14th Air Army

The 14th Air Army ("14 Vozdushnaya Armiya") of the Russian Air Force, was first formed in World War II as part of the Soviet Air Force.

The Army was first formed from the Air Forces of the Volkhov Front in June 1942, and in 1943 participated in the Novgorod-Luga operation. In February 1944 it was dispersed, with the command staff assigned to the Stavka Reserve and its units to other air armies. Reformed in April 1944, when it served with the 3rd Baltic Front, it was again dispersed in November 1944, with its staff again been allocated to the Stavka Reserve and its units to other formations. It was active on 1 May 1945 with the 107th Air Signals Regiment and the 30th Air Regiment of the Civil Air Fleet (Aeroflot), as part of the Stavka Reserve. However it became the 30th Air Army on 10 January 1949. Reformed later, it was serving in the Carpathian Military District when the Soviet Union fell, and thus its units became part of the Ukrainian armed forces.

It was re-formed in the late 1990s, Air Forces Monthly reports in its August 2007 issue, from the 14th Independent Army of the Soviet Air Defence Forces (the PVO) at Novosibirsk, the 23rd Air Army of the Russian Air Forces from Chita and the 50th Independent Corps of PVO also from Chita. Its zone of responsibility covers the huge area of the Siberian Military District, AFM says, and its headquarters are located in Novosibirsk. AFM goes on to say that the aircraft are concentrated in the southern part of the territory, along the border with Kazakhstan and Mongolia. The current commanding officer of the 14th Air Army, AFM also reports, is Lieutenant-General Nikolay Danilov.

The most important force, AFM notes, within the army is the 21st Composite Air Division, which operates a Su-24M tactical bombers regiment, a Su-24MR reconnaissance regiment and a Su-25 attack aircraft regiment. The unit is stationed in the eastern part of its responsibility zone, near the Chinese border.

tructure

*14th Air Army - Novosibirsk
**21st Composite Air Division - HQ at Dzhida;
***2nd Bomber Aviation Regiment - HQ at Dzhida - Su-24M;
***266th Shturmovik Air Regiment - HQ at Step',Oloviannaya - Su-25;
***313th Reconnaissance Air Regiment - HQ at Bada - Su-24MR;
**120th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment - HQ atDomna, 27 km southwest of Chita - MiG-29;
**712th rInterceptor Aviation Regiment - HQ at Kansk (air base) - MiG-25PU, MiG-31;
**137th Independent Composite Aviation Squadron - HQ at Novosibirsk Tolmachevo Airport - An-26;
**Army Aviation component
***337th Independent Helicopter Regiment - HQ at Berdsk - Mi-8, Mi-24;
***112th Independent Helicopter Regiment - HQ at Chita - Mi-8, Mi-24;
**Two SAM regiments and four radar units

References

*Air Forces Monthly, July & August 2007 issues.
*brinkster.com/Vad777
*See also - the 472nd Fighter Aviation Regiment, previously stationed at Kansk airbase.