Russian Navy Aviation Day. Naval aviation of the Russian Navy Marine missile-carrying and anti-submarine aviation
The birth of aviation in Russia became possible thanks to the initiative of military sailors. It was the sailors who were the first to see in aircraft an important means of increasing the power of the navy and put a lot of effort and money into training aviation personnel, acquiring aircraft and organizing domestic aircraft production.
The world's first proposal, in which the interaction of a ship and an aircraft was predetermined, was also born in the Russian Navy. Its author was the captain of the corps of naval engineers, Lev Makarovich Matsievich. Back on October 23, 1909, in his first memo to the Main Naval Headquarters, he predicted the future of naval aviation and proposed starting the construction of an aircraft carrier, a seaplane and a catapult for launching it from the deck of a ship. It is no coincidence that in Russia the process of movement of aircraft is called aeronautics, aviation is called the air fleet, the sky is called the fifth ocean, and heavy aircraft are called ships.
Hydroaviation in Russia began to emerge in 1911. At first, seaplanes were purchased abroad, but soon Russian engineers V.A. Lebedev and D.P. Grigorovich created several models of flying boats, which allowed the Russian Military Department in 1912-1914. on the basis of domestic seaplanes to form the first aviation units in the Baltic and Black Sea fleets. At the same time, the flying boat designed by Grigorovich M-5 was superior in its flight characteristics to foreign models of similar types.
At first, naval aviation was used mainly for reconnaissance purposes, that is, as a means of supporting the combat activities of the fleet. However, the experience of using aviation in the very first months of the outbreak of the First World War showed that the combat capabilities of aircraft went far beyond reconnaissance. They began to be used for bombing and shelling from the air of objects at fleet bases and ports, enemy ships and vessels at sea.
In the Russian Navy, the first aircraft-carrying ship "Orlitsa" was based on Grigorovich's M-9 seaplanes, which had machine guns and were capable of carrying bombs. On July 4, 1916, four aircraft from the Orlitsa conducted an air battle over the Baltic Sea with four German aircraft, which ended in victory for the Russian naval pilots. Two of the Kaiser's airplanes were shot down, and the other two fled. Our pilots returned to their aircraft without losses.
This day - July 4, 1916 - the day of the first victory in an air battle over the sea by naval pilots on domestic seaplanes based on the first domestic aircraft carrier, is rightfully considered to be the Birthday of naval aviation.
By the middle of 1917, a turning point for the history of Russia, the prerequisites appeared in the Russian Navy for the transformation of aviation into one of the main forces of the fleet, which served as the basis for the establishment of a special body in the Maritime Department - the Directorate of Naval Aviation and Aeronautics.
After the October Revolution, the Soviet military leadership, during the armed struggle against the interventionists and White Guards on the fronts adjacent to the sea, in regions with lakes and along large rivers, could not do without hydroaviation. The creation of new naval aviation formations began.
April 27, 1918 became the birthday of the Baltic Fleet aviation. Then the Special Purpose Air Brigade was formed within it.
March 3, 1921 is considered the birthday of the aviation of the USSR Black Sea Fleet. On this day, the formation of the Headquarters of the Air Fleet of the Black and Azov Seas was completed. On April 4, 1932, the Pacific Fleet aviation was born, and on August 18, 1936, the Northern Fleet aviation.
History shows that in the 20s and 30s, when naval aviation was organizationally part of the Red Army Air Force, the country's top leadership and the leadership of the People's Commissariat of Defense assigned aviation tasks to support ground forces, cover troops and rear facilities from attacks from the air, as well as to combat enemy aerial reconnaissance. In accordance with this, the development and construction of aircraft and their weapons was carried out, and pilot training programs were drawn up in aviation educational institutions. The operational-tactical training of leading military personnel and all combat training of military aviation were aimed at this. In this case, naval aviation was assigned a secondary role, so the fleet of naval aviation in these years was replenished only with seaplanes, intended mainly for conducting aerial reconnaissance at sea. Flight personnel for it were trained only at the Yeisk school of naval pilots and flight instructors.
Grigorovich M-9 flying boat
The 1930s saw the triumph of aviation, design ideas and, above all, naval pilots who showed outstanding examples of flying skill, courage, bravery and heroism.
They were repeatedly involved in special and government tasks. Polar aviation was staffed by naval pilots, which played a huge role in the development of the Northern Sea Route, the importance of which for our country can hardly be overestimated.
The pilots especially showed themselves when rescuing the Chelyuskinites in 1934. Their courage and heroism, their willingness to take risks in the name of saving the lives of people in trouble, became a convincing basis for the establishment in our country of the highest degree of state distinction - the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The gold star of Hero number one was awarded to naval pilot Anatoly Vasilyevich Lyapidevsky. At the same time, naval pilots I. Doronin, S. Levanevsky and V. Molokov were awarded this title.
The country was alive with great construction projects. The state took measures to strengthen the country's defense capability. The Navy received new warships, including those capable of carrying seaplanes. But this was far from enough.
The situation changed dramatically for the better with the formation of the People's Commissariat of the Navy, when naval aviation became part of it organizationally. By this time, the views on naval aviation as one of the main branches of the fleet forces were finally established. The first to be appointed to the position of Chief of Aviation of the USSR Navy was Corporal Semyon Fedorovich Zhavoronkov, who received the profession of a military pilot at a relatively mature age (34 years old) and successfully commanded Navy aviation until 1947. In 1944, he was promoted to air marshal.
The Aviation Flight Test Institute played a positive role in the further development of naval aviation. Its specialists developed tactical and technical requirements for equipment and weapons of naval aviation, tested prototypes and modernized models of aviation equipment and weapons, and also provided retraining for management flight personnel.
Fleets began to receive heavy aircraft of the same type as those in service with the Red Army Air Force on a large scale, such as TB-1, TB-3 and DB-3, specially converted for the use of mine-torpedo weapons - a traditional naval means of destroying the underwater part of ships and vessels at sea. .
Soon, mine-torpedo aviation emerged from bomber aviation and was organized into an independent branch of naval aviation.
