Air University Review, November-December 1983

Obato: Support of the Soviet Air Regiment

Without the combat readiness of the Soviet Armed Forces Rear Services, there is no troop combat readiness. War may begin, but without a well-prepared rear, without precise and comprehensive rear support, it would end sadly a few days later. That is why we must make every effort to see that the Soviet Armed Forces Rear Services are always as combat ready as the forces they are supporting.¹

This statement, taken from a speech made by Soviet minister of defense at the conclusion of the Neman major exercise in 1968, is a useful reminder that an understanding of Soviet Air Force (SAF) operations is incomplete without an understanding of the Soviet Air Force Rear Services, their logistics system. The basic combat element of the SAF is the air regiment. Although there are several elements in the support structure of an air regiment, the principal element is the independent airfield technical support battalion (otdel’nyy batal’on aerodromnoteknicheskogo obsluzhivaniya—OBATO).

The predecessor of the OBATO was first formed in early 1941 in the course of a major reorganization of the Soviet Air Force Rear Services.² It was designated an airfield service battalion (batal’on aerodromno/obsluzhivaniya-BAO) and was, in the words of a World War II BAO commander, intended to be the

basic unit of aviation rear services, an independent unit intended to support two flying regiments, equipped with any type of aircraft, with everything necessary for the life and combat work of the personnel. Quarters, rations, clothing, financial support, transport, munitions, armaments, fuel, and lubricant materials, weather data for flights—all this and much more were the responsibility of the BAO.³

This mission statement, with a few modifications, could apply to the current OBATO.

The Airfield Technical
Support Battalion Today

In the transition to jet aircraft after World War II, the Soviet Air Force made organizational changes in both its flying and rear services units. In late 1945, the highest elements, the air basing regions, were reorganized as aviation technical divisions and given the mission of supporting an entire air corps. The next lower level in this new organizational scheme was the aviation technical regiment, designed to support an entire air division. The technical regiment, in turn, consisted of aviation technical battalions, each supporting one air regiment at a separate airfield.⁴ The continued existence of the technical divisions and regiments cannot be confirmed from the available literature, but the battalions were redesignated independent airfield technical support battalions by at least the 1960s, and they continue to operate under this designation today.

As a component of the Soviet Air Force Rear Services, the battalion is assigned to an entirely different chain of command from the flying unit it supports.⁵ The battalion commander is operationally subordinate to the air regiment commander, but he remains administratively subordinate to the next higher echelon of his battalion. Seemingly, this arrangement could lead to conflicts, but reports of any problems in this respect are virtually nonexistent. The reason, perhaps, is that the air regiment commander normally has a higher rank and, within the military district or group of forces, ultimately reports to a commander whose rear services chief is only one of several deputies.

The accompanying chart shows the general organizational structure of a typical battalion, which is normally commanded by a major but may also be commanded by a lieutenant colonel. The commander has deputies for technical matters, supply, and political affairs, the last of which, normally a major, is at least first among equals.

The battalion deputy for political matters controls the unit’s political department and is presumably a second reporting official for the deputy commanders for political matters in the companies. The functions of a political officer at any level include not only organizing and directing political work but also overseeing ideological development among the troops; to some degree, he also functions as information and educational officer and counsels people with regard to family and personal affairs.⁶ The political department itself and the immediate staff of the deputy for political matters are usually small elements of not more than three or four officers. The department is probably also responsible for the unit’s enlisted and officers’ clubs.

Internal security and counterintelligence are the responsibility of the special department (obsobyy otdel) headed by a KGB officer. Neither the title nor the functions of the special department are mentioned in contemporary Soviet literature. Primary sources of information about this department are defectors,⁷ but it appears rather likely that these officers operate entirely outside the military chain of command.

Routine battalion planning and administrative matters are handled by the chief of staff, usually a major, and his small section. The actual mission of the battalion—providing services and material to the regiment—is performed by a number of services and other elements.

