216th Fighter Aviation Division

• Air Force 37th Army
• 216th Fighter Aviation Division
• 216th Mixed Aviation Division
• 9th Guards Fighter Aviation Division
• 9th Guards Mariupol Fighter Aviation Division
• 9th Guards Mariupol Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky II Degree Fighter Aviation Division
• 9th Guards Mariupol Red Banner Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky II Degree Fighter Aviation Division
• 9th Guards Mariupol Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky II Degree Fighter Aviation Division
• 9th Guards Mariupol-Berlin Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky Fighter Aviation Division
• 237th Guards Mariupol-Berlin Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky Fighter Aviation Division
• 237th Guards Mariupol-Berlin Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky Fighter Aviation Division of the Baltic Fleet Air Force
• Field Mail 21221

The 216th Fighter Aviation Division was formed on May 24, 1942 on the basis of the Order of the NPO of the USSR ^[1] .

On December 13, 1942, the 216th Fighter Aviation Division was transformed into the 216th Combined Aviation Division .

As part of the army ^[2] :

• from May 24, 1942 to December 13, 1942.

• Kharkov operation - from May 24, 1942 to May 29, 1942.
• Voronezh-Voroshilovgrad operation - from June 28, 1942 to July 24, 1942.
• Donbass operation - from July 7, 1942 to July 24, 1942.
• North Caucasian offensive operation - from July 25, 1942 to December 13, 1942.
• Armaviro-Maykop operation - from August 6, 1942 to August 17, 1942.
• Mozdok-Malgobek operation - from September 1, 1942 to September 28, 1942.
• The Nalchik-Ordzhonikidze operation - from October 25, 1942 to November 12, 1942.

After formation, the division was included in the 4th Air Army of the Southern Front. In May-July 1942, in collaboration with other fighter aviation units, she protected the front troops from attacks by Nazi aircraft and carried out air reconnaissance missions. During this time, its pilots made over 2 thousand sorties and shot down 95 enemy aircraft in air battles.

The division fought especially fierce battles with Nazi aviation in July during the Donbass defensive operation.

In August – October 1942, the division participated in the hostilities in the Kuban and the North Caucasus, covering the troops of the 37th and 9th armies of the Northern Group of Forces of the Transcaucasian Front. High combat skill was shown by division pilots in the Nalchik-Ordzhonikidze defense operation : they shot down 140 enemy planes.

•   Maksimenko Vasily Ivanovich , senior lieutenant, squadron commander of the 88th fighter aviation regiment of the 216th fighter aviation division of the 4th Air Army of the Transcaucasian Front, on November 23, 1942, was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Gold Star No. 741.
•   Kolesnik Vasily Artyomovich , captain, squadron commander of the 88th fighter aviation regiment of the 216th fighter aviation division of the 4th Air Army of the North Caucasus Front, on August 24, 1943, was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Gold Star No. 1150.
•   Lavitsky Nikolai Efimovich , lieutenant, commanding officer of the 45th fighter aviation regiment of the 216th fighter aviation division of the 4th air army of the North Caucasus Front, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated August 24, 1943, was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. Posthumously.
•   Pilipenko Ivan Markovich , squadron commander of the 40th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 216th Fighter Aviation Division of the 4th Air Army of the Transcaucasian Front, captain, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of December 13, 1942 for exemplary execution of combat missions of command and courage and Heroism posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.
•   Sereda Pyotr Selverstovich , captain, squadron commander of the 88th fighter aviation regiment of the 216th fighter aviation division of the 4th Air Army on November 23, 1942, was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Gold Star No. 821.
•   Figichev Valentin Alekseevich , captain, squadron commander of the 16th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 216th Fighter Aviation Division of the 4th Air Army on November 23, 1942, was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Gold Star No. 822.

• Team of authors . World War II: Divisional Commanders. Military Biographical Dictionary / V.P. Goremykin. - M .: Kuchkovo field, 2014 .-- T. 2 .-- 992 p. - 1000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-9950-0341-0 .
• I. G. Drogovoz. Air Shield of the Country of Soviets. - Minsk: Harvest LLC, 2007. - 448 p. - (Military Historical Library). - 5100 copies. - ISBN 978-975-13-9628-9 .
• B. Growl , M. Morozov. Guard aviation divisions, corps, squadrons 1941-45 // World of Aviation: Aviation-historical journal, technical review .. - M. , 2003. - Issue. 32 . - No. 3 . - S. 25 - 28 . Archived March 5, 2016.
• B. Growl , M. Morozov. Guard aviation divisions, corps, squadrons 1941-45 // World of Aviation: Aviation-historical journal, technical review .. - M. , 2003. - Issue. 31 . - No. 2 . - S. 25 - 31 . Archived on April 22, 2016.
• Kozhevnikov M.N. Command and headquarters of the Air Force of the Soviet Army in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 .. - Moscow: Nauka, 1977. - 288 p. - 70,000 copies.
• M. L. Dudarenko , Yu. G. Pereshnov , V. T. Eliseev et al. Liberation of cities: A guide to the liberation of cities during the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945 / under the general. ed. Army General S.P. Ivanov. - Institute of Military History of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR. Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR. - M: Military Publishing House, 1985 .-- 598 p. - (Reference). - 50,000 copies.
• 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.
• Anokhin V. A., Bykov M. Yu. All Stalin's fighter aviation regiments. The first complete encyclopedia. - Popular science publication. - M .: Yauza-press, 2014 .-- 944 p. - 1,500 copies - ISBN 978-5-9955-0707-9 .
• N.V. Ogarkov. “Mariupol-Berlin Fighter Aviation Division” // Soviet Military Encyclopedia: [In 8 volumes]. - Moscow: Military Publishing House, 1978. - V. 5. - S. 137-138. - 105,000 copies.

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. “Liberation of cities: A guide to the liberation of cities during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945”