86th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment
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The 86th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (Military Unit Number 06858; 86th Gv. (Guards) IAP) was an aviation regiment of the Soviet Air Forces, and after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the main formation of the Moldovan Air Force.
86th Guards Maritime Fighter Aviation Regiment (1989–1992) 86th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment 744th Fighter Aviation Regiment 20th Fighter Aviation Regiment (1941–1942) | |
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Active | 1941–1992 |
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Branch | |
Type | Fighter Aviation regiment |
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Engagements | |
Decorations | |
Battle honours | Borisov |
The regiment traced its history back to the formation of the 20th Fighter Aviation Regiment (IAP) in mid-1941 after the beginning of the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Operation Barbarossa. The 20th IAP became the 744th IAP in January 1942 and then the 86th Guards IAP in May 1943, and operated the Yakovlev Yak-1, Yak-7, Yak-9, and Yak-3 fighters during the war. Postwar, the regiment was stationed in Germany before being moved to Mărculești in Moldova in 1950. It served as a fighter unit there for the rest of its existence and in 1989 was transferred to the Black Sea Fleet, becoming a Naval Aviation unit and adding "Maritime" to its name. In 1992, the regiment was transferred to the Moldovan Air Force, with which it saw little flight operation, as almost all of its aircraft were sold off to other countries. In Moldovan service, the regiment was converted into a mixed aviation brigade and then the Decebal Air Base in 1999.