Airborne assault troops. Air Assault Troops 35th Separate Air Assault Brigade

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Alekhin Roman Viktorovich

Alekhin Roman Viktorovich

STORM TROOPERS

In the mid-60s, due to the active development of helicopters (with their amazing ability to land and take off almost anywhere), a completely appropriate idea arose of creating special military units that could be dropped by helicopter into the tactical rear of the enemy in order to assist advancing ground forces. Unlike the Airborne Forces, these new units were supposed to be landed only by landing, and unlike the GRU Special Forces, they were supposed to operate in fairly large forces, including the use of armored vehicles and other heavy weapons.

To confirm (or refute) the theoretical conclusions, it was necessary to conduct large-scale practical exercises that would put everything in its place. In 1967, during the strategic exercises “Dnepr-67” on the basis of the 51st Guards PDP, the experimental 1st Air Force was formed assault brigade

. The brigade was led by the head of the combat training department of the Airborne Forces Directorate, Major General Kobzar. The brigade landed in helicopters on the bridgehead on the Dnieper and completed its assigned task. Based on the results of the exercises, appropriate conclusions were drawn, and starting in 1968, the formation of the first air assault brigades in the Far Eastern and Trans-Baikal military districts began as part of the ground forces. Based on the directive of the General Staff of May 22, 1968, by August 1970 in populated areas

The 13th air assault brigade was formed in Nikolaevna and Zavitinsk, Amur region, and the 11th air assault brigade was formed in the village of Mogocha, Chita region. Again, as in the very first airborne unit (airborne detachment of the Leningrad Military District), the “land” unit received aviation under its control - two helicopter regiments with aviation base

each, which included an airfield support battalion and a separate communications and radio support battalion.

The structure of the air assault brigades of the first formation was as follows:

Brigade management;

Three air assault battalions;

Artillery Division;

Anti-aircraft artillery division;

Transport helicopter regiment with an aviation base;

Rear of the brigade.

Air assault units mounted on helicopters were able to land in the form of a landing force on any part of the operational-tactical theater of military operations and solve assigned tasks on their own with fire support from combat helicopters. Experimental exercises were conducted with these brigades to develop tactics for using air assault units. Based on the experience gained, the General Staff made recommendations for improving the organizational and staffing structure of such units.

It was assumed that the air assault brigades would operate in the enemy's tactical defense zone. The range at which battalions of air assault brigades were supposed to land did not exceed 70-100 km. In particular, as confirmation, this is evidenced by the operating range of communications equipment that entered service with air assault formations. However, if we consider the specific theater of operations in which the brigades were stationed, it can be assumed that the purpose of the 11th and 13th Brigades was to quickly close the poorly guarded section of the border with China in the event of a Chinese military invasion. By helicopter, brigade units could be landed anywhere, while those located in that area (from Mogocha to Magdagachi) motorized rifle regiments 67th motorized rifle division They could only move on their own along the only rock road, which was very slow. Even after the helicopter regiments were withdrawn from the brigades (at the end of the 80s), the mission of the brigades did not change, and the helicopter regiments were always stationed in close proximity.

In the early 70s, a new name for the brigades was adopted. From now on they began to be called “airborne assault”.

On November 5, 1972, by directive of the General Staff, and on November 16, 1972, and by order of the commander of the Transcaucasian Military District, by February 19, 1973, it was decided to form an airborne assault brigade in the Caucasian operational direction. The 21st separate unit was formed in the city of Kutaisi air assault brigade.

Thus, by the mid-70s, the so-called Airborne Forces of the ground forces included three brigades:

11th airborne brigade (military unit 21460), ZabVO (Mogocha settlement, Chita region), consisting of: 617th, 618th, 619th airborne battalion, 329th and 307th airborne battalion;

13th airborne brigade (military unit 21463), Far Eastern Military District (n. Magdagachi, Amur region), consisting of: 620th, 621st (Amazar), 622nd airborne battalion, 825th and 398th airborne battalion ;

21st Specialized Brigade (military unit 31571), ZakVO (Kutaisi, Georgia), consisting of: 802nd (military unit 36685, Tsulukidze), 803rd (military unit 55055), 804th (in /h 57351) odshb, 1059th oadn, 325th and 292nd airborne forces, 1863rd one sirto, 303rd obao.

