Alexander Golovanov

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Alexander Yevgeniyevich Golovanov (1904-1975) was a Soviet pilot. On August 3, 1943 he became a Marshal of Aviation (the youngest person in the history of the USSR to hold that rank) and on 19 August 1944 he was promoted to the rank of Chief Marshal of Aviation (the second after Alexander Novikov)^[1].

From the start of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945), he was the commander of an air regiment, then commander of a long-range bombers' division, subordinated to the Supreme Command Headquarters. The division led by him bombed, with his personal participation, enemy military facilities in Berlin, Königsberg, Gdańsk, Ploieşti and other cities. From February 1942 he was the commander of the long-range air force transformed into the 18th Air Army in December, 1944. The army's units delivered air strikes against the Axis' deep rear, supported ground forces during the East Prussian, Vienna and Berlin operations and fulfilled tasks to help the Partisans of Yugoslavia.

He was awarded many orders and medals.^{[citation needed]}