With the transfer of aviation educational institutions to the fleet, the system of training naval aviation personnel became more advanced and focused. The School of Naval Pilots and Flying Officers in Yeysk and the School of Naval Pilots of the Polar Aviation Directorate of the Main Northern Sea Route in Nikolaev were transformed into Naval Aviation Schools, and the Military School of Aviation Technicians in Perm into the Naval Aviation Technical School. Over the first three years, the number of cadets in these educational institutions increased several times.
To train naval aviation command personnel, a command and aviation department was established at the Naval Academy, and year-long advanced training courses for fleet aviation management personnel were opened.
Aviation design bureaus and enterprises focused on the production of equipment and weapons for naval aviation also began to work purposefully. All this could not help but contribute to the fact that by the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, naval aviation had grown significantly in quantitative and qualitative terms; this subsequently affected the effectiveness of its use in combat operations.
At the same time, the uncertainty of the organizational structure affected the nature of the views on its operational and tactical application. For a long time it was believed that air combat at sea would be carried out primarily by operational formations (air corps) of the Red Army Air Force. In accordance with this, the interaction of fleets and air corps was worked out in operational training, and naval aviation was entrusted with providing the fleet with aerial reconnaissance and air defense for the basing of the fleet and ships at sea.
In practice this did not happen. Neither front-line aviation nor long-range aviation, formed in 1942, took a significant part in any fleet operation, and naval aviation became one of the main striking forces of the fleet.
From the first days of the war, due to the current situation on the coastal fronts, naval aviation was used to strike the battle formations of the advancing enemy. And this task became the main one for a long time, although naval aviation was not prepared for its solution in the pre-war years.
Apparently, this history lesson should be fully taken into account in the combat training of naval aviation in our peacetime.
The book convincingly shows that the combat operations of naval aviation against enemy ships and vessels at sea were especially effective, which is fully consistent with its main combat purpose.
The sections of the book devoted to the combat operations of naval aviation during the Great Patriotic War are filled with facts about the exploits of naval aviators. The first among naval pilots in this war to achieve success was the fighter squadron of the Black Sea Fleet Air Force, attached to the Danube Flotilla, under the command of Captain A.I. Korobitsyn.
In the Baltic, the account of downed enemy aircraft was opened by the deputy squadron commander, Captain A.K. Antonenko, and in the Northern Fleet, by the air squadron commander, Senior Lieutenant B.F. Safonov.
The Baltic pilots under the command of Colonel E.N. Preobrazhensky, who carried out the first strike on Berlin on the night of August 7-8, 1941, gained worldwide fame.
During the Great Patriotic War, naval aviation carried out more than 350 thousand combat sorties and destroyed more than 5.5 thousand enemy aircraft in the air and at airfields. As a result of the actions of naval aviation, Nazi Germany and its satellites lost 407 warships and 371 transports with troops and cargo, which constitutes two-thirds of the total enemy losses from the impact of naval forces.
The Motherland highly appreciated the combat activities of naval aviation. 57 state awards adorned the banners of regiments and divisions, 260 naval aviators were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and five of them - B.F. Safonov, A.E. Mazurenko, V.I. Rakov, N.G. Stepanyan and N.V. . Chelnokov - twice.
Among the naval pilots there are heroes who repeated the feat of Alexei Maresyev. In the Baltic it is L. G. Belousov, in the Black Sea - I. S. Lyubimov, in the Northern Fleet - 3. A. Sorokin.
The combat experience gained during the war formed the basis for developing plans and directions for the further development of naval aviation, improving the principles and methods of its use in war at sea. This work also talks about this. The post-war development of naval aviation was characterized by the specialization of the aircraft and weapons systems being created, and the transition to jet technology with greater capabilities in terms of speed and impact range. Airplanes and helicopters were equipped with effective search and destruction equipment and electronic equipment; Most flight control processes and weapons use are automated.
It should be borne in mind that this work was led by the most experienced aviation military leaders, who personally experienced the bitterness of failures and the joy of victories during the war years, and who deeply knew the needs and capabilities of the fleets. Among them were the famous aviation military leaders E. N. Preobrazhensky, I. I. Borzov, M. I. Samokhin, N. A. Naumov, A. A. Mironenko, G. A. Kuznetsov, S. A. Gulyaev, V. I. Voronov and others. Their ideas, plans and undertakings in the development of naval aviation found understanding and full support among the top leadership of the navy, headed by N. G. Kuznetsov and then S. G. Gorshkov.
In the fleets, the problems of countering the forces of a potential enemy operating secretly from under water came to the fore. Therefore, already in the 50s, the Be-6 long-range seaplane designed by G. M. Beriev was created and delivered to the unit. To combat submarines, the aircraft had radio sonar buoys and magnetometers as means of searching for an underwater enemy, and depth charges and torpedoes for destruction. The basic Mi-4 helicopters and the first-born of naval helicopter aviation, the Ka-15 naval helicopter designed by N. I. Kamov, were equipped with anti-submarine weapons.
During their flight operation, extensive research was carried out and the foundations were laid for the tactics and combat use of anti-submarine aircraft, which soon switched to more advanced anti-submarine systems such as Be-12, Ka-25, Ka-27, Mi-14, Il-38 and Tu-142 of various types. modifications.
The development of missile systems with aircraft cruise missiles has significantly increased the combat capabilities of strike aircraft of fleets in the fight against naval groups of a potential enemy at sea.
In the early 60s, anti-submarine and naval missile-carrying aviation took shape organizationally into independent branches of naval aviation. At the same time, the transformation of reconnaissance aviation of the fleets was also taking place.
The high seas fleets - Northern and Pacific - received long-range reconnaissance aircraft Tu-95rts with an automated target designation system for missile weapons of the fleet's strike forces, including missile submarines performing combat service at sea. This also allowed naval aviation to reach remote areas of the World Ocean to monitor the naval forces of a potential enemy and provide timely warning of the threat of their impact on our forces and facilities.
In the Baltic and Black Sea, reconnaissance began to be carried out by supersonic reconnaissance aircraft Tu-22r.
The combat capabilities of the USSR naval aviation expanded significantly due to the inclusion of the anti-submarine cruisers "Moscow" and "Leningrad" into the navy. It was from this time that naval aviation was officially established as a new branch of aviation in the navy.
