SRGW - Russia - Aircraft order-of-battle, 1914

[geminif4ucorsair]

Russian Air Service had on Jan 1, 1913, only eight air detachments but had already gained an appreciation of the future of aircraft's potential use in wartime. In March that year, the Army called for a total of 63 aviation detachments, at nine air bases. This translated to 394 pilots and 457 aircraft.

By the beginning of 1914, this plan was only partially fulfilled, but would be well along by August, with 250 aircraft in service. The relevant Air Bases for Jan 1914 were:


* * Air Base: St. Petersburg: First Aviation Company (1st, 5th, 16th, 18th, 22nd Av. Detachment) - [SRGW: use 2xSquadron's; Aircraft: Deperdussin TT recon


* * Air Base: Warsaw: Second Av. Company (14th, 15th, 19th, 23rd Detachment) - [use 1xSquadron]
Aircraft: Farman XXII (H.F. 22) recon


* * Air Base: Kiev: Third Aviation Company (9th, 11th, 12th Corps Detachment) - use 1xSquadron
Aircraft: Nieuport IVG recon


* * Air Base: Lida: Fourth Aviation Company (2, 3, 4, 6, 10, 20, 21st Corps Detachment) - use 2xSquadrons
Aircraft: Farman 22 (H.F.22) recon


[Note: Lida is also the site of Russia's major airship hangars and was first base for Eskadra Vozkushnykh Korablei
(EKV) Il'ya Muromets (IM) bombers, of which ten were first placed in production in early-1914. The first two did not arrive at Lida until September 1914. A total of 78 IM's were ordered - 38 were delivered by Feb 1917. Reconnaissance was the early mission with few aircraft available; bombing missions were not begun until 1915

* * Air Base: Bronnitsy; Fifth Aviation Company (13th, 17th, Grenadier Corps Av. Detachment) - use 1xSquadron
Aircraft: Nieuport IVG recon


* * Air Base Odessa; Sixth Aviation Company (7, 8, 24, 25th, 1st Siberian, 4th Siberian, 5th Siberian Av. Corps Detachment) - use 2xSquadron
Aircraft: 1 x Farman IVG; 1 x Farman XXII (H.F. 22)


Under-Construction:

* * Air Base Yablonna - X 934 Y 141 - ADD: Air Base - 85% complete April 1914.
[Note: this is X-Y for Legionowo, where Yablonna is just NE of Warsaw.]
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[Details on Imperial Russian Naval Air Arm will follow, separate thread.]

[Balthagor]

Some Airbases added to the map.