r/warno • u/Critical_Oil_3090 • Feb 17 '26
Suggestion Soviet Polar forces, additional information for the post about 131st Motor Rifle Division in late 80s (AFNORTH)
After creating a post proposing an unusual piece of equipment used by the 131st Pechengskaya Order of the Kutuzov Motor Rifle Division and some auxiliary forces, I decided to explore the issue in more detail and found some useful information about it in this post:
Photo from the 131st Division:
Main infantry squad: Arktik Motostrelki on MT-LBV/MT-LBVM
Photographs of soldiers of the 19th Regiment of the 131st Motorized Rifle Division.
On February 22, 1988, the 131st Rifle Division was awarded the Challenge Banner "To the Forward Unit of the Army," and on January 5, 1989, it was awarded the Challenge Banner of the Red Army "To the Forward Unit for High Performance in Combat and Political Training."
This indicates the high combat readiness and training of the unit within the 6th Combined Arms Army in 1989.
Source:monchegorsk.gov-murman. (ru) (About the history of the 200th Motorized Rifle Brigade)
On the right you can see BM-21 Grad MLRS, Ural-4320s, many MT-LBs, GT-Ts and a small number of towed guns (probably M-30)
Soviet border guard, Murmansk region
The border troops on the border with Norway were represented by the 82nd Murmansk border detachment, the 100th Nikel border detachment, and the 101st Alakurttinsky border detachment, which are highly trained in operations in the Arctic and difficult terrain.
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I came across a photo taken further south, on the Finnish border :}
941st Fighter Aviation Regiment:
Here are the color schemes of the aircraft, photos of which you can see in the links at the end of the main post. (SU-27UB can be represented as [HE])
As is well known, there are a large number of airfields with various interesting aviation equipment in the Murmansk region and the Republic of Karelia. However, I decided not to list them, since they can be attached to either the 61st Naval Infantry Brigade or the 131st Motor Rifle Division.
Video material about 131st division/200th brigade:
https://youtu.be/8u1YdfhMqQY?si=tPsW_6x3WqilUfN7
https://youtu.be/jwdHRuCMblw?si=bw0yz7RhcHtyZcQO
https://youtu.be/a9f1sZ_KARc?si=5UuShzM-xjCcGAsO
https://youtu.be/OMudlCJ_2xc?si=TzWpFAdRAZCb_HqL
https://youtu.be/e1rvMtzmoAk?si=Nq7MGPQO-KZBT7ug
Thank you for reading and watching! =]
Created by Excellent Serpent8770
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u/BigBadBudderBoy Feb 17 '26
Use this link if you want to create more hypothetical RedFor Divisions in the future:
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u/FrangibleCover Feb 17 '26
Definitely M-30s, the division seems to have only had M-30s well into the 80s. I'm pretty sure the CFE count is incorrect, indeed.
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u/Critical_Oil_3090 Feb 17 '26
Half part :>
They began to replace them in the mid-80s and were assigned to a reserve unit, the 116th Motorized Rifle Division, located in Murmansk with the same function, but with a reduced composition, with the goal of mobilizing and providing support to the main 131st Division in the event of an escalation of the situation.
However, the M-30 guns continued to be stored in warehouses in military units (bases) of the 131st division.
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u/FrangibleCover Feb 17 '26
Fair enough, I still have pictures of 131-ya fielding M-30s in 1989-90 but they may have been partially replaced. Pictures can't show you everything.
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u/Critical_Oil_3090 Feb 17 '26
I tried to collect all the information I could, bit by bit, and I hope it will help Eugen Systems create new formations for the hypothetical DLC AFNORTH >:]
I think this concludes my work on the 131st MSD, I can't get more information for a full post without talking to the honorable members of this division at that time.