Today, the Fuel Service of the RF Armed Forces, founded on February 17, 1936 as the Red Army Fuel Supply Directorate, celebrates its 80th anniversary. Even then it became clear that the future war would be a war of engines, and gasoline began to be called “the blood of war.” This service has been providing constant “blood flow” for decades.
It is clear that the history of supplying troops with fuel began much earlier - as soon as Russian army cars and ships with engines running on petroleum products appeared. In 1877, the world's first tanker, Zoroaster, began operation in Russia. The steamship with a carrying capacity of 15 thousand poods (242 tons) was used to deliver kerosene in bulk from Baku to Tsaritsyn (now Volgograd) and Astrakhan. In 1900, the Russian fleet had 20 Novik-class destroyers operating on fuel oil, and by the end of 1917 there were already 30 of them.
The first engines of the First World War
In the Russian Imperial Army, already in 1914, the first armored detachment was formed. In total, on the fronts of the First World War, the troops used up to 10,000 cars and trucks, 700 aircraft and about 300 armored cars. On railways The Zaamurets motorized armored car was operating. Monthly fuel consumption was more than two thousand tons of automobile gasoline and up to 450 tons of aviation gasoline. For the delivery of fuel and ammunition, the division of anti-aircraft armored cars "Russo-Balt" type "T" even had special armored vehicles. In total, 1.2 million tons of fuel were supplied to the troops during the war years.
In the mid-30s, a special armored fuel transporter was developed based on the T-26 light tank. It was intended to supply tank units on the front line, but never went into production.
Khasan and Khalkhin Gol
The service received its baptism of fire in 1938, during the conflict with Japanese troops on Lake Khasan. Then 8.5 thousand tons of fuel were consumed, and at Khalkhin Gol - ten times more: 86.7 thousand tons were supplied for tanks, armored vehicles, trucks and tractors. Despite the multi-hundred-kilometer “shoulder of supply,” the mechanized units of the Red Army were provided with a sufficient amount of gasoline and diesel fuel.
The Great Patriotic War. The fight for oil
But the most difficult task arose before the fuel service during the Great Patriotic War. In 1941, significant fuel reserves were lost, oil refineries were evacuated from Odessa, Kherson, and Berdyansk. Active drilling work has begun in Grozny and Baku to increase production volumes. It was not for nothing that in 1942 Hitler directed his main attack on Stalingrad. After all, having captured it, he opened the way not only to the main oil fields of the USSR in the south, but also cut the most important river highway through which oil and petroleum products were delivered to the center of the country. But even when the enemy approached the Volga, barges - under fire - continued to transport much-needed fuel. In total, the army and navy spent more than 16.4 million tons of fuel during the war years.
"Second Baku"
During the war years, to increase oil production, active geological exploration began in the Volga and Urals region, called the “Second Baku.” This is how oil and gas fields appeared in Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Ukhta and Naryan-Mar.
Gasoline for besieged Leningrad
Leningrad, besieged by Nazi troops, needed literally everything. A 27-kilometer-long pipeline was laid along the bottom of Lake Ladoga, through which fuel was supplied to the city. From June 1942 to March 1943, more than 47 thousand tons of fuel of all types were pumped through it.
“Road of Life” through Salang
To support the grouping of Soviet troops in Afghanistan, main field pipelines with a length of 1,200 kilometers were built, through which 5.4 million tons of petroleum products were delivered to the 40th Army. They tried to damage the pipes in every possible way, and civilians tried to get some of the contents to heat their homes. The fuel service constantly eliminated the consequences of accidents and sabotage.
Fuel along with other cargo went through the Salang tunnel. Militants constantly ambushed Soviet convoys, and the profession of a fuel tanker driver was deadly.
Fire, water and not copper pipes
Mobile pipeline construction professionals have repeatedly participated in rescue operations during emergency situations. The fuel service's pipeline divisions supplied water, not gasoline, to put out the fires. Including the hot summer of 2010. Two pipeline battalions pumped more than one million tons of water to extinguish and irrigate burning peatlands. On August 15, 2010, the commander of the pipeline platoon, Lieutenant Nikolai Kuzmin, fell into a fire trap along with his unit, but, showing courage and professionalism, led the soldiers through the fire, for which he was awarded the Order of Courage.
Soldiers of the service also took part in eliminating the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Drinking water was supplied through “military” pipes to the cities of Armenia destroyed by the earthquake in 1989. And in 2014, pipes laid by the military began to fill the North Crimean Canal to provide the cities of Crimea with water, which Ukraine tried to deprive the residents of the rebellious peninsula.
