Sidor Vasilievich Slyusarev (; 14 May 1906 – 11 December 1981) was a

Lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

in the

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 ...

and recipient of 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

Slyusarev was born on 14 May 1906 in Tiflis. After graduation from high school, he worked as an assistant foreman at the Tiflis Mechanical Artillery Plant. He joined 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 June 1928. On the same year, he entered the

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

Military-Theoretical School of the

Red Army 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 ...

. After graduation, he was sent to receive practical skills at the 1st Military Pilot School named after A.F. Myasnikov.

Military career

After graduating in 1930, he remained at this school as an instructor pilot. From July 1933, he served as flight commander in the 14th Air Brigade of the Air Force of

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 ...

. Slyusarev later served in the 26th Air Brigade of the Air Force of the Trans-Baikal Group of Forces of the

Special Red Banner Far Eastern Army The Special Far Eastern Army, later the Special Red Banner Far Eastern Army () was a military formation of the Red Army, active from 1929 to 1938 and under command of Vasily Blyukher. It was activated on 6 August 1929, originally with the 18th a ...

Nerchinsk Nerchinsk (; , ''Nershüü''; , ''Nerchüü''; mnc, m=, v=Nibcu, a=Nibqu) is a town and the administrative center of Nerchinsky District in Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia, located on the left bank of the Nercha River, above its confluence with th ...

from March 1934. In January 1937, he was appointed to the 57th Cruising Aviation Squadron of the 2nd Air Brigade in Nerchinsk. In the latter, he was soon appointed an instructor pilot, and then squadron commander. From March 1938, he commanded the 4th Aviation Squadron. Slyusarev served with the

Soviet Volunteer Group The Soviet Volunteer Group was the volunteer part of the Soviet Air Forces sent to support the Republic of China during the Second Sino-Japanese War between 1937 and 1941. After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, the Sino-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, during the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

. From May 1938 to March 1939, he flew 12 missions in a

Tupolev SB The Tupolev ANT-40, also known by its service name Tupolev SB ( – ''Skorostnoi Bombardirovschik'' – high speed bomber) and development co-name TsAGI-40, was a high speed twin-engined three-seat monoplane bomber, first flown in 1934. The Tup ...

bomber and was credited in the destruction of 70 ships and 30 enemy aircraft on the ground. He also provided training for Chinese pilots. By the decree of the

Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet () was the standing body of the highest body of state authority in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).The Presidium of the Soviet Union is, in short, the legislative branch of the great Soviet ...

of February 22, 1939 "for the exemplary fulfillment of special tasks of the Government to strengthen the defensive power of the Soviet Union and for the displayed heroism", Slyusarev was awarded the title of

. After returning from China in May 1939, he was appointed deputy commander of the 2nd Special Air Force in

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 ...

. From November 1939 to January 1940, he studied at the courses of the highest command personnel at the Academy of the General Staff of the Red Army. After his graduation from January 1940, he took part in the

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

as Deputy Commander of the Air Force of the

8th Air Army The 8th Air Army was a military formation of the Soviet Air Forces, active from around 1942 to 1949. It was formed June 13, 1942, by order of the State Defence Committee (NKO) Number 00119 dated June 9, 1942, on the basis of the Air Forces of th ...

and personally flew on combat missions. After the end of the war in May 1940, he was appointed deputy commander of the Air Force of the

Leningrad Military District The Order of Lenin Leningrad Military District () is a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010, it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern ...

. From July 1940, he served as commander of the 4th Aviation Division, during which he participated in the

Soviet occupation of the Baltic States The occupation of the Baltic states was a period of annexation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania by the Soviet Union from 1940 until its dissolution in 1991. For a period of several years during World War II, Nazi Germany occupied the Baltic st ...

. In August 1940, he served as deputy commander of Air Force of the

Kiev Special Military District Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

Great Patriotic War

Following the outbreak of

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 ...

, Slyusarev became deputy commander of the Air Force of the Southwestern Front, which was created on the basis of the Kiev Special Military District. He led the front air force in the border battles and in

first Battle of Kiev The First Battle of Kiev was the German name for the major battle that resulted in an encirclement of Soviet troops in the vicinity of Kiev during World War II, the capital and most populous city of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. T ...

. In September 1941, he was appointed commander of the 142nd Air Defense Fighter Aviation Division, which was part of the Gorky Air Defense Corps Region. During this time, he oversaw the aerial defense of the city from German air raids. In March 1943, he was appointed commander of the 5th Mixed Aviation Corps, which in June was reorganized into the 7th Fighter Aviation Corps. From July 1943, he served as deputy commander of the Air Army, first the 4th Air Army on the

North Caucasian Front The North Caucasus Front, also translated as North Caucasian Front, was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War. The North Caucasus Front describes either of two distinct organizations during the war. First Creation The ...

and from April 1944, the 2nd Air Army on the

1st Ukrainian Front The 1st Ukrainian Front (), previously the Voronezh Front (), was a major formation of the Red Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army group. They took part in the capture of Berlin, the capital of Nazi Germany. Wartime ...

