The Central Air Force Museum ( Russian : Центральный музей Военно-воздушных сил РФ ) is an aviation museum in Monino , Moscow Oblast , Russia . A branch of the Central Armed Forces Museum , it is one of the world's largest aviation museums, and the largest for Soviet aircraft , with a collection including 173 aircraft and 127 aircraft engines on display. The museum also features additional displays, including Cold War -era American espionage equipment, weapons, instruments, uniforms , artwork, and a library containing books, films, and photos is also accessible to visitors.
25-528: The Central Air Force Museum is located on the grounds of the Gagarin Air Force Academy on the site of the former Monino Airfield , 40 km (25 mi) east of Moscow . The origins of the museum go back to 1940 when the village of Monino was selected to be the location of what is now the Gagarin Air Force Academy . The museum itself was founded in 1958, two years after the airfield was closed, and had 6 aircraft and 20 aircraft guns at
50-614: A base for the studying by cadets of the academy. According to tradition, after the end of active military service as teachers of the academy, the officers became the guides in the museum. In 2008, Gagarin Air Force Academy was amalgamated with the Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy ( Russian : Военно-воздушная инженерная академия имени профессора Н.Е. Жуковского ). The new academy was titled " Zhukovsky – Gagarin Air Force Academy " –
75-754: A federal government military educational institution of higher education run by the Russian Ministry of Defence . Since 2010 the full name is Russian Air Force Military Educational and Scientific Center "Air Force Academy named after Professor N.E. Zhukovsky and Y.A. Gagarin " . For the latest history of the academy see the article on Zhukovsky – Gagarin Air Force Academy 55°50′34″N 38°10′53″E / 55.84278°N 38.18139°E / 55.84278; 38.18139 Zhukovsky %E2%80%93 Gagarin Air Force Academy The Zhukovsky – Gagarin Air Force Academy
100-771: A new name, Voronezh Military Aviation Technical School. In 1998, the school was transformed into the Voronezh Military Aviation Engineering Institute, and five years later it received a new name - the Voronezh Higher Military Aviation Engineering School (Military Institute). In August 2006, the Voronezh Higher Military Engineering School of Radio Electronics ( Russian : Воронежское высшее военное инженерное училище радиоэлектроники )
125-587: A wide-format lens made it possible to preserve for history views of the museum, including the hall that later burned down. Transport and passenger aircraft Fighters and Attack aircraft Bombers Helicopters Other aircraft 55°49′58″N 38°10′59″E / 55.83278°N 38.18306°E / 55.83278; 38.18306 Gagarin Air Force Academy Gagarin Air Force Academy (Russian: Военно-воздушная академия имени Ю. А. Гагарина )
150-793: Is a Russian military aviation academy located in Monino , Moscow Oblast . The academy prepares high-ranking military personnel for the Russian Aerospace Forces . Among the academy alumni are around 700 Heroes of the Soviet Union (highest award in the USSR), more than 10 cosmonauts , and over 2000 military specialists from 21 foreign countries. The school provides regiment and division-level commanding officers to fill commanding, staff, navigation, logistics, communications and radar-support positions. Alternative academy names in
175-553: Is a Russian military institution of higher education run by the Russian Aerospace Forces . The full name is Russian Air Force Military Educational and Scientific Center Air Force Academy Professor N.E. Zhukovsky and Major Y.A. Gagarin based in Voronezh , Voronezh Oblast in southern Russia . The ancestor of the current academy is considered to be the Military Aerodrome Technical School of
200-844: The Air Force in Stalingrad, the decision to open which was made at the end of 1948 by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR, and the opening took place on January 1, 1950. In 1954, the school was relocated to the city of Michurinsk, Tambov Region (Voronezh Military District). In 1963, the educational institution was renamed the Michurinsk Military Aviation Technical School, and a few months later it moved to Voronezh and received
225-711: The Command and Control Systems ( ru:Научно-исследовательский центр систем управления ВВС ) a part of the 30th Central Scientific Research Institute, Ministry of Defence (Russia) . The need for reorganization of the Russian Air Force research and educational institutions has been realized at all levels of military establishment since the late 1980s. Options discussed included the reorganization and different forms of association of Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy and Gagarin Air Force Academy, and sometimes 30th Central Scientific Research Institute . The criteria for
250-611: The Defense Ministry "by changing the type of the existing" federal state of military educational institutions of higher education Zhukovsky – Gagarin Air Force Academy, while maintaining its main purpose of activity and total number of full-time employees. In 2010, the Federal State Research and Testing Center for Electronic Warfare and Evaluation of the Efficiency of Visibility Reduction was attached to
275-723: The English-language literature include Yuri Gagarin Military Air Academy and Yuri Gagarin Air Force Academy . In conversational speech often simply referred to as Gagarin Academy or Monino Academy . By late 2008, this academy and the N. Zhukovsky Aviation Engineering Academy both merged to become the Gagarin-Zhukovsky Military Combined Air Force Academy, but it retained its Monino campus. Later in 2011,
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#1732779514384300-486: The Monino campus was closed. The academy was founded in 1940. It was named Air Force Academy in 1946. In 1968 it was named after Yuri Gagarin ( Гагарин, Юрий Алексеевич ). In Soviet times, only the officers with a primary military education (летное училище – flight school) and holding the position of major could study at the academy. The collection of the serial and experimental Soviet aircraft (air force museum) served as