The mission of the fuel and lubricants service (sluzhba GSM) is to receive, store, maintain quality control, and issue aviation fuels, gasolines, various alcohols, fire-extinguishing materials, and special liquids such as hydraulic fluids and antifreezes.⁸ The service, normally directed by a captain, is responsible for one or more fuel and lubricant dumps, a fuel analysis laboratory, vehicle refueling points, and portable pumping stations. The portable pumping stations are used frequently in units that receive fuel shipments by rail.⁹ The service is also responsible for the operation and maintenance of centralized refueling systems at airfields with such facilities.

A handbook for the Soviet Armed Forces Rear Services mentions both underground and above-ground storage of fuels but provides specifications only on horizontal steel tanks with capacities of 4.1 to 26.9 cubic meters. Rubberized cloth bladder tanks, probably used during deployments, are available in capacities of 2.5 to 25 cubic meters. When empty, the tanks weigh from 47 to 250 kilograms and probably can be easily transported by truck.¹⁰

This service normally directed by a major, formerly consisted of two separate services, but it’ has functioned as a single service since at least 1981.¹¹ The motor transport and motor technical companies in the service are commanded by either a senior lieutenant or a captain who has deputies for political and technical matters. The motor transport company is organized into at least three platoons and a motor pool (avtopark) and is used to transport personnel and equipment. Trucks are the most frequently mentioned vehicles, but the company’s inventory probably includes cars, crew busses, and aviation refueling trucks.¹²

The motor technical company, the "electric-gas" component of the service, is often called the "special equipment" (spetstekhnika) unit because of the nature of its vehicles. These vehicles include the MZ series of oil replenishment vehicles, AKZS oxygen trucks, AUZS carbon dioxide vehicles, VZ and MS series of compressed air vehicles, APA series of aircraft starter trucks, AZS battery-charging stations, AKV air-conditioning units, MP series of engine heaters, aircraft and general-purpose tugs, and fire trucks. One reference indicates that a platoon of aircraft starter trucks has at least nine APA vehicles, but the actual strength is probably much greater.¹³

Many of the services provided by both companies obviously must be available at precisely specified times to satisfy requirements of flight operations, and the chief of the service faces a complex managerial problem in meeting these requirements. He resolves the problems on a day-to-day basis by appointing an airfield technical support duty officer (derzhurny po ATO) who coordinates all relevant support activities on a given day and normally works from a central control point with radio communications.¹⁴ Although this system apparently functions quite well, it depends entirely on the skill and experience of individual officers. For long-term solutions, the use of network planning, similar to the "decision tree" method used in the West, in airfield technical support operations has been discussed and apparently even used in some battalions since the early 1970s.¹⁵

All functions relative to operation and maintenance of permanent and natural surface runways, taxiways, and hardstands are performed by the airfield operations company (aerodromnoekspluatatsionnaya rota). This unit is commanded by a senior lieutenant or captain and organized in specialized platoons headed by warrant officers. The priority mission is keeping permanent surface runways operational. Although the problem of removing sand from runways appears occasionally in Soviet literature,¹⁶ heavy snowfalls—apparently the only kind in the Soviet Union—are mentioned far more frequently. The company uses several models of heavy rotary snowplows or scraper blades mounted on trucks to remove snow. Ice is removed with so-called heat machines. These vehicles, apparently unique to the Soviet Air Force, consist of old jet engines mounted in movable frames on special chassis. Spreader devices are mounted on the exhaust nozzles to ensure even distribution of hot air. Fragments of ice left by the heat machines or less extensive ice formations are removed by KPM combined self-propelled sprinkling and sweeping systems. These machines and the AP-60 and V-63 vacuum sweepers are used during warmer weather to keep runways and other areas free of debris and thus prevent possible foreign object damage to aircraft.¹⁷

The Soviets apparently make widespread use of precast ferroconcrete slabs for runways and taxiways. These slabs, designated PAG-XIV, are 14 centimeters thick, 2 meters wide, and 6 meters long and weigh 4.2 metric tons.¹⁸ The company devotes much time throughout the year to inspecting and caulking seams between slabs. The combination of severe cold and extremely rapid thawing in most of the Soviet Union also means that runways and taxiways must have very efficient drainage systems.¹⁹

