In the post-war period, in the period covering the 1950s - 1980s, a certain stagnation in the onboard text "creativity" is noticeable. Airplanes cease to perform the tasks of flying propaganda posters, and all information on them is reduced to a minimum.
The first steps that revived registered aircraft in Russian aviation were made after the collapse of the Soviet Union and in connection with the sovereignty of the Russian Federation.
In 1991, on the basis of three aviation squadrons of the 234th mixed air regiment (since 1992, it was reorganized into the 237th Guards Proskurovsky Red Banner Orders of Kutuzov and Alexander Nevsky Aviation Technology Show Center), aviation aerobatic groups were formed: "Russian Knights", "Swifts" and "Not demonic hussars" in a short time received well-deserved fame in Russia and abroad. The pilots decorated the fuselages of their aircraft with the names of the aerobatic teams. These names have become, in fact, their calling card.
Aircraft "Vityazi" and "Gusar" were painted in the colors of the Russian tricolor, on the keels the image of the flag of the Air Force was applied. The first Su-27 of the aerobatic group "Russian Knights" were not completely repainted, the tail section remained camouflaged. Three of these Su-27s crashed at Cam Ranh. The new Vityaz aircraft have been completely repainted, but “the partially camouflaged“side 04”flies today.
Su-27 of the Lipetsk PPI and PLC have a similar color to the aircraft of the "Russian Knights", which is why they are sometimes confused. Lipetsk Su-27s do not have the inscription "Russian Knights" (which is quite understandable), the keels are painted in the color of the Russian flag, not the Air Force, the red-blue-white stripes across the fuselage and along the leading edge of the wing are made thicker.
The MiG-29 "Swifts" originally had a blue and white color, the name of the aerobatic team was not applied on board. A new, modern, red-blue-white paint job with a stylized image of a bird and the word “Swifts” appeared in 2002.
The aerobatic group "Heavenly Hussars", alas, ceased to exist, several "hussar" Su-25s were transferred to the 899th Assault Aviation Regiment.
The main impetus in the revival of the tradition of registered aircraft in the Air Force was the period of preparation for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.
In preparation for the air parade in Moscow over Poklonnaya Gora, the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force (1991 - 1998), Colonel-General P. S. Deinekin25 ordered to assign the name of two Tu-160 strategic bombers that participated in the parade "Ilya Muromets". The choice of the name of the legendary aircraft from the period of the First World War was not chosen by chance. It was he who laid the foundation for the development of strategic bomber aviation in Russia, ahead of many leading world powers in this area by several years.
Su-27 aerobatic team "Russian Knights"
MiG-29 aerobatic team "Swifts"
This initiative found a warm response in the air armies of the Air Force. The next named aircraft was a missile carrier "Ivan Yarygin", named after the famous Russian wrestler, multiple winner of world championships and the Olympic Games, one of the best athletes on the planet, who tragically died in a car accident.
Later, new registered aircraft began to appear in the Air Force, dedicated to the outstanding pilots of Russia: "Mikhail Gromov", "Vasily Reshetnikov", "Alexander Golovanov", "Alexander Molodchiy", "Vasily Senko", "Valery Chkalov" and others (Long-Range Aviation), Aviation Marshal Skripko, Hero of the Soviet Union B. C. Grizodubova "," Vladimir Ivanov " and others (military transport aviation).
On September 18, 2003, a tragedy occurred - the crash of the Tu-160 "Mikhail Gromov". The crew of the Guard Lieutenant Colonel Yu. M. Deineko (ship commander), guard Major Fedusenko O. N. (assistant commander of the ship), guard Major A. G. Kolchin. (navigator of the ship), Guard Major SM Sukhorukov. (navigator-operator) to the last fought for the survivability of the aircraft. But at an altitude of 1200 m, the plane began to collapse rapidly, and it caught fire. Having done everything possible, the crew in an emergency order by ejection left the flaming bomber. The last combat vehicle was left by the commander. But the low altitude and high vertical speed of descent with the imposition of another explosion on board did not leave the pilots a chance to survive. For courage and heroism, the crew was posthumously awarded high government awards, and the guard, Lieutenant Colonel Deineko Yu. M. was awarded the title of Hero of Russia (posthumously). In September 2004, a monument was unveiled at the site of the Tu-160 crash.
This tragedy continued the sad list of the dead aircraft of the Russian Long-Range Aviation. 91 years ago (November 2, 1915), as a result of an accident, one of the first catastrophes of heavy ships of the "Ilya Muromets" type occurred. As a result, almost the entire crew of the airship died: Staff Captain D. A. Ozersky. and two of his comrades (Lieutenant Colonel Zvegintsev and NCO Vogt). Miraculously, only Lieutenant Spasov survived.
In recent years, the Air Force has revived a tradition rooted in the history of military aeronautics. Then, at the turn of the 19th / 20th centuries, individual balloons that were part of aeronautical detachments and companies deployed in large cities were given the names of these administrative centers of the country. Today, as well as a hundred years ago, the air spaces of the country are once again plowed by air ships bearing the names of the leading cities of Russia. The modern Air Force is armed with registered aircraft: Ryazan, Ka Luga, Tambov, Saratov, Chelyabinsk, Irkutsk, Smolensk etc. (Long-Range Aviation), "Great Novgo Rod", "Hero City Smolensk", "Orenburg", "Pskov" and others. (Military transport aviation). Thus, the continuity of this glorious tradition, which has been revived through the years, is felt.
