей Константинович" [Borisyuk Sergey]. www.warheroes.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2016-01-14.

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[:0-1] 1 2 3 Holm, Michael. "372nd Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment". ww2.dk. Retrieved 14 Jan 2016.

[2] "Борисюк Сергей Константинович" [Borisyuk Sergey]. www.warheroes.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2016-01-14.