9th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment

The 9th "Odessa" Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment was a "regiment of aces" unit in the Soviet Air Forces created to assist the USSR in gaining air supremacy over the Luftwaffe during the Second World War.

9th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment
Country Soviet Union
Branch Soviet Air Force
EngagementsWorld War II
DecorationsGuards designation
Order of the Red Banner
Order of Suvorov
Commanders
Regimental CommanderLev Shestakov (until Aug 1943)
Anatoly Morozov (Aug 1943-June 1944)
Arkady Kovachevich (June 1944-Sept 1944)
Vladimir Lavrinenkov (Sept 1944-Aug 1945)
Aircraft flown
FighterYakovlev Yak-1
Bell P-39 Airacobra
Lavochkin La-7

World War II

Pilots admitted to the regiment were either already aces or considered potential aces by their commanders. Throughout the war the regiment operated various aircraft, including the Polikarpov I-16, LaGG-3, Yak-1, P-39, and La-7. Prior to being designated as the 9th Guards Regiment in 1942, the unit was the known as the 69th Fighter Aviation Regiment and equipped with I-16 and MiG-3 fighters, having been formed in 1939. With 558 enemy aircraft destroyed by the unit during World War II, it was the 7th highest scoring regiment in the Soviet Air Forces.[1][2][3]

Name

Before the regiment was honored with the Guards designation in 1942 it was known as the 69th Fighter Aviation Regiment. Later the regiment was given the honorific "Odessa" in 1943,[4] and by the end of the war its full name was the 9th Guards Odessa Red Banner Order of Suvorov Fighter Aviation Regiment. After the capitulation of Nazi Germany, the regiment saw action in the Korean War before it was incorporated into the Air Force of Uzbekistan as the 62nd Fighter Aviation Regiment in 1992 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.[5]

Notable members

Twice Heroes of the Soviet Union

Heroes of the Soviet Union

Hero of the Russian Federation

References
  1. Anokhin, Vladimir; Bykov, Mikhail (2014). Все истребительные авиаполки Сталина: первая полная энциклопедия (in Russian). Moscow. pp. 33–36. ISBN 9785995507079. OCLC 878079743.
  2. "9 гвардейский Краснознаменный истребительный авиационный Одесский ордена Суворова полк". ava.org.ru. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  3. Lukashin, Vasily (1965). Против общего врага (in Russian). Moscow: Voenizdat. OCLC 28151217.
  4. Приказ НКО СССР № 207 от 04.05.1943 г.
  5. "Гвардейские авиаполки истребительной авиации ВВС РККА, ВМФ и ПВО | Красные соколы нашей Родины". www.airaces.ru. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
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