This list of Russian and Soviet aviators includes the noteworthy

aviators An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they are ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. The majority of pilots listed here served in the

Imperial Russian Air Force The Imperial Russian Air Service () was an air force founded in 1912 for Imperial Russia."''12 августа 1912 года приказом по военному ведомству вопросы воздухоплавания и авиаци� ...

, 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 ...

or the modern

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 ...

(or continue to serve in the latter). The aircrew members listed below either performed notable feats in aviation, held senior positions in Russian military aviation, and/or received national or international decorations for their aviation service.

Alphabetical list

A

Vsevolod Abramovich Vsevolod Mikhaylovich Abramovich (; August 11, 1890 – April 24, 1913) was a pioneering aviator. Biography Abramovich was born on August 11, 1890, in Odessa, son of poet Mikhail Solomonovich Abramovich, Mikhail Abramovich and grandson of the Yid ...

, pioneer aviator killed on crash, inventor of

Abramovich Flyer The Abramovich Flyer was an early aircraft built by Russian aviator Vsevolod Mikhailovich Abramovich in 1912, based on the Wright brothers' designs he had seen while working for their German subsidiary. Differences from the Wright designs of t ...

* Sergey Anokhin, Soviet

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

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 ...

* Pavel Argeyev, Russia's third most successful

fighter 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 ...

during World War I in Russia and France

B

* Yekaterina Budanova, World War II pilot, one of the world's two female

C

Valery Chkalov Valery Pavlovich Chkalov (; ; – 15 December 1938) was a test pilot awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union (1936). Early life Chkalov was born to a Russian family in 1904 in the upper Volga region, the town of Chkalovsk, Russia, Vasi ...

, flew the first

transcontinental flight A transcontinental flight is a non-stop passenger flight from one side of a continent to the other. The term usually refers to flights across the United States, between the East and West Coasts. History The first transcontinental multi-stop f ...

by airplane over the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

D

Mikhail Devyatayev Mikhail Petrovich Devyataev (; Moksha: Михаил Петрович Девятаев/Mixail Petrovič Devätaev); 8 July 1917 – 24 November 2002) was a Soviet fighter pilot known for his incredible escape from a Nazi concentration camp on th ...

, World War II flying ace, awarded the

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 ...

Order of 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 Sovi ...

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 ...

and

Mariya Dolina Mariya Ivanovna Dolina (, ; 18 December 1922 – 3 March 2010) was a Pe-2 pilot and deputy squadron commander in the women's 125th “Marina M. Raskova” ''Borisov'' Guards Bomber Regiment. She was active primarily on the 1st Baltic Front durin ...

, female

dive bomber A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...

pilot,

F

Viktor Federov Lieutenant Viktor Georgiyevich Fyodorov (11 November 1885 - 4 March 1922) was a Russian World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories while flying with the French military air service. Having left Russia for Belgium in 1908, with a fu ...

, flying ace, received the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

and two other French decorations during World War I

G

Nikolai Gastello Captain Nikolai Frantsevich Gastello (, April 23, 1907 – June 26, 1941) was a Russian aviator and a Hero of the Soviet Union. He is one of the best known Soviet war heroes, being the best known Soviet pilot to conduct a "fire taran" – a suic ...

, the first Soviet pilot to direct his burning aircraft at a ground target,

Polina Gelman Polina Vladimirovna Gelman (, ; 24 October 191925 November 2005) was a flight navigator in the all-female 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment who was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union in 1946 for having totaled 857 sorties during Wo ...

, World War II bomber pilot, one of the ''

Night Witches "Night Witches" was a World War II German nickname for the all-female military aviators of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, known later as the 46th "Taman" Guards Night Bomber Aviation Red Banner and Order of Suvorov Regiment, of the Soviet Air ...

'',

* Juri Gilsher, World War I flying ace amputee, awarded four decorations for valor * Alexander Golovanov, Chief Marshal of Aviation at the end of World War II, Commander of Long Range Aviation Gromov Mihail Mihajlovich 1934

* Sergey Gritsevets, fighter ace during 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 ...

and the

Battle of Khalkhin Gol The Battles of Khalkhin Gol (; ) were the decisive engagements of the undeclared Soviet–Japanese border conflicts involving the Soviet Union, Mongolia, Japan and Manchukuo in 1939. The conflict was named after the river Khalkhin Gol, which p ...