Fuel for the modern army
Every year the Russian Armed Forces consume about two million tons various types fuels and oils. To ensure timely supply, more than 900 tank trucks will be purchased in the coming years. It is also planned to introduce new lightweight fiberglass composite pipes, develop an Arctic tanker, a universal laboratory, containers for transporting liquid rocket fuel components and a tanker for the Airborne Forces.
Fuel Service of the Russian Armed Forces / Photo: fullpicture.ru
Armed Forces Fuel Service Russian Federation - one of the youngest logistics services of the Russian Armed Forces. Its history began on February 17, 1936, when, by Order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR No. 024, the Fuel Supply Administration - the Fuel Service of the USSR Armed Forces - was created.
The first serious test of the Fuel Service's readiness was the provision of fuel for combat operations at Lake Khasan - in two weeks the troops consumed more than 8 thousand tons of fuel. From May to August 1939, fuel consumption on the Khalkhin Gol River amounted to almost 87 thousand tons. And in the winter war with Finland in 1939-1940, the Red Army troops needed 215 thousand tons of fuel.
During the harsh years of the Great Patriotic War The personnel of the Fuel Service worked under the mobilizing motto: “Fuel to the front!” During the defense of Leningrad, when the only way to the city through Lake Ladoga was subjected to continuous bombing, the fire officers showed unparalleled courage and heroism.
To solve the problem of supplying fuel to besieged Leningrad, a pipeline was laid along the bottom of Lake Ladoga in record time. From June 1942 to March 1943, over 47 thousand tons of various types of fuel were supplied to the northern capital via a 27-kilometer underwater pipeline, and this made it possible to meet the needs of not only the troops, but also the city. Thanks to the clear and professional work of the Fuel Service, the “fuel blockade” of Leningrad was broken.
The highest assessment of the work of the Fuel Service was given in the order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR dated August 25, 1946 No. 38. According to the testimony of Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky, thanks to the activities of the Fuel Service, not a single operation was disrupted. The contribution of the best representatives of the Service to the Victory was appreciated: during the war, more than one and a half thousand people, almost half of its officers, were awarded government awards.
Mass refueling of T-72 tanks in the field / Photo: IA "ARMS OF RUSSIA", Alexey Kitaev
In the post-war years, the years of turbulence economic development, new tasks were assigned to the Fuel Service. With the advent of nuclear weapons, fundamentally new means of delivery - missiles - began to be used. With the equipment of the army with rocket technology, the Fuel Service was entrusted with the task of providing troops and naval forces with liquid rocket fuel. Solving this problem required the development of new technologies and deep scientific research.
To achieve these tasks and develop new methods and means in the work of the service, including, back in 1946, the Research Institute of Fuels and Lubricants was opened, today - the 25th State Research Institute of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (for application fuels, oils, lubricants and special liquids - State Research Institute of Chemmotology).
And today the Fuel Service performs one of the most important tasks in ensuring the combat readiness of the Russian Armed Forces - providing troops with fuel and lubricants and rocket fuel. The Service includes: fuel and technical supply centers; formations and units of pipeline troops; automotive fuel refueling parts; fuel warehouses and bases, rocket fuel warehouses; repair plants and fuel service repair shops; fuel laboratories; rocket fuel supply units and various auxiliary organizations; 25th State Research Institute of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
MOSCOW, Calend.ru edition
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Every year on February 17, our country celebrates Fuel Service Day of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation or simply Fuel Service Day. Formed in 1936, this service has since gone through a serious development path, which has faced a huge number of serious trials, the main one of which was the Great Patriotic War. Currently, the Fuel Service performs one of the most important tasks in ensuring the combat readiness of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, supplying the troops with various fuels and lubricants, as well as rocket fuel.
Transport has always played an important role in war; it was used for the rapid transfer of troops to the operation zone, the supply of ammunition and food, and the evacuation of the wounded from the battlefield. But only in the first half of the 20th century, with the beginning of mass mechanization of the armed forces, the advent of cars, tanks and airplanes, the importance of supplies of all types of fuel increased many times over. Before the massive advent of automobiles into the army, armies mainly used horse-drawn transport; even in the first third of the last century, it was horses that transported the majority of army cargo, although already during the First World War, more and more trucks began to appear in the armies, tanks rolled out onto the battlefields, and Air battles broke out in the sky.
