6th Air Army

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6th Red Banner Leningrad Army of VVS and PVO
Active	1 June 1942
Country	Russian Federation
Branch	Air Force
Role	Air support and Air Defence
Garrison/HQ	Sankt-Peterburg (HQ)
Nickname	Army of the "Road of Life"
Motto	"Securely guarding the North-West sky of Russia" (Russian: “Надежно охраняем небо Северо-Запада России")
Equipment	S-300 SAM system
Engagements	Siege of Leningrad
Decorations	Order of the Red Banner
Commanders
Current commander	General-Lieutenant Vladimir Sviridov
Notable commanders	General-Colonel S.D. Rybal'chenko (13th Air Army) former commander of the Far Eastern VVS and the Far East Military District during 1950-1956
Insignia
Roundel
Aircraft flown
Bomber	Su-24
Fighter	Su-27
Helicopter	Mi-8, Mi-24
Interceptor	MiG-31
Reconnaissance	MiG-25RB/U, Su-24MR
Transport	An-12, An-26, Mi-8, Tu-134;

The 6th Red Banner Leningrad Army of Military-Air Forces and Air Defence (Russian: 6-я Краснознамённая Ленинградская армия Военно-воздушных сил и противовоздушной обороны)^[1] is an Air Army of the Russian Air Force, which traces its history to the prewar PVO command in the Leningrad area, which later became 13th Air Army of the Leningrad Front.

The 6th Air Army was first formed in 1942 from the Air Forces of the North-Western Front, and its first commander was General Major of Aviation D.F. Kondratyk, who held command to August 1943. Initially the Army included the 2nd Corps of Air Defence and the 7th Fighter Aviation Corps, serving over Leningrad during the Siege of Leningrad. During its World War II service, the 6th Air Army included for a time the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, the all-female 'Night Witches'. It was assigned initially to the North-Western Front until February 1944, and after that to the 1st and 2nd Belorussian Fronts.^[2]

During the Cold War period, the 6th Army of the PVO was an extremely strong and important one, as regards its air defence component, regiments of interceptors and anti-aircraft missiles. It had two major tasks: to protect the most industrialized European part of the Soviet Union against possible U.S. cruise missile attack from the north via the North Pole (using MiG-31 interceptors), and to protect the deployment of nuclear submarines stationed in the Kola Peninsula (using Su-27 fighters).

The Army was reformed within the Russian Air Force on June 1, 1998, from the 76th Air Army of the VVS and the 6th Independent Army of the Voyska PVO, both headquartered in Sankt Petersburg. The 6th Army has responsibility for the Leningrad Military District and its commanding officer is, since June 2005, Major-General Vladimir Sviridov. The previous tasks of cruise missile defence and protection of submarines have now lost their importance, which has led to drastic cuts in the army. However, it still has three regiments of Su-27 fighters and a regiment of MiG-31 interceptors in service (note the absence of MiG-29 fighters and Su-25 attack aircraft).

[edit] Structure

• Headquarters, 6th Air Army - Sankt Petersburg
  • 21st Air Defence Corps - Severomorsk
    • 9th Fighter Aviation Regiment - HQ at Kilp-Yavr (Poliarnyi) - Su-27;
    • 458th Interceptor Aviation Regiment - HQ at Savatiya (Kotlas) - MiG-25U, MiG-31;
  • 54th Air Defence Corps - HQ at Taytsy
    • 177th Fighter Aviation Regiment - HQ at Lodeynoye Pole (air base) - Su-27;
    • 159th Fighter Aviation Regiment - HQ at Besovets Airport - Su-27;
  • 149th Composite Aviation Division
    • 67th Bomber Aviation Regiment - HQ at Siverskiy-2 - Su-24;
    • 722nd Bomber Aviation Regiment - HQ at Smuravyevo (Gdov) - Su-24;
  • 98th Guards Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment - HQ at Monchegorsk (air base) - MiG-25RB/U, Su-24MR;
  • 138th Independent Composite Air Regiment - HQ at Levashevo - An-12, An-26, Mi-8, Tu-134;
  • Army Aviation Component
    • 147th Independent Helicopter Squadron of Electronic Warfare - HQ at Pushkin - Mi-8PPA;
    • 332nd Independent Helicopter Regiment for Battle Control - HQ at Pribylovo - Mi-8, Mi-24;
    • 85th Independent Helicopter Squadron - HQ at Alakurtti - Mi-8, Mi-24.

[edit] References and further reading

1. ^ Историческая справка
2. ^ Bonn/Glantz, Slaughterhouse, Aberjona Press, Bedford, PA, 2005, p.337

• Air Forces Monthly, July & August 2007 issues.
• http://samsv.narod.ru/Arm/av06/arm.html - Russian language source on WW 2 history
• Historical detail [1] from Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation.

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