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Eastern Order of Battle

Leningrad Military District
10th Independent Air Defence Army
on January 1, 1973
Tu-128 Fddler at Talagi airport in 1973

The 10th Independent Air Defence Army received long-range Tupolev Tu-128S-4 'Fiddler' complex weapon system (aircraft, radar, missiles) and S-200 'SA-5 Gammon' long-range, medium-to-high altitude surface-to-air missile system in the late sixties and early seventies.

During the Cold War, the main purpose of the Soviet 10th Independent Air Defence Army was to destroy the bombers of the NATO, before those reach the Soviet border. And as well as, they defended the ships of the Northern fleet out at sea.


    <- Soviet 518th Fighter Air Regiment’s Tu-128 ‘Fiddler’ very long range interceptors at the Talagi airport in 1973.

The air defence centers of the 10th Army controlled the long-range Tu-128 'Fiddler' and Yak-28P 'Firebar' fighter types. The Tu-128 fighter-type was able to patrol 1,000 kilometers off the Soviet coast. They needed target data to ensure their operations outside the ground-based radar and guidance fields. It was an extremely important task to provide target data for the long-range Tu-128 fighters, without data of ground-based radar and ground guidance. The Tu-128 fighter planes intercepted the enemy's bombers from 900-1000 km (560-620 mile) distance from the coastline, without any guidance from the ground.
Soviet radar station
Two Yak-28P ‘Firebar’ interceptor planes of the 174th Guard Fighter Air regiment over Kola Peninsula Two Yak-28P ‘Firebar’ interceptor planes of the 174th Guard Fighter Air regiment over Kola Peninsula

Two Yak-28P ‘Firebar’ interceptor planes of the 174th Guard Fighter Air regiment over Kola Peninsula. These fighter planes defended Soviet Northern Fleet's main harbors of nuclear submarines and the industrial bases in the Murmansk region. Photo: Travkin Vladimir Andreevich collection

Command of the 10th Army developed the solution to this problem. It was carried out in three directions:

  • First solution: They organized the data exchange between the forces of the fleet and the radar of the air defence forces across the Vozduh automated control system. This way the fighter planes received target data from the sea too.
     
  • Second solution: timely relocation of the Tu-126 'Moss' AWACS planes from the Baltic region to the airfields of the 10th air army and the Northern Fleet, accurate timing of their ascent and transfer to the enemy's airborne detection zone. The Tu-126 planes flew in a 1000 km radius elongated ellipse above the sea.
     
  • Third solution: the rearmament of fighter air regiments with new interceptor types, which by their combat capabilities had sufficient flight range and the ability with a high probability of independently detecting and destroying the enemy in conditions of strong radio and radar counteraction from his side.


Therefore they began the preparation of Besovets, Poduzheme, Afrikanda airports to be able to serve Su-15TM 'Flagon-F' air defense fighters. Meanwhile, the Letneozersky airport has been rebuilt to be able to receive new modern high-speed MiG-25P 'Foxbat-A' interceptor aircraft type. The technical crew of air regiments repaired the airfield and the refueling zone. Unfortunately, when the new retrained technical staff arrived, the development of civil environments, housing, and communal services had not yet been completed.
USSR 21st Air Defense Corps, Severomorsk USSR 4th Air Defense Division, Belushya Guba
10th Independent Air Defence Army map in 1973
Soviet 5th Air Defense Division, Petrozavodsk Soviet 23rd Air Defense Division, Arkhangelsk

The 10th Independent Air Defence Army strengthened the fighter air regiments of the 4th Air Defence Division in the first half of the seventies. The 72nd Guard Fighter Air Regiment received Tu-128 'Fiddler' long-range interceptor planes between 1969 and 1970. Then 641st Guard Fighter Air Regiment deployed to the extremely cold Rogachevo airport on the Novaya Zemlya island with Yak-28P 'Firebar' fighter planes in 1973. Meanwhile, the 911th regiment moved to Besovets north of Leningrad from Rogachevo airport.
 
72nd Guard Fighter Air Regiment PVO in front of their new huge Tu-128 ‘Fiddler’ long range patrol interceptor at Amderma airport 72nd Guard Fighter Air Regiment PVO in front of their new huge Tu-128 ‘Fiddler’ long range patrol interceptor at Amderma airport

Soviet technical crew of 72nd Guard Fighter Air Regiment PVO in front of their new huge Tu-128 ‘Fiddler’ long range patrol interceptor at Amderma airport on the icy Kara Sea coast in the winter of the seventies.

