The 69th IAP or 69th Istrebitelnyy Aviatsionnyy Polk was an air regiment that served under the Soviet Union during World War II. The 69th IAP was first formed in September of 1939 largely from experienced pilots who had fought in the Spanish Civil War. It would go onto serve until the end of the war over Berlin. During the war, the IAP had operated the Polikarpov I-16, the Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3, the Yakovlev Yak-1, the Bell P-39 Airacobra, and the Lavochkin La-7. For its service in the early phases of Operation Barbarossa, the 69th IAP was promoted to Guards status to become the 9th GIAP.
Commanders[]
The first officer to take command of the 69th IAP was Pavel Baranov who would be replaced by his second officer, Lev Shestakov in early 1941.[1] However, following his death to legendary German Stuka ace Hans-Ulrich Rudel in late 1943, the 9th GIAP was placed under the command of Georgi Zahkarov as of early 1944. He would go on to command the unit until the end of the war.
Structure[]
Like just about any other Soviet fighter regiment, the 9th GIAP was organized into three squadrons with a total of 40 aircraft allocated to the regiment. However, especially in the early stages of the war, the 9th GIAP was typically understrength and had less aircraft at its disposal.
Unit History[]
Following its formation in 1939, the 9th GIAP was first put into combat in 1941 against the invading German armies. The 69th IAP at the time first operated out of Odessa. Notably, while many other air regiments had faltered, the 69th was still able to hold its own, scoring quite a few victories against the Luftwaffe and Royal Romanian Air Force. Eventually, the 69th IAP was refitted with the new LaGG-3 and promoted to guards status. During the Battle of Stalingrad, the 9th GIAP had gained quite a few aces such as Lydia Litvak and Ivan Borisov. The closing phases of the battle brought a new level of dedication from the regiment, carrying out more operations than ever.
1943 was one of the more detrimental years for the regiment however, with the loss of several of its aces taking place. New P-39 aircraft were used to equip the 9th GIAP in mid-1943 just before the Battle of Kursk in an attempt to supplement the aging Yak-1. In early 1944, the 9th GIAP was sent to the Black Sea to liberate the region from the Germans. Following the second Crimean campaign, the 9th was finally sent to Kharkov before taking part in the Battle of Berlin.