THE SOVIET AIR FORCES.

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78-01617A000600130001-7
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 28, 1998
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: July 22, 1949
• Content Type: MF

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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS
WASHINGTON 25, D. C. IN REPLY REFER TO
op-322N/aab
vv/EF61
Serial : 0002S6P32
A 2 JUL 1949
ORATDUM FOR: The Director of Central Intelligence.
Subject: The Soviet Air Forces.
Enclosures: (A) Summary of Soviet Air Forces.
(B) Soviet Air Order of Battle (AID Study 172/16B
dated 1 July 1919), Copy #1.
(C) operational Capabilities of the USSR in Certain
Areas (AID Study 116/17).
(D) Characteristics and performance Handbook USSR
Aircraft.
1. in compliance with the verbal request of Rear Admiral
R. L. Dennison, USN, Naval Aide to the President, Enclosure (A) is for-
warded herewith.
2. Enclosures (B), (C), and (D) are forwarded for trans-
mittal to the Mite House if so desired. It is requested that Enclosures
(B), (C), and (D) be returned to the Office of Naval Intelligence when
no longer required.
TUGS. B. ING CIS
Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy
-Director of Naval Intelligence
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The current estimate of the n erical atrength of the Soviet Air Force
is 17*000 aircraft and 600,000 personnel. 15,200 aircraft are combat types,
700 are trransport$ and 1,100 are miscellaneous. It is estimated that not
an 50 per cent of the total airforce strength, would be available during,
The Military Air Force, with a principal mission of supportint ground
Air Y:orce.
The Soviet Air Forces are divided into four arms s to Military Mr
Force, the Long a Air Force, the 'fighter Defense Force, and the Naval
has 3.0,000 aircraft, 3,954 fighters (Soo Jots
3,090 attack, 1,970
light he bera g the rest are transport and miscellaneous types
waver, of its 1,801 aircraft, only 1S0 are of a longorangs
Force corresponds functionally to the U.S. Strategic
This type, a copy of our 13-29, 'wh=en fully armed Iias a combat radius
th a 10,000 pound bomb. The remaining combat aircraft are
light bombers, mostly of the twin.-engine, 8hhart-ran ,e types.
The fighter Meuse Force is responsible for the air defense of the
icaal and industrial centers of ..S.R. It is estimated t
as the Military Air Force plus a torpedo-carry?1n type. It is organised to
The Naval Air ices, 3,100 aircrsft, uses the same types of air
2,100 f iters of W: ch 1,000 are Jets.
inexperienced in all-weather and long-range operations.
The 19} 8 prod i ction of aircraft in the Soviet union is estimated at
12e, aircraft of which approximately 6,200 were combat types including
1,619 jet fighters.
The Soviets are conducting intensive experimental and development
The Soviets are believed to be deficient in electronics, ins.wments,,
pare parts, high altitude bcmbing equipment, maintenance, and are relatively
support ow h of six Soviet Fleets,
in , etas, wilt - emPhasia an fighters.
" he Soviet Air show showed only normal progress in jot development.
prem.:.cttan.
wept-back Yd.ng fighters displayed is k?euieved o be in series
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RUW4ih of the Sit Ai
Air sac i
Korea and S tst cuffed M axria. T-le '.meet Air Poses includes four
,pport of the gzound
a as s:,
Air r- .
use tts event of ce ttli' . es. r~r D plus
it is satin ted that the t' to
ratio s
S.t, ast t
mml and 17,0000 a . .tt as est
at t:
S 2#70D
air rims as uupp)cazmed by
3#00D I car transports, 2.,500 c t 1 h *=14 be made
d at
n -.e,, liaison,, aatbilarre, utility,
n of wig to not knom.
air s4
located as taxi die the
Craft in Va 5D a ft it.
id be c+cbat
p+ }yx a {L. is yy ava~W ~y~p y q y.
t i o~~ ~] ~A~ C1rRu1MCXflin at d reserves o
types In sued r s.
11.in 18
hof tt
as L t an extent an V* Western
to oomidered qalt 8
to 440,000 aircraft in stcred reserves.
of that virta cer is of to soviet Air sates
LaM R e Air S
Attack
870
20
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&* Im
as fcallcs:
250 150
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1w
40
2300000
63,000
#f
am*
Fcroe 610
Upm arbit ,ry as mpttsrs .
Civil Air Iset or .
