Mongolian Arat squadron information

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Russian. (November 2022) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the Russian article. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Russian Wikipedia article at [[:ru:Монгольский арат]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|ru|Монгольский арат}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Mongolian Arat Air Squadron
A Lavochkin La-5F in the markings of the squadron, with the «Монгольский арат» nose art of the squadron.
Active	1925-1945
Disbanded	1945
Country	Soviet Union
Branch	Soviet Air Forces

The Mongolian Arat squadron (Russian: эскадрилья «Монгольский арат», romanized: Eskadrilya «Mongolski arat», lit. 'Mongolian Herdsman Air Squadron') was a fighter squadron in the Soviet Air Force, funded by contributions from the Mongolian People's Republic, that was operational during World War II. The Mongolian word "ard" (ард) means "people", but was malapropriated in Russian and other languages as "Arat" (арат) to mean a nomadic pastoralist or herdsman.

In March 1943, following the presentation of the "Revolutionary Mongolia" tank brigade to the Red Army, the Little Khural (parliament) of Mongolia, under Gonchigiin Bumtsend, announced its intention to fund a fighter squadron within the Soviet Air Force.^[1] The squadron was given 12 Lavochkin La-5 fighters in a formal ceremony and formed part of the 2nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment [ru].^[2] Despite its name, the pilots and personnel of the unit were Russian rather than Mongolian.

The Squadron's commander, Aleksandr Ivanovich Maiorov [ru], was awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union medal.