The anti-submarine cruiser "Moscow" with Ka-25 helicopters on board made its first trip to combat service in the Mediterranean Sea from September 19 to November 5, 1968. In subsequent years, the anti-submarine cruisers "Moscow" and "Leningrad" repeatedly carried out combat service in various areas of the World Ocean.
According to the conclusion of the then Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union S.G. Gorshkov, helicopters became an integral part of modern surface ships for various purposes, they gave them a completely new combat quality. A fundamentally new direction in the development of naval aviation was opened by the creation of vertical take-off and landing aircraft and the construction of aircraft-carrying cruisers of the Kyiv type.
The first aviation regiment of Yak-38 naval attack aircraft was formed in the Black Sea Fleet. Its first commander was F. G. Matkovsky. He was the first to lead an aviation group and trained pilots to fly from a ship on the long voyage of the aircraft-carrying cruiser "Kyiv".
In the Northern Fleet, V.N. Ratnenko became the first commander of the air regiment of naval attack aircraft. V. M. Svitochev was the first to command a regiment of naval attack aircraft in the Pacific Fleet.
The aircraft-carrying cruisers "Kyiv", "Minsk" and "Novorossiysk" have repeatedly carried out combat service in various areas of the World Ocean, and the ship's aviators - pilots, engineers and technicians - have shown courage, skill and high moral and psychological qualities.
Particular attention in the book is paid to the naval fighter aviation of the fleet. Such aviation was created on the basis of fourth-generation fighters such as the Su-27 and MiG-29, recognized today as the best modern fighters in the world. The first aircraft carrier ship created in our country is capable of supporting the deployment and combat operations of ski-jump takeoff and arresting landing fighters.
The birth and development of naval fighter aviation is largely due to one of the leading test pilots, Viktor Georgievich Pugachev. One of the first enthusiasts in the development of a new type of naval aviation was Timur Avtandilovich Apakidze. His courage and professional skill is evidenced by the fact that back in 1991 he was awarded an Honorary Diploma and an International Aviation Safety Foundation Award for decisive and competent actions in an in-flight emergency. While rescuing the experimental aircraft, T. A. Apakidze left the uncontrollable falling vehicle at the last second. Soon after the accident, he took a new risk and was the first of the pilots of combat aviation units in our country to land on the deck of the cruiser “Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov” on the first Russian naval fighter Su-27k without transportation on a twin. It was September 29, 1991 in the Black Sea Fleet.
During the flight design tests of the Su-27k aircraft, the first leading group of pilots of the Northern Fleet Air Force was successfully prepared for flights and combat operations from the deck of the ship. Thus, in 1994, a new elite of military pilots was born in Russian naval aviation - the elite of deck pilots.
Video on topic
Naval Aviation - In the service of the fleetFleet exercises of the 70s. Hundreds of ships, thousands of naval aircraft. The scene of action is seas and oceans. Amphibians conducting reconnaissance, anti-submarine aircraft and helicopters carrying equipment for searching and destroying submarines. Missile carriers operating from shore are capable of destroying a potential enemy aircraft carrier. And carrier-based aircraft are about to be adopted. Soviet naval aviation in the 70s. was a formidable force.
The Navy has historically been distinguished by its higher political significance compared to other branches of the Armed Forces, approaching in this indicator the creation of modern times - strategic nuclear forces. The processes of fleet rearmament and its reorganization in this regard are closely monitored by all major powers - and Russia is no exception. The development of naval aviation, the most important component of fleets around the world, can say much more about a state’s military plans than many other processes.
Tests of the Ka-52 on the SF "Vice Admiral Kulakov" BOD
Russian naval aviation in post-Soviet times experienced one of the most difficult periods of its existence, when a formidable force of several hundred aircraft and helicopters of various classes remained only a few dozen aircraft in disparate units with an unclear future. The revival of naval aviation today begins largely from scratch, and there is still a long way to go before it is brought back to normal.
In 2011, Russian naval aviation almost completely lost its strike component - its fighters, Su-24 front-line bombers, as well as some transport aircraft were transferred to the Air Force. The only exception was the Su-24 bombers from the Black Sea Fleet aviation, which remained subordinate to the Navy due to the fact that agreements between Russia and Ukraine allowed only Navy aviation, but not the Russian Air Force, to be based in Crimea.
In addition to the Black Sea Su-24 squadron, the fleet's aviation still includes Il-38 and Tu-142 anti-submarine aircraft, Be-12 seaplanes, Su-25 attack aircraft, Ka-27 carrier-based helicopters and a number of transport aircraft and helicopters.
Russian aircraft carrier: time to get down to business
The removal of strike forces from naval aviation was caused by the desire to simplify the management and maintenance of the relevant units and formations, as well as their very poor condition due to chronic underfunding - for example, out of several dozen Tu-22M3 missile carriers, no more than ten vehicles could perform combat missions.
Carrier-based aviation was also in a deplorable state: the only Russian one with an air group consisting of one and a half dozen Soviet-built Su-33s, several Su-25UTG training aircraft and helicopters went to sea quite rarely, and the prospects for updating the carrier-based aircraft fleet were more than vague. In such a state, we could talk more about the elimination of naval aviation as a branch of the Navy's forces than about any prospects.
Carrier-based aviation: new hope
The prospects for serious changes dawned after a contract was signed in 2011 for the construction of universal landing ships of the type for the Russian Navy. Receiving even two such ships requires a serious modernization of the fleet’s existing helicopter fleet and the construction of new machines.
The main new product was the Ka-52K deck attack helicopters, designed to support marines and special forces units during operations on the shore. In addition, they will be able to hit surface targets. This type of helicopter is currently being tested. On February 8, 2014, a contract was signed for the supply of 16 Ka-52Ks to the Russian Navy.
