911th Fighter Aviation Regiment
| 911th Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment (1960–1993) 911th Fighter Aviation Regiment (1942–1960) |
|
|---|---|
| Active | 1942–1993 |
| Country | |
| Branch | |
| Type | Aviation Regiment |
| Garrison/HQ | Baranovichi |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Alexey Yeryomin |
| Aircraft flown | |
| MiG-27 | |
The 911th Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment (911th IBAP/APIB since 1976) was an aviation regiment of the Soviet Air Force and later the Belarusian Air Force. It was formed in 1942 in the Soviet Far East as a fighter regiment and fought in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria. After the end of the latter it was stationed in Sakhalin and then the Chukotka Peninsula until 1953, when it moved to Belarus, where it remained for most of the Cold War. In 1960 it was converted into a fighter-bomber aviation regiment. In 1989 it was transferred to East Germany, but withdrawn to Belarus in 1992, where it disbanded in 1993.
The 911th Fighter Aviation Regiment (IAP) was formed between 25 July and 17 August 1942 at Matveyevka-2, an airfield near Matveyevka, Khabarovsk Krai, part of the 29th Fighter Aviation Division of the 10th Air Army. It was commanded by future Hero of the Soviet Union Major Alexey Yeryomin until December. The 911th was equipped with obsolete Polikarpov I-16 fighters and on 24 November transferred to the 83rd Fighter Aviation Division. On 1 March 1943 the 911th transferred back to the 29th Fighter Aviation Division. Two weeks later, it was relocated to Pereyaslavka airfield, where it was rearmed with Polikarpov I-153 biplanes. On 13 April 1944 the regiment finally received modern Lavochkin La-5 fighters. In January 1945, Major Konstantin Kotelnikov took command of the regiment, which he led until December. On 23 May, the regiment was reequipped with the improved Lavochkin La-7.
On 8 August, just before the Soviet invasion of Manchuria on the next day, the regiment had 57 La-7s and two La-5s. During the invasion of Manchuria, which ended on 3 September, the 911th flew 80 sorties, broken down as follows: four against Japanese troops, 38 to provide air cover to advancing Soviet troops, four against Japanese airfields, and 34 reconnaissance sorties. The regiment did not participate in air combat, and destroyed a Japanese aircraft and a train car on the ground, but lost one aircraft to an operational accident.
...
Wikipedia