Koldunov, Alexander Ivanovich

Born in the family of an employee. Russian. He graduated from high school in the city of Elektrougli, Moscow Region . He studied at the flying club in Reutov .

In the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army since 1941 . During the Great Patriotic War in March 1943 he graduated from the Kachinsky Red Banner Military Aviation School named after Myasnikov . He was assigned to a reserve aviation regiment, but managed to achieve enrollment in the army. Since May 1943, as a pilot of the 594th Assault Aviation Regiment at the front. The first victory was won on June 21, 1943 over the Seversky Donets River . He quickly gained a combat score and also quickly grew in positions: for several months of 1943 he was a junior pilot, pilot, flight commander, deputy commander of a fighter squadron. From the autumn of 1943 until the end of the war, he commanded a squadron. The most distinguished in such operations of the war as the battle of the Dnieper , the liberation of the Right-Bank Ukraine , the Iasi-Chisinau operation , the Budapest operation , the liberation of Romania , Bulgaria , Yugoslavia , Hungary , Czechoslovakia and Austria .

By early May 1944, the commander of the squadron of the 866th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 288th Fighter Aviation Division of the 17th Air Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, Captain Koldunov made 223 sorties, conducted 45 air battles, personally shot down 15 enemy aircraft and 1 in group. For these exploits, on August 2, 1944, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Captain A. Koldunov was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union with the awarding of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal .

Over the years of the war, Koldunov made 412 sorties, conducted 96 air battles, during which he personally shot down 46 enemy aircraft and 1 as part of a group. Three years later, as part of a group awarded on the anniversary of the Soviet Army, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated February 23, 1948, Major A. I. Koldunov was awarded the second Golden Star medal , becoming twice Hero of the Soviet Union .

Also on the account of Koldunov was one battle against American aviation ^[2] . On November 7, 1944, in the region of the city of Niš in Yugoslavia, two groups (a total of 27 aircraft) of the American P-38 Lightning aircraft mistakenly attacked a convoy of Soviet troops , 12 Soviet soldiers and officers were killed, including the commander of the 6th Guards Rifle Corps of the Guard Lieutenant General G.P. Kotov . To reflect the raid, 9 fighters were led, led by Koldunov. At the risk of his life, Koldunov approached American planes, showing them red stars on the fuselage, but was shot at, and two Soviet planes were shot down. In response fire 3 (according to Soviet data) or 2 (according to American data ^[3] ) US planes were shot down, including one Koldunov shot down. In the end, he still managed to achieve the cessation of the battle by putting his plane literally in the face of the leading group of Americans. Then there was a great diplomatic scandal, the Americans admitted the mistake and apologized, but the shot down American planes were not counted for our pilots. According to an unconfirmed opinion, in 1948 he received the second star of the Hero just for the downed Americans ^[4] .

Throughout the war he flew on fighters A.S. Yakovlev . Twice he was slightly injured, returned several times on a damaged plane, but was not shot down. Included in the top ten most productive Soviet fighters during the Great Patriotic War .

He continued his service in the fighter aircraft of the Air Force . In 1952 he graduated from the Air Force Academy in Monino . He commanded a fighter aviation regiment, a fighter aviation division. In 1960 he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff . He was transferred to the Air Defense Forces, served for several years in the Baku Air Defense District , was deputy commander and commander of fighter aircraft in the district, first deputy commander of the district’s troops. Since July 1968 - commander of the 11th separate air defense army (Far East).

Since November 1970 - Commander of the Moscow Air Defense District. Since December 1975 - First Deputy Commander- in - Chief of the Air Defense Forces of the country . Since July 28, 1978 - Commander-in-Chief of the USSR Air Defense Forces. On October 31, 1984, A. I. Koldunov was awarded the military rank of Chief Marshal of Aviation ( Marshal of Aviation since 1977 , Colonel General of Aviation since 1972 ).

Dismissed on June 11, 1987 after the scandalous flight of the German pilot Matthias Rust to Moscow and his landing on Vasilyevsky Descent , near Red Square . During this flight, anti-aircraft weapons were found by the aircraft; fighters were repeatedly sent to it. However, an attack on a slow-moving sports aircraft was not made.

V. M. Kraskovsky , commander of the Soviet missile and anti-space defense forces (1986-1991), many years later expressed the opinion that Marshal Koldunov “would not have stopped before taking the most extreme measures” if he had learned about the incident in a timely manner ^[5] .

Member of the CPSU (b) since 1944. A candidate member of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1971-1976. Member of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1981-1990. Member of the Council of Nationalities of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR 9-11 convocations (1974-1989) from the Turkmen SSR .

He lived in Moscow . He died on June 7, 1992. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery .

• Junior lieutenant (03.30.1943).
• Lieutenant (09/23/1943).
• Senior lieutenant (02.15.1944).
• Captain (05/21/1944).
• Major (04/09/1945).
• Lieutenant Colonel (05/06/1949).
• Colonel (12/30/1952).
• Major General of Aviation (12/07/1957).
• Lieutenant General of Aviation (06.16.1965).
• Colonel General of Aviation (02.22.1971).
• Marshal of Aviation (10.28.1977).
• Chief Marshal of Aviation (10.31.1984).

• Twice Hero of the Soviet Union (08/02/1944; 02/23/1948);
• Three Orders of Lenin (08/02/1944; 02/18/1981; 02/19/1986);
• six orders of the Red Banner (09/08/1943; 01/30/1944; 04/29/1944; 04/29/1957; 02/22/1968; 09/19/1973);
• Order of Alexander Nevsky (09/20/1944);
• two orders of World War I degree (03/06/1945; 03/11/1985);
• Order of the Red Star (12/30/1956);
• Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" III degree (04/30/1975);
• USSR medals ;
• foreign orders and medals;
• Lenin Prize ( 1984 ).

• A bronze bust of twice Hero of the Soviet Union is installed in the village of Monastyrshchina .
• Honorary Citizen of Smolensk ( 1982 ).
• The name of A. I. Koldunov was assigned to school No. 30 of the city of Elektrougli .
• The name of A. I. Koldunov is one of the streets of the city of Balashikha .
• The name of A. I. Koldunov is carried by the Boeing 767-300ER of the Russian airline Icarus, registration number VP-BOY.

• List of aces pilots of World War II .

• Koldunov, Alexander Ivanovich (Russian) . Site " Heroes of the country ".
• Article about A. I. Koldunov (inaccessible link) .
• Biography of A.I. Koldunov and the story of aerial combat with the Americans .
• A detailed story about the fight with the Americans .
• The circumstances of the removal of A. I. Koldunov from the post of Commander .