Problems of the Soviet Military Aviation Before the Start of the Great Patriotic War

Relevance. This article is an attempt to analyze the state of the Soviet military aviation, including combat training, in the pre-war period and the influence of these factors on military operations in the initial period of the war. The study of the reasons for the failures of the Soviet troops during this period, especially the heavy losses of combat aviation, was carried out in many works over a long period of time, but these works mainly dealt with issues related to aviation technology. The state of combat training and military discipline in aviation units and formations and the influence of subjective factors on their level are practically not considered in these works. Therefore, the relevance of this article is beyond doubt.
The purpose of the article is to reveal the state of the Soviet military aviation, taking into account the objective and subjective reasons, the level of its readiness for combat operations and the implementation of various measures to improve them in the course of preparing the general preparation of the USSR for the war.
Objectives. To consider the problems of the Soviet military aviation, taking into account the state of discipline and combat training, identified in various military conflicts and the Soviet-Finnish war; to evaluate the considered reasons for the results of aviation combat operations in the initial period of the war.
Methodology. The article is based on the general principles of historicism, scientific objectivity and consistency. In addition, methods of interpretation and content analysis were used.
Results. The Soviet-Finnish war and military conflicts in the second half of the 30s of the last century revealed great shortcomings in the training and armament of the Red Army aviation. These shortcomings were actively discussed at the highest level of the military leadership. Many decisions were made to eliminate them. So, the creation of new aviation technology, especially fighters, has accelerated. The restructuring of the entire combat training system was begun in order to correct the shortcomings and increase the readiness of the flight personnel and the command of aviation units and formations. But, despite the measures taken, the level of general readiness of military aviation was not brought to the required level for various reasons (including due to lack of time), which ultimately became one of the main reasons for the tragic events of the summer and autumn of 1941.
Conclusion. The general state of the Soviet military aviation in the period under review was determined not only by the objective factors (for example, the level of the aviation industry development), but also largely by subjective, personal factors.

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