An interesting fact was that the battalions in these formations were separate units, while in Airborne Forces separate Only the regiment was part. From its formation until 1983 parachute training these brigades were not provided for and were not included in the plans for combat training, and therefore the personnel of the air assault brigades wore the uniform of motorized rifle troops with the appropriate insignia. Form Airborne assault forces parts received only with an introduction to them combat training skydiving.

In 1973, the air assault brigades included:

Management (staff 326 people);

Three separate air assault battalions (each battalion has 349 people);

Separate artillery division (staff 171 people);

Aviation group (only 805 people on staff);

Separate division of communications and radio technical support (190 people on staff);

Separate battalion of airfield technical support (410 people on staff).

New formations began active combat training. There were accidents and disasters. In 1976, during a major exercise in the 21st brigade, a tragedy occurred: two Mi-8 helicopters collided in the air and crashed to the ground. As a result of the disaster, 36 people died. Similar tragedies occurred from time to time in all brigades - probably this was the terrible tribute that had to be paid for the possession of such highly mobile military units.

The experience accumulated by the new brigades turned out to be positive, and therefore, by the end of the 70s, the General Staff decided to form several more air assault brigades of front-line (district) subordination, as well as several separate air assault battalions of army subordination. Since the number of newly formed units and formations was quite large, the General Staff decided to disband one airborne division to complete them.

Based on the General Staff Directive of August 3, 1979 No. 314/3/00746, by December 1, 1979, the 105th Guards Airborne Vienna Red Banner Division (111th, 345th, 351st, 383rd Guards PDP) , stationed in Fergana, Uzbek SSR, was disbanded. The 345th Regiment was reorganized into a separate parachute regiment and left in the southern operational direction. The personnel of the disbanded regiments and individual parts went to form air assault units and formations.

On the basis of the 111th Guards Infantry Division in the city of Osh, Kyrgyz SSR, the 14th Guards Airborne Brigade of the Western Group of Forces was formed with redeployment to the city of Cottbus of the German Democratic Republic. In December 1979, the brigade was renamed the 35th Guards Airborne Brigade. From 1979 to November 1982, the brigade's personnel wore the uniform of motorized rifle troops. In 1982, the brigade was awarded Battle Banner. Before this, the brigade had the Battle Banner of the 111th Guards Infantry Division.

On the basis of the 351st Guards PDP, the 56th Guards Airborne Brigade of the TurkVO was formed with a deployment in the village of Azadbash (district of the city of Chirchik) of the Uzbek SSR. On the basis of the officers of the 105th Guards Airborne Division, the 38th Separate Guards Vienna Red Banner Airborne Assault Brigade was formed in the Belarusian Military District in the city of Brest. The brigade was given the Battle Banner of the disbanded 105th Guards Vienna Red Banner Airborne Division.

On the basis of the 383rd Guards RPD in the village of Aktogay, Taldy-Kurgan region of the Kazakh SSR, the 57th separate air assault brigade was formed for the Central Asian Military District, and the 58th brigade was formed for the Kyiv Military District in Kremenchug (however, it was decided to leave it in the form of a framed part).

For the Leningrad Military District in the village of Garbolovo, Vsevolozhsk district, Leningrad region, with the participation of personnel of the 234th and 237th Guards Parachute Regiments of the 76th Guards Airborne Division, the 36th separate air assault brigade was formed, and for the Baltic military district in the city of Chernyakhovsk, Kaliningrad region, the 37th separate air assault brigade was formed.

