Anatoly Ustinovich Konstantinov (; 12 June 1923 – 22 October 2006) was a senior military officer who served as commander of the Moscow Air Defence District from 1980 to 1987. During World War II, he was a fighter pilot and a

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

for which he was awarded the title

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...

Early life

Konstantinov was born in 1923 into a working-class family of Russian ethnicity. He graduated from nine classes of high school and later joined a

flying club A flying club or aero club is a non-profit organization, not-for-profit, member-run organization that provides its members with affordable access to aircraft. Many clubs also provide flight training, flight planning facilities, pilot supplies and ...

Military career

In 1940, he was called up for military service on a

Komsomol The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, usually known as Komsomol, was a political youth organization in the Soviet Union. It is sometimes described as the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), although it w ...

ticket to the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

. He graduated from the

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

Military Aviation School of Pilots in 1941 and was assigned to 8th Reserve Fighter Aviation Regiment near

Saratov Saratov ( , ; , ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River. Saratov had a population of 901,361, making it the List of cities and tow ...

World War II

Konstantinov took part in the battles at the Eastern Front from August 1941. He served as a pilot, flight commander and commander of a fighter squadron in the 85th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, and flew missions mostly in the

Yak-1 The Yakovlev Yak-1 () was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. The Yak-1 was a single-seat monoplane with a composite structure and wooden wings; production began in early 1940.Angelucci and Matricardi 1978, p. 239. The Yak-1 was a man ...

Yak-9 The Yakovlev Yak-9 (; NATO reporting name: Frank) is a single-engine, single-seat multipurpose fighter aircraft used by the Soviet Union and its allies during World War II and the early Cold War. It was a development of the robust and successful ...

and

Yak-3 The Yakovlev Yak-3 ( Russian: Яковлев Як-3) is a single-engine, single-seat World War II Soviet fighter. Robust and easy to maintain, it was much liked by both pilots and ground crew.Glancey 2006, p. 180. One of the smallest and lighte ...

. He took part in the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad ; see . rus, links=on, Сталинградская битва, r=Stalingradskaya bitva, p=stəlʲɪnˈɡratskəjə ˈbʲitvə. (17 July 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, ...

and Crimean offensive, and in liberation of

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and

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, while assigned to the Southern, 1st Ukrainian, 2nd Ukrainian and

4th Ukrainian Front The 4th Ukrainian Front () was the name of two distinct Red Army strategic army groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The front was first formed on 20 October 1943, by renaming the Southern Front and was involved in the Lower ...

s. He joined the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

in 1943. He flew escort missions for

Il-2 The Ilyushin Il-2 (Russian language, Russian: Илью́шин Ил-2) is a Ground attack aircraft, ground-attack plane that was produced by the Soviet Union in large numbers during the World War II, Second World War. The word ''shturmovík'' (C ...

attack aircraft, which, under his cover, had suffered no losses from enemy aircraft. By February 1945, he flew 294 sorties and took part in 90 air battles, where he personally shot down 19 enemy aircraft. For these exploits, he was presented for the title of

. The corresponding decree of the Presidium of the

Supreme Soviet of the USSR The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (SSUSSR) was the highest body of state authority of the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1936 to 1991. Based on the principle of unified power, it was the only branch of government in the S ...

was signed only on 15 May 1946. He continued to fly missions until

V-E Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations ...

. By the end of the war, he flew 327 sorties and took part in 96 air battles, and personally shot down 22 enemy aircraft. He was wounded several times and once managed to make an emergency landing of his damaged aircraft.

Post war

After the war, he served as commander of an aviation squadron and deputy commander of a fighter aviation regiment. From November 1952, he commanded a fighter aviation regiment and from February 1956, he was appointed as deputy commander and from March 1957, commander of a fighter aviation division in the Air Force. In April 1958, he was transferred to the

Soviet Air Defence Forces The Soviet Air Defence Forces (; ) was the air defence branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Formed in 1941, it continued being a service branch of the Russian Armed Forces after 1991 until it was merged into the Air Force in 1998. Unlike Western ...

