| 95th Mixed Aviation Division (1949–1954) 95th Fighter Aviation Division (1954–1988) | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1949–1988 |
| Country |  Soviet Union |
| Branch | Soviet Air Forces |
| Type | Aviation division |
| Garrison/HQ | Shchuchyn |
The 95th Fighter Aviation Division (95th IAD) was a fighter aviation division of the Soviet Air Forces. The division was originally formed in 1949 as the 95th Mixed Aviation Division and became a fighter aviation division in 1954. It was disbanded in 1988 and was based in Shchuchyn from 1960. [1]
The 95th Mixed Aviation Division was formed in July 1949 in Markovo, part of the 29th Air Army. It was composed of the 214th Guards Transport Aviation Regiment and the 911th Fighter Aviation Regiment. In December 1953, the division was transferred west to Byaroza and became a fighter aviation division in 1954. It was subordinated to the 26th Air Army. In 1955, it included the 911th, 940th and the 968th Fighter Aviation Regiments. [1] Between 1957 and 1959, future cosmonaut Dmitri Zaikin served as a chief pilot in the division. [2]
The division relocated to Shchuchyn in 1960. Its 911th and 940th Fighter Aviation Regiments were transferred and replaced by the 927th (ru:927-й истребительный авиационный полк) at Bereza and 979th Fighter Aviation Regiments. In April 1980, the division became part of the Belorussian Military District VVS after the 26th Air Army was renamed. Elements of the 927th and 979th Fighter Aviation Regiments fought in the Soviet-Afghan War. [3] [4] The division was disbanded in June 1988. [1]
The 927th Fighter Aviation Regiment became part of the Belarus Air Force after the collapse of the Soviet Union. [5]
The Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus consist of the Ground Forces and the Air Force and Air Defence Forces, all under the command of the Republic of Belarus Ministry of Defence. Being a landlocked country, Belarus has no navy.
The Russian Air Force is a branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the latter being formed on 1 August 2015 with the merging of the Russian Air Force and the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces. The modern VVS was originally established on 7 May 1992 following Boris Yeltsin's creation of the Ministry of Defence. However, the Russian Federation's air force can trace its lineage and traditions back to the Imperial Russian Air Service (1912–1917) and the Soviet Air Forces (1918–1991).
The Turkestan Military District was a military district of both the Imperial Russian Army and the Soviet Armed Forces, with its headquarters at Tashkent. The District was first created during the 1874 Russian military reform when by order of Minister Dmitry Milyutin the territory of Russia was divided into fourteen military districts. Its first commander was Konstantin Petrovich von Kaufmann, who was also Governor-General of Russian Turkestan at the time.
The Air Force and Air Defence Forces of the Republic of Belarus is the air force of the Armed Forces of Belarus, formed in 1992 from the 26th Air Army of the Soviet Air Forces which had been serving in the Byelorussian SSR.
The Byelorussian Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces. Originally formed just before World War I as the Minsk Military District out of the remnants of the Vilno Military District and the Warsaw Military District, it was headed by the Russian General Eugen Alexander Ernst Rausch von Traubenberg.
The 2nd Air Army was an air army of the Red Army Air Force during the Second World War.
The 76th Air Army was a unit of the Soviet Air Forces from 1949 to 1980, and again from 1988 to 1998. As the 13th Air Army, it was originally formed on 25 November 1942 and based on air units of the Leningrad Front.
The 1st Guards Stalingrad Composite Aviation Division is an Aviation Division of the Russian Air Force. It was originally formed as the 226th Assault Aviation Division in May 1942 and became the 1st Guards Stalingrad Assault Aviation Division for its performance in the Battle of Stalingrad. The division fought in the Melitopol Offensive, Crimean Offensive, East Prussian Offensive and the Battle of Königsberg. By the end of the war, the division had been awarded the Order of the Red Banner twice, the Order of Lenin and the Orders of Kutuzov and Suvorov 2nd class. Postwar, the division relocated to Belarus. In April 1956, it became a bomber division but was converted to a fighter-bomber unit in 1957. In 1989, it became an bomber unit again and moved to Krasnodar in 1993. At Krasnodar it became an assault unit. The division moved to Yeysk in 2002 and disbanded in 2009. It was reformed in 2013 with the addition of extra fighter units.
The 11th Guards Mechanized Brigade is a unit of the Armed Forces of Belarus based in Slonim. The 11th Guards Brigade traces its history back to the 1942 formation of the 6th Tank Corps of the Soviet Army during World War II.