On August 3, 1979, the 80th Parachute Regiment of the Order of the Red Star of the 104th Guards Airborne Division in the city of Baku was disbanded. The released personnel were turned to the formation of new brigades - in the city of Khyrov, Staro-Sambir district of the Lviv region, the 39th separate Order of the Red Star airborne assault brigade was formed for the Carpathian Military District, and in the city of Nikolaev for the Odessa Military District the 40th was formed separate air assault brigade.

Thus, in total, in 1979, nine separate air assault brigades were formed, which became part of the Western and Asian military districts. By 1980, there were a total of twelve air assault brigades in the ground forces:

11th airborne brigade (military unit 32364), ZabVO, Mogocha;

13th airborne brigade (military unit 21463), Far Eastern Military District, Magdagachi, Amazar;

21st airborne brigade (military unit 31571), ZakVO, Kutaisi;

35th airborne brigade (military unit 16407), GSVG, Cottbus;

36th airborne brigade (military unit 74980), Leningrad Military District, Garbolovo;

37th Airborne Brigade (military unit 75193), PribVO, Chernyakhovsk;

38th airborne brigade (military unit 92616), BelVO, Brest;

39th Airborne Brigade (military unit 32351), PrikVO, Khyrov;

40th Specialized Brigade (military unit 32461), OdVO, Nikolaev;

56th airborne brigade (military unit 74507), TurkVO, Azadbash, Chirchik;

57th Airborne Brigade (military unit 92618), SAVO, Aktogay, Kazakhstan;

58th airborne brigade of the KVO cadre, Kremenchug.

The new brigades were formed as lightweight ones, with 3 battalions, without helicopter regiments. Now these were ordinary “infantry” units that did not have their own aviation. In fact, these were tactical units, whereas until that time the first three brigades (11th, 13th and 21st airborne brigades) were tactical formations. Since the beginning of the 80s, the battalions of the 11th, 13th and 21st brigades ceased to be separate and lost their numbers - the brigades from formations became units. However, the helicopter regiments remained subordinate to these brigades until 1988, after which they were transferred from the subordination of the brigade management to the subordination of the districts.

The structure of the new brigades was as follows:

Brigade management (headquarters);

Two parachute battalions;

One air assault battalion;

Howitzer artillery battalion;

Anti-tank battery;

Anti-aircraft artillery battery;

Communications Company;

Reconnaissance and landing company;

RKhBZ company;

Engineer company;

Material support company;

Medical Company;

Airborne support company.

The number of personnel in the brigades was about 2800 people.

Starting from 1982–1983, airborne training began in the air assault brigades, and therefore some organizational changes took place in the structure of the formations.

In addition to the brigades, in December 1979, separate air assault battalions were formed, which were supposed to act in the interests of the armies and solve tactical problems close behind enemy lines. In the mid-80s, several more battalions were additionally formed. In total, more than twenty such battalions were formed, a complete list of which I have not yet been able to establish - there were several squadroned battalions, the numbers of which are not found in the open press. By the mid-80s, the combined arms and tank armies of the USSR Armed Forces included:

899th separate battalion (military unit 61139), 20th Guards OA, GSVG, Burg;

900th separate battalion (military unit 60370), 8th Guards OA, GSVG, Leipzig;

901st separate battalion (military unit 49138), Central Military District, Riečki, then PribVO, Aluksne;

902nd airborne battalion (military unit 61607), South Georgian Military District, Hungary, Kecskemét;

903rd separate battalion, 28th OA, BelVO, Brest (until 1986), then to Grodno;

904th separate battalion (military unit 32352), 13th OA, PrikVO, Vladimir-Volynsky;

905th separate battalion (military unit 92617), 14th OA, OdVO, Bendery;

906th airborne battalion (military unit 75194), 36th OA, ZabVO, Borzya, Khada-Bulak;

907th airborne battalion (military unit 74981), 43rd AK, Far Eastern Military District, Birobidzhan;

908th infantry battalion, 1st Guards OA, KVO, Konotop, since 1984 Chernigov, Goncharovskoe village;

