13th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Air Force of the Baltic Fleet (1st formation)

The regiment was formed in April 1938 on the basis of the 3rd Separate Fighter Aviation Squadron of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet Air Force .

He took part in the Winter War .

As part of the army during the Second World War from June 22, 1941 to May 1, 1942.

On June 22, 1941 the 1st, 2nd and 3rd squadrons of the regiment on the I-16 are based at the Kerstovo airfield near Leningrad , the 4th squadron on the I-153 is based on the Hanko naval base.

On June 25, 1941, the 3rd Squadron of the regiment was transferred to the 5th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet Air Force . The 1st and 2nd Squadron flew to Tallinn and from the first days of the war they were conducting combat work on the Baltic Sea , Estonia and the islands of the Moonsund Archipelago

On June 25, 1941, Captain A. K. Antonenko shot down a reconnaissance aircraft Ju-86 north of Naissaar Island, thus becoming the first pilot of the Baltic Fleet to open a combat account. On June 29, 1941, Lieutenant V. A. Yermakov was shot down while returning from a mission over the Lagsberg airfield ( Tallinn ), becoming the first dead pilot of the Baltic Fleet aviation in the war (the aircraft were shot down before that, but the crews returned).

The 4th Squadron of the regiment under the command of L. G. Belousov acted separately until December 2, 1941, defending the Hanko naval base, carrying out reconnaissance on Finnish territory, conducting air battles in the area of ​​the base mainly with the Finnish air force pilots, striking the ships and to the enemy ships and covering the ships evacuating the base. The first air battle in the sky of Hanko was carried out by regiment pilots G. Semenov, V. Dmitriev, K. Andreev shot down two German Ju-88 bomber. Until August 28, the squadron pilots shot down 53 aircraft in air battles over Hanko, destroyed two hydroplanes on the water, sank two torpedo boats, 15 other boats, four schooners and a barge, destroyed over 300 enemy soldiers and officers.

From the squadron, AK Antonenko and P. A. Brinko led the air battles most actively. Their combat experience gained in Khalkhin Gol and during the war with Finland, fully revealed in the sky over Hanko. These pilots were the first in the Baltic to prove the excellent combat capabilities of a pair of fighters in aerial combat and the effectiveness of fire tactics from short distances to vulnerable areas of enemy aircraft. First, the Ju-88 Antonenko and Brinko in the sky Hanko shot down right above the airfield. Despite the bombing, they took off and entered the battle with the German bombers. Anti-aircraft gunners, stopping the shooting, watched this fight. Ju-88 turned to the south, trying to go towards the sea, but was overtaken at the very edge of the coast and collapsed on the rocks. Later it turned out that Antonenko had spent seven rounds on the destruction of the enemy, and Brinko - 11! Only 7 minutes passed from takeoff of our fighters to landing! Antonenko and Brinko were in the planes for 16 hours a day, went to bed right there, next to the fighters. Pilots' parachutes hung close by on special braces and 30 seconds after the alarm they managed to get up into the air. Such an instant readiness for departure and a clear calculation of the interception route were provided by A. K. Antonenko and P. A. Brinko during five weeks of the war 20 victories in aerial combat. On July 14, they were the first among the Baltic pilots to be awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. A.K. Antonenko died on July 26, 1941 - he crashed while landing on the field of the Khankovsky airfield Tyaktome dug by shells. P. Brinko continued to fight in the sky of Hanko, and then the Oranienbaum bridgehead , bringing the aircraft downed to 15 by him. He died on September 23, 1941.

In August 1941, the regiment was mainly involved in strikes and cover attacks on enemy columns, which were moving towards Tallinn , and also covers the escorts of ships that were evacuated from Tallinn . After the evacuation of Tallinn on the night of August 27, 1941, the remnants of the regiment flew to Leningrad . At the same time, part of the regiment airplanes remained in Saaremaa . Protecting Saaremaa, Pyotr Lobanov and Nikandr Shabanov died on October 3, 1941, six planes began their flight from Saaremaa to the Hanko base, while flying in bad weather from the Moonsund islands, 4 airplanes and taken technicians were missing. Including the missing commander of the 1st Squadron of the 13th Fighter Aviation Regiment, M. T. Leonovich, Yuri Dobryak, Konstantin Belorustsev. Alexei Lazukin, Grigory Semenov, Alexander Ovchinnikov, Vladimir Dmitriev, Philip Badayev, Anatoly Kuznetsov were killed in air battles during the defense of Hanko.

In September-October 1941, the regiment operates over Leningrad and the closest approaches to it — Gatchina , Oranienbaum , Pushkin , Strelna , Urytsk , Pulkovo , Krasnoe Selo . Based at the airport Nizino , then flew to the island of Kotlin .

In October 1941, the 104th Separate Aviation Squadron of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet Air Force entered the regiment as the 3rd squadron.

From November 30, 1941, flew over to a field airfield near the village of Vytava, eight kilometers south-west of Kobona. From now on (officially since December 8, 1941), the main task of the regiment was operations in the airspace over Lake Ladoga in order to cover transport communications on Ladoga, in particular, the Road of Life on the stretch from Zelenets to Kobona, property warehouses and port in Cobón , New Ladoga , Osinovets . In addition, the regiment covered ground troops in the areas of Voybokalo , Shum , Zhikharevo and Nazia

Throughout the autumn and the beginning of the winter of 1941, there were about a dozen combat - ready I-16s in the regiment.

By January 18, 1942, the regiment reportedly made 5945 combat sorties, shot down 117 aircraft in air battles, destroyed 12 tanks, 387 vehicles, 20 boats, a destroyer, a sentry guard, 3 anti-aircraft batteries, hundreds of soldiers and officers.

January 18, 1942 By the Order of the People's Commissar of the Navy No. 10 for showing bravery in air battles with the German fascist invaders, for perseverance, courage, discipline and organization, for the heroism of the personnel was transformed into the 4th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Red Banner Air Force , but apparently until May 1, 1942 acted under the old name.

13th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Air Force of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet

•   Romanenko, Ivan Georgievich , Major, Lieutenant Colonel: July 1938 - August 26, 1941;
• Okhten Mikhail Vasilyevich, captain, December 15, 1941 Major: October 9, 1941 - January 23, 1942.

• List No.19 of command and control agencies, formations, ships, units and institutions of the Baltic Fleet, Ladoga Military Flotilla and the Ilmensky detachment of ships that were part of the Army in the years of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.
• Directory.