Russian 5th generation fighter
Following the renewal of the helicopter fleet (expressed, among other things, in the arrival of modernized anti-submarine Ka-27M with digital equipment into the fleet), it was the turn of modernization of the air wing of the only Russian aircraft carrier. In addition to the overhaul of the Su-33s remaining in service, which will then be able to operate until the mid-to-late 2020s, Admiral Kuznetsov should receive new carrier-based MiG-29K fighters. As a result, its air wing will include 12-16 Su-33 fighters and 24 MiG-29Ks, which will significantly increase the aircraft carrier's capabilities, bringing the composition of its air group closer to what was originally planned back in the 1980s.
As a more distant prospect, a promising fifth-generation carrier-based fighter is being considered, created within the framework of the PAK KA program - a promising aviation complex for naval aviation. It is assumed that this vehicle will be a naval version of the fifth-generation ground fighter T-50, which first flew in 2010 and is currently undergoing testing.
The appearance of the new carrier is possible in the first half of the 2020s, and it will have to replace the Su-33 on the overhauled Admiral Kuznetsov, as well as form the basis of the air wing of the new Russian aircraft carrier, the design of which is currently being developed.
After Crimea: the return of striking power
In 2014, plans for the development of the armed forces in general and the Navy in particular had to be seriously adjusted to take into account the changing situation: reunification with Crimea greatly changed the situation not only on the southwestern borders of Russia, but also in the world. The changes also affected naval aviation. In particular, strike forces will return to its composition. These plans were discussed even before the Crimean events, but they became a catalyst for the process.
In the next few years, the fleet will receive Su-30SM multirole fighters, which can provide effective support to warships both in naval theaters (in the Black, Japanese, Baltic seas), and increase the range of air support in ocean theaters, operating from bases on the Kola Peninsula, Sakhalin and Kamchatka.
Multirole fighter Su-30SM
It is expected that by the end of 2015 a contract will be signed for the supply of 50 fighters of this type for the Russian Navy, and this number may be increased in the future. Su-30SM are also supplied to the Air Force (60 aircraft under two existing contracts).
The update will also affect anti-submarine aviation, the range of whose tasks will expand significantly. In most developed countries, with the development of avionics, anti-submarine aircraft, through modernization, began to turn into multi-purpose maritime patrol vehicles. A striking example is the modernized P-3 Orion of the US Navy, the same age and classmates of the Russian Il-38.
In the course of evolution over the past 30 years, Orions have learned to attack surface ships with anti-ship missiles, operate as early warning and control aircraft, and patrol the exclusive economic zone and territorial waters, searching for smugglers and poachers.
Similar modernization is already underway on Russian anti-submarine vehicles - the first Il-38N was delivered to the fleet on July 15, 2014. But for the full range of challenges posed to Russia by its longest maritime border in the world, combined with the steady melting of polar ice, the 28 Il-38s that are planned to be modernized are clearly not enough - for example, the United States has 130 aircraft of this class. At the same time, many American experts also consider this number to be insufficient.
A-42PE seaplane project
Russia cannot compete with the United States, catching up with them in the number of naval aviation, but there are opportunities to significantly strengthen naval aviation by purchasing new aircraft.
First of all, we are talking about the A-42 seaplane, which was created on the basis of the A-40 Albatross developed in the 80s of the last century. These vehicles, capable of landing on water, in addition to all other tasks of maritime patrol aircraft, can be used in rescue operations.
The military department has already announced plans to purchase the A-42. In particular, in 2008 it was announced that they would purchase four such aircraft in the search and rescue version by 2010, and then move on to the purchase of multi-purpose vehicles capable of carrying weapons. However, these plans have not yet been implemented.
According to the former commander of the Air Force and Air Defense of the Navy, Lieutenant General Valery Uvarov, the Russian Navy would have enough 15-20 new seaplanes to cover the needs for search and rescue vehicles and significantly strengthen the fleet of anti-submarine aircraft. It is hardly possible to talk about a complete replacement of old machines with the A-42 - given the state of the Taganrog plant, where these machines, as well as the smaller Be-200 purchased by the Ministry of Emergency Situations, are produced, fulfilling an order for at least 40 of these machines may take about 20 years .
Another option that would allow us to completely replace the fleet of old aircraft in an acceptable time frame is the purchase of Tu-214P aircraft. This machine, created on the basis of the Tu-204/214 airliner, is approximately similar in ideology to the newest American patrol aircraft P-8 Poseidon, created on the basis of the B-737 airliner.
Landing ship "Mistral"
Deploying mass production of such machines on order from the Navy is a more realistic task than launching a large series of the A-42, and, among other things, this will support the production of Tu-204 aircraft, for which there are practically no commercial orders today. The production of 50-60 such machines over ten years, in combination with a small series of A-42s, focused primarily on rescue missions, could generally alleviate the problem and lay the foundation for the further development of naval aviation.
Finally, you can support the aviation group in the near zone by ordering Il-114 aircraft in the patrol modification. Such vehicles can quite effectively provide patrols in closed maritime theaters, freeing up the modernized Il-38N and, if ordered, Tu-214P, for ocean theaters.
Assessing the prospects for changes in naval aviation as a whole, we can say that the key task of this type of naval forces remains to ensure the fleet’s ability to protect its own sea borders. However, some attention is also paid to the capabilities of force projection - the modernization of the Admiral Kuznetsov air wing, the planned overhaul of the aircraft carrier itself, the construction of two Mistral-class landing ships will allow the Navy to form a core of forces capable of conducting local operations at a great distance from bases with a full-fledged aviation support. A further increase in such opportunities depends primarily on the prospects for economic development of the country.
On July 17, pilots of the Russian Navy (Navy) celebrate their professional holiday - Russian Navy Aviation Day.
The holiday was established in accordance with the order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy No. 253 dated July 15, 1996 “On the introduction of annual holidays and professional days in the specialty,” and the date was chosen in honor of the first victory of Russian naval pilots in an air battle over the Baltic Sea. On July 17 (July 4, old style), 1916, four seaplanes took off from the aircraft carrier Orlitsa of the Baltic Fleet and entered into battle over the sea with four German aircraft to protect the Russian naval base on the island of Saaremaa from attacks by German aircraft. During the battle, which ended in complete victory for the Russian naval pilots, two Kaiser airplanes were shot down and two fled. This day is considered to be the birthday of the naval aviation of the Russian Navy.