However, even then, some commanders did not believe that tanks would begin to play a key role on the fields of future battles. The USSR had its opponents to the mechanization of the army, as this was accompanied by a reduction in cavalry units. However, in the end, everyone realized that the country needed a modern army, which simply could not become one without tanks and road transport. The massive use of mechanized units made it possible to cover long distances in short periods of time. At the same time, there was one very important problem - the supply of troops with fuel and lubricants. Without fuel, cars and armored vehicles became just piles of metal. This required the command to create a special rear service, which would deal with the timely replenishment of fuel and lubricants, including during offensive operations. On February 17, 1936, by order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the Soviet Union K.E. Voroshilov, the USSR Armed Forces Fuel Supply Directorate was created in the country. That is why the Russian Armed Forces Fuel Service Day is celebrated annually on February 17.
The first truly serious test of the readiness and professionalism of the Fuel Service was the provision of fuel to Soviet units that were fighting near Lake Khasan. In just two weeks of hostilities with Japan, more than 8 thousand tons of various fuels were consumed. The following year, from May to August 1939, during the fighting on the Khalkhin Gol River, Soviet troops consumed almost 87 thousand tons of fuel and lubricants. And during the winter war with Finland in 1939-1940, the Red Army troops already consumed 215 thousand tons of fuel. With the increasing mechanization of units and formations, the troops' fuel needs also grew. By June 1941, it was possible to create very large (at that time) mobilization reserves of fuel - about 1.2 million tons (97 percent of the planned volumes).
World War II was the first conflict in which tank troops were used en masse by all parties to the conflict. For the Wehrmacht, at the first stage of the war, tank and mechanized units became the main guarantee of successful operations, in which the Germans seriously succeeded. The first months of the Great Patriotic War turned out to be a real disaster for the Red Army, a huge number of units were destroyed, many warehouses and property were lost, more than three million Soviet troops were in German captivity by the end of the year, but our country survived the terrible battle with the aggressor. At the same time, the Fuel Service did not let the army down even in these difficult conditions, Marshal of the Soviet Union Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky wrote about this in his memoirs after the war. He placed particular emphasis on the fact that not a single major operation failed due to lack of fuel. Even with Leningrad blocked by the enemy from land, it was possible to organize the delivery of fuel and lubricants in record time, which were enough to ensure the city’s defense.
Already on the first war summer in August 1941, along with the creation of the Main Logistics Directorate of the Red Army, the Fuel Service was transferred to the subordination of the Deputy People's Commissar of Defense of the country - the Chief of Logistics, under whose leadership it carried out its activities during the war years. During the Great Patriotic War, specialists from this service provided the need for fuel and lubricants for the army fighting the enemy, as well as technical means Oh. To achieve victory in the war with Nazi Germany The Soviet armed forces consumed 16.4 million tons of petroleum products, while the Fuel Service provided fuel and lubricants for 50 large strategic operations of front groups, more than 250 front-line operations and about one thousand army operations and an incalculable number of smaller battles and engagements. The success of the Fuel Service and other rear units is evidenced by the fact that more than half of their officer corps were awarded state awards at various levels during the war.
Began after the end of World War II cold war provoked an arms race between two superpowers - the USA and the USSR, the result of this race was the emergence and proliferation of missile forces. Therefore, the Fuel Service had to develop fundamentally new types of fuel, which required increased precautions. However, the Fuel Service was able to cope with this task with honor.
Another very serious test for the Fuel Service was the fighting in Afghanistan. The delivery of fuel to this country was complicated by the mountainous terrain, as well as numerous ambushes by dushmans who launched attacks on the “threads”, which carried not only fuel to the Soviet troops, but also ammunition and food. In just 9 years and two months of the conflict, 6.8 million tons of fuel were delivered to the territory of Afghanistan from the Soviet Union, including 5.4 million tons (about 80 percent) through the built field trunk pipelines, another 1.4 million tons were delivered to the country by road, river and air transport. In addition, 10 thousand tons of rocket fuel were delivered to Afghanistan by air. Military service More than 6 thousand specialists from the Fuel Service passed through Afghanistan. Throughout the years of the conflict, suppliers demonstrated high level professionalism, providing units with all the necessary fuels and lubricants, right up to the withdrawal of the entire group of Soviet troops from this country.
