Soviet Air Forces VVS

The Soviet Air Forces on the Eastern Front

A Luftwaffe Fw 189 Uhu (Owl) searches in vain for VVS orbats. Converted P-38 by the Author

If the Luftwaffe on the Eastern front is slippery to pin down, then the Soviet air forces make it look a model of clarity! A combination of limited and conflicting sources, massive early losses and constant replacements and attrition mean that this orbat is an approximation at best.

Summer 1941 saw a huge proportion of the Soviet air assets destroyed close to the border, with both Soviet and Luftwaffe orbats reduced to 20-33% of their initial strengths in 1941.

The Author’s storage box for the VVS is a faithful reproduction of the Soviet state of organisation days into the Axis invasion

It was normal for Soviet regiments to be operating at 1/3, or squadron strength. Depending on the scenario, you could either field the correct number of regiments at one strength point each (s1), or amalgamate them to 1/3 of the correct number of regiments.

See this link for a breakdown of  forces :  https://notquitemechanised.wordpress.com/orders-of-battle-orbats/nqm-soviet-orbats/nqm-soviet-air-force/

For 1940 – 41 Boyd (1977) gives the following for the Western Military District :

3^rd Air Army

9^th Composite Air Division (fighters, bombers and Shturmovik regiments)

4^th Air Army10^th Composite Air Division

(fighters, bombers and Shturmovik regiments)

10^th Air Army

11^th Composite Air Division (fighters, bombers and Shturmovik regiments)

III GKO Air Corps

42^nd Bomber Division

52^nd Bomber Division

61^st  Fighter Division

Directly allocated as required to air armies from MD HQ:

12^th Bomber Division

13^th Bomber Division

43^rd Fighter Division

59^th Fighter Division

60^th Fighter Division

By 1943 the Soviets distinguished between Air Armies directly supporting the Army Fronts, the Air DefenceForces (PVO) and Long Range Air Arm (ADD), which comprised ADD bombers, GVF transport and special GKO transports and was as I understand it part of the VVS.

The air armies were allocated as follow :

KARELIAN FRONT              (7^th Air Army)             Gen Sokolov

LENINGRAD FRONT            (13^th Air Army)           Gen Rybal’chenko

VOLKHOV FRONT               (14^th Air Army)           Gen Zhuravlev

2^ND BALTIC FRONT (15^th Air Army)           Gen Payatikhin

1^ST BALTIC FRONT              (3^rd Air Army)             Gen Gromov

WESTERN FRONT                (1^st Air Army)             Gen Khudyakov

BRYANSK FRONT               (16^th Air Army)           Gen Kondratyuk

1^ST UKRANIAN FRONT       (2^nd Air Army)            Gen Rudenko

2^ND UKRANIAN FRONT       (5^th Air Army)             Gen Smirnov

3^RD UKRANIAN FRONT       (17^th Air Army)           Gen Krasovski

4^TH UKRANIAN FRONT       (8^th Air Army)             Gen Khryukin

INDEPENDENT MARITIME ARMY (4^th Air Army) Gen Naumenko

When compiling lists like these, you have to watch out for generals who move between armies, rather like the boy who always appeared at each end of those long school photos by running along the back.

Sources :

Boyd, A. (1977) The Soviet Air Force since 1918. London, Macdonald and Jane’s.