Since the birth of aircraft manufacturing in Russia, attempts have been made to use airplanes for the needs of the army and navy. In 1909, Captain Lev Matsievich, at a meeting of the Marine Technical Committee, in a report “On the type of sea airplane,” outlined the idea of the possibility of using aircraft from ships. He also developed a project for a special airplane with a reinforced landing gear, which was caused by the conditions of landing on the ship. In the spring of 1910, a group of Russian naval officers and lower ranks was sent abroad to study aeronautics.
The history of naval aviation began in 1910-1911 with the creation of the first seaplanes and the successful experience of taking off and landing an aircraft on a surface ship. In March 1910, French engineer Henri Fabre made the first successful takeoff from water in a seaplane, and in August 1911, the first flight in an amphibious aircraft. The first float plane in Russia was built by engineer Yakov Gakkel in February 1911. The first successful takeoff of a wheeled aircraft from the deck of a ship was carried out in November 1910 by the American pilot Eugene Ely from the cruiser Birmingham; In January 1911, he carried out the first successful landing of an aircraft on the deck of the cruiser Pennsylvania.
To boost the domestic naval aircraft industry in 1911-1913, the Russian government purchased aircraft from abroad. The same aircraft in a modified form were then built at domestic factories.
The first ship-borne aircraft were seaplanes, lowered by a crane into the water for takeoff and lifted onto the ship from the water after landing, which was explained by the low cost and simplicity of this method of organizing flights at sea. In the Russian fleet, for the first time in the world, back in 1913, the conversion of steamships into air transport began.
The first naval aviation units in Russia were formed as part of the Baltic and Black Sea fleets in 1912-1914. In 1915-1916, Dmitry Grigorovich’s domestic M-5 and M-9 flying boats, which were distinguished by high flight characteristics for that time, entered service. By the beginning of the First World War, Russia had 65 naval military aircraft.
During the war, along with the tasks of patrol, reconnaissance, target designation and artillery fire adjustment, naval aviation began to search for submarines, cover ships and bases, and carry out bombing strikes on sea and ground targets. By 1917, the naval aviation of the Russian Navy consisted of 269 seaplanes, flying boats of domestic designs and foreign-made wheeled fighters.
Regular units of Soviet naval aviation were created in 1918 and took part in the Civil War, interacting with ships and troops in battles near Petrograd (now St. Petersburg), in the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, on the Volga, Kama, Northern Dvina and Lake Onega rivers .
In 1920, naval aviation was transferred to the Workers' and Peasants' Red Air Fleet (since 1924 - the Air Force of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, the Red Army Air Force). From May 1935 to January 1937, it was part of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Fleet (RKKF), then again was reassigned to the Red Army Air Force. In 1938, the Navy Air Force was created, which by the beginning of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) numbered about 2.5 thousand aircraft. Of these, two aviation brigades and several separate squadrons were formed in each fleet (Baltic, Black Sea, Pacific and Northern). Naval aviation consisted of 45% fighters, 25% reconnaissance aircraft, 14% bombers and 10% torpedo bombers.
At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Soviet naval aviation operated mainly on land fronts. In August - September 1941, pilots of the Baltic Fleet carried out eight raids on Berlin and other German targets. Since 1943, the main efforts of naval aviation have been aimed at destroying enemy ships and naval vehicles. In total, Soviet naval pilots accounted for over 5.5 thousand destroyed enemy aircraft. From their attacks, Nazi Germany and its allies lost 407 warships and 371 transports with troops and cargo, which amounted to about half of the enemy’s total losses from the forces of the Soviet navy. 241 aviators were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and five people were awarded it twice.
In the post-war years, naval aviation was re-equipped with jet aircraft, received new weapons - guided and unguided missiles, bombs, torpedoes and missiles with nuclear charges, etc. In 1960-1961, mine-torpedo and fighter aircraft were liquidated and new types of aviation were created - missile-carrying and anti-submarine. With the creation of Soviet aircraft-carrying ships, carrier-based aviation appeared.
After the collapse of the USSR, naval aviation units located on the territory of the RSFSR became part of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
In modern Russia, naval aviation is a branch of the Navy, designed to search for and destroy the combat forces of the enemy fleet, landing detachments, convoys and single ships (vessels) at sea and at bases; covering groupings of ships and naval facilities from enemy air strikes; destruction of airplanes, helicopters and cruise missiles; conducting aerial reconnaissance; targeting enemy naval forces with their strike forces and issuing target designations to them. Also involved in mine laying, mine countermeasures, electronic warfare (EW), airlift and landing, search and rescue operations at sea. The basis of naval aviation consists of airplanes and helicopters for various purposes.
Functionally, naval aviation is divided into types of aviation: naval missile-carrying; anti-submarine; fighter; reconnaissance and auxiliary purposes (long-range radar detection and guidance, electronic warfare, mine action, control and communications support, in-flight refueling of aircraft, search and rescue, transport, ambulance).
Based on location, it is divided into carrier-based aviation (on aircraft-carrying ships) and shore-based aviation (at airfields).
Further development of naval aviation is in the direction of improving all types of aircraft, increasing their speed, range and flight duration, equipping them with high-precision guided weapons, widespread introduction of electronic computer technology, control systems and methods, means of automating the collection, processing of information and issuing target designations for destruction any targets with high accuracy, creating means of searching and destroying surface and underwater targets based on new physical principles, increasing their stealth and combat stability.
In 2017, the naval aviation of the Navy was replenished with new aircraft, and existing equipment was updated in several areas. Thus, work was underway to re-equip the shore-based operational-tactical aviation forces of the naval aviation of the Navy with Su-30SM aircraft, which would later become their main aircraft. In 2018, naval aviation has a fleet of aircraft with significant service life. This concerns the modernization of the Il-38 aircraft into the Il-38N Novella variant and the renewal of the Ka-27 helicopter fleet with the Ka-27M, which in the near future will form the basis of anti-submarine forces and target designation forces for naval groups.
Chief of Naval Aviation of the Russian Navy, Major General Igor Kozhin.