The airfield operations company also maintains natural-surface runways used as emergency landing strips at most permanent fields. These runways can be built with either packed earth or sod, depending on local conditions, and they must be periodically packed or sown with grass, fertilized, and mowed. In winter, these strips must be cleared of snow, or, if the accumulation is too great, it can be rolled and packed until the surface becomes suitable for landing. To perform these tasks, the company uses equipment ranging from mowers and seeders to rollers, bulldozers, and graders.

Although aircraft crash barriers are not frequently mentioned, the airfield operations company is also responsible for installing, maintaining, and operating these systems. The system mentioned most often is the ATU-2, which is suitable for aircraft of the MiG-17/l9/21 weight class, but indications are that more advanced models are available.²⁰

The security and defense of the entire airfield, including aircraft and separate facilities, is the responsibility of the battalion’s guard company (rota okhrany). This unit consists of at least two platoons commanded by warrant officers, but the company is normally commanded by a captain. The company normally mans a series of fixed guard posts connected by landline to the guard control point, and it may use patrol vehicles.²¹ Its weapons are assault rifles and machine guns, and it has some organic communications equipment. With the exception of training in heavy weapons, the company apparently receives training similar to that received by a Soviet motorized rifle company. The emphasis in specialized training includes exercises in defending against enemy airborne assault and dealing with hostile penetrations by diversionary groups.²²

Soviet Air Force Rear Services units are expected to supply flying units with virtually all essential items except complete aircraft. One official handbook lists spare parts for aircraft, engines, air equipment (presumably instruments and the like), armament, ground support equipment, airfield equipment, and other classes of items, such as metals, paints, chemicals, pressure vessels, and the like. The same source also provides a general list of special clothing items, such as flight coveralls, G-suits, full pressure suits, winter clothing, life vests, and life rafts. The battalion’s deputy commander for supply is apparently responsible for general supply, and a number of other services handle specific classes of supply items. For example, one report of the activities of a battalion’s aviation technical supply service indicates that it accepts written-off jet engines and scrap for salvage and is responsible for forwarding "time-expired" engines to the manufacturing plant for overhauls. Another source refers to unpacking and issuing ammunition by an aviation armaments service (sluzhba aviatsionnogo vooruzheniya) to squadrons of a flying unit. Presumably, such a service would also be responsible for operating the missile storage facilities mentioned in the late 1960s by a former SAF deputy commander-in-chief for rear services.²³

The food service (prodovol’stvennaya sluzhba) of the battalion operates separate dining facilities for aircrew and maintenance personnel of the air regiment and, presumably, other facilities for support personnel. Soviet flying personnel receive a special high calorie diet known as the "flight ration" (letnyy payek) in four meals per day.²⁴ At permanent bases, the food service employs many civilians in capacities from chief of dining facilities to waitresses.* The service is probably also responsible for operating the auxiliary farms assigned to many Soviet military units. In one instance, a battalion reportedly raises 350 pigs and maintains a 400-square-meter hothouse producing eight tons of vegetables per year.²⁵

*Despite propaganda claims to the contrary, waiting tables is considered "woman's work" in the U.S.S.R. Consequently, women are employed virtually exclusively in this function at Soviet bases.

