Semyon Fyodorovich Zhavoronkov (; – 6 June 1967) was an officer of the

Soviet Naval Air Force Soviet Naval Aviation (AV-MF, ) was the naval aviation arm of the Soviet Navy. Origins The first naval aviation units in Russia were formed in 1912–1914 as a part of the Baltic Fleet and the Black Sea Fleet. During World War I, the hydrop ...

. Zhavoronkov was born in the village of Sidorovskaya,

Kostroma Governorate Kostroma Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian SFSR, which existed from 1796 to 1929. Its administrative center was in the city of Kostroma. Administrative division Kostroma ...

, and from 1910 worked in a textile factory in nearby

Vichuga Vichuga () is a town in Ivanovo Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Ivanovo. Population: 53,000 (1970). History Vichuga was first mentioned as a volost in the will of Ivan III in 1504. Marshal of the Soviet Union Aleksandr Mikhaylo ...

. In 1936 he graduated from the operational department of the N. E. Zhukovsky Air Force Academy. He was appointed commander of the 101st Heavy Bomber Aviation Brigade of the Air Force of the Special Red Banner Far Eastern Army (Chita). In July 1937 he was named commander of the 5th heavy bomber air corps of the Trans-Baikal Military District. In December 1937 he was named deputy, and from the beginning of 1938, commander, of the Pacific Fleet Air Force. He participated in hostilities near

Lake Khasan Lake Khasan or Lake Hassan (; ) is a small lake in Khasansky District, Primorsky Krai of Russia, located southeast of Posyet Bay, near the border with North Korea and China, southwest of Vladivostok. It has a surface area of . The Tanbogatyi R ...

in the summer of 1938. In July 1939 he became Chief of the Air Force of the Navy. In this position he participated in the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939–1940. He was Commanding General of the

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

(1939–1945). Under his leadership, aviators of the

Baltic Fleet The Baltic Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea. Established 18 May 1703, under Tsar Peter the Great as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, the Baltic Fleet is the oldest Russian fleet. In 1918, the fleet w ...

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 ...

made a number of air strikes on military and industrial facilities in and around

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

that began in August and September 1941. In February 1945, Zhavoronkov organized the flights of delegations to the

Yalta Conference The Yalta Conference (), held 4–11 February 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to discuss the postwar reorganization of Germany and Europe. The three sta ...

. From 1949 to 1957, he was head of

Aeroflot PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (, ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; , , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. Aeroflot is headquartered in the Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow, with its hub being Sheremetyevo Interna ...

, the Soviet national civilian airline. He retired from the military in 1959.

References

1899 births 1967 deaths People from Vichuga Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Lenin Military Political Academy alumni Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of Nakhimov, 1st class Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Order of Ushakov, 1st class Soviet Air Force marshals Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Soviet military personnel of the Winter War Soviet Navy personnel Soviet World War II pilots Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery Kacha Military Aviation School alumni {{Russia-mil-bio-stub