. During this period, he participated in the Novorossiysko-Taman, Kerch-Eltigen, Proskurovsko-Chernivtsi and

Lvov–Sandomierz offensive The Lvov–Sandomierz offensive or Lvov–Sandomierz strategic offensive operation () was a major Red Army operation to force the German troops from Ukraine and Eastern Poland. Launched in mid-July 1944, the operation was successfully completed ...

s. In August 1944, he was again appointed commander of the 1st Mixed Aviation Corps, which later became the 2nd Guards Assault Aviation Corps on September, of the 2nd Air Army. Under his command, the corps took part in East Carpathian, Vistula-Oder, Lower Silesian, Upper Silesian,

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 ...

and Prague offensives. For his successful operations, he was noted 11 times in the orders of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

Post war

Till January 1946, he continued to command the 2nd Guards Attack Aviation Corps. In April 1946, he was appointed commander of the 7th Bomber Aviation Corps of the

1st Air Army __NOTOC__ The 1st Air Army () was an Air Army in the Soviet Air Force which served during World War II. It was formed on May 10, 1942, within the Soviet Western Front, and renamed the 26th Air Army on January 10, 1949, in the Belorussian Mil ...

. From October 1947, he served as commander of the 12th Air Army of the

Transbaikal Military District The Transbaikal Military District () was a military district of first the Soviet Armed Forces and then the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed on 17 May 1935 and included the Buryat Republic, Chita Oblast, and Yakutia. Chita was ...

. From February to December 1950, he was assigned to

, where he carried out missions for the air defense of

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

from the Nationalist ROCAF air raids operating from bases in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, and training Chinese pilots, for which he was awarded a third

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 ...

. In December 1950, he studied at the Voroshilov Higher Military Academy from which he graduated in August 1952. At the request of the commander-in-chief of the Soviet Air Force, at the end of 1952, he was again sent to China, where he was appointed deputy commander of the

64th Fighter Aviation Corps The 64th Fighter Aviation Corps (64th IAK) was an aviation corps of the Soviet Air Forces. The corps was the parent unit for Soviet interceptor units based in northeastern Manchuria during the Korean War. The unit claimed a 3.4:1 kill ratio in favo ...

. Parts of the fighter corps were stationed at airfields in

Northeast China Northeast China () is a geographical region of China, consisting officially of three provinces Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The heartland of the region is the Northeast China Plain, the largest plain in China with an area of over . The regi ...

and fought actively against the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...

, during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. From April 1953, he commanded the corps until the end of July 1953, following signing of the

Korean Armistice Agreement The Korean Armistice Agreement (; zh, t=韓國停戰協定 / 朝鮮停戰協定) is an armistice that brought about a cessation of hostilities of the Korean War. It was signed by United States Army Lieutenant General William Kelly Harrison Jr ...

. Following the cessation of hostilities, the corps returned to the USSR, where it became part of the 22nd Air Army in

Petrozavodsk Petrozavodsk (, ; Karelian language, Karelian, Veps language, Vepsian and ) is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, which stretches along the western shore of Lake Onega for some . The population of the city is 280,890 as of 2022. ...

Karelian ASSR The Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, Karelian ASSR for short, sometimes referred to as Soviet Karelia, East Karelia or simply Karelia, was an autonomous republic of the Russian SFSR within the Soviet Union, with its capital in Petr ...

. From May 1955, he served in 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 ...

, with assignments such as commander of the Ural Air Defense Army and deputy commander of the

Ural Military District The Red Banner Ural Military DistrictHistory of the Ural Military District / Edited by Alexander Egorovsky, Ivan Tutarinov – 1 – Moscow: Military Publishing House of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union, 1970 – 352 Pages – 11,500 ...

for the Air Defense Forces. From May 1957, he served in the staff of the commander-in-chief of the Air Defense Forces and from 1957, he served in the staff of the commander-in-chief of Soviet Air Force. From August 1957 to 1964, he was the head of the command department of the

Air Force Academy An air force academy or air academy is a national institution that provides initial officer training, possibly including undergraduate level education, to air force officer cadets who are preparing to be commissioned officers in a national air forc ...

. In 1964, he retired from active service.

Later life

Slyusarev was married and had three children. His daughter Natalia is a well known Russian writer and son Anatoly is a professor at the Volga State University of Water Transport in

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət, t=Lower Newtown; colloquially shortened to Nizhny) is a city and the administrative centre of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast an ...

. From September 1964, he was in reserves and lived in

Monino Monino () is an urban locality (a work settlement) in Shchyolkovsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located east of Moscow. Population: History Monino was founded in the Muninskaya Wasteland () on August 23, 1792. The name "Monino" or "M ...

. He died on 11 December 1981 and is buried at Moninskoe Memorial Military Cemetery in Monino.

Dates of rank

* Senior lieutenant,

Red 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 ...

: March 14, 1936 *

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, Red Air Force: April 29, 1938 *

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

, Red Air Force: May 17, 1939 * Major general, Red Air Force: November 10, 1942 *

: March 1, 1946

Awards and decorations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slyusarev, Sidor 1906 births 1981 deaths Soviet Air Force generals Soviet lieutenant generals People from Tiflis Governorate Soviet military personnel of World War II Heroes of the Soviet Union 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 of Bogdan Khmelnitsky (Soviet Union), 2nd class Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni Soviet people of the Second Sino-Japanese War Military attachés for the Soviet Union Russian people of World War II Soviet military personnel of the Winter War Soviet military personnel of the Korean War Soviet Air Defence Force officers Kacha Military Aviation School alumni