The Fuel Service also demonstrated its readiness to carry out a variety of tasks assigned to it when providing water supplies to eliminate the fires of 1972, which, in their scale and consequences, could be attributed to a catastrophe on a national scale. This service also played a role in eliminating the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, as well as in ensuring the supply drinking water to the cities and villages of Armenia destroyed by the 1989 earthquake, the press service of the Russian Ministry of Defense notes. Subsequently, the Fuel Service again showed itself well in combat operations, now on the territory of Chechnya, providing warring federal troops necessary fuels and lubricants.
Currently, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation use more than 200 different brands of fuel and lubricants. Every year, the troops consume about two million tons of fuels and lubricants. In our country, the special 25th State Research Institute of Chemmotology works quite effectively in the interests of the RF Armed Forces. Today it is the only research organization in the country that is able to conduct a full range of tests of fuels and lubricants, rocket fuel components, and technical means for supplying petroleum products. Similar institutions exist only in the USA, France and Germany.
Today, in response to new challenges, new types of fuel and oil are being developed specifically for the Russian army, which can be used in Arctic conditions. At the end of 2014, they were tested in the Arctic at an ambient temperature of -65 degrees, and in the future they will be used by the Russian group. Diesel fuel developed in our country does not cause problems with starting the engine even in 60-degree frost. There are also new innovations in the field of rocket fuel, some components of which, using aluminum nanoparticles, increase its energy intensity and density by almost 20 percent, which makes it possible to increase the mass of the rocket payload.
Currently, the 25th State Research Institute of Chemmotology continues to work in the field of creating alternative petroleum feedstocks. Testing of new samples of aviation synthetic fuel from natural gas and synthetic oil. Research is being conducted to obtain new types of motor fuel from coal. In addition, fuel is being developed for promising hypersonic aircraft. In the future, these devices will be able to reach speeds of more than Mach 5 in flight. Work is also underway on new grades of rocket fuel components and fuels and lubricants, including rocket fuel with increased energy intensity for new generations of long-range cruise missiles for the needs of the Navy and Air Force.
Today at Armed Forces More than 200 brands of fuels and lubricants are used. Every year, the troops spend about 2 million tons of fuel and lubricants.
In 2015, it is planned to build 5 modern fueling complexes at the airfields of Domna, Akhtubinsk, Chkalovsky, Koltsovo, Kursk, as well as to carry out design and survey work for the construction of 6 fueling complexes in 2016.
Currently, the Russian Ministry of Defense is completing state tests of a universal tanker. Having an increased capacity (12-14 tons), it is capable of simultaneously transporting several types of fuel. The special protective shell of the tank makes it bulletproof. The universal dispensing system makes it possible to organize mass refueling of military equipment.
The 25th State Research Institute of Chemmotology is working productively in the interests of the Armed Forces. Today, it is the only research organization that has a full range of tests of rocket fuel components, fuels and lubricants and technical means for supplying petroleum products in Russia.
Similar institutions exist only in the USA, Germany and France.
Oils and Arctic fuels began to be supplied to the Armed Forces, which at the end of 2014 were tested in the Arctic and can be used at a temperature of -65°C and will be used by the Arctic group.
Diesel fuel developed in Russia does not cause problems with starting engines at 60 degrees below zero.
A number of rocket fuel components using aluminum nanoparticles increase its density and energy intensity by almost 20%, which will increase the capacity of the so-called payload.
The Institute continues to work on alternative non-oil raw materials. A sample of synthetic oil and aviation synthetic fuel from natural gas is being tested. Research is being conducted to produce motor fuels from coal.
Fuel for hypersonic aircraft is also being developed. The recipe has been created, and the energy that is accumulated in this fuel will allow our products to exceed the speed of Mach 5.
Work continues on the development, testing and acceptance for use of new grades of rocket fuel components and fuels and lubricants, including rocket fuel with increased energy intensity for a new generation of long-range cruise missiles of the Air Force and Navy.
For reference:
On February 17, 1936, by Order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR No. 024, the Fuel Supply Directorate was created - the Fuel Service of the USSR Armed Forces.
The first serious test of the Fuel Service's readiness was the provision of fuel for combat operations at Lake Khasan - in two weeks the troops consumed more than 8 thousand tons of fuel.
From May to August 1939, fuel consumption on the Khalkhin Gol River amounted to almost 87 thousand tons. And in the winter war with Finland in 1939-1940, the Red Army troops needed 215 thousand tons of fuel.
During the harsh years of the Great Patriotic War, the Red Army and Navy spent over 16 million tons different varieties fuel supply to the Red Army, the personnel of the Fuel Service worked under the mobilizing motto: “Fuel to the front!”
