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2 Inventory 1987 3 Status |
The VVS was founded as the "Workers' and Peasants' Air Fleet" in 1918. After being placed under control of the Red Army, with the official denomination VVS in 1930, its influence on aircraft design became greater.
One of first big tests of the VVS came in 1938 with the Spanish Civil War, where the latest aircraft designs were put to the test by up-to-date German aircraft.
In 1939, the VVS used its bombers to attack Finland, but the losses and the eventual defeat led to large-scale purges by Stalin.
The main reason of the great amount of aircraft lost was the lack of modern tactics, but time to improve them was short, because the German offensive of 1941 (Operation Barbarossa) pushed the airforce into a defensive position, while being confronted with more modern German aircraft.
As with many allied countries in the Second World War the Soviet Union received western aircraft by lend-lease.
In the early years of the Cold War the VVS focused on escort fighters, point-defense fighters and long-range bombers.
The VVS Aircraft inventory of 1987 comprised:
;1210 interceptorss : 420 MiG-23 Flogger
;165 strategic bombers, : 150 Tu-95 Bear
History
Inventory 1987
VVS
;AWACS aircraft : 7 Tu-126 Moss
Soviet Air Force
;550 medium bombers : 155 Tu-22M Backfire
;2780 fighterss : 490 MiG-21 Fishbed
;2835 attack aircraft : 130 MiG-21 Fishbed
;50 tankers : 30 M-4 Bison
;658 tactical reconnaissance and ECM aircraft : 65 MiG-21 Fishbed
1500 trainers and training helicopters
;576 transport aircraft : 55 An-22 Cock
;340 bombers : 120 Tu-22 M Backfire
;480 anti-submarine aircraft : 60 Tu-142 Bear F
Even though these numbers appear huge, the same weakness which haunted the VVS in the Second World War still was apparent in 1987 and in the Gulf war of 1991.
Status