Air March

The "Aviators March" (Russian: Авиамарш) also known as the "March of the Pilots" (Russian: Марш авиаторов) is a Soviet military march published in the spring of 1923 that currently serves as the organizational anthem of the Russian Aerospace Forces.^[1] It formerly served as the organizational anthem of the Soviet Air Force.^[2] The music to the march was composed by Yuli Khayt [ru], while its lyrics were written by Pavel Herman. A German version with the same melody called "Das Berliner Jungarbeiterlied" was used up until the end of the Second World War.^[3][4][5] It is part of the repertoire of Russian military bands and is frequently performed at Victory Day Parades in Moscow and throughout the former Soviet Union. The melody to the march was used during World War II in Yugoslav Macedonia in a song titled "In the struggle, the Macedonian people!" (Macedonian: Во борба, македонски народе!).

The melody was borrowed by German Communists in early 1920s and used with German lyrics. Later, German Nazis in turn borrowed the melody, changed only a couple of chords and wrote their own lyrics to the song. The new march under the title "Herbei zum Kampf" also known under the title "Das Berliner Jungarbeiterlied" ^[6] was used by the SA since 1929.

In pro-Soviet East Germany, the march was used from the late 1950s with the original Soviet music (not the Nazi version) and new German lyrics dedicated to the Soviet (not East German) Air Force.