17th Air Army

The 17th Air Army (17-я воздушная армия) was an Air army of the Red Air Force and Soviet Air Forces from 1942.

It was formed in October (Bonn et al.: November) 1942 on the basis of the Air Forces of the Southwestern Front. Bonn et al. say that it included a mixed air corps, two fighter, one ground-attack, one bomber, and one night bomber division. It immediately took part in the Battle of Stalingrad. On 19 November 1942 during the battle of Stalingrad it was under the command of General Major Stepan Krasovsky. On 1 April 1943, as part of the Southwestern Front, it comprised the 3rd Mixed Aviation Corps (207th Fighter Aviation Division, 290th Assault Aviation Division), 7th Mixed Aviation Corps (202nd Bomber Aviation Division, 235th Fighter Aviation Division), 9th Mixed Aviation Corps (305th, 306th Assault Aviation Division, 295th Fighter Aviation Division), 244th Bombardment Aviation Division, 262nd Night Bomber Aviation Division, 39th, 132nd Bomber Aviation Regiments, 208th, 637th Attack Aviation Regiments, 282nd Mixed Aviation Regiment, 371st Transport Aviation Regiment, 10th, 50th Reconnaissance Aviation Squadrons, 34th Fire Correction Squadron. From March 1943 until the end of the war Vladimir Sudets () commanded the 17th Air Army. From 1943-45 it participated in the Ostrogozhsk-Rossosh, Left and Right Bank Ukraine operations, and the capture of Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary, and Austria. Over 200,000 sorties were flown.

On 1 May 1945 the army consisted of the 1614th, 1615th, 1654th, 1676th, 1975th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiments and the 10th Assault Aviation Corps (136th and 306th Assault Aviation Divisions), 244th Bomber Aviation Division, 189th Assault Aviation Division, the 194th, 288th and 295th Fighter Aviation Divisions, 262nd Night Bomber Aviation Division, 39th Separate Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment, 96th Separate Artillery Correction Regiment, 227th Transport Aviation Regiment, 3rd Medical Evacuation Aviation Regiment, and the 282nd Aviation Communications Regiment.

39th Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment was transferred to Samarkand and the 6th Air Army in 1947.

Air Force Colonel General Goryunov was commanding 17th Air Army as at 30 November 1947.

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