Soviet Air Force
|
|
The Soviet Air Force, also known under the abbreviation VVS, transliterated from Russian: ВВС, Военно-воздушные силы (Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily), formed the official designation of the airforce of the Soviet Union.
History
The VVS was founded as the "Workers' and Peasants' Air Fleet" in 1918. After being placed under control of the Red Army, with the official denomination VVS in 1930, its influence on aircraft design became greater.
One of first big tests of the VVS came in 1936 with the Spanish Civil War, where the latest aircraft designs were put to the test by up-to-date German aircraft. Early victories by the I-16 fighter were squandered because of the limited use of that fighter. German Bf-109s arriving later in the war secured air superiority for the Nationalist cause.
In 1939, the VVS used its bombers to attack Finland, but the losses inflicted on them by the relatively small Finnish army showed the shortcomings of these forces, mainly due to the Great Purge in the 30's.
The main reason of the great amount of aircraft lost was the lack of modern tactics, but time to improve them was short, because the German offensive of 1941 (Operation Barbarossa) pushed the airforce into a defensive position, while being confronted with more modern German aircraft.
As with many allied countries in the Second World War the Soviet Union received western aircraft by lend-lease.
During the Cold War the VVS was divided into three segments: Dal'naya Aviatsiya (Strategic Aviation), or DA, focused on long-range bombers; Frontovaya Aviatsiya (Frontal Aviation), or FA, focused on battlefield air defense, close air support, and interdiction; and the Voenno Transportsiya Aviatsiya (Military Transport Aviation)which controlled all transport aircraft. The Voyska protivovozdushnoy oborony (Air Defense Forces), or Voyska PVO, which focused on air defense and interceptor aircraft, was then a separate and distinct service within the Soviet military organization.
The Russian Navy has its own independent air arm as well, the Aviatsiya Voenno Morskogo Flota (Naval Aviation), or AV-MF.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991 the aircraft and personnel of the Soviet VVS were divided among the newly independent states. Russia received the majority of these forces, approximately 40% of the aircraft and 65% of the manpower, with these forming the basis for the new Russian Federation Air Force.
Inventory 1987
VVS
The VVS Aircraft inventory of 1987 comprised:
- 1210 interceptors
- 420 MiG-23 Flogger
- 305 MiG-25 Foxbat
- 240 Su-15 Flagon
- 5 Su-27 Flanker
- 80 Tu-128 Fiddler
- 65 Yak-28 Firebar
- 95 MiG-31 Foxhound
Soviet Air Force
- 550 medium bombers
- 155 Tu-22M Backfire
- 260 Tupolev Tu-16 Badger
- 135 Tu-22 Blinder
- 2780 fighters
- 490 MiG-21 Fishbed
- 1570 MiG-23 Flogger
- 105 MiG-25 Foxbat
- 260 Su-15 Flagon
- 20 Tu-128 Fiddler
- 20 Yak-28 (Yak-28)Firebar
- 275 MiG-29 Fulcrum
- 30 MiG-31 Foxhound
- 10 Su-27 Flanker
- 2835 attack aircraft
- 130 MiG-21 Fishbed
- 830 MiG-27 Flogger
- 895 Su-7/Su-17 Fitter
- 770 Su-24 Fencer
- 210 Su-25 Frogfoot
- 50 tankers
- 30 M-4 Bison
- 20 Tupolev Tu-16 Badger
- 658 tactical reconnaissance and ECM aircraft
- 65 MiG-21 Fishbed
- 195 MiG-25 Foxbat
- 165 Su-17 Fitter
- 65 Su-24 Fencer
- 195 Yak-28 Brewer
- 260 strategic reconnaissance and ECM aircraft
- 115 Tupolev Tu-16 Badger
- 15 Tu-22 Blinder
- 4 Tu-95 Bear
- 102 Yak-28 Brewer
- 24 MiG-25 Foxbat
3050 helicopters
1500 trainers and training helicopters