, & the first to be recognised twice as

Valentina Grizodubova Valentina Stepanovna Grizodubova (, ''Valentyna Stepanivna Hryzodubova''; – 28 April 1993) was one of the first female pilots in the Soviet Union awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the only female Hero of the Soviet Union to also b ...

, one of the first Soviet female pilots and

Heroes 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 t ...

, set a record for woman's ultralong flights * Mikhail Gromov, set a record during the transcontinental flight over the

, founded the

Gromov Flight Research Institute The Gromov Flight Research Institute or GFRI for short (, ) is an important Russian State Research Centre which operates an aircraft test base located in Zhukovsky, 40 km south-east of Moscow. The airfield is also known as Ramenskoye air ...

I

Vladimir Ilyushin Vladimir Sergeyevich Ilyushin (; 31 March 1927 – 1 March 2010) was a Russian military officer and a test pilot in the former Soviet space program. Ilyushin was a son of the famous aviation designer Sergey Ilyushin, and whose career was mostl ...

for

OKB Sukhoi The JSC Sukhoi Company (, ) is a Russian aircraft manufacturer headquartered in Begovoy District, Northern Administrative Okrug, Moscow, that designs both civilian and military aircraft. Sukhoi was founded in the Soviet Union by Pavel Sukhoi in ...

K

Nikolai Kamanin Nikolai Petrovich Kamanin (; 18 October 1908 – 11 March 1982) was a Soviet Air Force general and a program manager in the Soviet space program. A career aviator, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in 1934 for the rescue of S ...

, polar aviator, among the first to be decorated as

, trained the first ever

cosmonaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

s, including

Yuri Gagarin Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who, aboard the first successful Human spaceflight, crewed sp ...

Gherman Titov Gherman Stepanovich Titov (; 11 September 1935 – 20 September 2000) was a Soviet and Russian cosmonaut who, on 6 August 1961, became the second human to orbit the Earth, aboard Vostok 2, preceded by Yuri Gagarin on Vostok 1. He was the fou ...

and

Alexei Leonov Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov. (30 May 1934 – 11 October 2019) was a Soviet and Russian cosmonaut and aviator, Soviet Air Forces, Air Force major general, writer, and artist. On 18 March 1965, he became the first person to conduct a Extravehic ...

* Rafael Kaprelyan,

, holder of 10 world records for

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

Alexander Kazakov Alexander Alexandrovich Kazakov (Kozakov, Kosakoff) () (2 January 1889 – 1 August 1919) (British Distinguished Service Order and Military Cross and the French Légion d'honneur) was the most successful Russian flying ace and fighter pilot durin ...

, the most successful Russian

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 ...

of World War I, the first to perform an

aerial ramming Aerial ramming or air ramming is the ramming of one aircraft with another. It is a last-ditch tactic in air combat, sometimes used when all else has failed. Long before the invention of aircraft, ramming tactics in naval warfare and ground warfa ...

and survive * Timofey Khryukin, fighter ace during

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 ...

and World War II, double

Sergei Khudyakov Sergei Alexandrovich Khudyakov (; ); born Armenak Artemi Khanferiants (, – 18 April 1950), was a Soviet Armenian Marshal of the aviation. Russian Revolution Armenak Khanferiants (or Khanperiants) was born in 1902 in the village of Mets Taghe ...

, Marshal of Aviation during World War II, chief of staff of the Soviet Air Force *

Vladimir Kokkinaki Vladimir Konstantinovich Kokkinaki (; – 7 January 1985) was a test pilot in the Soviet Union, notable for setting twenty-two world records and serving as president of the ''Fédération Aéronautique Internationale''.test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

, set twenty-two world records, later President of the

Fédération Aéronautique Internationale The World Air Sports Federation (; FAI) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintains worl ...

(twice) * Nikolai Kokorin, World War I flying ace, winner of three awards for valor *

Zinaïda Kokorina Zinaida Petrovna Kokorina (; 1898 1980) was a Russian schoolteacher and aviator. In 1925, she became the world's first female military pilot when she graduated from the Military Aviation School in Yegoryevsk near Moscow. Although she wanted to bec ...

