Aviation Division
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. Continue reading
Borovykh Andrey Egorovich
Andrei Borovykh was born in Kursk on October 30, 1921 under the sign of Scorpio, who guarded his fate, as well as the fate of the relative majority of aces born under this constellation. He graduated from 7 classes, worked as a driver, after which a strong and intelligent young man was admitted to the Chuguev Military Pilot School, renamed in March 1941 into the Chuguev Military Aviation School, from which he graduated in the same year.
Despite the objections of the cadet, he was left at the school as an instructor, and the instructors always left the best of the best. Continue reading
The Great Patriotic War
The Great Patriotic War caught P.Ya. Golovachev near Iasi. He flew to attack the enemy troops on the I-16. On the second day of the war, he shot down his first plane – “Me-109”, but he himself was wounded.
In October 1941, he was transferred to the 69th Odessa Aviation Regiment under the command of Hero of the Soviet Union L.L. Shestakova.
Fought in the skies of Stalingrad. On “LaGG-3” he shot down several enemy aircraft. After the Battle of Stalingrad, he was appointed flight commander. Continue reading
