Background
Alexander Koldunov was born on September 20, 1923 in Monastyrshchinsky raion, Smolensk Oblast, Russia.
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Alexander Koldunov
Edit Profilemilitary leader chief marshal of the aviation
Education
Alexander Koldunov graduated from the Kacha Military Aviation School (1943), Air Force Academy (1952) and Military Academy of the General Staff (1960).
Career
He was the eighth highest ranking Soviet fighter ace of the 1941-1945 period. Koldunov joined the Soviet Army in February 1941. During the Great Patriotic War since May 1943 served in the Air Force of the acting army: in the South-West and 3rd Ukrainian fronts; participated in the air battles in the Donbass, Izyum-Barvenkovo, Nikopol–Krivoi Rog, Jassy–Kishinev, Budapest, Belgrade and Vienna operations.
Pilot, flight commander, second in command, and since June 1944 squadron commander of the 866th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 288th Fighter Aviation Division of the 17th Air Force. Since August 1944 fought on the personalized plane Yak3 with the inscription «From Bogachenko G. A., a collective farmer».
On 7 November 1944 he was held responsible for the shooting down of three United States Army Air Force P-38 Lightnings of the 82nd Fighter Group, 15th Air Force in a "friendly fire" incident near Belgrade. In that episode he was defending a column of soviet troops on the ground that came under United States planes" attack.
However, according to Yugoslavian sources (newspaper "Politica" from November,19,1988) citing Yugoslavian eyewitness reports in their article, the overall outcome of this "friendly fire" incident was as following: United States AirForce lost 7 planes (2 "Mitchell" bombers and 5 P-38 "Lightning" fighters), 14 American crew members were killed while Soviets lost 3 Yak-3 fighters (no pilots killed).
Also on the ground 31 Soviet troops were killed (including the commander of the infantry brigade general General Practice Kotov) and 37 Russian officers and soldiers were wounded. He was awarded Hero of the Soviet Union in August 1944.
By the end of the war Captain Koldunov had flown 412 operations, fought 96 air combats and claimed 46 air victories (and 1 shared).
In the post-war period, in 1952-55, commander of the Fighter Aviation Regiment, in 1955-58 – of the Fighter Aviation Division.
Remaining in military service after the War he transferred from the Soviet Air Force to the Soviet Air Defence Force in the early 1960s.Since July 1960 second in command, since January 1962 aviation commander of the Baku Air Defence District. Since July 1968 commander of the Independent Air Defence Army of the Far Eastern Military District.
Koldunov was appointed as the Commander of the Moscow Air Defence District in November 1970.
After a promotion to Colonel-General in 1972, in December 1975 Koldunov became the First Deputy Chief of Defence Forces. In 1977 he was promoted to Marshal of Aviation and the following year Koldunov was appointed to command the entire Air Defence Force. In 1984 he was promoted to Chief Marshal of Aviation, one of only a handful of officers to hold this very senior rank.
Koldunov was dismissed in May 1987 after Mathias Rust, a civilian German pilot flew from Finland to Moscow and landed in Red Square. In 1987–92 in the Group of Inspectors General of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union.
Koldunov died on 7 June 1992 and was buried at Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.
Achievements
Membership
References
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Born
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Died
June 7, 1992 (aged 68) -
Nationality
Russia -
Political Party
Communist Party of the Soviet Union