A
ta"
at radius with a 303W pawyl
rarer lit h a 2$
V =h as the later
tip. fester roraf of is
TAX-9 vd th L i t a r m I f 2
o f a M with 100
530 mutlcal i c tra- -J wit
e s at radtaa ac Uo nautical .1a*
so z*i ti l
*ati ted to
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w2
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Cal mum t urnal fuel,
d 'ar s and a
Pane i estisstsd to be 1.#000 aircraft, broken dram by
t,s as Shen in the
It is art
ut
force is dir sortt eubordim tie the minlatzy o
o e ? .r arm s. ' L`rent s -th of the
t tAhc I
be extended to 2,1 `O r tied
all deter ive sent emeWt the ta;
bx
4. This
b 1a
addI' :asp of an extra 5;20 galUm of i
aerial
ttit we
,ble, hMWOri, UdiCa .ng racaditicatiOn the
and ?
5-17, is cons
411 4,,4 00 pond
zt4
14w4*
L b
5W rsu
f two re i
0 Combat rd.'* with a 2x200 pamt 10
respo t' iity for
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-3
uch techniques u.1
9 ,40 per cent if
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ILVu i{ iii
protection of the political and industrial can
h of the Fighter Dofsnee Yorcee is estimated at 2,100 interceptor
1, 000 of which are considered to be feet tea (MiG-9 and
ears, new operati oe;al are believed to be slightly inferior
hthee3
e beast currently operationa]. American-jet types,
kmimm to possess types of swept-beck grin
fighters, it is
with these jet
:ieevsd that there are any operational units equipped
at the preseerit time, but it is eestie teed that their
"rational units can beexpected in the
An emiuation of Soviet interception capabilities in icatea that
approximately 700 jets (MI(?9) would be able to perform combat
000 feet, With a speed of 425 knots at that altit
string 800 tia (YAK-15) mould be able to operate at 34 ,,000 test with a
speed of 120 knots at that altitude. The balance of the fighters are
conventional types with co at operational capabilities from 26,000 to
379000 foot, with, the best types having a speed of 320 knots at combat
altitudes. Combat altitude, as used above, is the altitude at vhich a rate
of climb of 500 feet per minute can be maintained,
of the Naval AI r Force is estimated at
e as shown in the table above. It in entirely land.
there are no carrier-based aircraft, and is organized so "
to provide support for each of the six soviet fleets. The aircraft
strength in operational units of the Naval .ir `ores with a tree ;t s by
Fleet Air Fercee is as follows:
Fleet Air Force Aircraft 8
d nth Baltic
800
1,150
5D O
350
AL 3,100 35
k Jr, A
use 20'01/03/024 eIA-RDP78-01617A000600130001-7
p
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"as
675 nautical ad.les, carrying a 2,200 pound bomb or
ed, and the
the same load. Torpedo operations of the Naval Air
during daylight boors in World 4ar r1# but
sea ni;;ht torpedo opee= attor and Inc
coordinatlo
r transports. J' .t is considered that i,50O transports of the
Civil Air Fleet
it is estimated that the Civil Air rleeet possesses ap pr,
plus the basic torpedo bomber,
a diva bomber *ith a 320 nautical .:
,craft and surface units of the Soviet Na
Air Fleet are
available to the Soviet awd
airborne cperatio e, but in an emergency it is believed this force could
be augmented by an additional 1,000 transports from the norm Civil. Air
at leant 200 transports from the Long R a 'e r
Force, This ives a total of 2,700 major transports (C-47 type) available
for airborne operati.e .
Trainin
Air Forces in
arable to U.S. ataundardas, particularly as regards
techniques for all-weather flying, high altitude bombing, long rye
navigation, and mass formation. flying. The is no doubt the Soviets
ee t"ietr weaknesses, and are endeavoring to raise the
at $ee1f-ie rov
emphosis in
nt. The outstandinj: feature of the present
is its flexibility.
oupled wt th the
locations refire
it to shift
aired through the movement of
of operations are as has1sed.
The effsctiveness of an air f area do-ponds to a marked degree
both ai r'borne and ground. Tn this particular
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eta are c idereed to lag behind the Uc.. Although they
have had access to many U.S. and Ger~mn developments in the field of
airborne electronic equipment, bombsights and navigational instrzAents
no intelli,ence upon which to base an esti.te as to nether they
or si? liar equipnents. One of their greatest
it inability to mass produce micro-wavo tubes. Without
these t=_;bec in quantities there will be deficiencies in their earlj" warning
radar, t weir ound control iintorcc:pt radar and their airborne intorcep
radar. Deficiencies may also exist in navigation instruments,, which
affect Soviet long range bcmtbin missions.
