Active June 1943–1940s Branch Red Army | Country Soviet Union | |
Type Anti-Aircraft Artillery Engagements World War II
Svir-Petrozavodsk Offensive
Petsamo-Kirkenes Offensive Decorations Order of the Red Banner | ||
The 40th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division 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.
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.
The division fought in combat from 12 June 1944. Before 1 July 1944, the division became part of the 7th Army. The division fought in the Svir-Petrozavodsk Offensive from late June. On 1 October 1944 the division was part of the 14th Army. 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. At the time Colonel Ivan Vasilievich Khramov commanded the division. The division then fought in the capture of Kirkenes, and its 1411th Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Pavel Stavoverov, was awarded the honorific "Kirkenes". After the capture of Petsamo and Kirkenes the combat role of the 14th Army was finished and it advanced into Norway. The division served with the army until the end of the war. The division was also awarded the Order of the Red Banner. The division was disbanded within several years of the war.