21st Fighter Aviation Regiment

The regiment was formed in 1938, took part in the Winter War

As part of the army from June 22, 1941 to July 16, 1941, from August 27, 1941 to October 27, 1941, from December 18, 1941 to October 26, 1942 and from April 12, 1943 to May 1, 1945 .

On June 22, 1941, it was based at the airfield in Riga , having 65 I-16 aircraft (of which 15 were faulty), including variants with cannon weapons.

The first raid of German bombers by the regiment was not reflected, since there was no order, however, there were no losses after the raid. During the second raid, fighters were lifted into the air and according to official reports of the regiment, 9 German planes were shot down, while the regiment did not suffer losses, however, 5 planes made an emergency landing due to lack of fuel, two of them were destroyed. June 23-25, 1941 operates mainly over Riga.

At the end of June 1941, the regiment was relocated from Riga to the Kruzhka airfield on the banks of the Western Dvina , and continued to conduct military operations in the Baltic states.

On July 16, 1941, the regiment was redeployed for reformation into the 14th reserve aviation regiment. By this time, 6 aircraft remained in the regiment, many of which were lost on the ground. After the reformation, the regiment received LaGG-3 aircraft.

In June-July 1941, the regiment, according to its reports, made 2,366 sorties, shot down 87 aircraft in air battles, destroyed 42 tanks, 46 vehicles, 5 gas tanks, 14 guns and many other military equipment of the enemy.

Since August 27, 1941, it has been operating in the old Russian and Novgorod directions, covering the troops of the 27th army as part of the 4th mixed aviation division ; on October 27, 1941 it was redeployed for reformation into the 2nd reserve regiment ( Savasleyka airfield), and military operations in late December 1941, based in the Udomelsky district , covered the troops of the 4th shock army .

Acted in the interests of the 4th strike army , based in Andreapol , then in Staraya Torop in August 1942 it operates in the Rzhev region, then it became part of the 210th, then the 209th aviation divisions, the latter operated until October 26, 1942, was in particular, at the Krasnoye airdrome, after which it was redeployed for re-education and retraining again in the 2nd reserve regiment. In the fall of 1942, a separate penal squadron of the 3rd Air Army functioned as part of the regiment.

Got La-5 aircraft. He entered the army again on April 12, 1943, acted on the Kalinin Front , in August 1943 became part of the 259th Fighter Aviation Division , and fought there until the end of the war over Dukhovshchina , Nevel , Vitebsk , Polotsk , Baltic , East Prussia .

The regiment had a registered plane, Oleg Koshevoi , on which Squadron Commander Major Kudymov flew.

Over the years of the war, pilots of the regiment shot down 290 enemy planes.

• 21st Fighter Aviation Vitebsk Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Regiment

• Korobkov, Pavel Terentyevich , major 09.1939-12.1939
• Miroshnichenko, major 1940-1941
• Zabaluev, Colonel
• Bobrov, Vladimir Ivanovich, Major, 11/22/1941 - 12/19/1941
• Nestoyanov, Ivan Maksimovich, Major, 12.1942 - 05/09/1945

• Rzhev-Sychevskaya operation - from July 30, 1942 to August 23, 1942.
• The burnt-Gorodishchensky operation - from July 30, 1942 to August 23, 1942.

• Team of authors. List No. 12 of the aviation regiments of the Air Force of the Red Army, which were part of the Active Army during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. / Pokrovsky. - The Ministry of Defense of the USSR. Military Scientific Directorate of the General Staff. - Moscow: Military Publishing House, 1960. - T. Appendix to the Directive of the General Staff of January 18, 1960 No. 170023. - 96 p.
• Team of authors. The combat structure of the Soviet Army. Part I (June - December 1941) / Grylev A.N .. - Military Scientific Directorate of the General Staff. - M .: Military Publishing House of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR. - 84 p.
• Team of authors. The combat structure of the Soviet Army. Part II (January - December 1942) / Grylev A.N .. - Military Scientific Directorate of the General Staff. - M .: Military Publishing House of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, 1966. - 266 p.
• Team of authors. The combat structure of the Soviet Army. Part III. (January - December 1943) / G.T. Zavizion. - Military Scientific Directorate of the General Staff. - M .: Order of the Red Banner of Labor Military Publishing House of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, 1972. - 336 p.
• Team of authors. The combat structure of the Soviet Army. Part IV (January - December 1944) / P.A. Zhilin. - Institute of Military History of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR. Historical and Archival Division of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR. The Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR. - M .: Military Publishing House, 1988 .-- 376 p.
• Team of authors. The combat structure of the Soviet Army. Part V. (January - September 1945) / M.A. Gareev. - The Ministry of Defense of the USSR. Historical and Archival Division of the General Staff. - M .: Military Publishing House, 1990. - 216 p.

1. List of operations of the armed forces of the USSR in World War II
2. Soviet aviation in World War II (inaccessible link)
3. Heroes of World War II
4. Air force
5. The Luftwaffe, 1933-45
6. World War II Aviators
7. “The Liberation of Cities: A Guide to the Liberation of Cities during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945” / M. L. Dudarenko, Yu. G. Pereshny, V. T. Eliseev and others. - M.: Military Publishing House, 1985. - 598 p. Electronic version