Aviation Day of the Russian Navy. Birthday of the naval aviation of the Russian Navy

July 17 is Russian Navy Aviation Day. On this day in 1916, four M-9 seaplanes from the aircraft carrier Orlitsa of the Baltic Fleet conducted dogfight over the sea to protect the Russian naval base on the island of Saaremaa from attacks by German aircraft.

On July 17, pilots of the Russian Military navy(Navy) celebrate their professional holiday- Russian Navy Aviation Day. The holiday was established in accordance with the order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Russian Federation No. 253 of July 15, 1996 “On the introduction of annual holidays and professional days in the specialty,” and the date was chosen due to the fact that on July 17 (July 4, old style) 1916, the first victory of Russian naval pilots on domestic seaplanes was won in an air battle over the sea.

On this day, four M-9 seaplanes from the aircraft carrier Orlitsa of the Baltic Fleet conducted an air battle over the sea to protect the Russian naval base on the island of Saaremaa from attacks by German aircraft. During the battle, two Kaiser aircraft were shot down and the other two fled. The Russian pilots returned without losses. This day is considered to be the birthday of the naval aviation of the Russian Navy.

However, events associated with the birth of Russian naval aviation took place long before this date. With the advent of the first combat aircraft, naval specialists became aware of the importance of aviation in armed warfare at sea. In 1909, Captain Lev Matsievich, at a meeting of the Marine Technical Committee, in a report “On the type of sea airplane”, outlined the idea of the possibility of using aircraft from ships. In March 1910, the French engineer Henri Fabre made the first successful takeoff from water in a seaplane, and in August 1911, the first flight in the Canard amphibious aircraft. The first float plane in Russia was built in February 1911 by engineer Yakov Gakkel.

To boost the domestic naval aircraft industry in 1911-1913, the Russian government purchased aircraft from abroad. The same aircraft in a modified form were then built at domestic factories.

In 1913, the production of airplanes, including seaplanes, was transferred to industrial basis in France, Germany, Russia, Italy and England. Five aircraft factories were created in Russia, and in the same year 1913, 270 aircraft were already built.

In 1913-1914, aviation military units were formed for the first time in Russia, including hydroaviation stations for the navy. During the same period, the first flights of the Russian S-10 seaplane by Igor Sikorsky were carried out.

The first ship-borne aircraft were seaplanes, lowered by a crane into the water for takeoff and lifted onto the ship from the water after landing. This is explained by the low cost and ease of implementation of this method of organizing flights at sea. IN Russian fleet For the first time in the world, back in 1913, the conversion of steamships into air transport began.

By the beginning of the First World War, Russia had 65 naval military aircraft.

Russian aircraft designers created several types of “flying boats”, which in the First world war were used for bombing and aerial strafing of naval bases and ports, ships and vessels at sea, and even to destroy enemy aircraft in the air.

In July 1917, the Directorate of Naval Aviation and Aeronautics was created in Russia, and two air divisions were created within the Navy - in the Baltic and on the Black Sea. After 1917, an air brigade was formed in the Baltic special purpose. Later, seaplane detachments appeared as part of the Volga, Caspian and other flotillas. Total on the fronts civil war 19 naval aviation detachments fought.

Naval aviation actively participated in the development of the Northern sea route; naval pilots and technicians formed the main core of the polar aviation created in the late 1920s. From the first seven Heroes Soviet Union, awarded in 1934 for saving the Chelyuskinites, naval pilots were Anatoly Lyapidevsky, Sigismund Levanevsky, Vasily Molokov and Ivan Doronin.

In 1935, by order of the People's Commissar of Defense, naval aviation was withdrawn from the Air Fleet and transferred to the command of the Chief of the Naval Forces.

With the formation of the People's Commissariat of the Navy in 1937, naval aviation received the name Air Force of the Navy, becoming one of the main branches of the USSR Navy. In a short period, the Navy Air Forces grew significantly and strengthened, and by the beginning of the Great Patriotic War The naval aviation fleet consisted of about three thousand combat aircraft. Bombers, torpedo bombers, fighters and naval reconnaissance aircraft appeared in naval aviation.

During the Great Patriotic War, naval aviation pilots were distinguished by fearlessness, heroism and high flying skill. Already in August 1941, naval aviation launched the first strike on Berlin (Germany); in the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief in this regard it was said that she was the first to pave the way to Victory.

