13th Red Banner Rocket Division

The 13th Orenburg Red Banner Rocket Division (Military Unit Number 68545) is a military formation of the 31st Rocket Army, Strategic Missile Forces, located in the closed city of Yasny, Komarovsky, Orenburg Oblast.

13th Orenburg Red Banner Rocket Division
Active1964–present
Country Soviet Union (1964–1991)
 Russia (1991–present)
Branch Strategic Rocket Forces
Garrison/HQYasny, Orenburg Oblast
DecorationsOrder of the Red Banner Order of the Red Banner
Commanders
Current
commander
Colonel Yevgeny V. Konovalenkov

The deployment site for the division was chosen specifically for the location of the R-36 intercontinental ballistic missile.

History

edit

In 1964–1965 when the division began to form, the city of Yasny (transl: Clear) had not yet been formed. There was a small settlement builders of the future and Orenburgasbest. Next to it was district center Dombarovsky, where all mail, cargo, and so on were initially addressed. Therefore, in all the documents and V/Chs for the division it was written: Dombarovsky, Orenburg Oblast. A Military town divisions and the entire infrastructure were placed next to the plant under construction, as there was already a railway branch line, which greatly simplified all construction work. Over time, the village built up into the city of Yasny. Hence, some people get confused: either Dombarovsky or Yasny. Documents coming into the division sometimes have one and the other mailing address.

The SRF formation in Yasny began as Operation Group Dombarovskiy in May 1964. Headquarters 13th Rocket Division was formed in April 1965,[1] as part of the 5th Independent Rocket Corps. However the division was quickly (within two months) transferred to the 18th Independent Rocket Corps, and then in 1970 to the 31st Rocket Army. Major-General Dmitry Kharitonovich Chaplygin was the first division commander, from May 1964 until August 1970.

In 2004 the division gained the 'Orenburg' honorific.[1]

Commanders

edit
Commanders of the 13th Rocket Division[2]
No. Name From To
1 Major General Dimitry Kh. Chaplygin 1964 1970
2 Major General Yuri N. Sergunin 1970 1974
3 Major General Remus V. Markitan 1974 1977
4 Major General Tal-At A. Memyetov 1977 1982
5 Major General Igor N. Valynkin 1982 1984
6 Major General Vladimir I. Negashev 1984 1989
7 Major General Viktor A. Vakulenko 1989 1991
8 Major General Aleksander I. Voronin 1991 1995
9 Major General Vladimir I. Vigovskoy 1995 1998
10 Major General Vladimir A. Kirillov 1998 2001
11 Major General Yuri I. Sklyar 2001 2004
12 Major General Aleksei D. Konnov 2004 2007
13 Colonel Aleksander V. Kasyanenko 2007 2010
14 Colonel Yevgeny V. Konovalenkov 2010 present

Structure

edit

Structure of the unit as of 2019:[3]

  • 175th Rocket Regiment (Military Unit No. 26164)
  • 368th Rocket Regiment (Military Unit No. 07393)
  • 494th Rocket Regiment (Military Unit No. 39986)
  • 621st Rocket Regiment (Military Unit No. 34074)
  • 767th Rocket Regiment (Military Unit No. 21424)

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Michael Holm, 13th Orenburgskaya Red Banner Missile Division – 13-я ракетная Оренбургская Краснознаменная дивизия
  2. ^ "13-я ракетная дивизия (п. Домбаровский)". rvsn.ruzhany.info. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  3. ^ "13-я ракетная Оренбургская Краснознаменная дивизия (в/ч 68545)". rvsn.info (in Russian). Retrieved 27 July 2023.