1011th Odshb 5th Guards TA, BelVO, Maryina Gorka;

1039th infantry battalion, 11th Guards OA, PribVO, Kaliningrad;

1044th separate battalion (military unit 47596), 1st Guards TA, GSVG, Koenigsbrück, after 1989 - PribVO, Taurage;

1048th airborne battalion (military unit 45476), 40th OA, TurkVO, Termez;

1145th Odshb 5th OA, Far Eastern Military District, Sergeevna;

1151st airborne battalion, 7th TA, BelVO, Polotsk;

1154th infantry battalion of the 86th AK, ZabVO, Shelekhov;

1156th separate battalion, 8th TA, PrikVO, Novograd-Volynsky;

1179th separate battalion (military unit 73665), 6th OA, Leningrad Military District, Petrozavodsk;

1185th separate battalion (military unit 55342), 2nd Guards TA, GSVG, Ravensbrück, then PribVO, Võru;

1603rd separate battalion of the 38th OA, PrikVO, Nadvirnaya;

1604th separate battalion, 29th OA, ZabVO, Ulan-Ude;

1605th separate battalion, 5th OA, Far Eastern Military District, Spassk-Dalniy;

1609th separate battalion, 39th OA, ZabVO, Kyakhta.

Also in 1982, their own air assault battalions were created in the Marine Corps of the USSR Navy. In particular, on Pacific Fleet such a battalion was created on the basis of the 1st battalion Marine Corps 165th Marine Regiment, 55th Division. Then similar battalions were created in other regiments of the division and separate brigades ah in other fleets. These Marine air assault battalions received airborne training and performed parachute jumps. That's why I included them in this story. The air assault battalions that were part of the 55th division did not have their own numbers and were named only by continuous numbering within their regiment. Battalions in brigades, as separate units, received their own names:

876th airborne battalion (military unit 81285) 61st infantry brigade, Northern Fleet, Sputnik settlement;

879th separate battalion (military unit 81280) 336th guards infantry regiment, Baltic Fleet, Baltiysk;

881st airborne infantry battalion, 810th brigade infantry regiment, Black Sea Fleet, Sevastopol;

1st infantry battalion, 165th infantry infantry regiment, 55th airborne infantry regiment, Pacific Fleet, Vladivostok;

1st infantry battalion, 390th infantry fighting infantry regiment, 55th infantry infantry regiment, Pacific Fleet, Slavyanka.

Based on the composition of their weapons, individual air assault battalions were divided into “light”, which did not have armored vehicles, and “heavy”, which were armed with up to 30 infantry or airborne combat vehicles. Both types of battalions were also armed with 6 mortars of 120 mm caliber, six AGS-17 and several ATGMs.

The brigades each included three parachute battalions on infantry fighting vehicles, infantry fighting vehicles, or GAZ-66 vehicles, an artillery battalion (18 D-30 howitzers), an anti-tank battery, an anti-aircraft missile battery, a mortar battery (six 120-mm mortars), and a reconnaissance battery. company, communications company, engineer company, airborne support company, chemical defense company, material support company, repair company, automobile company and medical center. A separate parachute battalion of the brigade consisted of three parachute companies, a mortar battery (4–6 82-mm mortars), a grenade launcher platoon (6 AGS-17 grenade launchers), a communications platoon, an anti-tank platoon (4 SPG-9 and 6 ATGMs) and a support platoon.

When undergoing airborne training, the parachute service of air assault battalions and brigades was guided by the documents of the Airborne Forces PDS.

In addition to brigades and battalions, the General Staff also tried another organization of air assault units. By the mid-80s, two army corps were formed in the USSR new organization. These corps were created for the purpose of their use in expanding an operational breakthrough (if something happened to break through). The new corps had a brigade structure and consisted of mechanized and tank brigades, and in addition, the corps included two-battalion air assault regiments. The regiments were intended to be a tool for “vertical coverage”, and in the corps they were used in conjunction with a helicopter regiment.