During the war years, naval pilots flew more than 35 thousand combat sorties and destroyed more than five and a half thousand enemy aircraft in the air and at airfields. From their blows fascist Germany and its allies lost 407 warships and 371 transports with troops and cargo, which amounted to two thirds total losses enemy from the influence of the forces of the Navy.

IN post-war years naval aviators continued to improve their combat skills, master new military equipment. It was the North Sea pilot Yuri Gagarin who first paved the way for humanity to the stars.

During this period, new types of naval aviation appeared - naval missile-carrying and anti-submarine, while reconnaissance aircraft were simultaneously improved. A fundamentally new direction was the emergence of ship-based vertical take-off and landing attack aircraft and the construction of aircraft-carrying cruisers.

Modern naval aviation is functionally divided into types of aviation: naval missile-carrying; anti-submarine; fighter; reconnaissance and auxiliary purposes (long-range radar detection and guidance, electronic warfare, mine action, control and communications support, in-flight refueling of aircraft, search and rescue, transport, ambulance). Based on location, it is divided into carrier-based aviation and shore-based aviation.

The basis of naval aviation consists of airplanes and helicopters for various purposes. They are designed to search for and destroy the combat forces of the enemy fleet, landing forces, convoys and single ships at sea and at bases; covering groupings of ships and naval facilities from enemy air strikes; destruction of airplanes, helicopters and cruise missiles; conducting aerial reconnaissance; targeting enemy naval forces with their strike forces and issuing target designations to them. They are also involved in mine laying, mine countermeasures, electronic warfare, air transportation and landing, and search and rescue operations at sea.

The Navy has one heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser, Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov. More than 50 aircraft and helicopters are based there. In addition to standard multi-role sea-based fighters Su-33 and Su-25, UTG "Admiral Kuznetsov" carries Ka-29 helicopters and their modifications. To re-equip the cruiser, the first four ship-based fighters MiG-29K and MiG-29KUB will arrive in 2013.

The further development of naval aviation is in the direction of improving all types of aircraft, increasing their speed, range and flight duration, equipping them with high-precision guided weapons, widespread introduction of electronic computer technology, control systems and methods, automation equipment for collecting, processing information and issuing target designations for destruction any targets with high accuracy, creating means of searching and destroying surface and underwater targets on new physical principles, increasing their stealth and combat stability.

RIA Novosti

Pacific Islanders in the sky
The aviators of the Pacific Fleet celebrate their professional holiday not festive table: these days they are taking an exam as part of a sudden comprehensive inspection of the troops of the Eastern Military District.

Pacific aviators deservedly have authority in the Russian Navy. Among them, as the commander of the Primorsky airbase, Colonel Alexander Markin, told Krasnaya Zvezda, are the commanders of the guard squadrons, Colonel Vladislav Trondin and Lieutenant Colonel Alexey Zaplavny, the deputy commander of the airbase, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Nechaev, the commanders of the Ka-27 detachment and crew, Major Vyacheslav Bogomazov and Captain Ilya Mikheev. People dedicated to their profession, true professionals, they contribute to increasing the combat readiness of the air base and the fleet as a whole.

For example, I had the opportunity to meet Lieutenant Colonel Nechaev at first in absentia, communicating with former boss naval aviation of the Pacific Fleet Colonel Pyotr Kiselyov. Talking about the affairs of the aviators, Pyotr Anatolyevich proudly named the Ilov crews under the command of Alexander Nechaev and Anton Drozhzhin, who flew into the Sea of Japan, where the naval forces of the United States and the Republic of Korea were conducting exercises, and skillfully conducted aerial reconnaissance, revealing a detachment of their ships. Later I had the opportunity to observe the actions of the then squadron commander during a tactical flight exercise (FTU). His work was highly appreciated by the senior inspector-pilot of the Flight Methodology Department of the Naval Aviation of the Fleet, Colonel Yuri Pyankov, who participates in the organization and control of the flight control unit.

And just recently, during the second course task of the guards missile cruiser “Varyag” at sea, I again heard a familiar name. Alexander Nikolaevich, already in new position, together with the crew of Major Nikolai Slyusarev, designated the forces of attack on the ship from the air.

