Soviet Air Fleet Day The most frequent date of air shows was the
Soviet Air Fleet Day (). It was also known as the
Soviet Air Forces Day (), or
Soviet Aviation Day. It was established in 1933 and was most usually held on the third Sunday of August, weather permitting. The initial exhibition on 18 August 1933, was a result of
Yakov Alksnis initiative, and was held in
Khodynka Aerodrome (the Central Moscow Aerodrome), but since the next year the show became located on
Tushino airfield near
Moscow, where it remained for entire decades. In 1937, the parade was attended by nearly a million people, observing the masses of aircraft spelling in the sky "
LENIN", "
STALIN" and "
СССР". The celebrations repeated until the fall of Soviet Union, and continue in Russia (location is now
Zhukovskiy airport, see
MAKS airshow).
May Day 1 May was dedicated to multitude of parades throughout the Soviet Union. They often included large-scale
flypasts.
Other The Soviet Air Fleet Day became primarily associated with
Soviet Air Forces (VVS), so a separate day has been established for
Soviet Air Defense Forces (PVO) a second arm of Soviet military that employed numerous fighter squadrons. It was called
Soviet Air Defence Forces Day (), occurred on the second Sunday of April, and was celebrated with air parades of lesser scale. The
October Revolution anniversary usually included air parade, but as it was held on 7 November, the aircraft were often cancelled because of weather conditions. The same problem pertained to 19 November, the Soviet Rocket Forces and Artillery Day. Notably, the 50th anniversary of October revolution air show was held in the summer, on 9 July 1967 at
Domodedovo airport. In an unprecedented display of air power, it featured twelve new types or variants of military aircraft, and prompted concern in the West, especially with reveal of the
MiG-25, which appeared to be better than current U.S. fighters and influenced the F-X program and therefore the
McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. == Notable first appearances ==