The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources
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By analogy with Russian ground forces Navy aviation dramatically increases the capabilities of the fleet. A Navy MA unit was created to solve several problems:
- search for and destruction of sea, air and ground targets;
- aerial reconnaissance and ship guidance;
- production/destruction of minefields;
- electronic warfare;
- search/rescue of victims;
- transportation and landing of special forces.
The main part of aviation is based on the shore, a smaller part of it - naval aviation - is located on the only aircraft-carrying cruiser in the Russian Federation, Admiral Kuznetsov. The composition includes only helicopters and airplanes; previously used seaplanes are now used by the Ministry of Emergency Situations for transportation and firefighting.
Formation of naval aviation
The Russian Air Force, part of the Aerospace Forces, celebrates Aviation Day on August 12. Naval aviation units of the Russian Navy celebrate their “Birthday” almost a month earlier - on July 17. This branch of the military is very specific, protecting the boundaries of two elements at once - water and sky. The history of the development of naval aviation can be represented by the following dates:
- 1910 - in the summer the Antoinette-4 aircraft was purchased for the Naval Department, the first flight on it was made by Lieutenant Dorozhinsky from the Kulikovo airfield in Sevastopol;
- 1912 - Vice Admiral Grigorovich signed an order in May to create air detachments in the fleet, in August the first seaplane was launched on Vasilyevsky Island in St. Petersburg;
- 1914 - The First World War prevented the deployment of air detachments in the Pacific Fleet, and the existing units were ordered transferred to the signal service;
- 1916 - On July 17, four Russian aircraft repelled an attack by the same number of German aircraft in the Baltic, which is considered to be Russian Navy MA Day;
- 1916 - the structure of units was formed - a detachment of 4 - 8 aircraft, a division of 2 - 4 detachments, a brigade of 2 - 4 divisions, a division of at least 2 brigades, the relationship between the chiefs/commanders of aviation and naval aircraft is regulated by the Regulations on the spacecraft division (ship aviation);
- 1916 - creation of the Van flotilla (Lake Van, Turkey) of two M-5 seaplanes under the command of midshipman Ivanov to support the Baku detachment, Peipus hydroaviation detachment (Lake Peipus);
- 1917 - formation of a special-purpose brigade with the powers of a division to support the Arctic Ocean flotilla;
- 1917 - to manage fleet aviation, the UMAiV department was created, headed by A. A. Tuchkov;
- 1917 - V.I. Lenin appoints A.P. Onufriev as commissar of the MA, then aviation joins the UVOFLOT air force and leaves subordination;
- 1918 - The Baltic division is evacuated to the Volga, the command changes its status to a special purpose brigade (three divisions of eight detachments);
- 1918 The Black Sea Division ceases to exist after the loss of personnel and equipment;
- 1920 - naval aviation was subordinated to the Red Army Air Fleet, M.F. Pogodin became assistant for hydroaviation, then A.P. Onufriev.
Subsequently, from 1920, for 18 years, the Russian Naval Aviation Fleet was subordinate to the Red Army Air Force. In the 30s, Polar Aviation was formed from MA pilots. Then the People's Commissariat of the Navy again allocated Naval Aviation in December 1937, the further development of this type of troops continues:
- 1937 - S. F. Zhavoronkov becomes chief of naval aviation (Marshal of the USSR Aviation since 1944);
- 1941 - the formation of three detachments from civil aviation at the end of June for transport within fleets, assigning attack aircraft and combat aircraft units to the Border Guard Troops belonging to the NKVD;
- 1941 - creation of a special strike group of 15 DB-3T aircraft by decree of the People's Commissar of the USSR Navy N. G. Kuznetsov;
- 1941 - in the fall, units and formations that had lost their military equipment were disbanded, the crews were sent to the rear.
In 1942, the 1st, 5th and 13th Baltic Regiment, 72nd Regiment of the Northern Fleet were awarded the title of Guards. A little later, 2.5, 6 and 8 regiments of the Black Sea Fleet were added to them. After giving bombers and attack aircraft to naval aviation in the next two years Pe-2 and Il-2, the corresponding Navy MA units have been added.
In 1943, instead of floating boats, reconnaissance units began to use foreign bombers and Boston fighters, Airacobra R-39, Kittyhawk, Tomahawk and P-40.
In the last years of the war, the Northern Fleet added the 14th SAD division, the Pacific 15th and 15th SAD, and the Black Sea 13th PAD. After the Victory, the assault units of the Navy aviation were liquidated, but three divisions 17, 18 SAD in the Pacific Fleet, 19 MTAD Civil Command of the Navy were created. Taking into account the effectiveness of combat operations during the Second World War, the further development of naval aviation occurred as follows:
- 1946 - abolition of the Civil Code of the Navy, subordination to the Minister of the Armed Forces, renaming the Navy Air Force to Naval Aviation, transition to peacetime staff;
- 1946 - disbandment of all flying units due to the decommissioning of MBR-2 flying boats;
- 1947 - division of the TF into the 5th and 7th Pacific Fleets, the Baltic Fleet into the 4th and 8th Baltic Fleets.
Until 1950, 3 divisions were reduced, the flotillas lost bases, defensive areas and aviation itself. Starting next year, fighter pilots began retraining on MiG-15 and MiG-17 jet aircraft. The 1951 reform re-equipped units with torpedo bombers instead of mine-torpedo aircraft. In 1953, the Pacific Fleet became united again, and in 1956 the Baltic Fleet did the same.
In 1953, the Fleet Aviation was again renamed the Pacific Fleet Air Force, Northern Fleet, Baltic Fleet and Black Sea Fleet, respectively. At the same time, helicopters entered service:
- The Ka-15s were based on ships;
- Mi-4s were formed into separate squadrons on land.
Later in 1958 they were reorganized into OAPV regiments. Part of the fighter aviation was reassigned to the air defense forces, for whose commanders pilots in vests became a headache. A completely new unit - Naval Missile-Carrying Aviation MPA - arose in 1961. As new combat vehicles emerged, they were equipped with naval aviation units of the fleets:
- 1962 – supersonic reconnaissance aircraft Tu-22R;
- 1963 – modification of the Tu-95RTs reconnaissance aircraft;
- 1965 – amphibious aircraft Be-12;
- 1967 – anti-submarine aircraft Il-38;
- 1969 – Tu-142 (long-range complex);
- 1972 – Ka-27 helicopter for long-range patrol from the shore and on board a ship.
