Soviet Air Forces
The Soviet Air Force, officially known in Russian as Военно-воздушные силы or (in the Latin alphabet) Voyenno-Vozdushnye Sily (literally, "Military Air Forces") and often abbreviated VVS (ВВС in Cyrillic) was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces were formed from components of the Imperial Russian Air Force in 1917, faced their greatest test during World War II, were involved in the Korean War, and dissolved along with the Soviet Union itself in 1991-92.
Read more about Soviet Air Forces: Origins, The War With Finland, 1930s Aviation Cult, World War II, Cold War, Commanders-in-Chief, Soviet Air Force Inventory As of 1990
Famous quotes containing the words soviet, air and/or forces:
“So they lived. They didn’t sleep together, but they had children.”
—Russian saying popular in the Soviet period, trans. by Vladimir Ivanovich Shlyakov (1993)
“A hook shot kisses the rim and
hangs there, helplessly, but doesn’t drop
and for once our gangly starting center
boxes out his man and times his jump
perfectly, gathering the orange leather
from the air like a cherished possession”
—Edward Hirsch (b. 1950)
“The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the forces of the Crown. It may be frail—its roof may shake—the wind may blow through it—the storm may enter—the rain may enter—but the King of England cannot enter!—all his forces dare not cross the threshold of the ruined tenement!”
—William Pitt, The Elder, Lord Chatham (1708–1778)