, pilot and flight instructor, in 1925 became the world's first military pilot *

Galina Gavrilovna Korchuganova Galina Gavrilovna Korchuganova (; 22 March 1935 – 18 January 2004) was a Soviet test pilot and aerobatics champion. After graduating from studies in aviation technology in 1959, Korchuganova made a name for herself as a pilot in aerobatics co ...

, test pilot and first women's world aerobatics champion *

Ivan Kozhedub Marshal of Aviation Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub (; ; 8 June 1920 – 8 August 1991) was a career aviator with the Soviet Air Forces who first came to prominence as a World War II fighter ace. Universally credited with over 60 solo victories, he is c ...

, Allied "Ace of Aces" in World War II, credited with sixty-four victories, three-time

earner * Sergei Kramarenko, fighter ace in World War II and 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 ...

* Stepan Kretov, long-range

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...

pilot during World War II, double

* Yevgraph Kruten, World War I fighter ace flew for, and won decorations from, both Imperial Russian and French Air Forces * Nikolai Kuimov, chief test pilot for

Ilyushin The Open joint-stock company , public joint stock company Ilyushin Aviation Complex, operating as Ilyushin () or as Ilyushin Design Bureau, is a Russian aircraft manufacturer and design bureau, founded in 1933 by Sergey Ilyushin , Sergey Vladimir ...

Hero of the Russian Federation Hero of the Russian Federation ( rus, Герой Российской Федерации, p=ɡʲɪˈroj rɐˈsʲijskəj fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨɪ), also unofficially called Hero of Russia ( rus, Герой России, p=ɡʲɪˈroj rɐˈsʲiɪ), is ...

* Pavel Kutakhov, World War II fighter ace, Chief Marshal of Aviation during the

Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (19 December 190610 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 until Death and state funeral of Leonid Brezhnev, his death in 1982 as w ...

era, double

L

* Ernst Leman, World War I flying ace, recipient of four gallantry medals * Sigismund Levanevsky, polar aviator, among the first to receive the honour of

, died in a transpolar flight attempt *

Anatoly Liapidevsky Anatoly Vasilyevich Lyapidevsky (; 23 March 1908 – 29 April 1983) was a Soviet aircraft pilot and one of the first people to be awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (in June 1934). A graduate of the Soviet Air Force Academy, he reached ...

, polar aviator, the first person to receive the honour of

, General Major of Aviation * Lydia Litvyak, World War II pilot, one of the world's two female

Ivan Loiko ''Polkovnik'' Ivan Alexandrovich Loiko (born 6 February 1892, date of death unknown; ) was a World War I flying ace credited with six confirmed aerial victories by the scanty and confusing records still existent. He rose to command a fighter unit, ...

, World War I flying ace, recipient of five awards for valor Natalya Meklin portrait

M

* Donat Makijonek, flying ace of the Imperial Russian Air Service in World War I and recipient of 15 decorations for valor *

Alexey Maresyev Aleksey Petrovich Maresyev (; 20 May 1916 – 18 May 2001) was a Soviet and Russian military pilot who became a List of World War II aces from the Soviet Union, Soviet fighter ace during World War II, World War II despite becoming a doub ...

, World War II fighter ace,

, the prototype for ''

The Story of a Real Man ''The Story of a Real Man'' () is an opera in four acts by the Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, his opus 117. It was written from 1947 to 1948, and was his last opera. The libretto, by the composer and his wife Mira Mendelson, is based on t ...

'' * Natalya Meklin, World War II bomber pilot & one of the ''

'',

Arseny Mironov Arseny Dmitrievich Mironov (; 25 December 1917 – 3 July 2019) was a Russian scientist, aerospace engineer, and aviator. He was one of the oldest researchers in aircraft aerodynamics and flight testing, a Gromov Flight Research Institute (GFRI) ...

, aerospace engineer and aviator, scientist in aircraft aerodynamics and flight testing * Vasily Molokov, polar aviator, among the first to receive the honour of

, General Major of Aviation

N

* Ivan Nagurski, first polar

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they a ...

Pyotr Nesterov Pyotr Nikolayevich Nesterov (; – ) was a Russian pilot, aircraft designer and aerobatics pioneer. Life and career Nesterov was born on 15 February 1887 in Nizhny Novgorod, into the family of an army officer, a cadet corps teacher. In A ...

, inventor and pioneer of

aerobatics Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aeroplane" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and gl ...

