Soviet Air Defence Forces facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Soviet Air Defence Forces
Войска ПВО СССР Voyska PVO SSSR
Founded	24 May 1918
Country	Soviet Union
Part of	Soviet Armed Forces
Garrison/HQ	Moscow
Disbanded	14 February 1992
Insignia
Roundel

The Soviet Air Defence Forces (known as voyska PVO or V-PVO) was a special part of the Soviet Armed Forces. Their main job was to protect the Soviet Union from attacks by enemy aircraft and missiles.

Unlike air defense groups in many other countries, V-PVO was its own separate branch of the military. It was not part of the regular Soviet Air Force or the army's ground forces. During the time of the Soviet Union, it was usually seen as the third most important military branch, after the Strategic Rocket Forces and the Ground Forces.

History of the Soviet Air Defence Forces
Leaders of the Air Defence Forces
How the PVO Was Organized
Aircraft and Missiles (1991)
See also

History of the Soviet Air Defence Forces

Protecting the Skies during World War II

The Soviet Union started getting ready for air defense in 1932. By June 1941, when Operation Barbarossa (the German invasion) began, there were 13 PVO zones across the country. At this time, the air defense forces were getting new weapons. They had some new anti-aircraft guns but not enough of the latest fighter planes like the Yak-1s and MiG-3s. Many of their planes were old.

To fix this, they quickly started making more new equipment. In July 1941, the government took steps to make the defenses stronger around important cities like Moscow and Leningrad. They also protected industrial areas and bridges. They quickly formed more fighter plane units, anti-aircraft machine gun teams, and searchlight groups.

A great example of their work was the defense of Moscow. The 1st Air Defence Corps and the 6th Fighter Aviation Corps PVO protected the city. At the start of German air raids, they had over 600 fighter planes, more than 1,000 guns, 350 machine guns, and many barrage balloons and searchlights. Because they had so many forces and managed them well, they stopped the enemy from making huge air attacks. Only a small number of enemy planes reached the edges of Moscow. The air defense forces defending Moscow shot down 738 enemy aircraft.

In November 1941, a special leader for the Air Defence Forces was chosen: Major General Mikhail Gromadin. In 1942, fighter planes and their crews were put under the Air Defence Command to work better together. Later, the Moscow Air Defense Front was created, followed by the Leningrad Air Defence Army and Baku Air Defence Army. These were the first large groups of the Air Defence Forces.

During World War II, the Air Defence Forces successfully protected important factories and transportation routes. They greatly reduced the damage from air attacks. Throughout the war, the PVO destroyed 7,313 German aircraft. Many soldiers and officers received awards for their bravery, and 92 soldiers were named "Hero of the Soviet Union."

The Cold War Era

After World War II, in 1949, the PVO Strany (Air Defence of the Country) became a separate part of the Soviet military. In 1954, it became as important as the other military branches, and Marshal of the Soviet Union Leonid Govorov became its first commander.

The main job of the PVO was to shoot down United States bomber planes if they flew into Soviet airspace. They also targeted U.S. spy planes. Several spy planes were shot down near Soviet borders. A famous event happened on May 1, 1960, when a S-75 Dvina missile shot down Gary Powers's Lockheed U-2 spy plane. This caused a big international problem known as the U-2 crisis of 1960.

Soviet Air Defence Forces surface-to-air missiles

The PVO had its own leaders, training schools, and radar stations. In 1967, a special group was formed within the Air Defence Forces to deal with anti-missile and anti-space defense.

The PVO was organized into large districts, like the Moscow Air Defence District and Baku Air Defence District. Later, most of the country's air defense was divided into seven separate armies.

In 1977, some changes were made. All fighter units in the PVO were moved to the regular Air Force. The PVO then focused only on anti-aircraft missile units and radar units. However, by 1981, many of the PVO's command and training groups were moved back to the Air Force.

During the 1980s, the PVO got new, modern fighter planes like the Mikoyan MiG-31 and Sukhoi Su-27P. Their missile units also received new electronic systems and the advanced S-300 missile system. The PVO focused on upgrading its units in the far north and far east because of the threat from American spy planes and aircraft carriers.

A big event happened on September 1, 1983, when the PVO shot down Korean Air Flight 007. This was a civilian airliner that had flown into restricted Soviet airspace and was mistaken for a spy plane. The Soviet government later admitted their mistake, which caused anger in South Korea and the United States.