Not a single naval exercise is complete without naval aviators,” says Colonel Alexander Markin. - So, during the past Russian-Chinese maneuvers, our helicopters and planes performed various combat exercises and participated in a search and rescue operation to provide assistance to an emergency ship. And take long-distance voyages of ships to the maritime zone of the Horn of Africa! Our Ka-27s are necessarily based there on board the BOD, ready to perform any task related to identifying and capturing pirates. In fact, in the Gulf of Aden, Pacific sailors used new tactics, more actively involving naval aviation to solve the assigned tasks. It is thanks to air supremacy that much has been achieved in the fight against piracy. And the aviators had to fly day and night, monitoring the water area, conducting reconnaissance in dangerous directions, and stopping suspicious watercraft.

On board the Ka-27 there were also anti-terrorism groups that fired at pirate ships. For example, during combat service off the coast of Africa, a detachment of ships led by the Admiral Vinogradov had to scramble the helicopters of instructor pilots Colonel Igor Shlykov and Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Voronin: a message was received about an attack by three pirate ships on the Dutch container ship Needmold Barens." It was only thanks to warning fire from the Ka-27 that the bandits were stopped, and then disarmed, taken to shore, and handed over to the Yemeni authorities. And on one of the trips to Indian Ocean The Pacific Fleet OBK, led by the large anti-submarine ship "Marshal Shaposhnikov", with the help of our envoys, freed the tanker "Moscow University" seized by Somali pirates. An operation was performed there that was much more complicated than all previous ones. The crew of Major Alexander Danila discovered the pirates, and when they began to run out of fuel, the Ka-27 of Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Kovalchuk hovered over the ship, holding the enemy at gunpoint. Well, the special forces put an end to that operation to neutralize the bandits. Some of those pilots are still in service, putting young ones on the wing.

According to the airbase commander, it is good that there is an influx of fresh forces into their large team; this time it was replenished mainly by lieutenant navigators. And experienced officers willingly return to their home garrison. Like, for example, Lieutenant Colonel Anton Drozhzhin, who successfully completed his studies at the N.G. Naval Academy. Kuznetsov and will soon take over the affairs of the head of the flight safety service here. By the way, he is a native Muscovite, but in order to fulfill his dream of becoming a military pilot, he left the capital’s “bonuses” and after graduating from the Balashov Military Aviation Institute in 2001, he was assigned to a remote garrison on the very edge of Russia. There are hills around the airbase, and rivers flow nearby. If you drive further away, taiga places begin, the Lazovsky Nature Reserve. For some, this is green melancholy, but not for a person who appreciates the beauty of nature and finds relaxation here.

We also go out into nature to relax with the whole crew and their families,” Anton Grigorievich once shared. - Captains Alexey Sarbashev, Sergey Solovyov and Vitaly Serov, senior lieutenant Volodya Podkopaev, each has a wife and children. This also creates a microclimate in the team. We have human relations in the crew, we support each other, we understand each other perfectly.

...In mid-June, regular crew training sessions began at the airbase. They involve pilots from airfields in Primorye, Khabarovsk and Kamchatka territories. Among the young officers who are striving to improve their skills is captain Maxim Ivashin. He completed both day and night routes on the Il-38 anti-submarine aircraft with excellent quality, and was admitted to the position of crew commander. The training of the flight personnel is carried out by the senior inspector-pilot of the combat training department of the naval aviation department of the Pacific Fleet, Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Kovalchuk, the guard commander Colonel Vladislav Trondin, the deputy commander of the air base, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Nechaev and the deputy squadron commander, Major Andrey Potapov. Ka-27 rotorcraft also practice landing on ships, and An-26 aircraft land marine units in a given area. The usual routine of combat training goes on, everyone improves their skills.

...And someone is just remembering happy time life dedicated to naval aviation. “It’s simply unforgettable, it’s always in the heart,” says reserve colonel Alexander Pritchin. He went from lieutenant to commander of the Guards Naval Missile Regiment, senior pilot inspector - chairman of the qualification commission for flight personnel of the naval aviation department of the fleet, reached honorary titles sniper pilot and Honored Pilot of the Russian Federation. Alexander Alexandrovich received the Order of the Red Star for completing assigned tasks at the Russian naval base in Vietnam. After all, the officer has 35 combat services in this zone! Sakhalin, Vietnam, Primorye - the garrisons changed periodically, and the sons, when it was their turn to choose a business in independent life, followed in my father's footsteps. They are devoted to the fleet, and the fleet is proud of such dynasties!

