Viktor Pavlovich Potapov (; 7 January 1934 – 23 June 2021) was an officer of the

Soviet military The Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, also known as the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union, the Red Army (1918–1946) and the Soviet Army (1946–1991), were the armed forces of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republi ...

who held a number of posts in naval aviation, serving as the last head of

Soviet Naval Aviation 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 hydro ...

, and the first head of

Russian Naval Aviation The Russian Naval Aviation () is the air arm of the Russian Navy, a successor of Soviet Naval Aviation. The Russian Navy is divided into four fleets and one flotilla: Northern Fleet, Pacific Fleet (Russia), Pacific Fleet, Baltic Fleet, Black Sea ...

, reaching the rank of Colonel General. Born in 1934, Potapov became interested in aviation at an early age. He 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 ...

while in school, experience which stood him in good stead when he enrolled in the in 1951. Training on the

Yakovlev Yak-18 The Yakovlev Yak-18 (; NATO reporting name Max) is a tandem two-seat military primary trainer aircraft manufactured in the Soviet Union. Originally powered by one 119 kW (160 hp) Shvetsov M-11FR-1 radial piston engine, it entered ser ...

and

Tupolev Tu-2 The Tupolev Tu-2 (development names ANT-58 and 103; NATO reporting name Bat) is a twin-engined Soviet high-speed daylight and frontline bomber aircraft used during World War II. The Tu-2 was tailored to meet a requirement for a high-speed bomber ...

propeller-driven aircraft, and the

Ilyushin Il-28 The Ilyushin Il-28 (; NATO reporting name: Beagle) is a jet bomber of the immediate postwar period that was originally manufactured for the Soviet Air Forces. It was the Soviet Union's first such aircraft to enter large-scale production. It was ...

jet torpedo bomber, Potapov was assigned to the . He continued to develop his skills on the latest military aircraft entering service, and rose through the ranks and positions. Transferring to the in 1966, Potapov commanded, and helped establish aviation regiments. After studies at the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, he was appointed to command the Northern Fleet's Naval Aviation. In 1986, he was appointed first deputy commander, and in 1988 commander of

. After 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 ...

, he continued as the first commander of the successor force,

, until his retirement in 1994. He went on to work with a company manufacturing aviation radio-electronic systems, and died in 2021, having received numerous awards and honours over his career.

Family and early life

Potapov was born into a peasant family on 7 January 1934 in the village of ,

Mokshansky District Mokshansky District () is an administrativeLaw #774-ZPO and municipalLaw #690-ZPO district (raion), one of the administrative divisions of Penza Oblast, twenty-seven in Penza Oblast, Russia. It is located in the north of the oblast. The area of the ...

, in what was then in the

Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

, part of 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 ...

. Later that year his family moved to

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

, settling near an aircraft factory. Potapov grew up around aircraft, and reading the exploits of Soviet pilots such as

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 ...

, Mikhail Gromov and Konstantin Kokkinaki. In 1949, while still at school, Potapov entered the Tashkent

. He made his first independent flight the following year, in a

Polikarpov Po-2 The Polikarpov Po-2 (also U-2 before 1944, for its initial Glossary of Russian and USSR aviation acronyms: Aircraft designations, ''uchebnyy'', 'training', role as a flight instruction aircraft) was an all-weather multirole Soviet Union, Soviet b ...

, and remained at the flying club until his graduation from high school. Tu-16 Badger E

With a certificate for his achievements, Potapov entered the in Nikolayev in 1951. With his previous experience he was allowed to skip the second year of studies, and quickly mastered the

and

propeller-driven aircraft, as well as the

jet torpedo bomber. After graduating in 1953 he was assigned to a torpedo aviation regiment of the , where he continued to develop his skills on the new aircraft entering service. He became proficient on the

Tupolev Tu-16 The Tupolev Tu-16 (USAF/DOD reporting name Type 39; NATO reporting name: Badger) is a twin-engined jet strategic heavy bomber used by the Soviet Union. It has been flown for almost 70 years. While many aircraft in Soviet service were retired af ...

torpedo bomber in 1957, at the time the most advanced of its kind, before entering the aviation faculty of the Leningrad Naval Academy in 1959. He graduated with a gold medal in 1962, and returned to the Black Sea Fleet Air Force, taking charge of a squadron in naval missile-armed aviation regiment.

Commands

In February 1966, Potapov was appointed deputy commander of the 392nd Separate Long-Range Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment, part of the , deployed at Kipelovo, later Fedotovo, in

Vologda Oblast Vologda Oblast (, ; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is Vologda. The oblast has a population of 1,202,444 (Russian Census (2010), 2010 Census). The largest city is Cherepovets, t ...

. The regiment was in the process of formation, equipped with Tupolev Tu-95RTs maritime reconnaissance aircraft. By late 1967, the regiment was fully operational, and in November that year, Potapov was instructed to form a new regiment at Fedotovo, operating the

Ilyushin Il-38 The Ilyushin Il-38 (nicknamed Dolphin) (NATO reporting name: May) is a maritime patrol aircraft and anti-submarine warfare aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. It was a development of the Ilyushin Il-18 turboprop transport. Design and devel ...

. These were

maritime patrol aircraft A maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), also known as a patrol aircraft, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, maritime surveillance aircraft, or by the older American term patrol bomber, is a fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate for long durations over ...

equipped for

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...

. Potapov succeeded in this task, and was awarded the

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 ...

, while the regiment, the 24th Anti-Submarine Regiment was rated excellent in 1969. Il-38 May

In February 1971, Potapov was appointed commander of the 5th Naval Missile Division of the

Northern Fleet The Northern Fleet (, ''Severnyy flot'') is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Arctic. According to the Russian ministry of defence: "The Northern Fleet dates its history back to a squadron created in 1733 to protect the terri ...

, and was promoted to Major General on 2 November 1972. Over his flying career, he participated in missions in the Central and South Atlantic using airfields in Cuba, Angola and Guinea. Between 1976 and 1978, he was deputy commander of the Northern Fleet Air Force. He took part in the first operation on the mass use of aviation of the Northern Fleet Air Force for operational and strategic purposes, involving 104 aircraft flying in the North Atlantic. He enrolled in the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces in 1978, again graduating with a gold medal in 1980 and being appointed commander of the Northern Fleet Air Force. He was promoted to Lieutenant General on 10 February 1981, and then to Colonel General on 29 April 1985. In 1986 he was appointed first deputy commander, and in 1988 commander of

. He held the post during the

in 1991, and continued as the first commander of the successor force,

, until his retirement in 1994.

Awards and later life

In retirement, Potapov was director of the Moscow branch of the holding company "Leninets", which manufactured aviation radio-electronic systems. Over his career, he had received the

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 ...

, the

, and 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 ...

, Second and Third Classes. In 1975, he received the title of Honoured Military Pilot of the USSR. On 31 January 2017, he was honoured with the naming of a refurbished Il-38N "Viktor Potapov". Potapov, who had overseen the introduction of the first Il-38s fifty years earlier, attended the event, held in Zhukovsky. Over his career, he had mastered the operation of eight types of aircraft. Potapov died in Moscow on 23 June 2021 at the age of 87, and was buried in 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Potapov, Viktor 1934 births 2021 deaths People from Mokshansky District Soviet colonel generals Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Recipients of the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", 2nd class Recipients of the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", 3rd class Russian aviators Soviet aviators N. G. Kuznetsov Naval Academy alumni Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery