181st Missile Regiment

181-й ракетный полк

Military Unit: 32157

Activated 15.5.53 in Kapustin Yar, Astrakhan Oblast, as the 3rd Launch Battalion of the 80th Engineer Brigade RVGK.

10.53 transferred to Belokorovichi, Zhitomir Oblast.

4.59 renamed 181st Engineer Regiment RVGK, attached to the 80th Engineer Brigade RVGK - later transferred to Lipniki, Zhitomir Oblast.

From 5.60 attached to the 80th Missile Brigade, and from 5.61 the 50th Missile Division.

1.7.61 renamed 181st Missile Regiment.

Organisation:

1.7.62 renamed 539th Missile Regiment for operations in Cuba (Operation Anadyr).

On September 1st, 1962, the regiment stood down, and was relocated to Cuba (Operation Anadyr), and took over the San Cristobál I and II sites in Cuba, under the 51st Missile Division. The two battalions went on alert duty on 25.10.62.

Reformed 10.10.62 in Belokorovichi, Zhitomir Oblast, from the 688th Missile Regiment (42nd Missile Division).

4.1.63 absorbed the 539th Missile Regiment (the old 181st Missile Regiment).

The three battalions stood down in 1984.

The regiment went on alert duty 1985 with 9 RSD-10 Pioner-K (15P645K) (SS-20) missiles (missiles from the 8th Missile Division).

The regiment stood down in 1990, and was disbanded 6.90.

US designation 1960-1984: Usovo MRBM complex (Ovruch 1 & 2, and Lipniki launch sites). Type I and II (pad) sites [Lipniki is a Type II site].

Ovruch launch site 1 with 4 R-12 pads (51 17 26N, 28 16 28E):

Ovruch launch site 2 with 4 R-12 pads (51 18 34N, 28 10 26E):

Lipniki launch site with 4 R-12 sites (51 12 18N, 28 26 28E):

Two alternative fixed field sites for the pad launchers, were set up at Luginy (51 07 53N, 28 22 08E) and Bolsuny (51 07 06N, 28 27 18E), but both appeared to be inactive by 1967.

Usovo Mobile IRBM Base 1 (1985-1991 RSD-10 missiles) (51 12 18N, 28 26 28E):

San Cristobál I launch site (Cuba, 1962) (22 40 00N, 83 16 60W):

No drawing.

San Cristobál II launch site (Cuba, 1962) (22 40 57N, 83 15 01W):

No drawing.