Baku Air Defence Army


The Baku Air Defence Army was a formation of the Soviet Air Defence Forces that existed in the Azerbaijan SSR from 1942 to 1945.

History

Soviet air defence in the Transcaucasus was provided by various bodies from 1918:
  • Air defence of detachments of the Baku Commune ;
  • Air Defence of the 11th Red Army of the Red Army ;
  • 3rd Air Defence Corps ;
The Baku Air Defence Army was formed on the Eastern Front of World War II following the decree of the State Defence Committee of April 5, 1942. Previously known as the Baku Air Defence Corps, its main objective became sheltering the Baku oil fields from German raids. The Wehrmacht had been planning the capture of the oil field under the codename Operation Edelweiss. During the intense German air reconnaissance in May–October, 1942 the Army included the 8th Air Defence Fighter Corps, seven anti-aircraft regiments, one anti-aircraft machine-gun regiment, a searchlight regiment, a barrage balloon regiment and other units. During its actions, the Army downed eight aircraft.
At the beginning of 1946, the Baku Air Defence Army was reorganized into the 17th Air Defence Corps as part of the Southwestern Air Defence District. In accordance with the directive of the Minister of the Armed Forces of the USSR of June 24, 1947, the Baku Air Defence Army was recreated on the basis of the 17th Air Defence Corps, and in the fall of 1948, the Baku Air Defence Region was recreated on the basis of its administration. This region included the 49th Fighter Aviation Corps PVO, which was later disbanded.
From 1954 it was redesignated the Baku Air Defence District of the Soviet Air Defence Forces, until it was abolished on 5 January 1980. It was intended to cover the Baku and Absheron Peninsula oil districts from air attack. The 72nd Guards Fighter Aviation Corps, previously with the 42nd Fighter Air Defence Army, became the district's 16th Guards Air Defence Division in January 1960 during the reorganization of the PVO. From that point it included both fighters, surface-to-air missiles, and air defence radars. In 1973, 10th Air Defence Division was absorbed by 12th Air Defence Corps.
After the abolition of the Baku District, the main PVO formation in the Trancaucasus became the 19th Army of PVO headquartered in Tbilisi. 19th PVO Army consisted a number of different units and formations. There were two Corps of Air Defence Forces two divisions of air defence forces. Smaller units included three SAM brigades, a separate SA-2 regiment near Gudauta, Abkhazia, a separate SA-5 regiment near Tbilisi, at least two radar units, and a number of fighter aviation regiments.

1988 partial order of battle

In 1988, 12th Air Defence Corps consisted of:
  • Headquarters, Rostov-on-Don
  • 83rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment PVO 40 MiG-25
  • 562nd Fighter Aviation Regiment PVO, 35 Su-27
  • 393rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment PVO, 38 MiG-23 - renamed 209th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, with Su-27, MiG-23 in October 1992.
  • 54th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade
  • 80th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade
  • 93rd Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade
  • 631st Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment
  • 815th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment
  • 879th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment
  • 1244th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment
  • an Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment at Nalchik
  • 7th Radio-Technical Brigade
  • 64th Radio-Technical Regiment
  • 77th Radio-Technical Regiment
In December 1988, 96th Air Defence Division consisted of:
  • 166th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment PVO 40 Su-15ТМ
  • 529th Fighter Aviation Regiment PVO, 34 Su-27 - had arrived from Ugolnye Kopi, Chukot Autonomous Okrug, in October 1982.
  • 144th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade
  • 266th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade
  • 643rd Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade
  • 383rd Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment
  • 78th Radio-Technical Brigade
  • 79th Radio-Technical Brigade
In December 1988, 97th Air Defence Division consisted of:
  • Headquarters, Alyaty, Baku
  • 82nd Fighter Aviation Regiment PVO, Nasosnaya (air base), Baku, 38 MiG-25
  • 128th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade
  • 129th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade
  • 190th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment
  • 2nd Radio-Technical Brigade
In 1992 the 10th Air Defence Division and the 14th Air Defence Corps were disbanded.
19th PVO Army was disbanded 1 April 1993, with some equipment handed over to Georgian Ministry of Defence, but most equipment being withdrawn to be disposed of in Russia. Some of the fighter regiments were withdrawn to Russia and disbanded, and many remaining units, including the 12th Air Defence Corps, became part of the 4th Air Army. Georgia was able to seize at least one battalion of S-75 SAMs, two batteries of P-125Ms, as well as several P-18 radars.
Later in the 1990s after the fall of the Soviet Union, 12th Air Defence Corps became 51st Air Defence Corps in July 1998.

Commanders

Commanders of the Baku Air Defence District and it successor units included: