2nd Air Army explained

Unit Name:2nd Air Army
Dates:1942–1955
Country:Soviet Union
Branch:Soviet Air Force
Type:Air army
Size:2,004 aircraft (April 1945)
Battles:
Notable Commanders:Stepan Krasovsky

The 2nd Air Army (; 2 VA) was an air army of the Red Army Air Force (Soviet Air Force) during the Second World War.

Formed in May 1942, the army fought in the Battle of Stalingrad and was one of the major Soviet air formations in the Battle of Kursk and the Battle of the Dnieper. During the final two years of the war, the army provided air support for the Soviet troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front, including the Lvov–Sandomierz offensive, the Berlin Offensive, and the Prague offensive.

After the end of the war, the army was stationed in Austria and Hungary as part of the Soviet occupation forces. Renumbered in 1949 as the 59th Air Army, it was disbanded in 1955 when Soviet troops withdrew from Austria.

World War II

The army was formed on 12 May 1942, in accordance with an order of the NKO of 5 May 1942, from the Air Force of the Bryansk Front. Originally supporting the Bryansk Front, the army was transferred to support the Voronezh Front on 9 July. It participated in defensive battles in the Voronezh sector, and then supported the troops of the Southwestern Front in the counter-offensive at Stalingrad (Battle of Stalingrad) between 16 November and 21 December, in collaboration with the 8th Air Army, the 16th Air Army and the 17th Air Army in the fight for supremacy in the air. During this period the 2nd Air Army was under the operational control of the Southwestern Front before returning to the Voronezh Front.

As part of the Voronezh Front (renamed the 1st Ukrainian Front on 20 October 1943) the army participated in the Battle of Kursk, the Battle of the Dnieper, Zhitomir–Berdichev Offensive, the Korsun–Shevchenkovsky Offensive, Rovno–Lutsk Offensive, Proskurov–Chernovtsy Offensive, Lvov-Sandomierz, Sandomir-Silesia, Lower Silesian Offensive, Upper Silesian Offensive, Battle of Berlin and the Prague Offensive.[1] For the Berlin Offensive, the air army was among the largest in the Soviet Air Force with an inventory of 2,004 aircraft.

Postwar

After the war 2nd Air Army was stationed in Austria and Hungary as part of the Soviet occupation forces, serving as the air force of the Southern Group of Forces. It was renumbered as 59th Air Army in 1949 as many Soviet Air Force units received new numbers. The 59th Air Army was disbanded in Austria, but its core was relocated to the town of Székesfehérvár to become the air force of the newly created Special Corps when the Soviet forces withdrew in September 1955.[2] [3]

Later the Soviet Air Defence Forces formed a 2nd Army of Air Defence Forces which operated in the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, but this formation was disbanded around 1991–92.

Commanders

The army was commanded by:[4] [5]

Composition

12 May 1942

5 July 1943

At the beginning of the Soviet defensive phase of the Battle of Kursk, the army included the following units:

1 December 1944

On 1 December 1944, the army included the following units:

References

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2-я воздушная армия . 2010-04-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110722112841/http://victory.mil.ru/rkka/units/03/106.html . 2011-07-22 . dead .
  2. Web site: 59th Air Army. Holm. Michael. www.ww2.dk. 31 May 2017.
  3. Book: Vándor, Károly. Légierő társbérletben. VPP. 2009. 9789638848109. http://www.soviet-airforce.com/en/vpp-kiado/.
  4. Web site: Вооруженные силы России. www.soldat.ru. May 19, 2020.
  5. Web site: ВОЕННАЯ ЛИТЕРАТУРА --[Военная история ]-- Кожевников М.Н. Командование и штаб ВВС Советской Армии в Великой Отечественной войне 1941-1945 г г.]. militera.lib.ru. May 19, 2020.
  6. Web site: 2-я ВА. allaces.ru. May 19, 2020.

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