On September 1, 1939, Germany began to invade Poland, and World War II officially broke out. In the face of the tense world situation, the Soviet army also expanded its troops. In September 1939, the total number of Soviet troops reached 2 million, while the number of air defense troops also reached 87,000, accounting for 3.9%, and the rest were 79.3% of the army, 10.9% of the air force and 10.7% of the navy.
Due to the changes in the situation, the importance of air defense has become increasingly prominent. On December 27, 1940, the Air Defense Bureau of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army was upgraded to the General Directorate of Air Defense of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, and by May 1940, the total strength of the Air Defense Army had reached 105,100 people.
In February 1941, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of The Communist Party of Bulgaria and the People's Committee of the USSR made a decision on strengthening the soviet air defenses. According to this decision, the heads of the military districts are responsible for defending cities, economic centers and military areas from air raids. The area under the jurisdiction of the military region is an air defense zone, and the air defense zone is divided into a number of air defense areas, and the air defense area is divided into a number of air defense points.
The 1931 Type 3-K 76 mm anti-aircraft gun passed through Red Square before the war
At the outbreak of the Soviet-German War, there were 13 air defense zones throughout the Soviet Union, which were subordinate to the major military regions. The central authority is the General Air Defense Bureau of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, and there are 6 air defense zones in the western border area, from north to south, north, northwest, west, Kiev and south air defense zones.
The 13 air defense campaign regiments (air defense zones) are (in parentheses as subordinate military districts): North (Leningrad Military District), Northwest (Baltic Sea Coast Military District), West (Western Special Military District), Moscow (Moscow Military District), Kiev (Kiev Special Military District), South (Odessa Military District), Kharkiv (Kharkov Military District), Oryol (Oryol Military District), North Caucasus (North Caucasus Military District), South Caucasus, Central Asia (Central Asia Military District), Post-Baikal (Post-Baikal Military District), Far East (Far East Military District).
There are 3 air defense forces, 2 air defense divisions, 9 air defense brigades, 9 air defense brigades, 28 air defense anti-aircraft artillery regiments, 109 independent anti-aircraft artillery battalions, 28 independent high-altitude aircraft companies, 6 anti-aircraft intelligence regiments, 35 independent anti-air intelligence battalions, 5 independent anti-air intelligence companies, 4 independent intelligence radio battalions, and 40 fighter aviation regiments. The total strength of the air defense army reached 182,000 people, accounting for 3.4% of the total strength of the Soviet army at that time of 5.4 million troops.
The air defense force is equipped with a total of 3329 medium-caliber anti-aircraft guns, 330 small-caliber anti-aircraft guns, 650 anti-aircraft machine guns, 1500 searchlights, 850 blocking balloons, and 45 warning radars. The number of anti-aircraft guns equipped by the anti-aircraft forces accounted for about 36.8% of the total number of Soviet equipment. In addition, the air defense force is equipped with nearly 1500 fighters, the proportion of fighters in each type is roughly I-15 (1%), I-16 (66%), I-153 (24%), Yak-1 and MiG-1 (9%), in addition to receiving a number of MiG-3 and Lager-3 fighters.