, where he also became the commander of an aviation division. In 1964 he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff and from 1968, he commanded an air defense corps. In December 1970, he was appointed as commander of the 11th Separate Red Banner Air Defense Army in

Khabarovsk Khabarovsk ( ) is the largest city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China–Russia border, at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri Rivers, about north of Vladivostok. As of the 2021 Russian c ...

and from 1973, he commanded the

Baku Air Defence District Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

and in 1980, he was appointed as commander of the Moscow Air Defence District. In 1982, he graduated from the higher academic courses at the Military Academy of the General Staff and was awarded the military rank of

Marshal of Aviation Marshal of the branch (or "marshal of the branch of service"; ) was from 1943 to 1974 the designation to a separate rank class in the general officer's rank group of the former Soviet Union's armed forces. However, at that time, marshal of ...

on 30 April 1985. In 1987, he, Soviet Minister of Defense Sergey Sokolov and hundreds of other officers were dismissed by

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

as a result of the

Mathias Rust Mathias Rust (born 1 June 1968) is a German aviator known for his flight that ended with a landing near Red Square in Moscow on 28 May 1987. Then a teenage amateur pilot, he flew from Helsinki, Finland, to Moscow, without authorization. Accordi ...

affair. From 1987 till the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

in 1991, he served as the military inspector and adviser of the Group of Inspectors General of the USSR Ministry of Defense. He retired from military service in May 1992. Konstantinov was a member of the Central Auditing Commission of the CPSU from 1981 to 1986, candidate member of the

Central Committee of the CPSU The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the Central committee, highest organ of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) between Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Congresses. Elected by the ...

from 1986 to 1989 and deputy from

Ryazan Oblast Ryazan Oblast (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Ryazan, which is also the oblast's largest city. Geography Ryazan Oblast ...

at the

Soviet of the Union The Soviet of the Union (, ''Sovet Soyuza''; , ''İttifaqı Soveti''; ; , Moldovan Cyrillic: ; ; ; ; ; , ''Bileleşigiň Geňeşi''; ) was the lower chamber of the Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, elected on the b ...

during 9th to 11th convocations from 1974 to 1989.

Later life

In the last years of his life, he served as an adviser to the commander of the

Special Purpose Command The Special Purpose Command (Russian: Командование Специального Назначения Latin:''Komandovaniye Spetsialnogo Naznacheniya'') was a formation of the Russian Air Force, the strongest among the tactical aviation an ...

of the

Russian Air Force The Russian Air Force () is a branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the latter being formed on 1 August 2015 with the merging of the Russian Air Force and the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the reb ...

. Konstantinov died on 22 October 2006, at the age of 83. He was buried at the

Troyekurovskoye Cemetery The Troyekurovo Cemetery (), alternatively known as ''Novo-Kuntsevo Cemetery'' (), is a cemetery in Moscow, Russia. The cemetery is located in the former village of Troyekurovo on the western edge of Moscow, which derives its name from the Troye ...

Awards and decorations

;USSR and Russia *jubilee medals *Honorary citizen of

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

;Foreign *Honorary citizen of

Židlochovice Židlochovice (; ) is a town in Brno-Country District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,700 inhabitants. Etymology According to one theory, the name is derived from Old Czech word ''židlina'', meaning 'swamp'. Acc ...

(

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Konstantinov, Anatoly 1923 births 2006 deaths Members of the Central Auditing Commission of the 26th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Candidates of the Central Committee of the 27th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Alexander Nevsky Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class Recipients of the Medal of Zhukov Recipients of the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", 3rd class Recipients of the Medal "For Distinction in Guarding the State Border of the USSR" Recipients of the Silver Cross of Merit (Poland) Military personnel from Moscow Soviet military personnel of World War II Russian people of World War II Soviet World War II flying aces Soviet Air Force marshals Ninth convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Tenth convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Eleventh convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni Soviet Air Defence Force officers