The battalion has its own finance service, which, in addition to paying the troops, develops and controls the unit’s budget. Whether the same services are provided to the air regiment is not clear. Other operating elements provide critical medical and meteorological support, but I was unable to determine whether these elements are part of the battalion or whether they function directly under the air regiment. High-level Soviet interest in housing and working conditions at SAF bases suggests that the battalion has considerable responsibility for quarters, buildings, general maintenance, and provision of such services as heat, electricity, water, gas, sewers, and the like, but the general officer addressing this topic does not identify a specific element as being responsible for such functions.²⁶

The capability to move rapidly to remote and often unprepared locations and begin immediate air operations is an important element of combat readiness for all units, particularly for SAF Frontal Aviation. A deployment of this nature, however, requires much support from the battalion. Once such a move is ordered, the battalion forms a deployment support group (komendatura) consisting of sufficient personnel, equipment, and supplies to begin operations at the new location. Heavy equipment will be necessary if a totally unprepared site requires construction of a runway. One SAF general officer noted that rear services units have accomplished training deployments with their own vehicles, railroads, helicopters, and transport aircraft.²⁷ Two more recent accounts, both describing support of deployments of helicopter units, mentioned only the use of organic motor transport. However, the author of one of these articles aptly described the purpose of such activities as "practical training under complex conditions as close to combat as possible."²⁸

The personnel strength of a technical support battalion cannot be precisely determined, but it probably includes several hundred officers, enlisted personnel, and civilian employees. Officer personnel are apt to be graduates of a Soviet Ministry of Defense school that trains rear services specialists for all the services. They may also be graduates of reserve officer training programs at one of five Soviet automotive and highway institutes.²⁹ Warrant officers are recruited from enlisted personnel of the battalion and presumably remain with their units almost indefinitely. Enlisted personnel are conscripts who arrive in biannual contingents and apparently do not receive specialist training. Civilians are recruited locally for a variety of support functions. For military personnel in general, assignments appear very stable, but promotion opportunities are very limited, particularly in comparison with flying personnel.

The concept of air unit support embodied in the independent airfield technical support battalion has substantial historical roots. It originated in the search for more effective uses of air power, played a major role in World War II, and has undergone surprisingly few changes over a span of more than 40 years. It reflects both Soviet military conservatism and reluctance to tinker with a system that has proved itself. Major changes are not likely to occur in the near future, but support for deployment will become increasingly important as a growing number of attack helicopters and new tactical aircraft are introduced into the Soviet inventory. One can reasonably expect that operations from unprepared locations, such as meadows, will become more common.

