List of Russian aviators

This list of Russian and Soviet aviators includes the noteworthy aviators of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation. The majority of pilots listed here served in the Imperial Russian Air Force, the Soviet Air Force or the modern Russian Air Force (or continue to serve in the latter).

The aircrew members listed below either committed 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, pioneer aviator killed on crash, inventor of Abramovich Flyer
• Pavel Argeyev, Russia's third most successful fighter ace during World War I in Russia and France^[1]

B

• Yekaterina Budanova, World War II pilot, one of the world's two female fighter aces

C

• Valery Chkalov, leader of the first ultralong flight from Moscow to the Russian Far East, leader of the first transcontinental flight by airplane over the North Pole, awarded HSU

Chkalov

D

• Mikhail Devyatayev, World War II flying ace, awarded the Order of Lenin, Order of Red Banner, Order of the Patriotic War and HSU
• Mariya Dolina, female dive bomber pilot, HSU

F

• Viktor Federov, flying ace, received the Légion d'honneur and two other French decorations during World War I^[2]

G

• Nikolai Gastello, the first Soviet pilot to direct his burning aircraft at a ground target, HSU
• Polina Gelman, World War II bomber pilot, one of the Night Witches, HSU
• Juri Gilsher, World War I flying ace amputee, awarded four decorations for valor^[3]
• Alexander Golovanov, Chief Marshal of Aviation at the end of World War II, Commander of Long Range Aviation
  

  Gromov
• Sergey Gritsevets, fighter ace during the Spanish Civil War and the Battle of Khalkhin Gol, & the first to be recognised twice as Hero of the Soviet Union
• Valentina Grizodubova, one of the first Soviet female pilots and HSU, set a record for woman's ultralong flights
• Mikhail Gromov, set a record during the transcontinental flight over the North Pole, founded the Gromov Flight Research Institute, HSU

I

• Vladimir Ilyushin, test pilot for OKB Sukhoi, HSU

K

Kozhedub

• Nikolai Kamanin, polar aviator, among the first to be decorated as Hero of the Soviet Union, trained the first ever cosmonauts, including Yuri Gagarin, Gherman Titov and Alexei Leonov
• Rafael Kapreliants, test pilot, the holder of 10 world records for helicopters, HSU
• Alexander Kazakov, the most successful Russian flying ace of World War I, the first to perform an aerial ramming and survive^[4]
• Timofey Khryukin, fighter ace during Spanish Civil War, Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II, double HSU
• Vladimir Kokkinaki, the most famous Soviet test pilot, set twenty-two world records, later President of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, double HSU
• Nikolai Kokorin, World War I flying ace, winner of three awards for valor^[5]
• Ivan Kozhedub, Allied "Ace of Aces" in World War II, credited with sixty-four victories,^[6][7] three-time Order of Lenin earner
• Sergei Kramarenko, fighter ace in World War II and the Korean War, HSU
• Stepan Kretov, long-range bomber pilot during World War II, double HSU
• Yevgraph Kruten, World War I fighter ace flew for, and won decorations from, both Imperial Russian and French Air Forces^[8]
• Pavel Kutakhov, World War II fighter ace, Chief Marshal of Aviation during the Leonid Brezhnev era, double HSU

L

• Ernst Leman, World War I flying ace, recipient of four gallantry medals^[9]
• Sigismund Levanevsky, polar aviator, among the first to receive the honour of Hero of the Soviet Union, died in a transpolar flight attempt
• Anatoly Liapidevsky, polar aviator, the very first person to receive the honour of Hero of the Soviet Union, General Major of Aviation
  

  Litvyak
• Lydia Litvyak, World War II pilot, one of the world's two female fighter aces, HSU
• Ivan Loiko, World War I flying ace, recipient of five awards for valor^[10]

M

• Donat Makijonek, flying ace of the Imperial Russian Air Service in World War I and recipient of 15 decorations for valor^[11]
• Alexey Maresyev, World War II fighter ace, HSU, the prototype for The Story of a Real Man
• Natalya Meklin, World War II bomber pilot & one of the Night Witches, HSU
• Vasily Molokov, polar aviator, among the first to receive the honour of HSU, General Major of Aviation

