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Air Defense Day, or, as the directory informs, Air Defense Forces Day is one of the most important holidays of military personnel. Included in the number of professional holidays and memorable days, is celebrated annually in the spring, in early April.
date
The question of what date Air Defense Day invariably arises every year. The fact is that this holiday has no “binding” in the calendar. According to the Presidential Decree, a memorable day is celebrated on the second of April, Sunday, which means that the date changes annually.
In 2020, Air Defense Day or Air Defense Forces Day falls on April 12, Sunday.
April was not in vain a “birthday" month. It was in the spring that important decisions were made for the development and improvement of protection and the main documents were put into effect.
How the holiday came about
The modern date of the holiday is determined by the Presidential Decree in 2006, and in 2020 in a new interpretation this day will be celebrated for the fourteenth time. However, the true story of the holiday is much richer.
In the USSR, the successor of which was the Russian Federation, there was also a similar holiday. It appeared back in 1975 as a professional date for everyone related to air defense. Initially, the event had a fixed date - April 11, but five years later, already in 1980, the celebration was postponed to the second Sunday of the month. The presidential decree confirmed the chosen day in modern realities.
What is air defense
Air defense or air defense is a means of detecting the enemy’s armed air forces. Protection is carried out using special means of surveillance and is a whole set of activities carried out by special army units.
That is the definition given by encyclopedias and reference books. However, those who wear epaulettes know that service in the air defense is, first and foremost, a willingness to defend their homeland, to feel responsibility for the service, a willingness to overcome obstacles and burdens.
History of troops
The advent of air defense is the merit of improving aircraft manufacturing. As soon as the first airplanes began to be used in military operations, the need immediately arose to defend themselves from air attacks.
The first air defense units in the Russian (imperial) army - although you can call them that way only with a stretch - were organized in 1914. Initially, these were only a few guns mounted on turret platforms. As anti-aircraft guns used conventional machine guns and (less commonly) light guns. This was enough to deal with airplanes and airships or balloons.
With the withdrawal of Russia from the First World War and the subsequent revolution, the development of units slowed down. But already in the Red Army, under the new rule of the Soviets, the first full-fledged air defense units appeared.
The Great Patriotic War became a real test of strength for a new kind of troops. And the first serious test was the defense of Moscow in 1941. It was then that the anti-aircraft forces were able to show their significance to the full, because without an anti-aircraft system a military operation could have ended in a completely different way.
During World War II, significant progress was made in the development of air defense. So, the defenders were divided into two parts - military defense and air defense inside their native territory. Thanks to this, it was possible to save a huge number of settlements, to protect cities and villages from air raids and bombing.Not only cities were protected, but also railway junctions, storage facilities, factories and industrial zones.
In the postwar period, development did not stop. The Second World War showed how important a correct, competent defense, built on the principles of maximum equipment and full dedication. From the middle of the 20th century to the present, the troops were equipped with airplanes, artillery, anti-aircraft systems, radio equipment and more.
Activities in other countries
There is a professional holiday in other CIS countries. For example, it is celebrated in Belarus and Ukraine, in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. And in each state, the role of air defense in the modern army is emphasized.
- Belarus - the second Sunday of April;
- Ukraine - until 2007 the first Sunday of July, today - the first August Sunday;
- Kazakhstan - the second April holiday (as in the Russian Federation and Belarus);
- Kyrgyzstan - August 18, the holiday is called the Day of Air Defense Forces;
- Uzbekistan - the third Sunday of August;
- Abkhazia - April 9;
- Armenia is the third May Sunday.
Air Defense Forces have come a long way: from light cannons and machine guns to air units and anti-aircraft guns; from a small number - only a few people in the unit were engaged in air defense - to full-fledged troops; from individual observer fighters to modern computerized surveillance systems. Small units were able to grow into modern, highly efficient units, at the disposal of which were numerous precision guns and the most advanced control systems.
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