The main fighter of the air defense army, the I-16 fighter, the fighter aircraft
At that time, the specific conditions of the Soviet air defense zones were as follows
The northern air defense zone, commander Ф.Я.Крюков Krykov, the main defense targets are Leningrad (2nd Air Defense Army - 6 anti-aircraft artillery regiments, commander М.М.Процветкин Prochevtkin), Volkhov, Vyborg, Murmansk, Petrozavodsk, etc., a total of 1 air defense army, 6 brigade-level air defense areas, 9 fighter aviation regiments (all in Leningrad, affiliated to the 7th Army of Air Defense Fighters, Commander С.П. Данилов Denilov)
Northwest air defense zone, commander М.М.Карлин Karin, the main defensive targets are Tallinn, Riga (10th Independent Air Defense Brigade, Brigade Commander М.И.Удовыдченко Udev Dechenko), Kaunas (14th Independent Air Defense Brigade, Brigade Commander П.М. Барский Barski), Vilnius (12th Independent Air Defense Brigade, Brigade Commander Д.Я.Дрожинин De Rožnin), Velikiye Luki, Liepaya, Varga, 3 air defense brigades, 1 brigade-level air defense area
Moscow Air Defense Zone, Commander М. С.Громадин Goromagin, the main defensive targets are Moscow (1st Air Defense Army - 6 anti-aircraft artillery regiments, commander А.Д.Журавлев Zulavlev), Kalinin, Lezhev, Smolensk, Tula, etc., 1 communist air defense army, 2 brigade-level air defense areas, 11 fighter aviation regiments (all in Moscow, affiliated to the 6th Anti-Air Defense Fighter Corps, commander И.Д. Климов Klimov)
On February 5, 1943, Lieutenant General Gromakin (far right) was in the Kremlin, the future first commander of the Soviet Homeland Defense Force
Western air defense zone, commander С.С.Сазонов Sazonov, the main defensive target is Minsk (Independent Air Defense 7th Brigade, Brigade Commander А.П.Колесник Kolesnikov), Biastok (13th Independent Air Defense Brigade, Brigade Commander М.Я.Яковлев Yakovlev), Orsha, Mogilev, Bobruisk, Gomel, Brest, Grodno, etc., 2 air defense brigades, 5 brigade-level air defense areas, 1 fighter aviation regiment (in Minsk)
The main targets of the Oryol Air Defense Zone are Rosslavl, Bryansk, Oryol, Kursk, Shostka, etc., with a total of 3 anti-aircraft artillery regiments and 4 independent anti-aircraft artillery battalions
Kiev Air Defense Zone, commander А.И.Данилов Danilov, the main defensive target is Kiev (3rd Air Defense Division, Division Commander В.Г.Позднякк Pов Pozniakov), Vinnytsa, Korosten, Zhytomyr, Rivno, Lviv (4th Air Defense Division, Division Commander Ф.Г.Янковский Jankovsky), Drogobec (11th Independent Air Defense Brigade, Brigade Commander Н. В. Марков Markov, etc., a total of 2 air defense divisions, 1 air defense brigade, 3 brigade-level air defense areas, 4 fighter aviation regiments (both in Kiev)
The main defensive targets of the Kharkov Air Defense Zone are Kharkiv, Poltava, Kremenchug, Donetsk, etc., with a total of 3 anti-aircraft artillery regiments and 2 independent anti-aircraft artillery battalions
Major General Danilov
Southern air defense zone, commander Г.А.Буриченков Brichenianko, the main defensive targets are Kirovgrad, Chernivtsi, Tirazpol, Odessa (15th Independent Air Defense Brigade, Brigade Commander И.Т.Шиленков Sherenkov), Zapozhi, Krivoy Roge, Sevastopol, etc., a total of 1 air defense brigade, 4 brigade-level air defense areas, and 2 fighter aviation corps (1 in Odessa and Krevoyrogo)
The north Caucasus air defense zone, the main defense targets are Rostov, Grozny, etc., a total of 2 anti-aircraft artillery regiments
The South Caucasus Air Defense Zone, the main targets of defense are Baku, Novorossiysk, Sochi, Tuapshey, Poti, Batumi (8th Independent Air Defense Brigade), Tbilisi, Leninakhan, Yerevan, etc., with a total of 1 air defense army (3rd Air Defense Army - 7 anti-aircraft artillery regiments, commander П.Е.Гудыменко Gudumenko), 1 air defense brigade, 3 anti-aircraft artillery regiments, 5 independent anti-aircraft artillery battalions, 9 fighter aviation regiments (8 in Baku, affiliated to the 8th Anti-Air Defense Fighter Aviation Corps; the other 1 in Tbilisi).
Post-Baikal Air Defense Zone: 2nd Anti-Aircraft Brigade (Bari-Tumenski) Brigade, 1st Anti-Aircraft Brigade, 3rd Anti-Aircraft (Chita) Brigade and 9th Anti-Aircraft Fighter Aviation Regiment
Far East Air Defense Zone: 4th Air Defense Brigade (Spask-Ussuri River), 1st Air Defense Brigade (Kubyshev) Brigade, 2nd Air Defense (Birobidzhan) Brigade, 5th Air Defense Brigade (Voroshilov-Ussuri River) Brigade, 5th Air Defense Brigade, 3rd Air Defense (Komsomolsk-Amur) Brigade and 18th Anti-Aircraft Fighter Aviation Regiment
Stamp of the Air Defense Force issued in 1943