N

• Ivan Nagurski, the first polar aviator
• Pyotr Nesterov, inventor and pioneer of aerobatics, the first pilot to perform the aerobatic loop, died while scoring the world's first air combat victory by aerial ramming an Austrian plane during World War I
• Alexander Novikov, Chief Marshal of Aviation during World War II, double HSU
  

  Nesterov

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^[12]
• Vasily Osipov, World War II bomber pilot, double HSU

P

• Yevgeny Pepelyaev, top Soviet fighter ace in the Korean War, HSU
• Alexander Pishvanov, World War I flying ace, recipient of five decorations for valor^[13]
• Viktor Pokrovsky, World War I flying ace, the first Russian pilot to capture an enemy plane and pilot
• Alexander Pokryshkin, World War II fighter ace, credited with 59 individual victories, thrice HSU, Marshal of Aviation
• Nadezhda Popova, Squadron Leader of the 46th Guards (Night Bombing) Regiment
• Vitaly Popkov, one of the top World War II fighter aces, credited with 41 individual victories, double HSU
• Alexander Prokofiev de Seversky, World War I naval aviator, Russian-American aviation pioneer and inventor
• Georgy Prokofiev, balloonist who coordinated military stratospheric balloon program in 1930s, set world record in altitude on USSR-1
• Viktor Pugachyov, test pilot and pioneer of supermaneuverability, the first to show Pugachev's Cobra maneuver of Su-27
• Eduard Pulpe, World War I flying ace, recipient of awards for valor from both the Imperial Russian and French governments^[14]
• 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, HSU

R

• Marina Raskova, navigator, founder of the three female air regiments during World War II, HSU
• Grigoriy Rechkalov, one of the top World War II fighter aces, credited with 56 individual victories, double HSU
• Yevgeniya Rudneva, World War II bomber pilot, one of the Night Witches, HSU

S

• Mikhail Safonov, World War I flying ace, recipient of two decorations for valor^[15]
• Yevgeniy Savitskiy, World War II fighter ace, Marshal of Aviation, double HSU
• Irina Sebrova, World War II bomber pilot, one of the Night Witches, HSU
• Yevgeniya Shakhovskaya, the first woman military pilot
• Lev Shestakov, top Soviet fighter ace during the Spanish Civil War, HSU
• Mark Shevelev, Commander of Soviet Polar aviation during World War II, HSU
• Ivan Vasilyevich Smirnov, recipient of five Russian and two foreign military decorations, fourth ranking fighter ace of the Imperial Russian Air Service during World War I^[16]
• Yakov Smushkevich, Commander of the Soviet aviation in the Spanish Civil War and in the Battle of Khalkhin Gol, double HSU
• Nelson Stepanyan, World War II dive bomber pilot, destroyed scores of enemy ships, tanks, cars, planes and guns, double HSU
• Vladimir Strizhesky, recipient of the Cross of St. George and the Order of the Crown of Romania, victor of seven aerial battles during World War I^[17]
• Amet-khan Sultan, World War II fighter ace, double HSU, test pilot who died in a plane crash
• Nikolay Sutyagin, top Korean War Soviet fighter ace, HSU

T

• Victor Talalikhin, World War II fighter ace, among the first to perform aerial ramming at night, HSU

V

• Konstantin Vakulovsky, World War I fighter ace, recipient of three gallantry awards^[18]
• Andrey Vitruk, World War II fighter ace, General Major of Aviation, honoured as Hero of the Soviet Union and Hero of Yugoslavia
• Mikhail Vodopianov, polar aviator, among the first to receive the honour of Hero of the Soviet Union, commanded the first World War II Soviet air raid on Berlin in 1941

Y

• Vasili Yanchenko, second-scoring Russian flying ace of World War I^[19]
• Anna Yegorova, World War II bomber pilot, Nazi concentration camp survivor, HSU
• Kirill Yevstigneev, one of the top World War II fighter aces, credited with 53 individual victories, double HSU

Z

• Yekaterina Zelenko, World War II pilot, the only woman ever to have performed and died in aerial ramming, HSU

See also

• List of aviators
• List of cosmonauts
• List of World War II aces from the Soviet Union

References

• Nieuport Aces of World War 1. Norman Franks. Osprey Publishing, 2000. ISBN 1-85532-961-1, ISBN 978-1-85532-961-4.