In the 70s, naval aviation began to develop long-distance airfields outside the USSR:
- Pacific Ocean - Vietnam;
- Atlantic Ocean - Angola, Guinea and Cuba;
- Indian Ocean - Yemen, Somalia, Ethiopia;
- Mediterranean Sea - Syria and Egypt.
Since 1974, the missile carrier with variable wing geometry Tu-22M2 entered the MRA of the Baltic and Black Sea Fleet.
Six years later it became a standard part of the Pacific Fleet's weapons. Aircraft-carrying cruisers TAVKR, suitable for vertical take-off aircraft Yak-38, were launched in the mid-70s. The cruiser TAVKR Kyiv was built for the Northern Fleet, and Novorossiysk and Minsk for the Pacific Fleet.
In 1975, coastal assault units with Su-17M aircraft were created. In 1979, the 11th Navy Air Group, reporting directly to Moscow, was created to meet the needs of ekranoplanes of the Orlyonok MDE type.
In 1980, the AVMF was once again renamed the Navy Air Force. Today's only aircraft-carrying heavy cruiser, Admiral Kuznetsov, was commissioned in 1991.
Changing the structure of the Navy MA
At the beginning of the year following the creation of air squads in the fleets of the Russian Empire, that is, January 1913, the Black Sea Fleet was armed with 5 seaplanes, and the Baltic Fleet was armed with 2 wheeled airplanes and one seaplane. A unit of 3 officers was introduced into the General Staff of the Navy - the aviation department.
At the beginning of World War I, 10 pilot officers were being trained in the navies, and 20 already had diplomas; there were 10 and 8 seaplanes in the Baltic and Black Sea, respectively. By 1915, the Black Sea and Baltic fleets had 30 and 47 seaplanes, respectively, and employed 859 lower ranks and 78 officers.
By 1917, the number of airplanes reached 264 units:
- 29 aircraft – Baku and Petrograd aviation schools;
- 88 aircraft and 20 seaplanes Grigorovich M-11, M-12 - Baltic;
- 152 aircraft, 4 controlled small balloons, 61 seaplanes M-11 and M-12 - Black Sea Fleet.
There were 1,339 privates, non-commissioned officers and conductors, and 96 officers in the Baltic Fleet. At Chernomorskoe – 1039 and 115 people, respectively. M.I. Fedorovich, with the rank of captain 1st rank, became the head of the Black Sea division, and B.P. Dudorov in the same rank of the Baltic Sea. Before the October Revolution, the Russian MA included a division and 2 brigades of the Black Sea Fleet, a detachment and 2 brigades of the Baltic, with a total of 169 aircraft.
After the revolution, on the Black Sea there were 9 Nieuport-17 fighters and 104 seaplanes M-5, M-9, M-11 and M-15 for 74 pilots, on the Baltic Sea there were 24 Nieuport-21 fighters, 74 flying boats M-15, M -16 and M-95 for 87 pilots. Aerobatics and air combat schools operated in Krasnoselsk (25 pilots), Oranienbaum (50 pilots), Baku (180 cadets) with 75 training aircraft.
In the fall of 1918, the USSR Naval Aviation consisted of air detachments from Onega, Caspian, Volzhsky and Belomorsky. There are 9 fighters left (Lebed and Nieuport), only 18 M-9 seaplanes, 14 aircraft remain in the Baltic.
Then, in two years, this branch of the military was developed; in 1920 it had 4 fighter and 10 seaplane squadrons with a fleet of 75 aircraft.
Since 1921, naval aviation subordinate to the Red Army Air Force of the USSR existed in the form of units:
- Baltic Fleet - separate fighter squad, 2 reconnaissance squads, equipment division;
- Air Force of the Azov and Black Seas - fighter detachment, 2 reconnaissance detachments, hydroaviation division.
In the summer of 1937, aviation schools were opened in Nikolaev and Yeisk, and an aviation technical school in Perm. MA bombers appear, using torpedoes and mines. By 1940, the Navy's aviation consisted of 38 reconnaissance aircraft and bombers (Pe-2 and Che-2, respectively), 51 fighters (Yak-1 and MiG-3), and 2,824 combat aircraft.
During the Finnish War, naval aviation operated exclusively over land, disrupting road and rail transport. Due to the significant distance of the deployment points from the borders with Germany, in the first days of the war this branch of the military, unlike the USSR Air Force, suffered no losses either in equipment or in manpower. But later, naval aviation was brought in to cover the ground forces, but the crews were not ready for such tasks, the losses were very significant.
Immediately after the formation of a special strike group, DB-3T aircraft dropped bombs on Berlin and returned to base without losses. The special operation was commanded by Colonel E. N. Preobrazhensky. Over the next 7 sorties of torpedo bombers converted into bombers, the unit lost 7 crews and 18 aircraft. After which, such sabotage was no longer undertaken behind enemy lines.
At the end of 1943, the Navy MA had 12 formations:
- Pacific Fleet – 12 ShAD, 10 BAD, 7 IAD, 2 MTAD;
- BF – 9 ShAD, 8 MTAD, 3 IAD;
- Black Sea Fleet - 11 ShAD, 4 IAD, 1 MTAD.
Thus, at the beginning of the Second World War (1941 - 1942), the structure of the USSR naval aviation looked like this:
- aviation flotillas - Pinsk, Onega, Ladoga, Caucasus, Volga, Azov and Amur;
- Fleet Air Force - Pacific, Northern, Black Sea, Baltic;
- Air Force Flotilla STO;
- 2 AGGUSMP;
- 3 AGVMF;
- parts of subordination to the central administration - Astrakhan LIS, 64 OAP, 13 AP, 3 ZAP, 2 ZAP, 1 ZAP, AB schools, VMAU Levanevsky and Stalin, KUNS.
