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The 55th Naval Infantry Division originated with the formation of the 357th Rifle Regiment of the 342nd Rifle Division from the second and third submachine gun battalions of a separate rifle brigade at Novotroitskoye, Amur Oblast during the winter of 1944–1945. The first regimental commander was Major I. T. Rudnik. Receiving its battle flag on 15 March 1945, the regiment took part in the August 1945 Soviet invasion of Manchuria with the division and its parent 87th Rifle Corps. The 357th Regiment and the division were relocated from Vladivostok to Maoka on Sakhalin between 23 and 26 August. After the war, the regiment remained on Sakhalin, stationed at the settlement of Aniva. In 1957, the regiment was reorganized as the 390th Motor Rifle Regiment while the division became the 56th Motor Rifle Division.[2] It had a strength of about 1,000 men, including twenty officers.[3]
After the decision of the Soviet General Staff in spring 1963 to restore naval infantry units in the Soviet Navy, the 390th Motor Rifle Regiment was selected for transfer to the Pacific Fleet.[2] In June, the regiment was transported on the ships of the 100th Landing Ship Brigade to Vanino, Khabarovsk Krai and then by rail to Khabarovsk. Having left its heavy weapons behind, the regiment received T-34-85 tanks, BTR-50 armored personnel carriers, GAZ-51 and ZIS-151 trucks, and other vehicles at Khabarovsk. It was brought up to strength there by junior officers freshly graduated from the military schools of the Siberian and Far Eastern Military Districts, as well as officers called up from the reserve or transferred from the Navy. In this process many officers changed their specialty: signals officers became infantry, while motor vehicle officers moved to tanks and artillery.[3]
In late August 1963, the regiment departed for Slavyanka, where it was housed in the barracks of a former artillery regiment, where it was redesignated the 390th Separate Naval Infantry Regiment in December and officially joined the Pacific Fleet. At first the regiment only had two dilapidated barracks, as a result of which it was forced to spend the winter in tents. In the spring of 1964 the regiment received black naval infantry uniforms to replace their army uniforms. The regiment replaced its obsolete equipment with T-54 and PT-76 tanks and BTR-60 amphibious personnel carriers in 1965.[3] By then, the regiment included three naval infantry battalions and a T-54 tank battalion. The regimental artillery consisted of BM-21 Grad rocket launcher, SU-100 self-propelled gun, and anti-tank guided missile batteries. Air defense was provided by ZSU-23 Shilka self-propelled anti-aircraft gun and Strela-10 amphibious missile launcher batteries. In addition, the regiment included a reconnaissance company, and logistics, engineer, and chemical defense units.[2]
In the middle of 1967, the leadership of the USSR Armed Forces decided to form a naval infantry division for the Pacific Fleet from the 390th Naval Infantry Regiment, due to the worsening situation in the Far East. Colonel Pavel Timofeyevich Shapranov became the first division commander. The formation of the division was completed on 1 December 1968.[2]
In the period from August 1968 to December 1, 1968, on the basis of the 390th Separate Naval Infantry Regiment of the Pacific Fleet, the 55th Naval Infantry Division was formed.
Later, by order of the Minister of Defence of the USSR No. 007 dated February 22, 1971, December 1 was declared the "Day of the unit" of the 55th DNI.[4]
The regiments received battle flags in December 1969.[2]
During the Soviet period, the personnel of the division served in Vietnam, Ethiopia, and Somalia. Its personnel fought in the First Chechen War and the Second Chechen War.[3]
In 2007, division commander Colonel Valery Oleynikov was relieved of command after a series of dedovshchina incidents and beatings and humiliations of sailors by officers of the unit.[5]
The unit was reportedly reformed in 2023 as obituaries for members of a "55th Naval Infantry Division" circulated on local Vladivostok VK accounts. However, there has yet to be official confirmation or independent observations of the unit.[1]
Commanders
Major General Pavel Timofeyevich Shapranov (1967–1971)[7]
Feskov, V.I.; Golikov, V.I.; Kalashnikov, K.A.; Slugin, S.A. (2013). Вооруженные силы СССР после Второй Мировой войны: от Красной Армии к Советской [The Armed Forces of the USSR after World War II: From the Red Army to the Soviet: Part 1 Land Forces] (in Russian). Tomsk: Scientific and Technical Literature Publishing. ISBN9785895035306.
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