History of JSC “558 Aircraft Repair Plant” started right upon the outbreak of Great Patriotic War: from 24 June, 1941 till 23 July, 1941 following the order of South-West front Commander in the 8th Air Force the 38th Mobile Railway Aircraft Repair Workshops were set up under storage No.2 of People’s Commissariat of Defense in the city of Kharkov receiving the conventional name of Military Unit No. 21951. Vladimir Rostislavov, skilled and experienced specialist, 3 rank engineer was appointed as executive officer of the 38th Mobile Railway Aircraft Repair Workshops
Repositioning by rail, the Workshops were supposed to be located near the front line in order to carry out the repair of combat-damaged aircraft. But on the ground of absence of required rolling equipment (apart from 3 railcars) on 1 August, 1941 following the Order of Air Force Headquarters of South-West Military District the workshops became a part of the 257th stationary air workshops in the city of Kharkov and being a part of the 257th stationary air workshops they were removed to the city of Uriupinsk (Stalingrad region) on 1 October. Upon arrival at base the repair workshops were located on the territory of state horse stables which were retooled for production premises and workshops:
Based on Decree of UERTU of the Air Forces of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army No. 386 and the Order of Repair department of South-West front line Air Force Headquarters dated 26 October, 1941, the 257th stationary air workshops were redeployed to Sorochinsk (Chkalov region), and the 38th Mobile Railway Aircraft Repair Workshops stayed in Uriupinsk started functioning as an independent combat unit.
Since 16 November 38th Mobile Railway Aircraft Repair Workshops were engaged in repair of Su-2 light bomber, Y-2 aircraft, M-88 and M-11 motors of the 8th Air Army of South-West front line. For the time of combat performance in Uriupinsk, in less than a year, the workshop-related personnel reactivated 151 aircraft and 143 aviation engines.
For the prompt recommission of combat-damaged aircraft in January 1942 the workshops were reorganized into repair brigades of type PARM-3 and moved to Leninsk (Stalingrad region) for carrying out of aircraft repair work at field aerodromes and airfields.
Following the instruction No. 4596 of the Red Army Air Force Commander dated 11 July, 1942 the 38th Mobile Railway Aircraft Repair Workshops were redeployed by two railway trains from Uriupinsk over the Volga to the station named Bezymjannaya (Saratov region). The workshops were provided with a special aircraft repair train for allocation of all the technical equipment, tools and personnel. Since that moment the workshops have become fully consistent with their name and purpose - to be as close to their units as possible in order to provide for the prompt recovery of aircraft damaged in combat. In this train the 38 Mobile Aircraft Repair Workshops followed their battle route from Stalingrad to East Prussia over the remaining period of the Great Patriotic War.
In the second half of 1942, when the Battle of Stalingrad began, apart from Su-2 and Po-2 aircraft and their engines, the workshops started to repair IL-2 ground attack aircraft, Hurricane fighters, and AM-38, Merlin XX, M-82 engines.
A team of aircraft repairmen on the Stalingrad front accomplished the invaluable work in the fight for the new lease of life of disabled, half-burnt aircraft - literally rising from the ashes, they rushed back to the sky to fight the enemy.
All the personnel of the workshops were awarded the Medal "For the Defense of Stalingrad” for performing tasks on repair of aviation materiel on the Stalingrad front.
In 1943 the situation changed. The front was moving quickly to the West. In February the workshops were relocated to Afrosimovskiy crossing point, in May - to Proletarskaya station, in October - to Donetsk.
On the Commander’s initiative the 38th Mobile Railway Aircraft Repair Workshops were located in combat regiments for the prompt restoration of aircraft in the field.
After the liberation of the Crimea the 38th Mobile Railway Aircraft Repair Workshops were transferred to join the 3rd Belorussian Front and relocated in July 1944 to Yelnya station in Smolensk region where they participated in the Bagration operation to liberate Belarus. At the beginning of 1944 there was an order received of relocation to Kaunas of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic to join the 1st Air Army. In April 1945 the unit was relocated to Gumbinnen (now Gusev, Kaliningrad region), and here it continued its combat engagement in restoration of aircraft until the end of the Great Patriotic War.