The management of these units was located in the capital of the USSR. Aviation units of the Amur Flotilla, STOF and Pacific Fleet carried out combat missions to Japan. In 1946, the Navy Air Force consisted of 145 aircraft in schools, 330 seaplanes, 482 attack aircraft, 727 torpedo bombers and bombers, 1,159 fighters and 1,059 imported aircraft.
From 1961 to 1985, the structure of MA looked like this:
- missile-carrying division - in each fleet, in the TFO there are two at once;
- reconnaissance regiment - one in each fleet;
- squadron or regiment of helicopters - 1 - 2 for each USSR fleet;
- transport regiment - one for each fleet;
- anti-submarine regiment - one in each fleet.
Special forces squadrons were created in the navy to solve various tasks in the required quantity
During Soviet times, naval aviation included units:
- special - ambulance, towing, spotting, communications aircraft, minesweepers, aerial tankers;
- transport – transportation of ground transport and manpower;
- search and rescue – Ka-27 helicopters;
- anti-submarine - designed to combat submarines;
- fighter - escorting bombers, destroying enemy air targets;
- assault - targeted destruction of land and sea targets;
- missile-carrying - armed with air/surface projectiles.
From 1950 to 1954, it also included aviation training squadrons in each mine-torpedo and fighter division. For example, there were 10 training squadrons in the Pacific Fleet. They were disbanded after the flight personnel were retrained for the Il-28 and MiG-15.
Weapons and equipment
For aviation, the Russian Navy uses the purchase of aircraft equipment abroad, which did not exist in principle during the Soviet era. These are mainly Czech L-39 combat training aircraft. The units include combat aircraft:
- Electronic intelligence:
- Anti-submarine aircraft:
- Transport and long-range aviation:
- Fighter aircraft:
- Helicopters:
Land-based and ship-based naval aviation was involved in military operations in Syria in the period 2016–2017. At the same time, TAVKR Admiral Kuznetsov lost two aircraft, the crews remained alive.
Combat composition
Before 2008, the structure of naval aviation looked like this:
- Pacific Fleet - transport squadron No. 71, Knevichi base, composition of Tu-134, An-26, An-24 and An-12; fighter regiment No. 865, Elizovo base, MiG-31 squadron; mixed regiment No. 568, Kamenny Brook base, composed of Tu-142M3, Tu-142MR and Tu-22M3; mixed regiment No. 317, Elizovo base, consisting of An-26, Mi-8 and -38; anti-submarine regiment No. 289, Nikolaevka base, composition of Ka-29, Ka-27, Il-18 and Il-38;
- Black Sea Fleet - assault regiment No. 43, Gvardeyskoye base, composition of Su-24MR and Su-24; mixed regiment No. 917, Kacha base, composed of Be-12, An-26 and An-2; anti-submarine helicopter regiment No. 25, Kacha base, composition of Mi-8, Mi-14 and Ka-27;
- SF – anti-submarine squadron No. 73, Kipelovo base, Tu-142; missile-carrying guards regiment No. 924, Olenegorsk base, Tu-22M3 train; anti-submarine helicopter Red Banner Regiment No. 830, Severomorsk-1 base, composition of Ka-29 and Ka-27; mixed regiment No. 403, Severomorsk-1 base, composed of Tu-134, Il-38, An-26 and An-12; fighter regiment No. 279, Severomorsk-3 base, composition of MiG-29KUB, MiG-29K, Su-25UTG and Su-33;
- BF – transport squadron No. 398, Khrabrovo base, consisting of An-26 and An-24; anti-submarine helicopter squadron No. 396, Donskoye base, composition of Ka-29 and Ka-27; helicopter squadron No. 125, Chkalovsk base, composition of Mi-24 and Mi-8; fighter regiment No. 689, Chkalovsk base, Su-27 squadron; assault guards regiment No. 4, Chernyakhovsk base, Su-24 train.
Since the only TAVKR in Russia is assigned to the Northern Fleet, carrier-based aviation of the Russian Navy is available only in the Northern Fleet. This ship does not fall under the category of aircraft carrier; in comparison with US strike groups, the following situation has developed:
- one Russian carrier cruiser against 10 full-fledged American aircraft carriers;
- of the projected 50 combat units on board Admiral Kuznetsov there are 4 MiG-29KUB, 10 MiG-29K, 2 Su-25UTG and 14 Su-33, that is, 30 units;
- due to the lack of encirclement ships, the TAVKR will not be able to use its main advantage - the P-700 Granit and P-1000 Vulcan.
However, from 2017 to 2020 it is planned to equip naval aviation units with 100 units of new aircraft.
Naval aviation of the Russian Navy
After numerous transformations, changes in names and changes in the tasks performed, the naval combat aviation of the Russian Navy has restored its combat capability and has been developed. Currently, the commander of naval aviation of the Russian Navy is I.S. Kozhin, who assumed that position in 2010, in August. Combat vehicles have their own identification marks, and the personnel have standard uniforms for the RF Armed Forces and mixed ranks.
Dress
Since the aviation of the Russian Navy does not belong to special units, several types of uniforms are adopted for personnel:
- casual - camouflage of the latest reform (jacket and trousers);
- flight technical - tropical or blue, overalls, suit, jacket;
- front door - black shoulder straps with blue edging and a gap of the same color.
Navy cockades with anchors are used on headdresses; caps have an additional emblem attached to the left.
Identification marks
Currently, the aviation of the Russian Navy wears three-color stars - the red one is surrounded by a thick blue and a thin red line - and a license plate of the type FR-00000. The inscription may look like MA Russian Navy" or "Russian Navy". The command plans to restore USSR-style stars without blue edging.
Military ranks
Since the aviation of the Russian Navy simultaneously belongs to two branches of the military, military personnel have the ranks:
- Colonel General, Lieutenant General and Major General;
- colonel and lieutenant colonel;
- major;
- captain, first lieutenant and lieutenant;
- senior warrant officer and warrant officer;
- foreman;
- senior sergeant, sergeant and junior sergeant;
- senior sailor and sailor.
Thus, at present, naval aviation is a branch of the Russian Navy, understaffed with equipment and personnel, and therefore solves a limited range of tasks and is inferior to similar units of a potential enemy.
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