Soviet Air Force

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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.

Related Topics:
1918 - Red Army - 1930

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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 Spanish Nationalist cause.

Related Topics:
1936 - Spanish Civil War - I-16 - Bf-109 - Air superiority - Spanish Nationalist

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In 1939, the VVS used its bombers to attack Finland in the Winter War, 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 1930s.

Related Topics:
1939 - Finland - Winter War - Finnish army - Great Purge - 1930s

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The main reason of the great number 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 air force into a defensive position, while being confronted with more modern German aircraft.

Related Topics:
Tactics - 1941 - Operation Barbarossa

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As with many allied countries in the Second World War the Soviet Union received western aircraft by lend-lease.

Related Topics:
Second World War - Soviet Union - Lend-lease

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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-Transportnaya 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.

Related Topics:
Cold War - Bomber - Battlefield - Close air support - Voyska PVO - Interceptor aircraft

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:On September 1, 1983 the Soviet Air Force shot down Korean Air Flight 007 after they mistakenly believed that the civilian airliner had illegal crossed into restricted Soviet airspace and was a spy plane. Soviet government officials finally admitted their mistake much to the anger of the South Korean and the United States governments.

Related Topics:
September 1 - 1983 - Korean Air Flight 007 - South Korean - United States

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The Russian Navy has its own independent air arm as well, the Aviatsiya Voenno Morskogo Flota (Naval Aviation), or AV-MF.

Related Topics:
Russian Navy - Aviatsiya Voenno Morskogo Flota

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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.

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