, the first pilot to perform the

aerobatic loop Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aeroplane" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and gl ...

, died while scoring the world's first air combat victory by

an Austrian plane during World War I *

Alexander Novikov Alexander Alexandrovich Novikov (; – 3 December 1976) was the chief marshal of aviation for the Soviet Air Forces during the Soviet Union's involvement in the World War II, Second World War. Lauded as "the man who has piloted the Red Air F ...

, Chief Marshal of Aviation during World War II, double

O

* Prince Alexander Obolensky, "the Flying Slav", Russian émigré World War II RAF pilot * Ivan Orlov, World War I flying ace, served with, and received decorations for valor from both the Imperial Russian and French governments * Vasily Osipov, World War II

pilot, double

P

* Yevgeny Pepelyaev, top Soviet fighter ace in the

* Alexander Pishvanov, World War I flying ace, recipient of five decorations for valor *

Viktor Pokrovsky Viktor Leonidovich Pokrovsky () (14 September 1889 – 9 November 1922) was a Russian lieutenant general and one of the leaders of anti-communist counterrevolutionary White Army during the Russian Civil War. Biography Viktor Pokrovsky graduated ...

, World War I flying ace, the first Russian pilot to capture an enemy plane and pilot *

Alexander Pokryshkin Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin (; – 13 November 1985) was a Soviet fighter pilot in World War II, and later a marshal of aviation. He was one of the highest-scoring Soviet aces, and the highest-scoring pilot ever to fly an American aircraft, ...

, World War II

, credited with 59 individual victories, thrice

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

of Aviation *

Nadezhda Popova Nadezhda Vasilyevna Popova (, ; 17 December 1921 – 8 July 2013) was a squadron commander in the 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Regiment during the Second World War who achieved significant domestic publicity after completing 18 bombing sorties ...

, Squadron Leader in the ''Night Witches'' * Vitaly Popkov, one of the top World War II fighter aces, credited with 41 individual victories, double

* Alexander Prokofiev de Seversky, World War I naval aviator,

Russian-American Russian Americans are Americans of full or partial Russian ancestry. The term can apply to recent Russian immigrants to the United States, as well as to those that settled in the 19th-century Russian possessions in what is now Alaska. Russia ...

aviation pioneer and inventor *

Georgy Prokofiev Georgy (Yegor) Alekseyevich Prokofiev (born August 17, 1902, in Teleshovo, Vyazma District – died April 23, 1939, in Moscow) was a Soviet Air Forces balloonist who coordinated a military stratospheric balloon program in 1931–1939. On Septe ...

, balloonist who coordinated military stratospheric balloon program in 1930s, set world record in altitude on ''

USSR-1 ''USSR-1'' () was a Flight altitude record#Balloons, record-setting, hydrogen-filled Soviet Air Forces high-altitude balloon, high-altitude Balloon (aircraft), balloon designed to seat a crew of three and perform scientific studies of the Earth's ...

'' * Viktor Pugachyov, test pilot and pioneer of

supermaneuverability Supermaneuverability is the capability of fighter aircraft to execute tactical maneuvers that are not possible with purely Supermaneuverability#Aerodynamic maneuverability vs supermaneuverability, aerodynamic techniques. Such maneuvers can inv ...

, the first to show

Pugachev's Cobra In aerobatics, the cobra maneuver (or just the ''cobra''), also called ''dynamic deceleration'', among other names , is a dramatic and demanding maneuver in which an airplane flying at a moderate speed abruptly raises its nose momentarily to a v ...

maneuver of

Su-27 The Sukhoi Su-27 (; NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a Soviet-origin twin-engine supersonic supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large US fourth-generation jet fighters suc ...

* Eduard Pulpe, World War I flying ace, recipient of awards for valor from both the Imperial Russian and French governments * Endel Puusepp, long-range bomber pilot, famous for flying a Soviet delegation over the front line from Moscow to Washington D.C. and back to negotiate the opening of the Western Front,

R

Marina Raskova Marina Mikhaylovna Raskova ( rus, Мари́на Миха́йловна Раско́ва, , mɐˈrʲinə mʲɪˈxajləvnə rɐˈskovə; née Malinina; 28 March 1912 – 4 January 1943) was the first woman in the Soviet Union to achieve the diplom ...