Another major incident was Mathias Rust's flight to Moscow in May 1987. Rust, a young German pilot, flew his small Cessna 172 plane all the way to Moscow without being stopped. This caused a huge shake-up in the PVO. It seemed that after the KAL 007 incident, no one wanted to give the order to shoot down Rust's tiny plane. Also, the radar systems at the border couldn't properly send tracking information to systems closer to Moscow. The PVO Commander-in-Chief, Marshal Alexander Koldunov, was removed from his job, and over 150 other officers were also removed.

Under the Russian Flag

When the Soviet Union broke apart in 1991, the PVO had about 2,200 fighter planes. Many of its soldiers and equipment were left in the newly independent countries. However, some units moved back to Russia. The Russian Air Defence Forces ended up with about 65% of the Soviet PVO's assets.

In 1998, the PVO groups and headquarters that remained in Russia were combined with the Russian Air Force. They became part of the new Air and Air Defence Forces.

The Day of Air Defence Forces is still celebrated in Russia on the second Sunday of April. The unofficial motto of the PVO is "Don't fly – don't let others," meaning if they can't fly, they won't let anyone else either.

Leaders of the Air Defence Forces

Marshal of the Soviet Union Leonid Govorov – 1954–1955
Marshal of the Soviet Union Sergey Biryuzov – 1955–1962
Marshal of Aviation Vladimir Sudets – 1962–1966
Marshal of the Soviet Union Pavel Batitsky – 1966–1978
Chief Marshal of Aviation Alexander Koldunov – 1978 – May 1987
General of the Army Ivan Тret'yak – May 1987 – August 1991
General of the Army Viktor Prudnikov – September 1991 – December 1997
Colonel-General Viktor Sinitsin – December 1997 – February 1998

The position of Commander-in-Chief was removed when the PVO and Air Force merged in 1998.

How the PVO Was Organized

The PVO had three main parts:

Radiotechnical Troops: These groups used radar to find and track enemy aircraft.
Surface-to-Air Missile Troops: These groups used missiles launched from the ground to shoot down enemy planes.
Fighter Aviation (IA-PVO): These were fighter planes that intercepted and shot down enemy aircraft in the air.

Large PVO groups like armies, corps, and divisions included units from all three of these parts.

Some of the main PVO groups included:

Moscow Air Defence District
2nd Air Defence Army
4th Independent Air Defence Army
6th Independent Air Defence Army
8th Air Defence Army
10th Independent Air Defence Army
11th Red Banner Army of the PVO
12th Independent Air Defence Army
14th Independent Air Defence Army
19th Independent Air Defence Army

Aircraft and Missiles (1991)

A Sukhoi Su-15 Flagon

In 1991, the PVO had many different types of aircraft and missiles:

Interceptor Aircraft

These planes were designed to stop and shoot down enemy aircraft.

Trainer Aircraft

These planes were used to train pilots.

200 Aero L-29 Delfín
400 Aero L-39 Albatros

AWACS Aircraft

These planes act like flying radar stations, helping to detect and track targets from far away.

15 Beriev A-50 Mainstay

Surface-to-Air Missiles

These missiles were launched from the ground to hit targets in the air.

1,400 S-25 Berkut
2,400 Lavochkin S-75 Dvina
1,000 Isayev S-125 Neva\Pechora
1,950 Almaz S-200 Angara\Vega\Dubna
1,700 Almaz S-300
ABM-1 Galosh Anti-Ballistic Missile (part of the A-35 anti-ballistic missile system)

Older Aircraft Used by PVO

Over the years, the PVO used many different fighter planes, including:

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3
Lavochkin La-9 Fritz
Lavochkin La-11 Fang
Lavochkin La-15 Fantail
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 Fagot
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 Fresco
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 Farmer
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 Fishbed
Sukhoi Su-9 Fishpot-C
Sukhoi Su-11 Fishpot
Tupolev Tu-28 Fiddler
Yakovlev Yak-9
Yak-25 Flashlight

Air-to-Air Missiles

These missiles were launched from planes to hit other planes.

K-5, AA-1 Alkali
K-8, AA-3 Anab
K-13, AA-2 Atoll
R-4, AA-5 Ash
R-40, AA-6 Acrid
R-23, AA-7 Apex
R-27, AA-10 Alamo
R-33, AA-9 Amos
R-60, AA-8 Aphid
R-73, AA-11 Archer