Konstantin LOBKOV, “Red Star”.

On July 17, pilots of the Russian Navy (Navy) celebrate their professional holiday - Russian Navy Aviation Day.

The holiday was established in accordance with the order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy No. 253 dated July 15, 1996 “On the introduction of annual holidays and professional days in the specialty,” and the date was chosen in honor of the first victory of Russian naval pilots in air combat over Baltic Sea. On July 17 (July 4, old style), 1916, four seaplanes took off from the aircraft carrier Orlitsa of the Baltic Fleet and entered into battle over the sea with four German aircraft to protect the Russian naval base on the island of Saaremaa from attacks by German aircraft. During the battle, which ended in complete victory for the Russian naval pilots, two Kaiser airplanes were shot down and two fled. This day is considered to be the birthday of the naval aviation of the Russian Navy.

Since the birth of aircraft manufacturing in Russia, attempts have been made to use airplanes for the needs of the army and navy. In 1909, Captain Lev Matsievich, at a meeting of the Marine Technical Committee, in a report “On the type of sea airplane”, outlined the idea of the possibility of using aircraft from ships. He also developed a project for a special airplane with a reinforced landing gear, which was caused by the conditions of landing on the ship. In the spring of 1910, a group of Russian naval officers and lower ranks was sent abroad to study aeronautics.

The history of naval aviation began in 1910-1911 with the creation of the first seaplanes and the successful experience of taking off and landing an aircraft on a surface ship. In March 1910, French engineer Henri Fabre made the first successful takeoff from water in a seaplane, and in August 1911, the first flight in an amphibious aircraft. The first float plane in Russia was built by engineer Yakov Gakkel in February 1911. The first successful takeoff of a wheeled aircraft from the deck of a ship was carried out in November 1910 by the American pilot Eugene Ely from the cruiser Birmingham; In January 1911, he carried out the first successful landing of an aircraft on the deck of the cruiser Pennsylvania.

To boost the domestic naval aircraft industry in 1911-1913, the Russian government purchased aircraft from abroad. The same aircraft in a modified form were then built at domestic factories.

The first ship-borne aircraft were seaplanes, lowered by a crane into the water for takeoff and lifted onto the ship from the water after landing, which was explained by the low cost and ease of implementation of this method of organizing flights at sea. In the Russian fleet, for the first time in the world, back in 1913, the conversion of steamships into air transport began.

The first naval aviation units in Russia were formed as part of the Baltic and Black Sea fleets in 1912-1914. In 1915-1916, Dmitry Grigorovich’s domestic M-5 and M-9 flying boats, which were distinguished by high flight characteristics for that time, entered service. By the beginning of the First World War, Russia had 65 naval military aircraft.

During the war, along with the tasks of patrol, reconnaissance, target designation and artillery fire adjustment, naval aviation began to search for submarines, cover ships and bases, and carry out bombing strikes on sea and ground targets. By 1917, naval aviation of the Navy Russian Empire consisted of 269 seaplanes, flying boats of domestic designs and wheeled fighters of foreign manufacture.

Regular units of Soviet naval aviation were created in 1918 and took part in the Civil War, interacting with ships and troops in battles near Petrograd (now St. Petersburg), in the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, on the Volga, Kama, Northern Dvina and Lake Onega rivers .

In 1920, naval aviation was transferred to the Workers' and Peasants' Red Air Fleet (since 1924 - the Air Force of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, the Red Army Air Force). From May 1935 to January 1937, it was part of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Fleet (RKKF), then again was reassigned to the Red Army Air Force. In 1938, the Navy Air Force was created, which by the beginning of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) numbered about 2.5 thousand aircraft. Of these, two aviation brigades and several separate squadrons were formed in each fleet (Baltic, Black Sea, Pacific and Northern). Naval aviation consisted of 45% fighters, 25% reconnaissance aircraft, 14% bombers and 10% torpedo bombers.

At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Soviet naval aviation operated mainly on land fronts. In August - September 1941, pilots of the Baltic Fleet carried out eight raids on Berlin and other German targets. Since 1943, the main efforts of naval aviation have been aimed at destroying ships and seas. vehicles enemy. In total, Soviet naval pilots accounted for over 5.5 thousand destroyed enemy aircraft. From their attacks, Nazi Germany and its allies lost 407 warships and 371 transports with troops and cargo, which amounted to about half of the enemy’s total losses from the forces of the Soviet navy. 241 aviators were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and five people were awarded it twice.