, navigator, founder of the three female air regiments during World War II,

* Grigoriy Rechkalov, one of the top World War II fighter aces, credited with 56 individual victories, double

Yevgeniya Rudneva Yevgeniya Maksimovna Rudneva (; 24 May 1921 – 9 April 1944) was the head navigator of the 46th Guards Night Bomber Regiment posthumously awarded Hero of the Soviet Union. Prior to World War II she was an astronomer, the head of the Solar Depart ...

, senior navigator of the ''

'',

S

* Mikhail Safonov, World War I flying ace, recipient of two decorations for valor * Yevgeniy Savitskiy, World War II fighter ace, Marshal of Aviation, double

* Irina Sebrova, World War II bomber pilot, one of the ''

'',

* Yevgeniya Shakhovskaya, the first woman military pilot * Lev Shestakov, top Soviet fighter ace during the

* Mark Shevelev, Commander of Soviet Polar aviation during World War II,

* Ivan Smirnov, recipient of five Russian and two foreign military decorations, fourth ranking fighter ace of the Imperial Russian Air Service during World War I *

Yakov Smushkevich Yakov Vladimirovich Smushkevich ( Lithuanian: Jakovas Smuškevičius, ; – 28 October 1941) was the Commander of the Soviet Air Forces from 1939 to 1940 and the first Jewish Hero of the Soviet Union. Arrested shortly before the start of Operati ...

, Commander of the Soviet aviation in the

and in the

, double

* Nelson Stepanyan, World War II

pilot, destroyed scores of enemy ships, tanks, cars, planes and guns, double

* Vladimir Strizhesky, recipient of the Cross of St. George and the

Order of the Crown of Romania The Order of the Crown of Romania is a chivalric order set up on 14 March 1881 by King Carol I of Romania to commemorate the establishment of the Kingdom of Romania. It was awarded as a state order until the end of the Romanian monarchy in 1947. ...

, victor of seven aerial battles during World War I * Amet-khan Sultan, World War II fighter ace, double

, test pilot who died in a plane crash * Nikolay Sutyagin, top

Soviet fighter ace,

T

* Victor Talalikhin, World War II fighter ace, among the first to perform

at night,

* Igor Tkachenko, Commander of the

Russian Knights The Russian Knights () is an aerobatic demonstration team of the Russian Air Force. Originally formed on April 5, 1991 at the Kubinka Air Base as a team of six Sukhoi Su-27s, the team was the first to perform outside the Soviet Union in Septe ...

V

Konstantin Vakulovsky Captain Konstantin Konstantinovich Vakulovsky (born 28 October 1894, died summer 1918) was a World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories. A major general's son, he volunteered for aviation duty on 8 August 1914, six days after gradua ...

, World War I fighter ace, recipient of three gallantry awards * Andrey Vitruk, World War II fighter ace, General Major of Aviation, honoured as

and Hero of Yugoslavia * Pavel Vlasov,

* Igor Volk,

* Mikhail Vodopyanov, polar aviator,

, commanded the first Soviet air raid on Berlin in 1941

Y

* Vasili Yanchenko, second-scoring Russian flying ace of World War IRetrieved on 2 December 2010.
/ref> *

Anna Yegorova Anna Alexandrovna Timofeyeva-Yegorova (; 23 September 1916 – 29 October 2009) was a pilot in the Soviet Air Forces, Soviet Air Force during the Second World War. She flew a total of 277 sorties that included liaison, reconnaissance and ground- ...

, World War II bomber pilot,

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

survivor,

* Ruben Yesayan,

Kirill Yevstigneev Kirill Alekseyevich Yevstigneyev (; – 29 August 1996) was a Soviet fighter pilot and one of the top Soviet aces of World War II. During his career he claimed 53 solo and 3 shared aerial victories flying the Lavochkin La-5 and La-7 fighters. ...

, one of the top World War II fighter aces, credited with 53 individual victories, double

Z

* Yekaterina Zelenko, World War II pilot, the only woman ever alleged to have to have performed an

Notes

References

*Franks, Norman. (2000) ''Nieuport Aces of World War 1''. Aircraft of the Aces. Osprey Publishing , . {{Lists of Russians, state=collapsed . .

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

Aviators An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they are ...

. Soviet Air Defence Forces .

Alphabetical list

A

B

C

D

F

G

I

K

L

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

V

Y

Z

See also

Notes

References