In the Belarusian Military District, on the basis of the 120th Guards Motorized Rifle Division, the 5th Guards Combined Arms Army Corps was formed, and in the Trans-Baikal Military District in Kyakhta, on the basis of the 5th Guards tank division The 48th Guards Combined Arms Army Corps was formed.

The 5th Guards AK received the 1318th Air Assault Regiment (military unit 33508) and the 276th Helicopter Regiment, and the 48th Guards AK received the 1319th Air Assault Regiment (military unit 33518) and the 373rd Helicopter Regiment. However, these parts did not last long. Already in 1989, the guards army corps were again folded into divisions, and the air assault regiments were disbanded.

In 1986, in connection with the creation of the Headquarters of the Main Directional Commands, another wave of formations of air assault brigades took place. In addition to the existing formations, four more brigades were formed - according to the number of directions. Thus, by the end of 1986, subordinate to the reserve Headquarters of operational directions, the following were formed:

23rd airborne brigade (military unit 51170), Civil Command of the South-Western direction, Kremenchug;

83rd airborne brigade (military unit 54009), Civil Command of the Western direction, Byalogard;

128th Specialized Brigade of the Civil Code of the Southern Direction, Stavropol;

130th Specialized Brigade of the Personnel (military unit 79715), Civil Command of the Far Eastern Direction, Abakan.

In total, by the end of the 1980s, the USSR Armed Forces had sixteen air assault brigades, of which three (58th, 128th and 130th airborne brigades) were kept at a reduced staff or were staffed. In any case, this was a strong addition to the existing airborne forces and special forces of the GRU. No one in the world had such a number of airborne troops.

In 1986 at Far East Large-scale air assault exercises were carried out, in which personnel of the 13th Air Assault Brigade were involved. In August, on 32 Mi-8 and Mi-6 helicopters, an air assault battalion with reinforcements was landed at the Burevestnik airfield on Iturup island in the Kuril ridge. A parachute landing was also carried out there from An-12 aircraft. reconnaissance company brigades. The landed units fully completed the tasks assigned to them. Supporters of the Kuril Islands joining the USSR could sleep peacefully.

In 1989, the General Staff decided to disband separate air assault battalions of combined arms and tank armies, and separate air assault brigades of district subordination are reorganized into separate airborne brigades and are transferred to the command of the Airborne Forces commander.

By the end of 1991, all separate air assault battalions (with the exception of the 901st airborne battalion) were disbanded.

During the same period, due to the collapse of the USSR, strong changes affected existing air assault formations. Some of the brigades were transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Kazakhstan, and some were simply disbanded.

39th Airborne Brigade (by this time already called the 224th training center Airborne Forces), the 58th Airborne Brigade and the 40th Airborne Brigade were transferred to Ukraine, the 35th Airborne Brigade was withdrawn from Germany to Kazakhstan, where it became part of the armed forces of the republic. The 38th brigade was transferred to Belarus.

The 83rd brigade was withdrawn from Poland, which was transferred across the country to a new point of permanent deployment - the city of Ussuriysk, Primorsky Territory. At the same time, the 13th Brigade, which was part of the Far Eastern Military District, was transferred to Orenburg - again almost across the entire country, only in the opposite direction (purely economic question- For what?).

The 21st brigade was transferred to Stavropol, and the 128th brigade located there was disbanded. The 57th and 130th brigades were also disbanded.

Looking ahead a little, I will say that in “Russian times” by the end of 1994 the Russian Armed Forces included the following units:

11th Airborne Brigade of the Transbaikal Military District (Ulan-Ude);

13th Airborne Brigade of the Ural Military District (Orenburg);

21st Airborne Brigade of the North Caucasus Military District (Stavropol);

36th Airborne Brigade of the Leningrad Military District (Garbolovo);

37th Airborne Brigade of the North-Western Group of Forces (Chernyakhovsk);