 

The Soviet Kilpajarv airport in the seventies.

 
The 641st Guard Fighter Air Regiment PVO's elder Soviet technical engineers in front of their Yak-28P 'Firebar' air defense fighter aircraft in the early seventies.

The 641st Guard Fighter Air Regiment PVO's elder Soviet technical engineers in front of their Yak-28P 'Firebar' air defense fighter aircraft in the early seventies.
The 524th Fighter Air Regiment PVO’s crew and their Yak-28P ‘Firebar aircraft with R-8M 'AA-3 Anab' air-to-air missile at the Letneozerskiy/Obozersk airfield

The 524th Fighter Air Regiment PVO’s crew and their Yak-28P ‘Firebar aircraft with R-8M 'AA-3 Anab' air-to-air missile at the Letneozerskiy/Obozersk airfield

Tags:
Soviet Union, USSR, Soviet Air Forces, Sovier AIR Defense, VVS, PVO, Cold War, Leningrad Military District, 10th Independent Air Defence Army, 21st Air Defense Corps, Severomorsk, 941st Fighter Air Regiment PVO, Kilpajarvi, Su-9 Fishpot-A, 174th Guard Fighter Air Regiment PVO, Monchegorsk, Yak-28P Firebar, MiG-19 Farmer, 431st Fighter Air Regiment PVO, Afrikanda, MiG-19PM Farmer-E, MiG-19S Farmer-C, 5th Air Defense Division, Petrozavodsk, 265th Fighter Air Regiment PVO, Poduzhemye, Su-15 Falgon-A/D, 911th Fighter Air Regiment PVO, Besovets, Petrozavodsk, MiG-17F Fresco-C, MiG-17PF Fresco-D, 23rd Air Defense Division, Arkhangelsk, 518th Fighter Air Regiment PVO, Talagi, Tu-128 Fiddler, 524th Fighter Air Regiment PVO, Letneozerskiy/Obozersk, Yak-28P Firebar, MiG-17 Fresco, 4th Air Defense Division, Belushya Guba, 641st Guard Fighter Air Regiment PVO, Rogachevo-Novaya Zemlya, Yak-28P Firebar, MiG-17 Fresco, 72nd Guard Fighter Air Regiment PVO, Amderma, Tu-128 Fiddler, Mikoyan and Gurevich, Sukhoi, Yakovlev, Tupolev,

Облако тегов:
Союз Советских Социалистических Республик, СССР, Военно-воздушные силы, Войска ПВО СССР, 10-й отдельной армии ПВО, 10-й ОА ПВО, 21-я корпус ПВО, 21-я кПВО, Североморск, 941-й истребительный авиационный полк ПВО, 941-й ИАП ПВО, Килп-Явр, Су-9, 174-й гвардейский Краснознаменный Печенгский ИАП, 174-й гв.ИАП ПВО, Мончегорск, Як-28П, Миг-17, 431-й Краснознамённый истребительный авиационный полк ПВО, 431-й ИАП ПВО, Африканда, МиГ-19ПМ, МиГ-19С, 5-я дивизия ПВО, 5-я дПВО, Петрозаводск, 265-й истребительный авиационный полк ПВО, 265-й ИАП ПВО, Подужемье, Кемь, Карелия, Су-15, 991-й истребительный авиационный полк ПВО, 991-й ИАП ПВО, Бесовец, Петрозаводск, Миг-17, 23-я дивизия ПВО, 23-я дПВО, Архангельск, 518-й Берлинский Краснознгамённый ордена Суворова 3-й стёпени авиационный полк ПВО, 518-й ИАП ПВО, Талаги, Архангельск, Ту-128, 524-й истребительный авиационный полк ПВО, 524-й ИАП ПВО, Летнеозерский, Обозерский, Як-28П, Миг-17, 4-я дивизия ПВО, 4-я дПВО, Новая Земля, 641-й гвардейский ордена Кутузова III степени истребительно-авиационный полк ПВО, 641-й гв.ИАП ПВО, Новая Земля, Рогачево, Як-28П, Миг-17, 72-й гвардейский Полоцкий ордена Суворова III степени истребительный авиационный полк ПВО, 72-й гв.ИАП ПВО, Андерма, Ту-128, Микоян и Гуревич, Сухой, Яковлев, Туполев,