In the post-war years, naval aviation underwent rearmament to jet planes, received new means of destruction - guided and unguided missiles, bombs, torpedoes and missiles with nuclear charges, etc. In 1960-1961, mine-torpedo and fighter aircraft were eliminated and new types of aircraft were created - missile-carrying and anti-submarine. With the creation of Soviet aircraft-carrying ships, carrier-based aviation appeared.

After the collapse of the USSR, naval aviation units located on the territory of the RSFSR became part of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

IN modern Russia naval aviation is a branch of the Navy forces designed to search for and destroy the combat forces of the enemy fleet, landing detachments, convoys and single ships (vessels) at sea and at bases; covering groupings of ships and naval facilities from enemy air strikes; destruction of airplanes, helicopters and cruise missiles; conducting aerial reconnaissance; targeting enemy naval forces with their strike forces and issuing target designations to them. Also involved in mine laying, mine countermeasures, electronic warfare (EW), air transport and landing, search and rescue operations at sea. The basis of naval aviation consists of airplanes and helicopters for various purposes.

Functionally, naval aviation is divided into types of aviation: naval missile-carrying; anti-submarine; fighter; reconnaissance and auxiliary purposes (long-range radar detection and guidance, electronic warfare, mine action, control and communications support, in-flight refueling of aircraft, search and rescue, transport, ambulance).

Based on location, it is divided into carrier-based aviation (on aircraft-carrying ships) and shore-based aviation (at airfields).

The further development of naval aviation is in the direction of improving all types of aircraft, increasing their speed, range and flight duration, equipping them with high-precision guided weapons, widespread introduction of electronic computer technology, control systems and methods, means of automating the collection, processing of information and issuing target designations for destruction any targets with high accuracy, creating means of searching and destroying surface and underwater targets based on new physical principles, increasing their stealth and combat stability.

In 2017, the naval aviation of the Navy was replenished with new aircraft, and existing equipment was updated in several areas. Thus, work was underway to re-equip the shore-based operational-tactical aviation forces of the naval aviation of the Navy with Su-30SM aircraft, which would later become their main aircraft. In 2018, naval aviation has a fleet of aircraft with significant service life. This concerns the modernization of the Il-38 aircraft into the Il-38N Novella variant and the renewal of the Ka-27 helicopter fleet with the Ka-27M, which in the near future will form the basis of anti-submarine forces and target designation forces for naval groups.

Chief of Naval Aviation of the Russian Navy, Major General Igor Kozhin.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

(Additional

On July 17, 1916, during the First World War, Soviet naval aviation over the expanses of the Baltic Sea received its first victory. An air squad of four M-9 aircraft dealt a heavy blow to the German air fleet. The success of Russian pilots in this air battle gave rise to the formation of the history of Russian naval aviation.

On the day dedicated to the creation of naval aviation, veteran pilots and everyone who serves or has served in units of the Russian Air Force deserve congratulations.

Story

Russian naval aviation began its development back in 1911. Its first machines to take to the skies were seaplanes. They were brought to Russia from abroad. But soon domestic aircraft designers created several analogues of foreign aircraft, which became the main triumphs of the First World War. Initially, these seaplanes were used as reconnaissance, but soon they began to be used to fire at enemy locations: air aircraft, military and naval bases, and ships.

During the Second World War (1941-1945), the air fleet won many victories over the enemy and made about 35 thousand combat launches. They destroyed more than 6 thousand enemy aircraft. The pilots of the Baltic Fleet under the leadership of E.N. became world famous. Preobrazhensky, who on the night of August 7-8, 1941 struck at the very heart of the enemy - Berlin.

The tasks of the modern aviation unit of the Russian Navy are:

Establishment of protection and security of the Russian Federation in peacetime and wartime on ocean and sea borders.
Neutralization and liquidation of enemy submarines and surface vessels (in wartime).
Coordinated interaction with other units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

Today, all four Russian naval fleets: the Baltic, Northern, Pacific and Black Sea have their own reinforced aviation.

Traditions

Traditionally, on the Day of the Formation of Naval Aviation of the Russian Federation, many events are held dedicated to this particular holiday.

A number of thematic programs, artistic and documentaries, in which they talk about the exploits of pilots of the Russian naval aviation fleet.