Recently, many registered aircraft have taken an active part in the combat training activities of the Air Force. So, in the fall of 2000, the crew of the guard of Lieutenant Colonel Danilenko on aircraft No. 08 "Smolensk" for the first time since 1994, he landed and took off at the Machulishchi airfield (Republic of Belarus), confirming the defense union of the two friendly states. In the same year, planes "Smolensk" and Irkutsk for the first time after a ten-year break, they flew to the North Pole with takeoff and landing at the Tiksi operational airfield. In the spring of 2006, registered airships Irkutsk and "Blagoveshchensk" performed long-distance flights to the shores of the United States and Canada with a landing at the Anadyr airfield.
Almost all Tu-134UBL aircraft belonging to Long-Range Aviation also have their own names, most of them are named after the rivers near which the Dolnik airfields are located: Volga, U Ral, Tsna, and - "Tithe", "Meschera".
At the same time, the process of assigning proper names to aircraft also affected front-line aviation. So, as part of one of the aviation units of the 6th Army of the Air Force and Air Defense, a personalized fighter-interceptor MiG-31 with tail number "08" Boris Safonov, dedicated to the memory of the famous Soviet ace pilot, twice Hero of the Soviet Union B. F. Safonov, who died in an unequal battle at the end of May 1942 in the skies of the Arctic. Su-24MR with tail number "07" from the 47th Guards Borisov Red Banner Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment named "Arseny Morozov" in addition, it bears the images of two Orders of the Red Banner, the Guard sign and the inscription “Borisov Pomeranian”. Images of the orders of Suvorov, the Red Banner and the Guard badge, the inscription "Borisovsky" were applied to the left side of the MiG-25RB with the tail number "28" of the same regiment.
Speaking about the proper names of airplanes, one cannot but recall the "rock painting" in general. This painting flourished especially violently during the period of the withdrawal of Russian troops from Eastern Europe. Many fighters of the 16th Air Army, especially the MiG-23, were marked with various emblems. Most often, the drawing was applied to the background in the form of the outline of the GDR, and the emblems themselves were combinations of birds of prey and air-to-air missiles. For the sake of objectivity, it is worth noting that the originality of the idea was rarely supported by its high-quality artistic embodiment. And there were no professionals in the regiments and squadrons.
Over time, the process of decorating aircraft with emblems of units took on a more organized character, which had a positive effect on the quality of the symbolism. An illustrative example of perfectly conceived and embodied symbolism is the An-12 with painted mammoths on the sides of the squadron based in Tiksi.
In general, the emblems of squadrons on the sides of aircraft fuselages have become almost universally accepted. On the other hand, a certain degree of over-organization limits the broad creativity of the masses. There is a known case when the GRU "bat" depicted on the fuselage of a reconnaissance aircraft had to be washed off. Well, an army is an army, even if it is an air force.
Some long-range Tu-22MZ bombers, which were once or are now based in the Far East, bear images of Amur tigers. The drawings were made in the 90s and today are partially erased, so that the tigers have become like skinny cats.
Shark jaws, so popular in the West, have not become widespread in our country after Afghanistan, although at least one An-12 with gorgeous teeth flies. But stars and signs of the Guard of the old, Soviet model are invariably popular. Some Tu-22MZs have also retained "Afghan" stars on their sides - marks of combat missions.
Asterisks in Long-Range Aviation mark practical missile launches made from this aircraft, and on the Tu-22MZ "launching" stars are often applied not to the fuselage, but to the underwing pylons for hanging missiles. Also, Russian symbols are often found - flags, double-headed eagles.
According to the Air Force leadership, today there is an urgent need to finally determine the procedure for assigning the so-called aircraft to aircraft. proper names.
The evolution of registered aircraft is inextricably linked with the history of the Russian Air Force, which requires careful study and careful attitude on the part of the state and the younger generation of defenders of the Fatherland.
| Long-Range Aviation Named Aircraft | Some registered military transport aircraft | ||
| That- 160 | IL-76 | ||
| tail number | tail number | ||
| "Vasily Reshetnikov" | 02 | "Pskov" | RA-86049 |
| "Pavel Taran" | 03 | "Nikolay Zaitsev" | RA-76641 |
| "Ivan Yarygin" | 04 | "Hero City Smolensk" | RA-86825 |
| "Alexander Golovanov" | 05 | "Valentina Grizodubova" | |
| "Ilya Muromets" | 06 | "Guards Krasnoselsky" | RA-86875 |
| "Alexander Molodchiy" | 07 | ||
| "Vladimir Sudets" | "Orenburg" | RA-78813 | |
| "Vasily Senko" | 11 | "Tver" | RA-86900 |
| "Alexander Novikov" | 12 | Aviation Marshal Skripko | 1 |
| "Alexey Plohoe" | 16 | ||
| Valery Chkalov | 17 | ||
| "Valentin Bliznyuk" | 19 | An-124 | |
| Tu-95MS | tail number | ||
| tail number | "Vladimir Ivanov" | RA-82-23 | |
| Irkutsk | 01 | An-22 | |
| "Mozdok" | 02 | tail number | |
| "Smolensk" | 08 | ||
| Saratov | 10 | "Vasily Semenenko" | RA-08832 |
| "Vorkuta" | 11 | ||
| "Moscow" | 12 | An-26 | |
| Kaluga | 15 | tail number | |
| Ryazan | 20 | ||
| Chelyabinsk | 22 | ||
| "Tambov" | 23 | "Wedge" | RA-26081 |
| "Blagoveshchensk" | 59 | ||
