412 sorties
On September 20, 1923, in the village of Moshchinovo, Smolensk province, a Soviet fighter pilot, ace, military and statesman, Twice Hero of the Soviet Union, the most productive ace among those who fought on Yak fighters, Air Chief Marshal Alexander Ivanovich Koldunov, was born.
In 1931 he came to Moscow with his parents. He graduated from the 10th grade of secondary school No. 26 and the flying club in Reutov. From 1940 to February 1941, Koldunov worked as an apprentice turner at a factory.
In the Red Army since 1941. In 1943, Alexander Ivanovich graduated from the Kachinsky military aviation school for pilots, then underwent retraining in a reserve aviation regiment.
Member of the Great Patriotic War: in June 1943 – May 1945 – senior pilot, flight commander, deputy commander and squadron commander of the 866th Fighter Aviation Regiment. Fought on the Southwestern and 3rd Ukrainian fronts. Alexander Koldunov participated in the Battle of Kursk, the liberation of the Left-Bank and Right-Bank Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Hungary.
By the beginning of May 1944, the squadron commander of the 866th Fighter Aviation Regiment (288th Fighter Aviation Division, 17th Air Army, 3rd Ukrainian Front), Captain A.I. 15 and in group 1 enemy aircraft.
For these exploits, on August 2, 1944, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Captain Koldunov A.I. He was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.
During the war years, Koldunov was slightly wounded twice, but was never shot down. Alexander Ivanovich Koldunov is one of the ten most productive Soviet fighters and is in first place among those who fought on the Yaks. In 1952 he graduated from the Air Force Academy (Monino). From May 1952 he commanded a fighter aviation regiment, from May 1955 to 1958 – commander of a fighter aviation division.
In 1960 he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR. From July 1960 – Deputy Commander, from January 1962 – Commander of Aviation of the Baku Air Defense District. From August 1965 – First Deputy Commander of the Baku Air Defense District. Since July 1968 – Commander of the Separate Air Defense Army of the Far Eastern Military District. In November 1970 – December 1975 – commander of the troops of the Moscow District #Air Defense. October 28, 1977 Alexander Koldunov was awarded the title of Air Marshal. From December 1975 – 1st Deputy Commander-in-Chief, and in July 1978 – June 1987 – Commander-in-Chief of the country’s Air Defense Forces – Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR.
In 1978-1987, he was simultaneously Commander of the Air Defense Forces and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Joint Armed Forces of the States Parties to the Warsaw Pact. Koldunov was removed from his position after the scandalous flight of Rust in a light plane and his landing at the Kremlin in Moscow. From June 1987 – Inspector General of the Group of General Inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense. From January 1992 Air Chief Marshal A.I. Koldunov is retired.