Grandiose concerts are held in the central squares of cities, in which the most popular pop stars take part. Also, in honor of this holiday, large-scale air shows are traditionally organized, where pilots show their skills and technology.

Veterans, all who served and are serving, are solemnly congratulated on the main stages of the country by the leadership of the Russian Navy. At the festive tables, the heroes of the occasion accept congratulations from relatives, friends, colleagues and loved ones.

On July 17, pilots of the Russian Navy (Navy) celebrate their professional holiday - Russian Navy Aviation Day.

The holiday was established in accordance with the order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy No. 253 dated July 15, 1996 “On the introduction of annual holidays and professional days in the specialty,” and the date was chosen in honor of the first victory of Russian naval pilots in an air battle over the Baltic Sea. On July 17 (July 4, old style), 1916, four seaplanes took off from the aircraft carrier Orlitsa of the Baltic Fleet and entered into battle over the sea with four German aircraft to protect the Russian naval base on the island of Saaremaa from attacks by German aircraft. During the battle, which ended in complete victory for the Russian naval pilots, two Kaiser airplanes were shot down and two fled. This day is considered to be the birthday of the naval aviation of the Russian Navy.

To boost the domestic naval aircraft industry in 1911-1913, the Russian government purchased aircraft from abroad. The same aircraft in a modified form were then built at domestic factories.

During the war, along with the tasks of patrol, reconnaissance, target designation and artillery fire adjustment, naval aviation began to search for submarines, cover ships and bases, and carry out bombing strikes on sea and ground targets. By 1917, the naval aviation of the Russian Navy consisted of 269 seaplanes, flying boats of domestic designs and foreign-made wheeled fighters.

At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Soviet naval aviation operated mainly on land fronts. In August - September 1941, pilots of the Baltic Fleet carried out eight raids on Berlin and other German targets. Since 1943, the main efforts of naval aviation have been aimed at destroying enemy ships and naval vehicles. In total, Soviet naval pilots accounted for over 5.5 thousand destroyed enemy aircraft. From their attacks, Nazi Germany and its allies lost 407 warships and 371 transports with troops and cargo, which amounted to about half of the enemy’s total losses from the forces of the Soviet navy. 241 aviators were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and five people were awarded it twice.

In the post-war years, naval aviation was re-equipped with jet aircraft, received new weapons - guided and unguided missiles, bombs, torpedoes and missiles with nuclear charges, etc. In 1960-1961, mine-torpedo and fighter aircraft were liquidated and new types of aviation were created - missile-carrying and anti-submarine. With the creation of Soviet aircraft-carrying ships, carrier-based aviation appeared.

After the collapse of the USSR, naval aviation units located on the territory of the RSFSR became part of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

In modern Russia, naval aviation is a branch of the Navy, designed to search for and destroy the combat forces of the enemy fleet, landing detachments, convoys and single ships (vessels) at sea and at bases; covering groupings of ships and naval facilities from enemy air strikes; destruction of airplanes, helicopters and cruise missiles; conducting aerial reconnaissance; targeting enemy naval forces with their strike forces and issuing target designations to them. Also involved in mine laying, mine countermeasures, electronic warfare (EW), air transport and landing, search and rescue operations at sea. The basis of naval aviation consists of airplanes and helicopters for various purposes.

Based on location, it is divided into carrier-based aviation (on aircraft-carrying ships) and shore-based aviation (at airfields).

The further development of naval aviation is in the direction of improving all types of aircraft, increasing their speed, range and flight duration, equipping them with high-precision guided weapons, widespread introduction of electronic computer technology, control systems and methods, means of automating the collection, processing of information and issuing target designations for destruction any targets with high accuracy, creating means of searching and destroying surface and underwater targets based on new physical principles, increasing their stealth and combat stability.

Chief of Naval Aviation of the Russian Navy, Major General Igor Kozhin.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

(Additional

On July 17, pilots of the Russian Navy (Navy) celebrate their professional holiday - Russian Navy Aviation Day.

The holiday was established in accordance with the order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy of the Russian Federation No. 253 dated July 15, 1996 “On the introduction of annual holidays and professional days in the specialty,” and the date was chosen due to the fact that July 17 (July 4 according to Art. ) In 1916, the first victory of Russian naval pilots on domestic seaplanes was won in an air battle over the sea.

