The shoulder rank boards of the post war Soviet Air Force followed the lead of the army, and were initially those of the wartime M-1943 pattern.  They would undergo a number of incremental changes until a complete reorganization was undertaken in 1958.  The first minor change was undertaken in 1947 when new parade shoulder boards were introduced for officers and generals.  The next round of changes would take place in the mid-fifties when simplified enlisted boards were developed alongside parade boards for marshals and service boards for officers.

In this section the air force shoulder boards of each of these reforms will be displayed.  The boards shown in these sections will cover the full range of ranks from conscript soldier to general, but are currently centered on a few selections in the officer and enlisted ranks.  Below you will find the M-1943 pattern rank boards that the period began with.  The following two pages detail the interim modifications and the final 1958 pattern that was developed at the end of the era.

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• General and Marshal
• Senior Officer
• Junior Officer

Enlisted Boards

• Branch of Service Colors
• Enlisted Ranks
• Cadet Boards

Boards for Great Coat & Tunic

• Marshal/Chief Marshal Boards (1956)

• Officer Service Boards (1956)

Parade Boards for Officers

• Officers & Generals (1947)

Enlisted Reforms

• Branch of Service Colors

• 5-sided Enlisted Boards (1955)

• General and Marshal
• Senior Officer
• Junior Officer

Boards for Shirt (6-sided)

• General and Marshal
• Senior Officer
• Junior Officer

Enlisted Boards

• Branch of Service Colors
• Enlisted Ranks For Coat (4-sided)
• Enlisted For Tunic (5-sided)
• Officer Cadets

1943 Pattern Shoulder Boards for Greatcoat and Tunic (Four sided)

Here we will describe the 1943 pattern shoulder boards worn by soldiers and airmen of the Red Air Force during the Great Patriotic War.  These boards were established by Order of the Presidium of the Soviet USSR on 6 January 1943 <3>. intended to be worn with all uniforms from tunic and great coat.  These would be attached either by sliding them through loops in the tunic or by sewing them directly to the uniform.  In all cases the boards would be affixed by means of an 18mm button <2>.  This button would feature a star with the hammer and sickle emblem inside <1>.  Buttons would be made of brass for the service uniform, but would be painted green for field uniforms.  Generals buttons featured the Soviet seal instead.

A number of new ranks were added to the existing 1940 rank structure.  The ranks of Marshal and Senior Marshal were introduced on 4 February 1943, while the tank of Lieutenant-Colonel was added on 26 July 1943 <1>.

 Generals and Marshals

 Coming Soon!

 Senior Officer

 1943 Pattern Enlisted Shoulder Boards

In this section we will show a variety of shoulder boards worn by enlisted men.  The branch of service of each may vary, and it will be noted with the image below.  Both field and service shoulder boards will be shown.

1 - Shalito, Anton; Savchenkov Ilya; and Andrew Mollo. Red Army Uniforms of World War II in Colour Photographs, Windrow & Greene: London. Print.
2 - Webster, David & Chris Nelson.  Uniforms of the Soviet Union 1918-1945, Schiffer Military History: Altgen, PA. Print.
3 - Voennaya Odezhda Voorukennik Sil CCCP i Rossii (1917-1999- godi), Redkaya Kniga, 1999. Print