Filipp Aleksandrovich Agaltsov (; 20 January 1900 – 29 June 1980) was a

Soviet Air Force The Soviet Air Forces (, VVS SSSR; literally "Military Air Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics"; initialism VVS, sometimes referred to as the "Red Air Force") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Sovie ...

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 ...

and a

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 ...

. Agaltsov commanded

Long-Range Aviation Long Range Aviation may refer to the following: * Soviet Long Range Aviation, the branch of the Soviet Air Force responsible for long-range nuclear or conventional strikes by aircraft, until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 * Ukrainian L ...

between 1962 and 1969, his highest post.

Early life and Russian Civil War

Filipp Aleksandrovich Agaltsov was born on 20 January 1900 in the village of Soldatskoye (now Yefremovsky District,

Tula Oblast Tula Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an Oblasts of Russia, oblast) of Russia. It is geographically located in European Russia and is administratively part of the Central Federal District, covering an area of . It has a ...

). Graduating from the village school in 1912, he worked as an assistant machinist at the Obukhov Factory in

Petrograd Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

. Conscripted into 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 ...

in July 1919 during the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

, Agaltsov served as a machine gunner in the 1st Separate Communist Battalion from July 1919 to June 1920, fighting in the suppression of the revolt in Karelia. Between June and November 1920 he served as commander of a machine gun squad in the

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (14 February 1919 – 18 March 1921) was fought primarily between the Second Polish Republic and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, following World War I and the Russian Revolution. After the collapse ...

Interwar period

Until 1923, Agaltsov continued to serve in the infantry. in 1925 he graduated from the Kiev Military-Political School and until 1929 served in political positions in infantry units. In 1932 he graduated from the Military-Political Academy. Agaltsov transferred to the

Soviet Air Forces The Soviet Air Forces (, VVS SSSR; literally "Military Air Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics"; initialism VVS, sometimes referred to as the "Red Air Force") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Sovie ...

in April 1932, graduating from pilot courses at the

Kacha Military Aviation School The Kacha Higher Military Aviation twice Red Banner order of Lenin School of Pilots named for A.F. Myasnikov (KVVAUL) (Качинское высшее военное авиационное дважды краснознаменное ордена ...

in 1934. He served as deputy commander for the political section in a squadron and aviation brigade in the

Belorussian Military District The Byelorussian Military District (; alternatively Belarusian; ) was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces. Originally formed just before World War I as the Minsk Military District out of the remnants of the Vilno Military District an ...

. He took part in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

from May 1937 to November 1938 as a political commissar of the

Spanish Republican Air Force The Spanish Republican Air Force was the air arm of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939. Initially divided into two branches: Military Aeronautics () and Naval Aeron ...

. Returning to the Soviet Union, he was appointed a member of the military council of the Red Army Air Force, and in August 1940 was appointed to his first command position, commanding a regiment in the

Baltic Military District The Baltic Military District () was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces in the Baltic states, formed shortly before the German invasion during World War II. After the end of the war the Kaliningrad Oblast was added to the District's co ...

World War II

After

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

began on 22 June 1941, Agaltsov continued to command the 50th Short-Range Bomber Aviation Regiment of the

Northwestern Front The Northwestern Front (Russian: ''Северо-Западный фронт'') was a military formation of the Red Army during the Winter War and World War II. It was operational with the 7th and 13th Armies during the Winter War. It was re-c ...

in June and July. Between 1941 and 1933 he served as chief of the Tambov School of Junior Aviation Specialists. From March 1943 he returned to the front as commander the 292nd (from February 1944 the 9th Guards) Assault Aviation Division. He fought on the

Voronezh Voronezh ( ; , ) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the Southeastern Railway, which connects wes ...

Steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the tropical and subtropica ...

and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts. From November 1944, he commanded the 1st Mixed Aviation Corps of the

Air Force of the Polish Army The Air Force of the Polish Army (), unofficially known as the People's Polish Air Force was the name of the Soviet-controlled Polish Air Force in the USSR between 1943 and 1947 created alongside the Polish People's Army (), a subordinate to th ...

, part of the

1st Belorussian Front The 1st Belorussian Front (, ''Pervyy Belorusskiy front'', also romanized " Byelorussian"), known without a numeral as the Belorussian Front between October 1943 and February 1944, was a major formation of the Red Army during World War II, bein ...

. During the war, Agaltsov flew several sorties on the

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 ...

ground attack aircraft.

Postwar

After the end of the war, Agaltsov served in command positions in the air force. From February 1947 to June 1949 he commanded the

16th 16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. It is the fourth power of two. In English speech, the numbers 16 and 60 are sometimes confused, as they sound similar. Mathematics 16 is the ninth composite number, and a sq ...

(renumbered the 24th in February 1949) Air Army. Between 1949 and 1956 he was first deputy to the Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Air Force. In 1956 he became a general-inspector of the air force, and from 1958 to 1962 served as deputy to the Commander-in-Chief of the VVS for combat training. Agaltsov rose to command

, the Soviet strategic bombing force, between April 1962 and January 1969, having been promoted to

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 ...

in 1962. Agaltsov transferred to the

Group of Inspectors General 200px, Inspector General of the USSR Ministry of Defense Republic_Day_(East_German.html" ;"title="Vasily Chuikov (right) at the military parade in honour of the Republic Day (East Germany)">30th anniversary of East Germany in Karl-Marx-Allee, Ea ...

, a sinecure post for aging senior officers, in 1971. He lived in Moscow, where he died on 29 June 1980. Agaltsov was buried in the

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery () is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist site. History The cemetery was designed by Ivan Mashkov and inaugurated ...

Awards

Agaltsov was a recipient of the following awards and decorations: *

(21 February 1978) *

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

(4) *

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...

(5) *

Order of Suvorov The Order of Suvorov () is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honor of Russian Generalissimo Prince Alexander Suvorov (1729–1800). History The Order of Suvorov was originally a Soviet Union, Soviet award established on ...

, 2nd class *

Order of Kutuzov The Order of Kutuzov ( ''orden Kutuzova'') is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov, Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov (1745–1813). The Order was established during World War II t ...

, 2nd class *

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War () is a Soviet Union, Soviet military Order (decoration), decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to Partisan (military), partisans for heroic deeds in the Easte ...

, 1st class *

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...

Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" The Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" (), also known as the Order "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", was a Soviet Union, Soviet Order (honour), military order awarded in three classes ...

3rd class

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * 1900 births 1980 deaths Heroes of the Soviet Union Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Soviet military personnel of World War II Soviet Air Force marshals Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 2nd class Recipients of the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", 3rd class People from Yefremovsky District {{DEFAULTSORT:Agaltsov, Filipp