World War II The regiment was formed between 14 July and 18 August 1941, training with the
8th Reserve Fighter Aviation Regiment of the
Volga Military District. The IAP was organized according to shtat 015/134, equipped with
Yakovlev Yak-1 fighters, and based at
Bagay-Baranovka. Some of its pilots arrived from the
Southwestern Front's
20th Fighter Aviation Regiment, and the new regiment temporarily took the number of the 20th IAP. After completing its formation, the 20th was sent into combat on 20 August as part of the
61st Mixed Aviation Division (SmAD) of the Air Force of the
Bryansk Front (VVS), operating from the Alekhina-Mertvoye airfield. These were replaced by Moldovan personnel returning from service in the
Soviet Armed Forces, among whom there were not many pilots, even fewer of whom could fly MiG-29s. It was commanded by Colonel Ion Rotaru, who was soon replaced by Colonel Vasile Braghiş. On 26 May, the first pilots arrived, Vitalie Rusu and Alexandru Popovici, who were later joined by Sveatoslav Neburac and Alexandru Dărănuţă. During the Transnistria War, on 22 June 1992, a flight of two MiG-29s, Rusu leading and Neburac as wingman, bombed a bridge across the
Dniester, connecting
Bender and
Parcani. None of the bombs directly hit the bridge, although the
14th Guards Army claimed that the bombs had caused civilian casualties and that their anti-aircraft fire downed one of the fighters. Moldova denied the loss, and Moldovan Air Force records show that all of the MiG-29s returned to the base after the mission. Eventually, a squadron of 16 pilots was formed, but this was not enough for a full-strength regiment, and it was converted into a three-squadron mixed aviation brigade on 16 October 1992. The three squadrons were equipped with the MiG-29,
Mil Mi-8 transport helicopter, and
Mil Mi-24 attack helicopter, respectively, although the 3rd Squadron later disbanded as a result of a shortage of Mi-24s. Soon after its conversion into a brigade, the unit was renamed the Decebal Aviation Brigade, after ancient Dacian king and national hero
Decebalus, as a result of a desire to move away from the Soviet past. Over the 1990s, all but six of the MiG-29s were sold to various foreign countries, including the United States. On 23 December 1999 it became the Decebal air base. After years of inactivity, the six remaining MiG-29s, which were supposed to have been sold to Belarus, became unserviceable, and after efforts to find a buyer for them beginning in 2010 were unsuccessful, it was announced that they would be scrapped if no buyer could be found. == Aircraft operated ==