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Re: VVS 1922-39
Mikhail Maslov (2010) gives following regarding the aircraft strenght of fighter units of Soviet Army and Naval Air Force in 1939 based on figures of Red Army Air Force Department on 14.9.1939:
- 4478 fighters in combat units + 604 fighters in training units.
Soviet Air Force were organized by late 1930īs quite like the US Air Forces - there were Army and Naval air force branches:
Soviet Army Ar Foirce=Red Army Air Force=VVS RKKA (abbreviation based on the Russian words Voenne-Vozdushnye Sily Raboche Krestiyanskoy Krasnii Armi, literally translated The Air Force of the Red Army of the Workers and Peasants)
Soviet Naval Air Force=VVS MF (another abbreviation based on Russian words with VVS meaning again the military air Force and MF meaning the military maritime fleet of USSR).
Carl-Fredrik Geust (2011) gives following numbers dated on 1.10.1939:
VVS RKKA (Red Army Air Force) - in total 12 667 aircraft in 136 flight regiments. To these should be added the units of Soviet Naval Air Force (VVS MMF) which was officially separated from the VVS RKKA on 30.12.1937.
Geust gives about the VVS MMF more spesific details about the Northern Fleet Aviation (VVS KBF) and Baltic Fleet Aviation (VVS KBF) on 30.11.1939:
- VVS KBF (Baltic Fleet)- 469 aircraft in 4 flight regiments, 9 separate squadrons and in some other small units.
- VVS KF (Northern Fleet) - just 45 aircraft (all MBR-2) in one flight regiment and in one separate squadron.
Geust gives also following about the training volumes by late 1930īs:
- by the end of 1937 the Soviet air forces (VVS RKKA+ VVS MF) included 18 aviation schools and 6 technical schools with 22 707 cadets (of which 9021 were flight trainees and 2850 were gunner or observer trainees), 7780 aviation mechanics and 2776 armament trainees and other students. The aviation schools had by the end of 1937 as many as 3007 aircraft.
More details from Geust:
The Soviet air forces needed more officers during their growth and as many as 5670 officers were transferred from Soviet ground and naval forces to air forces during the years 1928 - 1938. However during the purges of 1937-1939 as many as 5616 high-ranked officers were expelled from the air forces and imprisoned (in many cases executed).
By 1.1.1939 the Soviet air force personnal was up to 203 600.
References:
Maslov 2010: Polikarpov I-15, I-16 and I-153 Aces, p. 12.
Geust, C-F 2011: The Winter War in Air, p. 9-11.
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