Baku Air Defence Army

It was formed on the Eastern Front of World War II, following the decree of the USSR State Defense 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 some other units.[1] During its actions, the Army downed eight aircraft.[2]

Successor Soviet air defence formations in the Transcaucasus region included the Baku Air Defense District of the Soviet Air Defence Forces (PVO), which was founded in 1945 on the basis of the Baku Air Defense Army. In 1948 the District was transformed into a zone/area. From 1954 it was redesignated a District again, until it was abolished on 5 January 1980. It was intended to cover from air attack in Baku and Absheron peninsula oil districts.[3]

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 (14th, later renamed 96th Air Defence Division, and 51st, activated March 1960 as 12th Air Defence Corps) two divisions of air defence forces (97th and 10th).[4] 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,[5] and a number of fighter aviation regiments (see List of Soviet Air Force bases).

In 1988, 10th Air Defence Division consisted of:[6]

• Headquarters, Volgograd
• 393rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment PVO (Privolzhskiy, Astrakhan Oblast), 38 MiG-23 - renamed 209th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, with Su-27, MiG-23 in October 1992.[7]
• 54th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade (Volgograd, Volgograd Oblast)
• 631st Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Novolesnyy [Astrakhan], Astrakhan Oblast)
• 466th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Kamyshin, Volgograd Oblast)
• 815th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Groznyy, Checheno-Imgushskaya ASSR)
• 93rd Radio-Technical Regiment (Astrakhan, Astrakhan Oblast)

In 1988, 12th Air Defence Corps consisted of:[8]

• Headquarters, Rostov-on-Don
• 83rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment PVO (Rostov-on-Don, Rostov Oblast) 40 MiG-25 (потом МиГ-31)
• 562nd Fighter Aviation Regiment PVO (Krymsk, Krasnodar Kray), 35 Su-27
• 80th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade (Novorossiysk, Krasnodar Kray)
• 93rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade (Rostov-na-Don, Rostov Oblast)
• 879th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Tuapse, Krasnodar Kray)
• 1244th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Volgodonsk, Rostov Oblast)
• 7th Radio-Technical Brigade (Rostov-on-Don, Rostov Oblast)
• 77th Radio-Technical Regiment (Ordzhonikidze, Krasnodar Kray)

In December 1988, 96th Air Defence Division consisted of:[9]

• 166th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment PVO (Marneuli (Sandar), near Tbilisi, Georgian SSR) 40 Su-15ТМ (12 кПВО)
• 529th Fighter Aviation Regiment PVO (Gudauta, Abkhazskaya ASSR), 34 Su-27 - had arrived from Ugolnye Kopi, Chukot Autonomous Okrug, in October 1982.
• 144th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade (Tbilisi, Georgian SSR)
• 266th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade (Poti, Georgian SSR)
• 643rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade (Gudauta, Abkhazskaya ASSR)
• 383rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Echmiadzin, Armenian SSR)
• 78th Radio-Technical Brigade (Batumi, Georgian SSR)
• 79th Radio-Technical Brigade (Marneuli, Georgian SSR)

In December 1988, 97th Air Defence Division consisted of:[10]

• Headquarters, Alyaty, Baku
• 82nd Fighter Aviation Regiment PVO (иап), Nasosnaya (air base), Baku, 38 MiG-25
• 128th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade (Eirya, Azerbaizhan SSR)
• 129th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade (Sangachaly, Azerbaizhan SSR)
• 190th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Mingechaur, Azerbaizhan SSR)
• 2nd Radio-Technical Brigade (Alyaty (Baku), Azerbaizhan SSR)

There is conflicting information on fighter regiments assigned to the army. Other fighter regiments possibly assigned to the army in the late 1980s may have included:[4]

• 50th Fighter Aviation Regiment, Nasosnaya (air base), Baku, MiG-25PDS

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,[11] 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 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 (Spoon Rest) radars.[5]

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

• Colonel-General Konstantin Vershinin (1956-1959)
• Colonel-General Vladimir Ivanov (1959-1966)
• Colonel-General Athanasius Shcheglov (1966-1973)
• Colonel-General Fedor Olifirov (1973-1980)
• Colonel-General Anatoly Konstantinov

• Bakinskii okrug protivovozdushnoi oborony: Istoricheskii ocherk 1920-. 1974 gg. [Baku Anti-air Defense District: An historical outline 1920-1974], Baku, 1974