Place of landing of the first airborne landing in the USSR in Voronezh

The birthday of the Airborne Forces - August 2 - is always celebrated in Russia on a grand scale. But not many people know that this holiday is very closely connected with Voronezh, on the outskirts of which the first landing of a combat group was carried out.

In the 30s of the twentieth century, a military airfield was located on the outskirts of Voronezh, the territory of which is currently delineated by Victory Boulevard and three streets: 60 years of the Komsomol, 60 Army and General Lizyukov. Here, for the first time in the years of Soviet power, on August 2, 1930, an aerial landing of a combat group of 12 people was carried out during the pilot exercises of the 53rd Squadron and the 11th Air Brigade of the Air Force of the Moscow Military District.

In general, thoughts about the possibility of rapid transfer of military units by air appeared with the birth of combat aviation. But the implementation of the plans required quite a long preparation.

On August 2, 1930, at 9 a.m., the Farman-Goliaf aircraft under the control of pilot Gromov took to the air. As a place of landing was chosen free of crops field size 600 by 800 meters near the farm Klochkovo, two kilometers from Voronezh. The operation was successful, and this day became an important date in the history of the country. It is still celebrated as the birthday of the Airborne Troops. At the site of a successful landing in 1997, a granite stone and a memorial plaque were installed, indicating a significant event.