Russian Holidays - Air Force Day (VVS Day)

The first decade after the collapse of the USSR was difficult for the Russian military industry A profession such as the military was losing its importance and fewer and fewer people were going to work in this field The introduction of such a holiday as Air Force Day has one important goal: to revive army traditions and increase the prestige of military affairs among young people Russian Air Force Day is celebrated every year on the same day, August 12 The holiday received its official status in 1997 on August 29, according to presidential decree No 949 In 2006, this number was once again confirmed by decree No 549 of May 31 and acquired the status of “memorable dates” The date August 12 was not chosen by chance; it was on this day, in 1912, that the staff of the aeronautical department was created at the main directorate of the General Staff The history of the Russian navy begins in 1910, it was then that aircraft were purchased for the army in France Because There were no specialists in Russia at that time; people from Paris were hired to teach our officers the art of flying However, our mechanics soon made up for lost time; in 1913, the first bomber Ilya Muromets of our own production was built, which became the main aircraft of our army In 1917, the Imperial Air Flotilla ceased to exist, many experienced pilots died during the revolution or emigrated In 1918, the Soviet air force was created The first combat missions for the USSR Air Force took place in 1936, they took part in the Spanish Civil War By the beginning of the Second World War, the Soviet army was poorly prepared The small number of aircraft compared to Germany gave a great advantage to the enemy Only 50 aircraft were produced in the country every day; already in the first year of the war, production doubled, moreover, they were modernized The service of the Air Force during the Second World War has an invaluable contribution for the period from 1941-1945 More than 27,500 pilots died, more than half of them in the first year alone After the war, a lot of effort and money was spent on modernizing the USSR army By the end of 1980, the number of Air Force aircraft was more than 10,000, making Russia the most powerful power After the collapse of the Soviet Union, only 40% of the equipment remained in the department of the Russian Federation Since the beginning of the 21st century, the Russian Air Force has been actively modernizing, constantly training new personnel, improving old aircraft models and creating new equipment and technologies It is safe to say that today the Russian Air Force is one of the strongest 1 In 1914, at the very beginning of the history of the Air Force, there were 263 aircraft in the Russian Empire, the largest number of that time 2 During the Second World War, 100 aircraft were produced daily on the assembly lines of our country 3 During the period of the Soviet Union, the Air Force received up to 600 units of equipment annually 4 In 2009, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation introduced into circulation three silver coins with a face value of 1 ruble, dedicated to the Russian Air Force 5 In 2015, the Air Force was merged with the Aerospace Defense and renamed the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation 6 Modern anti-aircraft installations located in the Russian Defense Department are capable of shooting down a target at a distance of up to 150 km and at an altitude of up to 40 km For Russia, Air Force troops are considered the most important and most promising part of the armed forces The main tasks of this defense unit are reconnaissance and protection of the borders of our country If you have relatives or friends in any military aviation unit, do not forget to congratulate them on this day Their courage, skills and intelligence allow us to sleep peacefully After all, the security of our country is in good hands