During the wartime the unit personnel restored 286 aircraft of various types which is equivalent to the number of 8-9 air regiments, repaired 1285 aircraft engines of various types.
On April 5, 1945 the 38th Mobile Railway Aircraft Repair Workshops were awarded the Order of the Red Star by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR for combat services during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. 107 persons were highly decorated. All the personnel were awarded the Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945”.
In August 1945 the workshops were relocated to Novoelnya, Grodno region, and joined the 26th Air Army. From May 1953 the permanent location of the unit is Baranovichi, Brest region.
56 Ilyushin Il-10 aircraft were overhauled from 1953 to 1956. The workshop staff successfully learned overhaul of MiG-15 and MiG-17 jet fighters in 1956.
On October 15, 1958 by the order of the Air Force Commander the 38th Order of the Red Star Mobile Railway Workshops became a part of Aircraft Repair Base and were awarded name the “32nd Order of the Red Star Military Base” with subordination to the 26th Air Army. In the same year the military base was relocated from railway cars to the new production space in the area existing nowadays. Now it can be seen that the “railway period” which lasted 17 years was finished. After accommodation at a new location the personnel of the base began to master the overhaul of the first Soviet tactical bomber Il-28.
In connection with the transfer to the staff of the aviation base and the assignment of a new name ("32nd Order of the Red Star Military Base") on February 14, 1961 the banner of the unit was placed in the custody at the Central Museum of the Soviet Army, and the Order of the Red Star was handed over to in the Main Personnel Directorate of the USSR Ministry of Defense.
In 1961 the plant mastered the repair of Tu-16 long-range bombers. In the space of 2,5 years 62 aircraft were repaired and handed over to the operational units. Simultaneously with Tu-16 overhaul the base started the assembly of Su-7 supersonic fighters. In two years 180 aircraft were assembled and handed over to the operational units.
On the 15th of June, 1963, according to the order of Ministry of Defense of the USSR, the unit was withdrawn from subordination of the Air Force and started overhaul of missiles, getting the name of the “558 Order of the Red Star Missile Repair Plant”. Later, on the 10th of March, 1966 it was re-subordinated to the Commander of the 26th Air Army, becoming the “558 Order of the Red Star Aircraft Repair Plant”.
The Air Force Command recognized the value of personnel’s effort. In February 1970 all personnel were awarded Diploma of the Council of Ministers of USSR and All-Union Central Trade Union Council in All-Soviet Union festival on upgrading of production practices. On the 9th of April, 1970 the enterprise was entitled as “Enterprise of good manufacturing practice”. In December 1980 by the decision of Air Force Commander and Presidium of the Central Committee of plant’s labor organization the plant was entitled as “Exemplary enterprise of Air Forces”. Every year since 1981 till 1985 the plant took the first place in competition among aircraft repair enterprises of Soviet Union.
In January 2009 the enterprise was reorganized into Joint Stock Company “558 Aircraft Repair Plant”.
In December 2010 JSC “558 ARP” established a structure for the design and manufacture of unmanned aerial vehicles.
Since 2015 work has been underway to make JSC «558 ARP» a second-tier contractor of the aircraft enterprises of the international aerospace complex. So in 2017 a new workshop with area of 2160 m² was commissioned, equipped with modern machinery, enabling the manufacture of parts of various complexity and nomenclature from aluminum and titanium alloys, structural, heat-resistant and stainless steels. Today the total area of main manufacturing areas, equipped with machine tools and process equipment, is more than 13 000,0 m². The equipment stock has more than 30 NC machines and more than 40 items of general-purposel equipment.
On July 2, 2019 at the facilities of JSC “558 Aircraft Repair Plant” in Baranovichi there was a solemn ceremony of handing over the Colours from the Central Museum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, a copy of the Certificate of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet and the Order Book, and a duplicate of the Order of the Red Star to JSC “558 Aircraft Repair Plant”. From now on, the relics transferred by the Russian party are kept in the museum of JSC “558 ARP”.