On this day, four M-9 seaplanes from the aircraft carrier Orlitsa of the Baltic Fleet conducted an air battle over the sea to protect the Russian naval base on the island of Saaremaa from attacks by German aircraft. During the battle, two Kaiser aircraft were shot down and the other two fled. Russian pilots returned without losses. This day is considered to be the birthday of the naval aviation of the Russian Navy.

To boost the domestic naval aircraft industry in 1911-1913, the Russian government purchased aircraft from abroad. The same aircraft in a modified form were then built at domestic factories.

In 1913, the production of airplanes, including seaplanes, was put on an industrial basis in France, Germany, Russia, Italy and England. Five aircraft factories were created in Russia, and in the same year 1913, 270 aircraft were already built.

The first ship-borne aircraft were seaplanes, lowered by a crane into the water for takeoff and lifted onto the ship from the water after landing. This is explained by the low cost and ease of implementation of this method of organizing flights at sea. In the Russian fleet, for the first time in the world, back in 1913, the conversion of steamships into air transport began.

By the beginning of the First World War, Russia had 65 naval military aircraft.

Russian aircraft designers created several types of “flying boats”, which in the First World War were used for bombing and strafing naval bases and ports, ships and vessels at sea, and even for destroying enemy aircraft in the air.

In July 1917, the Directorate of Naval Aviation and Aeronautics was created in Russia, and two air divisions were created within the Navy - in the Baltic and on the Black Sea. After 1917, a special purpose air brigade was formed in the Baltic. Later, seaplane detachments appeared as part of the Volga, Caspian and other flotillas. In total, 19 naval aviation detachments fought on the fronts of the civil war.

Naval aviation actively participated in the development of the Northern Sea Route; naval pilots and technicians formed the main core of polar aviation created in the late 1920s. Of the first seven Heroes of the Soviet Union, awarded in 1934 for saving the Chelyuskinites, naval pilots were Anatoly Lyapidevsky, Sigismund Levanevsky, Vasily Molokov and Ivan Doronin.

In 1935, by order of the People's Commissar of Defense, naval aviation was withdrawn from the Air Fleet and transferred to the command of the Chief of the Naval Forces.

With the formation of the People's Commissariat of the Navy in 1937, naval aviation received the name Air Force of the Navy, becoming one of the main branches of the USSR Navy. In a short period, the Navy Air Force grew significantly and strengthened, and by the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the naval aviation fleet numbered about three thousand combat aircraft. Bombers, torpedo bombers, fighters and naval reconnaissance aircraft appeared in naval aviation.

During the Great Patriotic War, naval aviation pilots were distinguished by fearlessness, heroism and high flying skill. Already in August 1941, naval aviation launched the first strike on Berlin; in the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief in this regard it was said that she was the first to pave the way to Victory.

During the war years, naval pilots flew more than 35 thousand combat sorties and destroyed more than five and a half thousand enemy aircraft in the air and at airfields. From their attacks, Nazi Germany and its allies lost 407 warships and 371 transports with troops and cargo, which amounted to two-thirds of the enemy’s total losses from the impact of the forces of the Navy.

In the post-war years, naval aviators continued to improve their combat skills and master new military equipment. It was the North Sea pilot Yuri Gagarin who first paved the way for humanity to the stars.

During this period, new types of naval aviation appeared - naval missile-carrying and anti-submarine aircraft, while reconnaissance aircraft were simultaneously improved. A fundamentally new direction was the emergence of ship-based vertical take-off and landing attack aircraft and the construction of aircraft-carrying cruisers.

Modern naval aviation is functionally divided into types of aviation: naval missile-carrying; anti-submarine; fighter; reconnaissance and auxiliary purposes (long-range radar detection and guidance, electronic warfare, mine action, control and communications support, in-flight refueling of aircraft, search and rescue, transport, ambulance). Based on location, it is divided into carrier-based aviation and shore-based aviation.

Carrier-based aviation is the main striking force of the Navy's aircraft carrier formations.

The Navy has one heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser, Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov, whose air wing during a cruise can consist of carrier-based Su-33 fighters, Su-25UTG training aircraft, as well as ship-based multi-purpose Ka-27 helicopters and transport-combat Ka -29.

The further development of naval aviation is moving along the path of improving aircraft, increasing the speed, range and duration of flight, its automation, creating means of searching for sea and ground targets based on new physical principles, as well as developing high-precision long-range weapons with powerful warheads.