Order of the Day, No. 51, August 19,1945

In the Great War of the Soviet Motherland against fascist Germany, our airforce fulfilled their task with pride.

The mighty falcon of our Motherland smashed the famous German airforce in a bitter battle in the skies, through which the action of the Red Army liberated the entire population from the (air) bombardments of the enemy.

Together with the entire Red Army, they led a deadly fight against the enemy and smashed its soldiers and its great war machines. The finely detailed operations of our heroic airforce helped the land army continuously in their successes, all of which led to the final capitulation of the enemy.

The Soviet pilots played no small part in the struggle for the liberation and independence of our Motherland. With their single-mindedness and extraordinary determination, they were courageous heroes. They have written more glorious pages in the history of our Motherland.

The victorious Soviet people are justly proud of the struggle they put up.

In the course of the war, it is thanks to the ceaseless efforts of the workers, both men and women, the engineers, the research and talents of all who worked on the construction of the aeroplanes in the Soviet Union, that made it possible for our airforce to organize,with thousands of excellent fighter planes, the smashing of our enemy.

Comrade pilots, navigation officers and ground workers, radio and motor, weapon maintainers, mechanics, technicians and
engineers,officers and generals, workers, administration and construction, in the aeroplane industry!

I greet you and congratulate you on this celebration day of the airforce! To celebrate this day of the airforce, and to honour our brave pilots, I order:

Today, August 19, at 20.00 hours, in the capital city of our Motherland, in Moscow, in the name of our homeland, our heroic airforce shall be saluted with 20 artillery shots from 224 canons. J. Stalin

("On the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union," German Edition)