Notes

1. 1. S. K. Kurkotkin, editor Tyl Sovetskikh Vooruzhennykh Sil V Velikoy Otechestvennoy Voyne 1941-1945 gg. (Moscow: Voyenizdat, 1977), p. 546.
2. 2. Sovetskaya Voyennaya Entsiklopediya (SVE), s.v. "Aviatsionnyy Tyl" by V. D. Galov. See also John T. Greenwood, "The Great Patriotic War, 1941-1945," in Soviet Aviation and Air Power, Robin Higham and Jacob W. Kipp, editors (Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1977), pp. 79-80.
3. Ye.V. Ovcharenko, Na Frontovykh Aerodromakh (Moscow: Voyenizdat, 1975), p. 6.
4. See Galov.
5. Ibid.
6. Herbert Goldhamer, The Soviet Soldier—Soviet Military Management the Troop Level (New York: Crane, Russak, 1975), p.277
7. There is one reference to a special department officer on page 36 of Ovcharenko’s book (note 3). A more recent work that also includes a list of the general duties of special department officers is Aleksei Myagkov, Inside the KGB (New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1976).
8. See A. G. Blok et al., Spravochnik Spetsialista Tyla Aviatsii (Moscow: Voyenizdat, 1972), pp. 214-24, for a list of such items.
9. Arrivals are sometimes unexpected as indicated in Captain V. Sokolov, "Eshelon Pribyl Noch’yu," Aviatsiya i Kosmonavtika, March l981, p.38.
10. Blok, pp.227-28. A partial photograph of horizontal steel tanks may be found in Aviatsiya i Kosmonavtika, June 1982, inside front cover.
11. One of the earlist instances of this change appears to have been in Major O. Mychko, "Aerodrom—Nash Post Boyevoy," Aviatsiya i Kosmonavtika, January 1981, p. 38.
12. Aviation fuel truck specifications, including capacities of 4 to 22 cubic meters, are given in Blok, pp. 159-62.
13. See Blok, pp. 166-86, for designations and specifications of individual equipment. The reference to APA platoon strength is taken from Lieutenant Colonel Yu. Stadnik, "Usloviya Odni. A Rezul’taty," Krasnaya Zvezda, 24 June 1980, p. 2.
14. Duties and functions of this officer are discussed in Lieutenant Colonel I. Sysolyatin, "Oni Trudyatsya Dlya Poletov," Aviatsiya i Kosmonavtika, October 1969, p. 20; Captain B. Obukhov, "S Garan tiyey," Aviatsiya i Kosmonavtika, March 1972, pp. 28-29, and occasionally in other articles.
15. See, for example, Lieutenant Colonel V. Abramov, "Setevyye Grafiki v Aerodromno-Tekhnicheskom Obespechenii Poletov," Tyli Snabzheniye, November 1971, pp. 84-86, and Lieutenant Colonel-Engineer V. Slivkin and Major-Engineer Yu. Titov, "Ispol’zuyu Setevyye Grafiki," Aviatsiya i Kosmonavtika, July 1973, p. 21.
16. Such as Major M. Kamyshnikov, "Posle Peschanoy Buri," Aviatsiya i Kosmonavtika, September 1980, p. 35.
17. Specifications for these machines may be found in Blok, pp. 134-40.
18. Ibid., p. 99.
19. Major General-Engineer A. Panenkin, "V Period Talykh Vod," Aviatsiya i Kosmonavtika, April 1978, pp. 42-43.
20. SVE, s.v. "Aerodromnyye Avariynyye Tormoznyye Ustanovki" by L. P. Kartashev.
21. Lieutenant Colonel V. Kaz’min, "Poka Grom ne Gryanet . . .," Krasnaya Zvezda, 17 April 1980, p. 2.
22. Captain N. Antonov, "Bespokoynaya Dolzhnost’," Aviatsiya i Kosrnonavtika, February 1982, pp. 16-17.
23. Blok, p. 194, pp. 234-42; Colonel A. Sorokin, "Kogda Umolkli Turbiny," Krasnaya Zvezda, 24 May 1981, p. 2; Colonel General of Aviation F. Polynin, "Opyt Aerodronmo-Tylovykh Ucheniy—V Praktiku Obucheniya," Aviatsiya i Kosmonavtika, March 1969, p. 10; Major Yu. Zhabkov, "Aerodrom K Rabote Gotov," Aviatsiya i Kosmonavtika, February 1981, p. 12.
24. Blok, pp. 250-55.
25. Major A. Tkachenko, "Rezervy Pod Luchom," Aviatsiya i Kosmonavtika, August 1980, p. 35.
26. Major General of Aviation A. Kondioglo, "Gorodkam Aviatoram—Obraztsovoye Soderzhaniye," Aviatsiya i Kosmonavtika, September 1977, p. 37.
27. Colonel General of Aviation F. Polynin, "Opyt Aerodromno-Tylovykh Ucheniy—V Praktiku Obucheniya," Aviatsiya i Kosmonavtika, March 1969, pp. 10-11.
28. Colonel G. Kiyayev, "Chto Pokazalo Ucheniye," Aviatsiya i Kosmonavtika, March 1975, p. 5.
29. Harriet Fast Scott and William F. Scott, The Armed Forces of the USSR (Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1979), p. 347; Spravochnik Dlya Postupayushchikh V Vysshiye Uchebnyye Zavedeniya SSSR (Moscow: Vysshaya Shkola, 1980), pp. 223-24.

James L. Waddell, Chief Master Sergeant, USAF (Ret), (B.A., Wright State University; M.A., University of Southern California) is a research specialist with the Air Force Intelligence Service. He retired after a 25-year career with the Air Force Security Service and the Foreign Technology Division of Air Force Systems Command. He has translated from both German and Russian for the Joint Publications Research Service. Waddell has published in Aerospace Historian, RUSI Journal, and Interavia and is a 1983 graduate of Air Command and Staff College.

The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University.

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