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Soviet Far Eastern Military District
1st  Special Tactical Air Army
 between 1960 and 1969

In the late 1950s, the Soviet Armed Forces underwent a massive reduction in force. In the Soviet Far East, frontal IL-28 bomber units were completely disbanded, while more than half of the fighter aviation units were deactivated. The local command attempted to 'hide' the units through redeployments. During the second half of the 1950s, these fighter aviation regiments were repeatedly reassigned, alternating between the subordination of the Air Defense Forces (PVO) and the Soviet Pacific Fleet. However, the military downsizing ordered by Khrushchev was relentless. By the end of 1960, only the 303rd Mixed Aviation Division, two reconnaissance aviation squadrons survived the cuts within the Frontal Aviation.

At this time, the People's Republic of China was still a friendly state, and following the Korean War, the United States Armed Forces stationed in South Korea and Japan maintained a non-provocative posture toward the Soviet Union. Consequently, the Soviet leadership believed there was no need for a large-scale tactical air force in the Far East region. Furthermore, Khrushchev was fully committed to the omnipotence of missiles over conventional aircraft.

In the 1960s, Sino-Soviet relations progressively deteriorated. In 1966, the Chinese re-examined the issue of the Sino-Soviet border designated in the 19th century. In response to this, the Soviet military leadership began constructing airfields and barracks along the Chinese border to reinforce border defense with military forces if necessary.

During this period, the other priority was the expansion of reconnaissance capabilities. In 1967, three new reconnaissance aviation regiments were established here under the subordination of the 1st Special Air Army with MiG-21R ‘Fishbed-H’ and IL-28R ‘Beagle’ tactical reconnaissance types. These newly formed units (293rd, 752nd and 799th Reconnaissance Aaviation Regiments) monitored Chinese troop movements on the other side of the border."

1st  Special Far Eastern
Tactical Air Army’s order of battle in 1968:

By 1968, Sino-Soviet relations had deteriorated further. That same year, Moscow redeployed an additional MiG-17 ‘Fresco’ fighter-bomber regiment to the Soviet Far East from the Leningrad Military District. The 26th Guards Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment relocated to the 10th Uchastok (Kalinka) airbase, situated 17 kilometers (11 ml) from the Khabarovsk city.

During this period, Soviet veteran pilots of the Korean War were entering retirement. This opened up new advancement opportunities for junior officers, who would soon could prove when the Sino-Soviet border conflict erupted at Damansky Island in March 1969.

All units of the 1st  Special Far Eastern Tactical Air Army were placed on high alert. The newly redeployed 26th Guards Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment positioned closest to the island. Fortunately, air power was not actively engaged, and operations were limited to show-of-force overflights.The 1st Special Far Eastern Tactical Air Army was maintained on high alert until the autumn of 1969.

Furthermore, in August, an additional Il-28 ‘Beagle’ frontline bomber squadron arrived from the Ukrainian Carpathian Military District. The second squadron of the 14th Air Army's 7th Tactical Bomber Aviation Regiment was stationed at Komsomolsk-na-Amur/Khurba airbase between August and September 1969. The Il-28s completed the transit from the Ukrainian SSR to the Soviet Far East without incident. During the period of heightened Sino-Soviet tensions, they provided the 1st Special Far Eastern Tactical Air Army with a long-range nuclear strike capability. Following Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin's visit to Beijing in September, the Il-28 bombers flew back to the Ukrainian SSR

During the late 1960s, a thick dark band was painted onto the fuselages of the 1st Special Far Eastern Tactical Air Army's aircraft during exercises along the Chinese border. The photograph on the left shows personnel from the 752nd Independent Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment with MiG-21R ‘Fishbed-H’ aircrafts. The photograph on the right shows personnel from the 303rd Mixed Aviation Division alongside their MiG-21PFM ‘Fishbed-F’ fighters.

