40th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division (Soviet Union)

The 40th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division (Russian: 40-я зенитная артиллерийская дивизия) was an anti-aircraft artillery division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II. Formed in the Volga Military District in June 1943, the division was sent into combat a year later with the 7th Army, fighting in the Svir-Petrozavodsk Offensive. The division then transferred to the 14th Army in October, and fought in the Petsamo–Kirkenes Offensive. After the end of the offensive the division served with the army in northern Norway until the end of the war. The division was disbanded postwar.

40th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division
ActiveJune 1943–1940s
CountrySoviet Union
BranchRed Army
TypeAnti-Aircraft Artillery
EngagementsWorld War II
  • Svir-Petrozavodsk Offensive
  • Petsamo-Kirkenes Offensive
Decorations Order of the Red Banner
Battle honoursPechenga

History

The division was formed after 1 June 1943 and before or on 1 July 1943 in the Volga Military District. It included the 1407th, 1411th, 1415th, and the 1527th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiments.[1] Its first and only wartime commander, Colonel Ivan Khramov, was assigned on 30 August.[2]

The division was part of the active army from 12 June 1944,[3] and was sent to the Karelian Front's 7th Army.[4] The division fought in the Svir-Petrozavodsk Offensive from late June.[5] From September the division was part of the 14th Army.[6] The division fought in the Petsamo–Kirkenes Offensive in October. The division fought in the capture of Petsamo on 15 October and was awarded the honorific "Pechenga" for its actions. The division then fought in the capture of Kirkenes, and its 1411th Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Pavel Stavoverov, was awarded the honorific "Kirkenes".[7] For its actions at Kirkenes, the 40th also received the Order of the Red Banner on 14 November.[8] After the capture of Petsamo and Kirkenes the combat role of the 14th Army was finished and it advanced into Norway.[9] The division served with the army until the end of the war.[10]

Khramov commanded the division until November 1945, when he was transferred to command the 47th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division.[10] The division was disbanded within several years of the war.[11]

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References

Citations
  1. Combat composition of the Soviet Army, 1 July 1943
  2. Main Personnel Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1964, p. 388.
  3. Perechen No. 6 Part III
  4. Combat composition of the Soviet Army, 1 July 1944
  5. Gareyev, ed. 2012, p. 290.
  6. Combat composition of the Soviet Army, 1 October 1944
  7. Освобождение городов [Liberation of the city] (in Russian). Moscow: Voenizdat. 1985. Source appears to lack page numbers.
  8. Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1967, p. 564.
  9. Gebhardt 1990, p. 74.
  10. Tsapayev, Vvedensky & Hayrapetyan 2014, p. 343.
  11. Feskov et al 2013, p. 288.

Bibliography
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