304th Fighter Division

• 304th Bomber Air Division
• 304th Fighter Division
• 304th Cherkasy Fighter Division
• 23rd Guards Cherkasy Fighter Division
• 23rd Guards Cherkasy Red Banner Fighter Division
• 23rd Guards Cherkasy Red Banner Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky II Degree Fighter Division
• Field mail 45147

The 304th Fighter Division was created on June 26, 1943 on the basis of the 304th Bomber Aviation Division converted and transferred to the formation of the 7th Fighter Aviation Corps by a State Defense Order ^[1]

By order of the NPO of the USSR on October 27, 1944, for the exemplary performance of command assignments and the courage and heroism shown at that, the 304th Cherkasy Fighter Aviation Division was renamed the 23rd Guards Cherkasy Fighter Aviation Division ^[2] .

As part of the army ^[3] :

• from June 1, 1943 to June 26, 1943 (as the 304th bad ), only 25 days
• from July 9, 1943 to September 21, 1943, only 74 days
• from October 4, 1943 to October 27, 1944, only 389 days
• from October 27, 1944 to May 11, 1945 (as the 23rd Guards. Yad ), only 196 days

total - 684 days

• Colonel (from October 23, 1943, Colonel ) Pechenko Johansen Konstantinovich - from June 26, 1943 to December 24, 1943.
• Colonel Alexander Ivanovich Grisenko ^[4] - from December 26, 1943 to October 23, 1944.
• Colonel Kotelov Joseph Sidorovich ^[5] - from October 24, 1944 to October 27, 1944.

Over the entire period of its existence, the combat composition of the division underwent changes, at different times it was composed of regiments ^[6] :

• Belgorod-Kharkov strategic offensive operation ^[7] - from August 3, 1943 to August 23, 1943.
• Kirovograd operation ^[7] - from January 5, 1944 to January 16, 1944.
• Korsun-Shevchenko operation ^[7] - from January 24, 1944 to February 17, 1944.
• Uman-Botosha operation ^[7] - from March 5, 1944 to April 17, 1944.
• The Lvov-Sandomir Operation ^[7] - from July 13, 1944 to August 3, 1944.

• 9th Fighter Aviation Regiment in the 211st Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment ^[8]

• The 304th Fighter Division was given the honorary title Cherkasskaya ^[9]
• The 21st Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment was given the honorary title Cherkassky ^[9]
• The 9th Fighter Aviation Regiment was given the honorary title “Yaroslavsky” ^[10]

The Supreme Commander of the division declared thanks:

• For mastering the city of Cherkasy ^[9]

• The team of authors . Great Patriotic: Komdivy. Military Biographical Dictionary / V.P. Goremykin. - M .: Kuchkovo Pole, 2014. - T. 2. - 992 p. - 1000 copies - ISBN 978-5-9950-0341-0 .
• Kozhevnikov MN The command and headquarters of the Soviet Army Air Force in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 .. - Moscow: Science, 1977. - 288 p. - 70 000 copies
• B. Snarling , M. Morozov. Guards aviation divisions, corps, squadron of 1941-45 // World of Aviation: Aviation-historical magazine, technical review .. - M. , 2003. - Vol. 32 . - № 3 . - P. 25 - 28 . Archived March 5, 2016.
• B. Snarling , M. Morozov. Guards aviation divisions, corps, squadron of 1941-45 // World of Aviation: Aviation-historical magazine, technical review .. - M. , 2003. - Vol. 31 . - № 2 . - p. 25 - 31 . Archived April 22, 2016.
• M.L. Dudarenko , Yu.G. Perechnev , V.T. Eliseev, and others. The liberation of cities: A guide to the liberation of cities in the period of the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945 / ed. ed. Army General S. P. Ivanov. - Institute of Military History of the USSR Ministry of Defense. Central Archive of the USSR Ministry of Defense. - M: Military Publishing, 1985. - 598 p. - (Reference). - 50 000 copies
• The team of authors. List No. 4 of the corps directorates that were part of the Army in the years of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 / Pokrovsky. - USSR Ministry of Defense. Military Scientific Department of the General Staff. - Moscow: Voenizdat, 1956. - T. Appendix to the Directive of the General Staff of 1956 No. 168780. - 151 p.
• The team of authors. List No. 6 of cavalry, tank, airborne divisions and directorates of artillery, antiaircraft artillery, mortar, aviation and fighter divisions that were part of the army in the years of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 / Pokrovsky. - USSR Ministry of Defense. Military Scientific Department of the General Staff. - Moscow: Voenizdat, 1956. - T. Appendix to the Directive of the General Staff of 1956 No. 168780. - 77 p.
• The team of authors. List No. 12 of the aviation regiments of the Air Force of the Red Army, which were part of the Army in the years of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. / Pokrovsky. - USSR Ministry of Defense. Military Scientific Department of the General Staff. - Moscow: Military Publishing, 1960. - T. Appendix to the directive of the General Staff dated January 18, 1960 No. 170023. - 96 p.
• The team of authors. The combat composition of the Soviet Army. Part III. (January - December 1943) / G.T. The vision. - Military Scientific Department of the General Staff. - M .: Order of the Red Banner of Labor Military Publishing House of the USSR Ministry of Defense, 1972. - 336 p.
• The team of authors. The combat composition of the Soviet Army. Part IV. (January - December 1944) / P.A. Zhilin. - Institute of Military History, USSR Ministry of Defense. Historical and archive department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR. Central archive of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR. - Moscow: Military publishing house, 1988. - 376 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 combat composition
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. Perechnev, V.T. Eliseev, and others. - M .: Voenizdat, 1985. - 598 p. Electronic version