Air Force Service Patches of the Afghanistan War and Late Cold War (1979-1991) |
Air Force Uniform Patches This section covers the patches that were worn by members of the Soviet Air Force (and paratrooper forces) during the Afghanistan War and in the final years of the Soviet Union. They generally followed the reforms of the early seventies until the overall reforms of 1988 when the Ministry of Defense instituted the final uniform reforms of the Soviet period. Samples of these various patches can be seen in this section. |
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Back to Patches, Badges,
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Wound
Stripes These small 40mm long stripes were awarded to those who had suffered wounds in action. They came in two variants: Red for light wounds and Yellow for serious wounds. (2) |
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Light Wound Stripe | Heavy Wound Stripe |
First Wound |
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Coming Soon!! |
Second Wound |
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Third Wound |
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Coming Soon!! |
Final Soviet Length of Service Chevrons (1988) On March 4, 1988 the Soviet Ministry of Defense issued Prikaz No 250. This order stated that length of service chevrons for re-engaged servicemen would now be identical to those used by praporchiks since 1971. These would continue to be made of thermally molded plastic on fabric. The gold lace versions were phased out. Like the army praporchik chevrons, these were worn on the left sleeve 16mm above the lower cuff edge on both the tunic and the greatcoat. (1) |
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Parade Uniform | Service Uniform |
Coming Soon!! | Coming Soon!! |
Ten Years of Service | Ten Years of Service |
Coming Soon!! | Coming Soon!! |
Five Years of Service | Five Years of Service |
Coming Soon!! |
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Four Years of Service | Four Years of Service |
Coming Soon!! | |
Three Years of Service | Three Years of Service |
Coming Soon!! | |
Two Years of Service | Two Years of Service |
Coming Soon!! | |
One Year of Service | One Year of Service |
These patches were originally established by Ministry of Defense Order #190 on 26 June 1969. This order decreed that all students of military schools would wear stripes to denote how many years of study they had completed. These stripes were sewn on the left sleeve of the tunic and greatcoat one centimeter below the branch of service insignia. On 4 March 1988 new regulations were issued by Ministry of Defense Order #250. This order decreed (among other things) that chevrons instead of stripes would be worn by pilot and aircrew cadets. They would be from one to five of these stripes depending on the year of class completed. Each would be 6mm wide on yellow thermally molded plastic. Above these would be sewn a winged star. They would be worn 16mm from the lower cuff edge of the greatcoat and tunic. All air force and paratrooper stripes remained the
same as before. They were still composed of thermally molded plastic on
light blue felt. Members of the Medical academy could acquire up to
six of these stripes, but most other branches could only attain four.
Unofficially men called these stripes 'kursovki'. |
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Air Force and VDV Chevrons |
Chevrons for Pilots and Aircrew Cadets |
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6 Years |
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(Coming Soon!!) |
5 Years |
5 Years |
(Coming Soon!!) |
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4 Years |
4 Years |
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(Coming Soon!!) |
3 Years |
3 Years |
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(Coming Soon!!) |
2 Years |
2 Years |
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(Coming Soon!!) |
1 Year |
1 Year |
Conscript
Length of Service Stripes (1974) These
yellow service stripes were introduced in 1974 to show the number of
years a conscript soldier had served. Each stripe denoted one year
of service and were worn 20 centimeters from the high shoulder point of
the right sleeve of the greatcoat. They measured 80mm by 10mm and
were made of thermally molded plastic and cloth. These stripes
were abolished in 1982 in a move against 'unofficial regulations'.
(1) |
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Second Year of Conscript Service |
Coming Soon!! |
First Year of Conscript Service |
Coming Soon!! |
Length of Service Chevrons
for Warrant Officers (1971) In 1971 the Soviet Defense Ministry created the rank of Praporchik (Warrant Officer) for the Soviet Air Force in an effort to develop a class of skilled extended servicemen. It was decreed that these warrant officers would wear length of service chevrons to show how long they had served. These were worn on the left sleeve 16mm above the lower cuff edge on both the tunic and the greatcoat. (1) |
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Parade Uniform | Service Uniform |
Coming Soon!! | Coming Soon!! |
Ten Years of Service | Ten Years of Service |
Coming Soon!! | Coming Soon!! |
Five Years of Service | Five Years of Service |
Coming Soon!! |
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Four Years of Service | Four Years of Service |
Coming Soon!! | |
Three Years of Service | Three Years of Service |
Coming Soon!! | |
Two Years of Service | Two Years of Service |
Coming Soon!! | |
One Year of Service | One Year of Service |
These patches were established by Ministry of Defense Order #190 on 26 June 1969. This order decreed that all students of military schools would wear stripes to denote how many years of study they had completed. These stripes were sewn on the left sleeve of the tunic and greatcoat one centimeter below the branch of service insignia. (1) All army stripes were thermally molded plastic on blue felt. They measure 1 cm wide and 7 cm long. Members of the Medical academy could acquire up to six of these stripes, but most other branches could only attain four. Unofficially men called these stripes 'kursovki'. |
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3 Years |
6 Years |
2 Years |
5 Years |
1 Year |
4 Years |
Works Cited (1) Stepanov, A., Нарукавных Знаки Вооруженных Сил СССР. 1920-1991 (1), Moscow: Zeughaus, 1999. Print. (2) Prilutskaya, N. V. and N. L. Kortunova, ВОЕННАЯ ОДЕЖДА ВООРУЖЕННЫХ СИЛ СССР И РОССИИ (1917-1990), Moscow: Military Publishing, 1999. Print. |