The 50th Fighter Aviation Regiment (IAP) was formed from August to December 1938 in the
Transcaucasian Military District (ZKVO) with four squadrons: two with the
Polikarpov I-16 and two with the
Polikarpov I-15bis. It became part of the 60th Fighter Aviation Brigade of the Air Forces of the district, and was commanded by Major Aleksandr Makarov. In July 1940, the regiment became part of the 27th Fighter Aviation Division of the ZKVO Air Force at the
Nasosnaya airfield. Two squadrons re-equipped from the I-15bis to the
Polikarpov I-153 in 1940. In August 1941, the regiment was reorganized to consist of three squadrons with an authorized strength of 32 fighters and re-equipped with
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 fighters. The 50th IAP entered combat on 10 January 1942 with the
135th Fighter Aviation Division (IAD) of the
Crimean Front. Its first credited aerial victory came on 1 February, a German
Me 109 downed over Koy-Asan by a pair of MiGs led by Junior Lieutenant Menyak. With the Crimean Front, the regiment flew 1,255 sorties mostly providing air cover to ground troops, with the loss of eight aircraft and six pilots. After the Soviet defeat in the
Battle of the Kerch Peninsula, the regiment handed over its remaining aircraft to the
25th IAP and went to the rear for replacements. The regiment reorganized to consist of two squadrons with an authorized strength of 20 fighters and re-equipped with the
LaGG-3 during June and July, under the 2nd Reserve IAP at Seyma,
Gorky Oblast. The regiment joined the 286th IAD of the
15th Air Army on 6 August and began combat missions with the
Bryansk Front on 9 August. In 159 sorties, the regiment lost fourteen aircraft and ten pilots. On 19 August, after nine days of combat, the 50th IAP handed over its remaining three fighters to the other units of the 286th and was placed in the reserve. The 50th IAP would not see action during the remainder of 1942, a year in which it was credited with the destruction of 30 aircraft in return for the loss of 22 in combat and three to other causes. The regiment was withdrawn to the rear for replacements on 19 November. At
Morshansk under the 4th Reserve Fighter Aviation Regiment it received the
Lavochkin La-5 and reorganized to consist of three squadrons with an authorized strength of 32 fighters. The regiment re-entered combat with the Bryansk Front on 18 April 1943 with the 284th IAD of the 15th Air Army. It was transferred to the
315th IAD of the air army on 5 May. Makarov, who had commanded the regiment since 1938, was replaced by Major Aleksey Vinokurov on 5 July 1943. The regiment spent the rest of the war under the command of Vinokurov with the 315th IAD and was assigned to fly
aerial photographic reconnaissance missions from May 1943. The regiment was employed in the reconnaissance role for the rest of the war. During July and August it operated in support of
Operation Kutuzov, then the
Bryansk offensive in September. The 50th IAP supported the Soviet advance into northern Belorussia towards
Vitebsk and
Polotsk in October, and the continued push to the west in the February 1944
Staraya Russa–Novorzhev offensive. During mid- and late-1944, the regiment supported the
2nd Baltic Front in the breakthrough of Axis lines at
Idritsa,
Sebezh,
Drissa, and the advance into the Baltic states in the
Rezhitsa–Dvinsk and
Riga offensives. The regiment was awarded the
Order of the Red Banner on 2 August 1944 for its "exemplary execution of combat missions". In October 1944, the regiment and division joined the 14th Fighter Aviation Corps (IAK), under the 15th Air Army. Together with the division and corps it ended the war operating against the
Courland Pocket, supporting the Courland Group of Forces from 1 April 1945. From 1943 to 1945 the regiment flew 6,815 sorties, almost exclusively reconnaissance, with the loss of 46 aircraft and 39 pilots in combat. During the war, the 50th IAP was credited with the destruction of 58 aircraft in the air and 53 on the ground in 7,599 combat sorties. Regimental commanders included: •
Major Aleksandr Mikhailovich Makarov (9 October 1938–June 1943) • Major (promoted to Lieutenant Colonel) Aleksey Mikhailovich Vinokurov (5 July 1943 – 18 May 1945) • Lieutenant Colonel Aleksandr Ivanovich Khalutin, September 1945 == Postwar ==