The Soviet Air Force, also known under the abbreviation VVS, transliterated from Russian: ВВС, Военно-воздушные силы (Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily), formed the official designation of the airforce of the Soviet Union.

History

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 1936 with the Spanish Civil War, where the latest aircraft designs were put to the test by up-to-date German aircraft. Early victories by the I-16 fighter were squandered because of the limited use of that fighter. German Bf-109s arriving later in the war secured air superiority for the Nationalist cause.

In 1939, the VVS used its bombers to attack Finland, but the losses inflicted on them by the relatively small Finnish army showed the shortcomings of these forces, mainly due to the Great Purge in the 30's.

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.

During the Cold War the VVS was divided into three segments: Dal'naya Aviatsiya (Strategic Aviation), or DA, focused on long-range bombers; Frontovaya Aviatsiya (Frontal Aviation), or FA, focused on battlefield air defense, close air support, and interdiction; and the Voenno Transportsiya Aviatsiya (Military Transport Aviation)which controlled all transport aircraft. The Voyska protivovozdushnoy oborony (Air Defense Forces), or Voyska PVO, which focused on air defense and interceptor aircraft, was then a separate and distinct service within the Soviet military organization.

The Russian Navy has its own independent air arm as well, the Aviatsiya Voenno Morskogo Flota (Naval Aviation), or AV-MF.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991 the aircraft and personnel of the Soviet VVS were divided among the newly independent states. Russia received the majority of these forces, approximately 40% of the aircraft and 65% of the manpower, with these forming the basis for the new Russian Federation Air Force

Inventory 1987

VVS

The VVS Aircraft inventory of 1987 comprised:

1210 interceptors 

420 MiG-23 Flogger

305 MiG-25 Foxbat

240 Su-15 Flagon

5 Su-27 Flanker

80 Tu-128 Fiddler

65 Yak-28 Firebar

95 MiG-31 Foxhound

AWACS aircraft 

7 Tu-126 Moss

1 A-50 Mainstay (Il-76 based)

Soviet Air Force

165 strategic bombers, 

150 Tu-95 Bear

15 M-4 Bison

550 medium bombers 

155 Tu-22M Backfire

260 Tupolev Tu-16 Badger

135 Tu-22 Blinder

2780 fighters 

490 MiG-21 Fishbed

1570 MiG-23 Flogger

105 MiG-25 Foxbat

260 Su-15 Flagon

20 Tu-128 Fiddler

20 Yak-28 (Yak-28)Firebar

275 MiG-29 Fulcrum

30 MiG-31 Foxhound

10 Su-27 Flanker

2835 attack aircraft 

130 MiG-21 Fishbed

830 MiG-27 Flogger

895 Su-7/Su-17 Fitter

770 Su-24 Fencer

210 Su-25 Frogfoot

50 tankers 

30 M-4 Bison

20 Tupolev Tu-16 Badger

658 tactical reconnaissance and ECM aircraft 

65 MiG-21 Fishbed

195 MiG-25 Foxbat

165 Su-17 Fitter

65 Su-24 Fencer

195 Yak-28 Brewer

260 strategic reconnaissance and ECM aircraft 

115 Tupolev Tu-16 Badger

15 Tu-22 Blinder

4 Tu-95 Bear

102 Yak-28 Brewer

24 MiG-25 Foxbat

3050 helicopters

1500 trainers and training helicopters

576 transport aircraft 

55 An-22 Cock

210 An-12 Cub

310 Il-76 Candid

2935 civilian and other transport aircraft, usually Aeroflot aircraft which were easily converted