It formed part of the 'operational army' from 22 June 1941 until its disbandment on 7 March 1942.
On 22 June 1941 the division headquarters was in Petrozavodsk. The formation of the division was not completed, and it consisted of only the 72nd High-Speed Bomber Aviation Regiment, which was composed of 34 serviceable Tupolev SB fast medium bombers. On 27 June 1941, the division was reinforced by 33 I-16s of the 155th Fighter Aviation Regiment. It operated from the beginning of the war in the area of Lake Ladoga and Byelomorsk. On 25 July 1941, the division made a raid on Finland, losing one flight of nine planes, one of them knocked her. In general, the division launched strikes against ground forces of the enemy and provided air support to Soviet troops.
At the end of August 1941 the division included 88 serviceable and 15 defective aircraft.