325-808: The University. On September 1, 2011, by order of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation , the university received the training of trained officers of the operational-tactical level from the Air Force Academy named after Professor Zhukovsky and Gagarin. On February 21, 2020, the Russian Minister of Defense , General of the Army Sergey Shoygu , presented the Academy with the Order of Zhukov for merits in strengthening
350-578: The Zhukovsky – Gagarin Air Force Academy (Moscow and Monino) to the Military Aviation Engineering University" located in Voronezh . The same order liquidated subsidiaries of the academy in the cities of Yeysk ( Krasnodar Krai ), Saint Petersburg and Chelyabinsk . De jure, the order has not eliminated Zhukovsky – Gagarin Air Force Academy. However, it happened de facto, since the educational activities were
375-469: The academy: The total number of employees (military and civilian personnel) of the academy (with subsidiaries) was set at 37,481 people. The academy offered programs in a variety of fields: Order of the Russian Minister of Defence on 12 July 2011, a decision was made to reform the academy. It directed to transfer within 45 days (until September 1, 2011), "the preparation of students from
400-492: The aircraft. The museum is currently open to members of the public to visit. The museum has never published a catalog of exhibits or a guidebook. Anniversary books about the Gagarin Air Force Academy contain small sections with history and descriptions of exhibits. There is a photo gallery of the museum, taken in 1988-1994 by photographer Viktor Leontyev, a correspondent for a military newspaper. The use of
425-622: The country's defense capability and training qualified military personnel. The history of the cadet band began in 1936, when the Chelyabinsk Higher Military Aviation School of Navigators was created. Major I. Vasilyev was its first director and laid the glorious traditions of performing art and musical culture. The band is a laureate of more than one competition of military bands of the Volga-Ural Military District . As part of
450-467: The effectiveness of the reforms were not only the reductions in personnel and budget, but also sustainment of the scientific and pedagogical potential of research and educational institutions. According to Ivan Naidenov, the reform of 2011 resulted in almost complete loss of the Zhukovsky – Gagarin Air Force Academy potential, and restoration of the lost positions in the Military Aviation Engineering University (Voronezh) will take at least 10 – 15 years. At
475-505: The end of September 2011, when implementation of the Defence Ministry Order №1136 was in full swing (academy equipment was transported to Voronezh, employees at the academy in Monino were laid off), Government Resolution of September 27, 2011 № 1639-r was issued. This resolution ordered the creation of Federal State Governmental military educational institution of higher education Zhukovsky – Gagarin Air Force Academy of
500-505: The main purpose of the academy, and the transfer of preparation of students to the Military Aviation Engineering University (Voronezh) in practice meant an end to the existence of the Zhukovsky – Gagarin Air Force Academy. The vast majority of the Zhukovsky – Gagarin Air Force Academy faculty did not move to Voronezh. More than fifteen hundred people were laid off in Monino. Order of the Ministry of Defence has caused fierce criticism from
525-546: The new academy was limited to 4,614 and both campuses were retained (Zhukovsky in Moscow and Gagarin in Monino , 38 km (24 mi) east of Moscow), but it was envisioned that the new Academy would fully relocate to Monino by the end of 2011. In 2008-2009, when the Ministry of Defence continued the process of consolidation of its training and research institutions, six other military schools were named affiliated (separate organizational units) entities and later subsidiaries of
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#1732779514384550-636: The scientific and pedagogical community of the academy. Exponent of this position is the head of the working group of the Academic Council of the academy Ivan Naidenov (Lieutenant General of aviation, retired, a former deputy chief of the Gagarin Academy for Education and Science, Doctor of Military Sciences, Professor, Honored Scientist of Russia, and earlier - Head of the Russian Air Force Research Center for
575-473: The time. When it opened to the public another two years later in 1960, it had 14 aircraft. By early 1970, the museum's collection had expanded to about 40 aircraft. In 1990, the aircraft on display were rearranged according to design bureau and chronological order. The museum's main hall was mostly destroyed by fire in 2005. By 2013, a new hangar had been built to house the World War II aircraft. In 2016, it
600-564: Was incorporated to the school. The Academy was established in 2008 after the merger of the Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy and the Gagarin Air Force Academy by Government Resolution on March 7, 2008. The Gagarin Academy specialized in preparing high-ranking commanding officers, while the Zhukovsky Academy focused on aviation engineering. The number of military and civilian personnel in
625-501: Was reported that the museum was to close, with the exhibits being transferred to Patriot Park . New halls with the modern equipment for exhibitions were built. However, a new exhibition hall was opened in February 2020. The museum contains a range of aircraft, both domestic and foreign, including military, civil and special purpose. The museum also houses associated pieces, such as the uniforms, documents, models and equipment related to
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