Tags:
Soviet Union, USSR, Soviet Air Forces, VVS, Cold War, Soviet Far Eastern Military District, 1st Tactical Air Army 1968, 1st Special Tactical Air Army 1968, 303rd Mixed Air Division, Ussuri, 303rd Mixed Aviation Division, 18th Guard Fighter Air Regiment, Galenki, 18th Guard Fighter Aviation Regiment, MiG-21PF Fishbed-D, MiG-21PFM Fishbed-F, 224th Fighter Air Regiment, Ozernaya Pad, 224th Fighter Aviation Regiment, MiG-21PF Fishbed-D, MiG-21PFM Fishbed-F, 523rd Fighter Bomber Air Regiment, Vozdvizhenka, 523rd Fighter Bomber Aviation Regiment, Su-7BM, Su-7BKL Fitter-A, MiG-17 Fresco, 404th Fighter Air Regiment, Ozernaya Pad, 404th Fighter Aviation Regiment, MiG-17 Fresco, 26th Guards Fighter Bomber Aviation Regiment, MiG-17 Fresco, 10th Uchastok - Kalinka, 26th Guards Fighter Bomber Air Regiment, MiG-17 Fresco, 10th Uchastok - Kalinka, 293rd Independent Reconnaissance Air Regiment, Vozzhayevka, 293rd Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment, MiG-21R Fishbed-H, 752nd Independent Reconnaissance Air Regiment, Galenki, 752nd  Independent Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment, MiG-21R Fishbed-H, 799th Independent Reconnaissance Air Regiment, Novorossija-1, 799th  Independent Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment, IL-28R Beagle, 319th independent Helicopter Regiment, Chernigovka, Mi-4 Hound, 257th independent Mixed Air Regiment, Khabarovsk, 257th independent Mixed Aviation Regiment, Mikoyan and Gurevich, Sukhoi, Mil, Yakovlev, Sino-Soviet border conflict, Zhenbao (Damansky) Island,

Облако тегов:
Союз Советских Социалистических Республик, СССР, Военно-воздушные силы, Холодная война, ДальВО, Дальневосточный ВО, Дальневосточный военный округ, 1-й ВА ДВО, ОДВА, ВВС ОДВА, 1-я воздушная армия, 1-я ВА, 303-й Смоленской Краснознаменной смешанной авиадивизии, Уссурийск, 303-я САД, 404-й истребительный авиационный ордена Кутузова III степени Таллинский полк, 404-й ИАП, Озерная Падь, Кремово, МиГ-17, 18-й гвардейский Витебский дважды краснознаменный ордена Суворова авиационный полк истребителей-бомбардировщиков, Нормандия Неман, 18-й Гв. ИАП, Галенки, МиГ-21ПФ, МиГ-21ПФС, МиГ-21ПФМ, 224-й истребительный авиационный ордена Кутузова III степени Таллинский полк, 224-й ИАП, Озерная Падь, Кремово, МиГ-21ПФ, МиГ-21ПФС, МиГ-21ПФМ, 523-й Оршанский краснознаменный орденов Суворова, Кутузова и А.Невского истребительно бомбардировочный авиационный полк, 523-й ИБАП, Воздвиженка, МиГ-17, Су-7, Су-7БМ, Су-7БКЛ, 293-й отдельный разведывательный авиационный полк, 293-й Орап, Возжаевка, МиГ-21Р, 799-й отдельный разведывательный авиационный полк, 799-й Орап, Новороссия-1, Ил-28Р, 752-й отдельный разведывательный авиационный полк, 752-й Орап, Галенки, МиГ-21Р, 319-й отдельный транспортно-боевой вертолетный полк, Черниговка, 319-й отбвп, Ми-4, 26-й Гв. авиационный полк истребителей-бомбардировщиков, МиГ-17, 26-й ИБАП, 10-й участок – Калинка, Микоян и Гуревич, Сухой, Мил, Яковлев, Пограничный конфликт на острове Даманском, Советско-китайский раскол