On December 7, our country traditionally celebrates the Day of the Aviation Engineering Service of the Air Force of the Russian Aerospace Forces. In 2016, this service celebrated its centenary. Despite the fact that this date is not included in the number of official holidays celebrated in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, specialists of the Aviation Engineering Service celebrate their holiday annually on the day of the creation of this service - December 7, 1916, with reference to our history and the date of its origin …
For the armed forces, the time to test in practice new models of military equipment, theories, weapons and even new types of troops is war. The First World War, which gave a start in life to a new branch of troops - combat aviation, was no exception to this rule. The first airplanes quickly broke into the battlefields, proving their capabilities to the military and promising even greater potential in the future, firmly taking their place among other branches and types of troops.
At the same time, at the beginning of the 20th century, the structure of the air force was formed, which included not only flight personnel, but also vital engineering and technical personnel who served and ensured the possibility of effective use of military aircraft. The appearance in Russia in 1912 in the structure of military aviation of the positions of mechanics, and then the assignment of military ranks to them at the beginning of the First World War, gave impetus to the fact that on December 7, 1916, a separate service was formed. Initially, this service was called technical and operational. The main task of the minders was the technical support of flights.
The technical service, which became the prototype of the Aviation Engineering Service (IAS), originally consisted of a detachment mechanic, two senior minders and ordinary minders. At the same time, each mechanic was directly subordinate to the pilot and was engaged in preparing the aircraft assigned to him for flight. In addition to them, the squadrons also included a special economic team, which was the prototype of modern aviation rear units.
It is worth noting that by the time the First World War began, there were already 263 aircraft in the Russian army, which were grouped into 39 detachments. These units were serviced by the personnel of 6 companies, each of which served from 4 to 7 units. In addition, the detachments, which from 1914 to 1917 were armed with Russian bombers "Ilya Muromets", were brought together into squadrons. Later, despite the civil war and its consequences, the structure and number of aviation units only increased, while changing repeatedly.
By September 1939, when the Second World War had already begun, the role of aviation in hostilities increased many times over, sometimes it was she who played a key role in battles. It is aviation that will force the soldiers of the warring parties to gaze warily at the sky, sometimes dreaming of bad weather conditions, it is aviation that will put an end to the domination of battleships at sea, it is aviation that will strike communications, accumulations of enemy manpower and equipment, warehouses and bases as close to the front line, and in the deep rear, where industrial facilities will also become its targets.
With the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War in June 1941, the IAS faced quite difficult tasks, which concerned, among other things, the development of new aircraft models, which began en masse to enter service with the Red Army Air Force, as well as their repair as a result of damage received in battles. Already in 1941, special positions were introduced as deputy senior engineer of the regiment for military repair, as well as an engineer on the radio. And in 1942, a mobile aircraft repair workshop (PARM) was included in the air regiment. Also in the Air Force, a field repair department was formed. The chief engineers of air regiments, divisions, corps and armies were vested with the rights of deputy commanders for the IAS. At the same time, the Main Directorate of the Aviation Engineering Service was formed at the General Staff of the Air Force. All these changes were a clear confirmation of the increased importance of the IAS in the combat activities of the air forces of the Soviet Union.
After the end of the war, the theme of the close relationship between the flight personnel and specialists of the aviation engineering service found its reflection in art. Vivid examples were truly cult feature films about the Great Patriotic War "Only old men go to battle" and "Chronicles of a dive bomber". And the role of the mechanic Makarych in the film "Only Old Men Go to Battle" performed by the actor Alexei Makarovich Smirnov became one of the best in his career. The film fell in love with a huge number of viewers and remains popular today, in 2009 it was even completely colorized and restored (the original was shot on black and white film), while nothing was added to the picture and nothing was removed.
After the end of the Great Patriotic War, the work of the IAS specialists did not decrease. Moreover, the aviation units began a gradual transition to new jet military equipment, and the era of jet aviation began. The process of its implementation, preparation and development was actively going on. Mastering jet technology required advanced training not only for pilots, but also for all engineering and technical personnel who were preparing it for operation, creating new conditions for technical operation and basing aviation equipment.
More than 100 years have passed since 1916, but the functioning of the military space forces of Russia is still impossible to imagine without the presence of a developed system of maintenance of equipment in service. This work is now being successfully solved by IAS specialists, the official website of the Russian Ministry of Defense notes. Moreover, today IAS specialists include not only ground personnel (specialists in the technical operation of aircraft engines, airframes of aircraft / helicopters and their systems, various electronic and aviation equipment, aircraft weapons), but also members of flight crews of aviation equipment. We are talking about on-board technicians, flight engineers, radio operators, engineers for airborne transport equipment.
Today, the main task of the IAS specialists is to maintain the aircraft and helicopters of the Russian armed forces in a serviceable condition, ready to perform various flight missions. Such preparedness of technology is achieved through the daily planned work of a large number of technicians, engineers and mechanics. IAS officers are being trained today by the Air Force Military Educational and Scientific Center "Air Force Academy named after N. Ye. Zhukovsky and Yu. A. Gagarin", located in Voronezh.
In addition to the tasks that relate to the maintenance and training of aviation equipment at airfields, officers of the aviation engineering service are directly involved in all stages of the aircraft life cycle, from setting requirements for research work and ending with the disposal of old models of military aviation equipment. For example, specialists from research organizations of the Air Force are engaged in formulating the parameters of future combat aircraft (appearance and their flight performance), based on an analysis of existing threats, as well as the feasibility of the requirements in practice (taking into account the achieved level of scientific and technological progress) …
The delivery of all new aircraft to the aviation units of the Russian Aerospace Forces begins today with a comprehensive reception of combat aircraft and helicopters, which is carried out by representatives of the aviation engineering service. Recently, they receive about 100 units of new aviation equipment per year, including front-line bombers Su-34, fighters Su-35S and Su-30SM, attack helicopters Ka-52, Mi-28N and Mi-35M, as well as transport and combat helicopters. Mi-8 of various modifications (including arctic ones) and Mi-26T transport helicopters.
On December 7, the Air Force Engineering and Aviation Service Day, the Military Review team congratulates all servicemen, both former and active, related to this military profession, especially veterans of the Great Patriotic War, on their professional holiday.