Aleksey Vasilyevich Alelyukhin was a Soviet World War II flying ace and twice Hero of the Soviet Union who later became a major general. During World War II, Alelyukhin shot down at least 28 enemy aircraft. He served in the 9th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment and went on to a series of postwar command positions, retiring as a major general in 1985. He also flew during the Korean War.
The 38th Separate Guards Air Assault Brigade is a Special forces brigade of the Armed Forces of Belarus. It is currently based in Brest. The brigade was originally formed from the elements of the disbanded 105th Guards Vienna Airborne Division in 1979 as the 38th Separate Guards Air Assault Brigade. In 1990, it was transferred to the Soviet airborne and renamed the 38th Separate Guards Airborne Brigade. In January 1992, it was taken over by Belarus and was later renamed the 38th Guards Mobile Brigade. The brigade was renamed the 38th Guards Air Assault Brigade in 2016.
The Western Operational Command (ZOK) is a command of the Belarus Ground Forces. It is headquartered in Grodno. It is composed of two Mechanized Brigades and an artillery brigade. The command was created in 2001 from the 28th Army Corps, the former 28th Army.
The 72nd Guards Joint Training Centre is a training centre of the Belarus Armed Forces. It trains warrant officers and junior specialists for the Belarus Armed Forces and is based in Borisov. The centre is currently led by Colonel Igor Korol. The 72nd Guards Joint Training Centre traces its history back to the Soviet 120th Rifle Division. For its actions during the Yelnya Offensive, the division became the 6th Guards Rifle Division in September 1941. In November 1945, the division became the 15th Guards Mechanized Division. On 15 May 1957, it became the 47th Guards Tank Division. The division became a training unit in 1960 and was renamed the 45th Guards Tank Training Division in 1965. In 1987, it became the 72nd Guards District Training Centre. In 1992, it was taken over by Belarus and became the 72nd Guards Joint Training Centre.
Lieutenant-General Anatoly Ivanovich Kostenko was the Minister of Defence of Belarus from 28 July 1994 – 6 June 1995. He was preceded by Paul Kozlowski and succeeded by Leonid Maltsev.
The 940th Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment was an aviation regiment of the Soviet Air Force. It was formed in 1942 in the Soviet Far East and fought in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria. During the last months of the Korean War, the regiment was relocated to China, but did not fight in combat due to the end of the war. After the end of the latter it was transferred to Belarus, where it served for the remainder of the Cold War, being converted into a fighter-bomber regiment in 1960.
The 911th Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment was an aviation regiment of the Soviet Air Force and later the Belarusian Air Force. It was formed in 1942 in the Soviet Far East as a fighter regiment and fought in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria. After the end of the latter it was stationed in Sakhalin and then the Chukotka Peninsula until 1953, when it moved to Belarus, where it remained for most of the Cold War. In 1960 it was converted into a fighter-bomber aviation regiment. In 1989 it was transferred to East Germany, but withdrawn to Belarus in 1992, where it disbanded in 1993.
The Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus is the central military band service of the Armed Forces of Belarus. The band was formed on 1 April 1950 as the Band of the Belorussian Military District. It was expanded into a service in the 1990s after the Independence of Belarus occurred. Its bands participate in military parades, military tattoos, and official ceremonies of Belarus. They perform domestically, regularly performing in the Central Officers House in Minsk, as well as other garrison clubs. The massed bands of the Minsk Garrison is an annual participant in the parades of the Minsk Garrison on Victors Avenue since 2004. The repertoire of the band includes more than 500 compositions of the most important classical music composers and contemporary ones. Bands have performed in festivals in Great Britain, Ireland, Germany, France, Poland, Sweden, and Russia. The band has also played in the Spasskaya Tower military tattoo in 2013, 2016, and 2017. The band is commanded by its Senior Director of Music/Chief Conductor, Lieutenant Colonel Igor Khlebus, since 2019. The artistic director of the band is Colonel Evgueny Dovzhik.
The 26th Air Army was an Air army of the Soviet Air Forces active from 1949 to 1980, and then 1988-1992.
Babruysk Air Base is a military airfield of the 83rd Separate Order of the Red Star Engineer-Aerodrome Regiment of the Air and Air Defence Force of Belarus, located in the south-western outskirts of Babruysk (Bobruisk), Belarus. The base also functions as a spare airfield. It used to be a Soviet Long-Range Aviation air base.
Osovcy is an air base of the Air Force and Air Defence Forces of the Republic of Belarus located in Byaroza, Brest Region, Belarus. Bereza (Osovcy) is 7 km NW of Byaroza. Alternate given coordinates are 52° 33.4' N 24° 52.8' E.