To solve the problem of supplying fuel to besieged Leningrad, a pipeline was laid along the bottom of Lake Ladoga in record time. From June 1942 to March 1943, over 47 thousand tons of various types of fuel were supplied to the city through a 27-kilometer underwater pipeline, and this made it possible to meet the needs of not only the army, but also the city. Thanks to the clear and professional work of the Fuel Service, the “fuel blockade” of Leningrad was broken.
According to Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky, thanks to the activities of the Fuel Service, not a single operation was disrupted.
The contribution of the best representatives of the Service to the Victory was appreciated: during the war, more than one and a half thousand people, almost half of its officers, were awarded government awards.
In the post-war years, years of rapid economic development, new tasks were assigned to the Fuel Service. With the advent of nuclear weapons, fundamentally new means of delivery - missiles - began to be used. With the equipment of the army with rocket technology, the Fuel Service was entrusted with the task of providing troops and naval forces with liquid rocket fuel. Solving it required the development of new technologies and deep scientific research. In 1946, the Research Institute of Fuels and Lubricants was opened, today - the 25th State Research Institute for Chemmotology.
In 2014, the pipeline battalion of the logistics brigade of the Western Military District in as soon as possible carried out redeployment by rail and deployed a field trunk pipeline with a total length of 125 km in three separate directions and supplied drinking water through it from existing artesian wells to settlements The Sudak-Feodosia region of the Republic of Crimea, where in May last year the water supply situation was most acute.
Home front services are undeservedly forgotten. You won’t hear about them in the advertising speeches of military commissars and recruiters. They don’t give grandiose concerts in their honor. But this in no way diminishes the importance of their activities. Not a single branch of the military is capable of conducting active combat operations without the delivery of ammunition, food, fuel, and repair of equipment.
Military personnel of the Fuel Service (SF) perform support tasks both in peacetime and in conditions of military operations.
The importance of the Service in the context of modern wars is difficult to overestimate. Soldiers and officers celebrate their holiday on February 17.
Historically, the service is still young. On the eve of the coming war, the country's leadership is creating a fuel supply department. The development of tank forces and aviation did not go unnoticed. Timely provision of fuel and lubricants becomes more important task. Five years before the Great Patriotic War, K. Voroshilov signed an order to create the SG VS.
The service was headed during the difficult period of its formation by the Russian military leader Nikolai Nikolaevich Movchin. He led the development of the service structure before the official order. The mobilization strategy he created in subsequent decades formed the basis of the country’s mobilization activities. Unfortunately, Colonel Movchin was arrested in the “Tukhachevsky case” and executed in 1938. The good name of Movchin was restored in the fall of 1956.
The military personnel underwent a serious test literally in the first years of the formation of their service. At Lake Khasan, troops consumed 8,000 tons of fuel in two weeks. During the summer of 1939, the service supplied 87,000 tons of fuel and lubricants to the troops at Khalkhin Gol. Winter conditions the war with Finland required the supply of 217,000 tons.
A huge contribution has been made to the development of SG in Soviet time General Nikitin. The permanent head of the service for three decades was able to reform its work, bringing the functionality to automation. Units and divisions have become a complex segment of the support structure. By acquiring additional structures, the service quickly met the growing needs of the armed forces.
During the Great Patriotic War, Nikitin headed one of the departments of the Service. It ensured continuous supplies of fuel and lubricants to armies and divisions. The war period showed that the GS military personnel were the same Soviet soldiers, capable of self-sacrifice for the sake of their Motherland. Soldiers and officers performed heroic deeds every day, transporting hot items to the front line under enemy fire. Their contribution to the cause of Victory is no less important than the feat of paratroopers, tank crews, and pilots. Hot food delivered on time sometimes decided the outcome of battles, influencing general position front affairs.
Under General Nikitin, the service began scientific work to improve fuel performance. This mainly concerned reactive species fuel. The general was one of the developers of the pipeline transport system. Through his efforts, such a system was applied in Afghanistan. The joint efforts of the SG and the pipeline troops made it possible to create a transport network with a length of 1200 kilometers.
Today, the service is in charge of operational issues of storage and transportation of fuels and lubricants to anywhere in the country or the world. Delivery is carried out by sea, air and land. Military specialists carry out refueling, service warehouses, gas stations and bases for various purposes.
The growth in fuel turnover in the army and navy indicates the constant improvement of our defense potential and the readiness of the armed forces to repel any attack by a potential enemy.
With a feeling of great respect, we congratulate the veterans, soldiers, and officers of the Fuel Service on their professional holiday!