Air army ( Soviet Union ) An air army was a type of formation of the Soviet Air Forces from 1936 until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991 . Air armies continued to be used in the successor Russian Air Force until 2009 . The first three Air Armies , designated ' Air Armies of Special Purpose ' were created between 1936 and 1938 . 2nd Air Army was created on 15 March 1937 in the Far East . Somewhat later , the 3rd Air Army was created in the North Caucasus Military District . However , air armies were excluded from the organisational reform of the air forces approved on 25 July 1940 . On 5 November 1940 , the three existing air armies were reformed as the long range bombardment aviation of the Stavka of the Red Army due to poor combat performance during the conflict with Finland . From May - November 1942 , seventeen Air Armies were created from the air forces of the Fronts and Combined Arms Armies , and in December 1944 a long - range aviation Air Army was created as the 18th Air Army . The 1st Air Army was the first created , on 5 May 1942 , as part of the Western Front . The next to form during 1942 were the 2nd , 3rd , 4th ( 22 May 1942 ) , 5th , 6th 8th Air Armies ( June 1942 ) , 9th / 10th / 11th / 12th ( Aug 1942 ) , 7th and 13th Air Army ( November 1942 ) , 14th , 15th , 16th , and 17th Air Armies . The Air Armies were integrated formations of the Fronts , and were subordinate to the Front commanders for all operating and operational purposes , including air combat operations . The Air Armies consisted of fighter , bomber , assault , and mixed Aviation Division s , aviation corps , and separate aviation regiments . The structure of an Air Army during the Second World War fluctuated depending on the operational planning needs , and could include 3 - 4 aviation divisions , up to 8 - 9 aviation corps , up to 10 separate aviation divisions , and a number of separate aviation regiments , operating from 200 - 1 , 000 aircraft in 1942 - 43 , and 1 , 500 to 3 , 000 aircraft in some strategic operations by 1944 - 45 . Also formed were the Air Armies of the Air Defence Forces ( PVO ) , which combined all of the air formations and units of the military districts , and operated predominantly interceptor fighter aircraft . Many of these formations and units were subsequently transferred to the Frontal Air Armies . While intended primarily for support of the ground forces , the Air Armies also cooperated with the naval forces of the Red Navy Fleets . On 10 January 1949 , the 1st , 2nd , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , and 17th Air Armies of the World War II period were renamed as the 26th , 28 , 61 , 37 , 48 , 73 , 62 ( then 34 ) , 23 ( then 59 ) , 54 , 29 , 45 , 57 , 30 , 24 , 6 , and 9th . The 18th Air Army became Long Range Aviation ( АДД ) , consisting of three armies - the 43rd , with its staff in Vinnitsa , the 50th in Smolensk , and the 65th at Khabarovsk . For Cold War - era air defence , aviation divisions and corps PVO armies were created - the 19th , 21st , 22nd , 25th , 32nd , 42nd , 52nd , and 78th ( in Leningrad , Batumi , Arkhangelsk , Tallinn , Kiev , Baku , Yaroslavl and Moscow respectively ) . Air Armies . There were eighteen air armies formed in World War II , with many others formed after 1945 .