roduction in the Soviet union during 1948 is estimated
to have been 12,E aircraft of which 6,2.46 were combat types (inclading
is and miscellaneous military types) . - Of these combat
oxi Lately 1,305 were bombers, including an estimatf-A 105 of
1,6
20, type; the re2sinder were fighters, including an estimated
ground attack types.
of jet propulsion, However, a considerable rnxr!lb r of jet eenginen,
The Soviets ended World War II with very little deeveloof
3 e,Ion en B an Teohrioai `Teens
Mw~41 ~~~~~ ~~r~rtll
facilities, reseearch facilities, and dsvolopment data were
the Germem- These sccfuisiticme have iveen the soviets e
red caaaability in the development of modern aircraft. There
evidence that Russia is embarked upon a substantial pro ;rem of air-
jr&ft devoi ;pient, and 'here is no lon, er any reason to believe that the
Soviet aircraft pro?: is materially bohind our own. Indicatio:
departeec from its World -Far II concept of air power as being
ily for the support of ground troops. The reatest .deevelopaent noted
to date has been in fast, jet propelled interceptors for defense of the
w 6
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hams1aud
deers for strategic air warfare
sia has ever operated before.
be Soviet 3-29 type now in use will be further
developed by inst*Uaticui of ier srroved purer plants but there is vt present
no irKitcation of this. Devela sent y also be expected in the field of
in 1.947 two of this type were displayed but neither was
considered advanced designs suitable for production. In Jjaiy 1918 a
twin ecgine jet bomber comparable to the U.S. B-46 typo flown.
ted to x Sava a =VdMUM speed of about 470 knots at S.L.
dovelo
will have
as continuing after World Aar II on now of the 3errAn
It is therefore estimated that in 1950 the soviets
t. Jet bowers in production.
Al ough tho 4ooviets possess formidable numbers of aircraft
theta are messes ch gill in all ;wobability limit the
effectiveness of Soviet air power. The Soviets area a :-oriencing diffi--
cu3ty in replacing worn and damaged aircraft 9nginea and erltica1 partsI
a shwa of specialized personnel is reported to exist and, in some
a possible shortage of aviation PtL supplies has begin indicated,
be affected (Le to these shorr"tcoeringe indicated above, and that the c bat
for sustained operations.
Considered as primarily tactical in nature, well versed in opera
carntng Aupport of ZrOUDd armies in the field and coastal defense of naval
installations. An regards air operatic involving night and all-weather
high altitude brine, and long rye navigation, the Svlets are
Considered to be relativ,j inexperienced. These d cienct are signi-
ficant in estimating the strategic air capabilities of the Soviet L
Range, .r erce ash the rdnewlayit and torpedo, operations of the Soviet
Naval .sir Force.
ddb
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The Soviet Aviation D 17 :L%LIZ 194
show Celebrating vist riattion Day was. held
Al, } oecows, on 17 Ju y, Approxixate1y 500 aircraf
coat
para -.
.
lbe numbers of the n r
abitt closely correspond to those shown in the MW DW
appearing in recent
Aviation DoW
1... 1949
45 TU-2
(Twin s1ne b,
45 Stcemraov1
(probably IL-10)
36 TAlc 3*t
(ably
i5 910 jet fighters
(ew+-k ldft)
a table indicating the more significant aircraft
and in the Aviation ceremony last
Aviation f
~9 25 July 1949
10x-29
45 TTh4
(tin-engine b
45 TLS-l0
(stormovtk)
27 It-10
(S movik)
37 TAR-25
single het fighter) (single Jet fighter)
45 b1G jet fighters 32 G-9 (single jot
(swept-back w )
30 La Jet fighters
(avapts.back wing)
in this Aviation Day Shaer, the
largest official show4rg to date, me fcrati.+m of 40 aircraft was sew
days previously,, a parantly practicing for th he event., a a formation
a 1949 Vey Day
,fie a twin jet light bomber,
evi. air ds Shown (1947 and 1948) sae a
to one exhibited is
from previous ones consisted of wept-back instead of straight VrIft-13,,
It probably represents aunother dew lopmanttal nodal
e ire shovit individually of which 3 *pp ed to zc dif i
Lion s of 4.k en or Lavochkin swept-WIng jets. The fourth appeared to be
e 5 Mikoyans 11hom in Haas formation, C.S. rme r+s arts
seeds sees to have been based an the flights of these 4 fighters
t bomber.
6 jet fighters were shoasn in the ay Day
exception of the Uwee modifications or
There is no evidence to show that the swept-back wing types are
in a arise production or that thaw are now in use by operational squadrons,
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